Sometimes a situation simply isn't right for a dog and rehoming is the better option. Going by the OPs post the dog spends most of its time isolated from the family which is not a situation a dog should be in and is probably a HUGE contributor to the house training problem. Unless the OP can and will change that then the dog would be better off in another home imo. Preferably before it develops major behavioural problems.
I have NEVER seen anyone on here advise rehoming simply for a house training problem.
Almost ready to get rid of puppy ............. sadly
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: Almost ready to get rid of puppy ............. sadly
I think your letting this cloud things.Jo_Smith wrote:Rehoming animals seems to be considered more & more acceptable & I think that this is wrong. Many animals are killed every year & owners need to recognize this, not every dog/cat who finds him/herself in a shelter will find a home
While I agree re homing got brought up a little quick in this thread, it's very possible it would have come up anyway. But not (at least I hope) simply due to difficulty with house training. Again, as Sarah again points out there is more going on in the OPs situation than a "simple" house training issue and that is where the suggestion that maybe this isn't the time for the op to have a dog came from. Not from a "oh hit a bump, just get rid of dog and all will be well" perspective.
Re homing as a solution isn't brought up all that often here. I think if you poke around you will see that. heck I almost never bring it up even when the title of the thread says "help dog bit my 3 year old". I agree with you that there are people and places that jump to it as a solution simply because they feel they can't be bothered with taking the time to train or have unrealistic expectations for their dog.
BUT that does not change the fact that sometimes re homing for a particular dog is the right thing to do. And when it's appropriate to bring it up and consider you can't worry about the "many animals killed every year..." you need to be focused on the individual dog in question and make the call, can this person give the dog what it needs or is this person willing to even try or despite giving a 110% effort and love and time is does the fact remain that this dog/human/living environment just not work.
Re: Almost ready to get rid of puppy ............. sadly
JACKSDAD & SARAH83 & JO_SMITH ~~~ thank you soooooo much for your understanding about the rehoming. As negative statement about rehoming REALLY DO feel like shaming.
I am 51 yrs old and have NEVER had a dog. I was bit in the face when young and have almost been frightened of them ever since. My children have bugged me for a long time for a puppy, so we finally got one. I don't hate dogs, have just been afraid of them. I have always had cats. I am a cat person. I love my cats. But I like Pubbers, a lot, and she continues to grow on me every day.
Because of my love of cats I completely understand dog lovers being upset at the thought of me just rehoming Pubbers; the idea that I'm giving up too quickly because it's hard and the 'poor' dog. But because of my total lack of knowing, understanding, and training dogs I think the 3 months, and many tears, I have put into trying to train Pubbers is NOT 'just giving up". To me it has been soooo much harder than "simply due to difficulty with house training." Regardless of what anyone says !! We all have our own experiences and people really shouldn't be so quick to judge.
No, I didn't come back and write up my day to day with Pubbers; thanks for trying to help, but that just seemed like it would have taken a lot more time than I have.
On the brighter side :O) I think perhaps Pubbers is FINALLY getting it !!! Don't even remember the last poop in the house. Two days ago she stopped at the back door, squatted, and started to pee - right beside me ! (I think she just had to go that badly.) I quickly opened the door and booted her butt out telling her, "NO NO, go potty OUTSIDE!" Well, she's been pretty much living in the house with us for maybe one week now, and all has been good ! At least, if she has peed any where I haven't found it
( Just this morning she was sitting beside the back door whining so I instantly got up and let her outisde; and she pooped ! Needless to say, I was thrilled !!
So thanks to everyone who has give me advice on how to do this. For me, it has been a long & hard road; please cross your fingers that I've come to the end of that road !!
I am 51 yrs old and have NEVER had a dog. I was bit in the face when young and have almost been frightened of them ever since. My children have bugged me for a long time for a puppy, so we finally got one. I don't hate dogs, have just been afraid of them. I have always had cats. I am a cat person. I love my cats. But I like Pubbers, a lot, and she continues to grow on me every day.
Because of my love of cats I completely understand dog lovers being upset at the thought of me just rehoming Pubbers; the idea that I'm giving up too quickly because it's hard and the 'poor' dog. But because of my total lack of knowing, understanding, and training dogs I think the 3 months, and many tears, I have put into trying to train Pubbers is NOT 'just giving up". To me it has been soooo much harder than "simply due to difficulty with house training." Regardless of what anyone says !! We all have our own experiences and people really shouldn't be so quick to judge.
No, I didn't come back and write up my day to day with Pubbers; thanks for trying to help, but that just seemed like it would have taken a lot more time than I have.
On the brighter side :O) I think perhaps Pubbers is FINALLY getting it !!! Don't even remember the last poop in the house. Two days ago she stopped at the back door, squatted, and started to pee - right beside me ! (I think she just had to go that badly.) I quickly opened the door and booted her butt out telling her, "NO NO, go potty OUTSIDE!" Well, she's been pretty much living in the house with us for maybe one week now, and all has been good ! At least, if she has peed any where I haven't found it
( Just this morning she was sitting beside the back door whining so I instantly got up and let her outisde; and she pooped ! Needless to say, I was thrilled !!So thanks to everyone who has give me advice on how to do this. For me, it has been a long & hard road; please cross your fingers that I've come to the end of that road !!
Re: Almost ready to get rid of puppy ............. sadly
I am glad things are improving.
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pepperhenry
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:03 am
Re: Almost ready to get rid of puppy ............. sadly
This thread seems to have moved away from the original question posted, and is concentrating on arguments about whether or not to get rid of a dog.
I have owned dogs for 20 years, and before that we always had family dogs. I know how hard it is to train a dog, and I was in the same position about 2.5 years ago. We've always had Staffie's, and although I know they are a handful at times, they are wonderful with people and children. My puppy was housetrained quite quickly (will get onto that shortly) but it was his obsession with food and inability to listen to me that was driving me to distraction and in the end had to bring in a professional to show us how to deal with such an Alpha male! In no time she had him sussed and taught us the tricks to get him to listen to us instead of thinking he ruled the house!
Anyway, getting back to getting a puppy housetrained. When they have an accident in the house, and that is all it is as they don't know otherwise, we'd rub their nose in it and put them outside. After a few times of having their noses rubbed in whatever it was (I must admit it wasn't actually rubbed in poo!) they soon learnt that if they did it outside, they were fine! They also realised that after being shouted at no, no, no, then picked up and put outside halfway through a number 1 or 2 in the house that is wasn't acceptable!
Getting rid of a puppy just because he is not housetrained is a bit of an easy way out for you, I'm sorry to say. Afterall, it was your decision to get a dog and I'm assuming you did all your homework before getting one, learning how much time and attention they need. Which brings me to you shutting him away all day, on his own. I'm very disappointed. That poor dog. A dog is a pet, not something you can have and love for an hour or two a day, and lock it away for the rest of the time in a room, with no one to play with. You should have that dog with you in the house, that child should be introduced to the dog and slowly it will learn that the dog is not something to be scared of, but something to be loved and played with. The child is probably scared of it because he/she has never been around dogs. By introducing them, giving the puppy a toy to chew or play with and distract it, and giving the child something to do too will enable them both to learn to be around one another. It is so important for a puppy to be socialised with other dogs, adults and children, to get them used to all different types of people and animals.
Sorry if I've been a bit harsh but I really think you need to start taking responsibility for the puppy and taking the time to train it properly. The puppy just wants to be loved and wants to be good. Reward him with treats. Get a clicker to show him when he's been good. Play with him and teach him to listen to your voice. You can do this in the garden with the child you look after. All of you can have lots of fun, trust me! Having a child in the house is no excuse! I have a 5 year old daughter and a 3 year old dog and I had to look after them, training the puppy, at the same time. If I can do it, anyone can do it, honestly!
I have owned dogs for 20 years, and before that we always had family dogs. I know how hard it is to train a dog, and I was in the same position about 2.5 years ago. We've always had Staffie's, and although I know they are a handful at times, they are wonderful with people and children. My puppy was housetrained quite quickly (will get onto that shortly) but it was his obsession with food and inability to listen to me that was driving me to distraction and in the end had to bring in a professional to show us how to deal with such an Alpha male! In no time she had him sussed and taught us the tricks to get him to listen to us instead of thinking he ruled the house!
Anyway, getting back to getting a puppy housetrained. When they have an accident in the house, and that is all it is as they don't know otherwise, we'd rub their nose in it and put them outside. After a few times of having their noses rubbed in whatever it was (I must admit it wasn't actually rubbed in poo!) they soon learnt that if they did it outside, they were fine! They also realised that after being shouted at no, no, no, then picked up and put outside halfway through a number 1 or 2 in the house that is wasn't acceptable!
Getting rid of a puppy just because he is not housetrained is a bit of an easy way out for you, I'm sorry to say. Afterall, it was your decision to get a dog and I'm assuming you did all your homework before getting one, learning how much time and attention they need. Which brings me to you shutting him away all day, on his own. I'm very disappointed. That poor dog. A dog is a pet, not something you can have and love for an hour or two a day, and lock it away for the rest of the time in a room, with no one to play with. You should have that dog with you in the house, that child should be introduced to the dog and slowly it will learn that the dog is not something to be scared of, but something to be loved and played with. The child is probably scared of it because he/she has never been around dogs. By introducing them, giving the puppy a toy to chew or play with and distract it, and giving the child something to do too will enable them both to learn to be around one another. It is so important for a puppy to be socialised with other dogs, adults and children, to get them used to all different types of people and animals.
Sorry if I've been a bit harsh but I really think you need to start taking responsibility for the puppy and taking the time to train it properly. The puppy just wants to be loved and wants to be good. Reward him with treats. Get a clicker to show him when he's been good. Play with him and teach him to listen to your voice. You can do this in the garden with the child you look after. All of you can have lots of fun, trust me! Having a child in the house is no excuse! I have a 5 year old daughter and a 3 year old dog and I had to look after them, training the puppy, at the same time. If I can do it, anyone can do it, honestly!
Re: Almost ready to get rid of puppy ............. sadly
Pepperhenry - some of your advice is great but I do think before you take it upon yourself to kick someone elses butt... check your own doesn't need a bit of a kick too!
Rubbing dogs noses in it? Did you fall out of the dark ages?
You are LUCKY your dogs have learned to toilet outdoors following this and the 'nononono' method, MANY dogs learn to do a whole range of other unpleasant things rather than go outside, they learn to hide their mess.. they learn to EAT their mess. They learn to go out of sight of humans (because humans SHOUT when you do that), drag soft throws and cushions over it to disguise it..... Or just to hang on until people arent around, then go potty.
Take a read through the forums, there IS a better way - we teach our dogs to go outside by preventing them from going anywhere else. Once that is a habit, they are then hardwired to ONLY go on grass/dirt etc, and because we have taken them outside, been there with them as they toiletted and rewarded them well for doing it, they WANT to hold on for us, and they WANT to go in sight of us, so we can see t hey went and reward them.
By doing it this way, you end up with a dog who potties or tries really hard to do so, on command, where you can see. It means you know for sure your pup or dog has been, you also know if they are struggling to go or have the runs. That is on top of having a dog who wants to wait for YOU to take him outside.
Surely better than a dog who only goes outside to avoid punishment?
Rubbing dogs noses in it? Did you fall out of the dark ages?
You are LUCKY your dogs have learned to toilet outdoors following this and the 'nononono' method, MANY dogs learn to do a whole range of other unpleasant things rather than go outside, they learn to hide their mess.. they learn to EAT their mess. They learn to go out of sight of humans (because humans SHOUT when you do that), drag soft throws and cushions over it to disguise it..... Or just to hang on until people arent around, then go potty.
Take a read through the forums, there IS a better way - we teach our dogs to go outside by preventing them from going anywhere else. Once that is a habit, they are then hardwired to ONLY go on grass/dirt etc, and because we have taken them outside, been there with them as they toiletted and rewarded them well for doing it, they WANT to hold on for us, and they WANT to go in sight of us, so we can see t hey went and reward them.
By doing it this way, you end up with a dog who potties or tries really hard to do so, on command, where you can see. It means you know for sure your pup or dog has been, you also know if they are struggling to go or have the runs. That is on top of having a dog who wants to wait for YOU to take him outside.
Surely better than a dog who only goes outside to avoid punishment?
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
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runlikethewind
- Posts: 1166
- Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 12:48 pm
Re: Almost ready to get rid of puppy ............. sadly
I think Emmabeth has been remarkably restrained in her reply there. This forum and the trainers on here (and regular people like me) don't ever suggest any punishment based methods. If you understand learning theory, this includes adding an 'aversive' into the dog's space.... ie smacking, rubbing noses in poo and yes even shouting. Humans have the intelligence to work around problems as they occur. Toilet training is one of them - and there are much safer, gentler and happier methods for all involved.
Re: Almost ready to get rid of puppy ............. sadly
Pepperhenry, you need to BACK OFF the finger waging and ACTUALLY READ the WHOLE thread, including the part where the op says things are getting better, that they are making progress with the house training etc.
There was a LOT more going in here than "simple house training". It's not that uncommon for people to come here VERY frustrated and not know what to do and to be so frustrated that they do feel like giving up their dog because they are overwhelmed with an issue and lack the experience to address it. many who stay active on their thread, ask questions, and give the advice a try, appear to end up keeping their dog. BUT making them feel like failure or bad people for essentially being frustrated and not knowing what to do doesn't help and risks driving them away. Which increases the chance of them actually fallowing through on what probably was just venting originally.
The op ended up starting a second thread else where and got a lot of advice there.
There was a LOT more going in here than "simple house training". It's not that uncommon for people to come here VERY frustrated and not know what to do and to be so frustrated that they do feel like giving up their dog because they are overwhelmed with an issue and lack the experience to address it. many who stay active on their thread, ask questions, and give the advice a try, appear to end up keeping their dog. BUT making them feel like failure or bad people for essentially being frustrated and not knowing what to do doesn't help and risks driving them away. Which increases the chance of them actually fallowing through on what probably was just venting originally.
The op ended up starting a second thread else where and got a lot of advice there.
Re: Almost ready to get rid of puppy ............. sadly
Hi, I haven't read all the replies, I just know I felt very similar to you when my pup was first with us.
After 3 months I was at my wits end but what changed everything for us was:
1. We crated her at night 2. I started a VERY strict routine with her, getting her outside at the exact same time every morning and writing down what time she wee'd and pooed naturally each day to help me predict it for the next day and bring her outside. It worked very quickly. After about three months of no progress at all we had her accident free in about 3 weeks. I hope you find a solution that works for you.
After 3 months I was at my wits end but what changed everything for us was:
1. We crated her at night 2. I started a VERY strict routine with her, getting her outside at the exact same time every morning and writing down what time she wee'd and pooed naturally each day to help me predict it for the next day and bring her outside. It worked very quickly. After about three months of no progress at all we had her accident free in about 3 weeks. I hope you find a solution that works for you.