need help

[Guest lisco]

Hi I am a new cairn owner .I bought a four and a half month old cairn from a pet store. ( a no no) . The dog lived in a cage all this time and was never taken out to do buisness . he goes in the cage , which is become routine over time, any suggestons on how to break this so he can go outside.

[Guest pjoes_girl]

Mine wants to do the same thing. I read somewhere that the mother (in a normal setting) would show her displeasure at the pup when they're wee little, and push them to the toilet area of their confinement area, then they realize they shoudln't go in their sleeping area, but my pup does the same thing. I have just been very persistent in taking h im out and he's sllllloooooooowly catching on, but he sometimes will go to his cage and sniff around for a second , then i know i'd better get him out. He doesn't go in there as often when we're not home, but still does. I think as he gets older and can hold it longer it will be less and less also. Just be persistent. Show displeasure when he does it, but not hysterics kind of displeasure, lol. you know what i mean.

[hallswel]

My last two dogs were crate trained. I would take them out often and when they did what I wanted in the yard I had a treat in my hand. They are a smart breed and it won't take long to figure out if I go outside I get a treat! They need to learn what you want, I think it is easier to praise than fuss. It may take awhile but it will be worth it. Do you feed them in the crate? I did and they had chew toys to keep them busy when they weren't sleeping. If I was home the minute they woke up it was outside they went.

But I got mine from a breeder and I think they spend so much time with the puppies that it makes the new owners job easier.

Good luck

[bradl]

I think of housetraing like this: the idea is not so much to make him stop doing something wrong as to make sure he has the opportunity to do the right thing . That puts the burden *completely* on us to make sure we get that pup outside *before* he has to go, so when he does go - hooray! - what a good boy.

You are on the right track when you notice him getting fidgety in his crate - get him outside fast. If he doesn't go, put him away and then take him out again, and again, and again, and again, and again ... until he finally does go outside. It can be rough when you are starting over from the very beginning, but as hallswel notes, they are smart and after they start having more successes than failures, they will catch on.

Any book will tell you: take him out the minute he wakes up in the morning, or after a nap, after a vigorous play session, after he eats, after any excitement, every hour if need be.

Most will eventually get it despite our inconsistencies. I think it's unfair to assume that for the dog it's just a logical idea that once it's explained to them, they 'get it' forevermore. I think it may be a complex set of behaviors and that conditioning has much to do with how fast and how completely they adopt the habit of going outside. So it seems unlikely there will be a single shining day where they were not housetrained yesterday, but they are housetrained today. It's more, well he's 90% effective now; by the time he's 12-18 months maybe he's 98% effective, and by two he's 99.9% effective. The other .1% might be thumbing his nose at you

[Milopup]

Brad,

Thanks for posting that it is never 100%. As you know from my other posts, Bosco still has the occasional pee accident, especially on rainy days. I thought there was something wrong with us, glad to know not everyone is 100%.

- Mp

[Darsey]

Lisco, my pup has the same sort of issue. At first I was having to wash Toto's bedding AT LEAST once a week. But as he has been getting the potty training down (and I have been getting quicker on catching the Uh oh I have to go warning signs) he has been going less in his bed and in the house. I agree with Brad about excitement and urination I learned early on that in the morning he has to go IMMEDIATLY and if there's an accident it a result of me getting him excited or me not being quick enough with the leash (it now hangs by the door!) I am going to start trying hallswel's advice about the treats and going potty...If only it worked that way for my son ! - Darsey