Everyone has said this at some time or another, and raised their hands to the heavens in amazement at how their new cute little puppy could do something as frustrating as peeing all over the house! Asi it turns out, housebreaking a puppy can challenge the patience of even the most loyal dog owners.
When I first got Chase - my black lab – two years ago, it was all fun and games when I brought that bundle of fur and energy back to my home for the first time. But shortly after, the fairy tale was over, and he was peeing in the house. I was completely at my wits end. Very frustrating, but I was not about to give up on him. That’s when I started looking around online and found that I wasn’t alone.
In my research, I found a number of online community of dog lovers, and I began to find that this was a very common problem, and I was going through the same things that countless other people were. Thank god, there were others to learn from!
Long story short, I eventually found the resources I needed to make Chase a well behaved, house trained dog. But, I also found that people were continually asking the same questions over and over across the internet in all different places.
I’ve decided to pull together the most popular problems that dog lovers all over are having. And then, offer solutions to what seem to be 10 major issues that almost everyone has when learning how to raise their new dog.
Since not everyone has the time to scour the internet everyday looking for puppy training help, I’ll be posting a new blog every couple of days to deal with the following issues:
For those of you who want a more thorough understanding on how to train, love and properly connect with your new (or familiar) dog, I’ll be on the lookout for the best training programs available. Of course, if your particular concern isn’t listed above, leave a simple post with the particular challenge you’re having and we’ll devote an entry to that as well.
Until next time…happy pet owning!
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Aug 18, 2008 | | Uncategorized
Everyone has dealt with some sort of puppy training or dog housebreaking issue. As we all know, it can be very difficult. There are tons of popular methods out there to fix these problems; including but not limited to paper training, negative reinforcement training, and crate training. Whenever I have to tackle this issue with a new dog, I first think to myself, “Yes! A new adorable little puppy!” And then reality kicks in and I go, “Aaahhh! Housebreaking my puppy again! I totally do not have the energy to train my dog!” Because it’s hard! And nobody loves to do it. But according to an article by Megan of Puppyhousebreaking101.com, there is hope for all of us out there! It turns out that not all canines and dogs may be trainable the same way, and that we can help ourselves out right from the moment we decide to buy a dog.
Even though pet owners often take full responsibility for the behavior and personality of their dog or dogs, we shouldn’t; because apparently other factors are involved. One of those such factors is the breed of your dog. According to Megan:
“A full-grown Collie, English Sheepdog, Afghan Hound, or Poodle can be quite a chore to groom yearly and the non-trained Irish Setter adolescents will surely wear out the otherwise placid dog owner to complete and utter exhaustion. Likewise, Your average Italian Greyhound is not suitable to protect a large country property nor can a mixed breed dog be shown in conformation or obedience competitions. So start off on the right foot by making the correct decision about what type of puppy to choose.”
This is interesting because I had actually heard of something along these lines before, but had completely spaced it in my quest to housebreak my pupy. Also, I had heard that the following puppies train really well from a young age and tend to have a lot of ‘good dog’ behavior:
• Labrador or Lab
• Chihuahua
• Shih tzu
• Golden Retriever
• Collie
The reason I can appreciate this, is because this is a step and decision you can make before you even get your puppy dog, that can drastically reduce your time and energy spent training and housebreaking your puppy. Count me in! Because as Megan states, “if your time or willingness to cater to a dog is limited, give it some serious thought as to how much you can offer your new puppy.”
The other factor that the article talks about is the age of your dog. It positions that, “age is an important factor in selecting a puppy. If the choice is up to you, try to bring your puppy home when he is exactly 8 weeks old. Studies have proven that this is the most ideal time for a pup to leave his dam and littermates in order to start a new relationship with a new human family.”
This to me, is brilliant. We all know the amazing feeling of seeing that brand new cute puppy dog! Wanting to just grab it and hold it and take it home with us that very moment. But now it seems that there is a time and age to bring that dog home so that stress is avoided, frustration is minimized, and you and your dog can spend time in a good companion relationship, and not always butting heads over housebreaking issues and obedience problems. I think we can all agree that leaving that cute puppy for an extra week until it’s the right age is far worth the years of peace and obedience that we can expect to follow that.
This article definitely brings to light both old issues that seem to have been swept under the rug, as well as a fresh look at the ‘joy’ of house breaking your puppy!
The full article can be found here: http://www.puppyhousebreaking101.com/01/30/puppy-training-starts-with-picking-the-right-puppy/
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Aug 16, 2008 | | \"housebreaking puppy\"
