German Shepherd Training Ma
german shepherd training ma
house breaking a puppy?
I am trying to house break my 9 week old german shepherd pup that i got about a week ago. He seemed to be doing well at first. I take him out to potty about every hour. When he pottys outside i praise him and give him a treat. I know if I don’t see him potty inside I am not to scold him because he won’t know what he did wrong. However, he likes to be by my side at all times so I almost always SEE him go when he does his business inside. So well when I see him going potty inside I firmly say “No Pluto – we do not potty in the house” and proceeded to take him to his cage. Is this the right thing to do? Because since I have started it seems like he doesn’t potty outside as well anymore. Also i wonder if he THINKS he is SUPPOSE to potty in the cage, because on numerous occasions he went potty as soon as he gots in the cage at night -right in front of me as to say “look ma, look what i did” I thought when being “crate trained” they learned to NOT potty in their cage. Suggestions Anyone???
C Nally – I sense by your “HE” useage, that this is a Male German Shepherd.
I am the owner of 2 German Shepherds, 1 Female, 1 Male. I got the Female 3 years before the male. I got each as Puppies.
It took me “1″ Day to Housebreak “Jinny” my Female where as “Zuma” my Male took several months. He has had some accidents even at 1 1/2 years of age.
Males are harder to break for a few reasons. Since by Nature, they have a inclination to want to mark their territory although your Pup is no where mentally at that stage. So, the Male will not always empty his bladder in one squat or raise of the leg (as an adult), and I see my 2 y/o now Zuma urinate as much as 6 times in one outing within 10 minutes. Most is marking his territory. Even a Neutered Male will do this.
Continue to praise him as you are doing, but, don’t give him a treat with it. He may equate food with an okay to defecate or urinate. The praise is good, and that’s all you should need.
I always use the word “Potty” although it might seem silly, but, it’s an understandable term, and they equate it with going outside.
“Let’s go Potty”! Gotta go Potty? Let’s Go Potty!
Don’t wait an hour. Take him out when you least think he needs to go. His little Bladder fills up quick, and I imagine he drinks quite often and when he comes inside from going Potty.
A Puppy/Dog by nature will not usually soil their cage. This is their shelter and I imagine you are using it as a training aid as I did with mine also. Make sure you take him out before you put him in, and if you happen to be up later after putting him in, take him out of the cage and outside agin before you go to bed.
Males also are seem to experience “Bladder Training” and I was told by my Vet that they can tend to be incontinent more than a female puppy (German Shepherd).
ADDENDUM- Oh, by the way, whenever I saw Zuma in the act of urinating in the house, I quickly picked him up and carried him outside regardless if he was finished or I stopped him in the act. Always take Pluto out if you see him going or just gone. He will get the message he needs to do this outside. Don’t merely just clean up and chalk it up as a done deal. This is a great teaching and behavioral message to set him out ASAP.
I also have a Rottweiler that took 1 week to House Break. Sonya is a Female and I got her as a Puppy also. She is 5 months younger than Jinny. I let Jinny help train her and put her on Jinny’s Potty schedule and she followed suit real well.
I love all three, but, Zuma was hardest to train. He had and has to go more often as he did as a Pup and an Adult. Now he is completely Housebroken.
I never beat, hit, rubbed their nose in their “acidents”, but, I did scold them and say “Potty Outside”………Potty Outside, Bad Boy!….Potty Outside! Of course I didn;t have to do this with the girls.
I’d give your Male (Pluto) more out times more frequently based on my experience with Zuma. (I just realized you used the word “Potty” too…..ooops sorry, silly me).
The crate training is to hopefully give him that Den feeling. If there is a smell of waste/urine in there, clean it out, and get rid of the smell. This may trigger him to go. Give him a clean blanket and hopefully you got a piece of his litter blanket or something with his Mother’s scent on it as I did my Dogs as Puppies. It soothes them, and they will be less apt to soil the cage. If you don’t have anything with his Mama’s scent on it, and the breeder is fairly close by, see if you can get a piece of cloth, blanket, or something with his Mother’s scent on it. It makes the transition for him go very well, and he will be more nurtured by this and feel comfortable as he did bond with his litter-mates and Mother during his 7-8 weeks.
By the way, congratulations on your having one of the smartest breeds and one of the most loyal of the 150+/- recognized Breeds by AKC. Is this your first German Shepherd?
I hope he brings you much happiness and lives long, healthy and brings you as much joy as mine have brought me. I also hope he has good hips and everything goes well.
If this is your first German Shepherd, or haven’t had one in a long time,……might as well address something else for you too so you can stay ahead of the game.
Pluto is no doubt starting to teeth. It will get worse, and if you have nice shoes, boots, any footwear in the open…..put them away.
Watch out for loose or accessible electric cords such as a Vacumn Cleaner plugged in, or lamps easy to get at. Zuma even chewed on my Oak Kitchen Chair cross-members.
Hopefully you have a pair of old tennis shoes he can chew on. remove the laces, and eyelets if they can come out easy.
Pigs’ Ears are great to chew on for him, as well as Hard Pressed Turkey Treat discs. (About the Diameter of a Mayonaise Lid Jar). Encourage him now to chew on these things. A Hard knoted rope sold at Feed/Pet suplly stores is good too. However; try to get one without frayed ends. He will yank them out and swallow them.
Anyway; I wrote a Novella here. But, the content equals the care and appreciation I have for these wonderful dogs and an owner that cares.
Good Luck!
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