Posted on 07/13/2013 11:34:45 PM PDT by proud American in Canada
Hi, everyone. :)
We just bought a black lab who is about six weeks old; a female. I just brought her outside; she had napped next to me and was sound asleep on the couch as I dozed off. I then brought her out and put her in her crate, because she pees and poos all over the house.
How do I train this puppy--and how can I get her to stop crying at night. The last couple of nights, I could not stand the crying, so I brought her up to my husband and my bed.
Even now, she is crying and whimpering, trying to get out of the crate. We slept together just fine on the couch, just now, for a while, but now she wants the attention since I put her in the crate. I did that because our house has apparently become a puppy toilet. :( It is disgusting and I cannot stand it.
Do I bring her upstairs to stop the crying, or do I let her cry it out (which is painful).
I am falling asleep at the computer, however, listening to her cry, I"ll probably get very little sleep.
I will try to answer everyone, but we are all tired and I am at my wits end.
She is a cutie, though. :) She has massive paws--she will be a big girl. :)
Thanks, and I will respond as soon as I can,
Julie
6 weeks is too young to separate the puppy from her mother. She should be with the mother for 8 to 12 as the mother teaches toilet training. Now you will have to and that is waking up early to take the puppy out for toilrt, and doing the same before and after every meal. Also, do not let her on your bed or on the couch as you are setting yourself up for future problems. The dog should know that a dogs place is on the floor, not on sofas or couches. For the nights, put her on some mat next to your bed and lay your hand on her to calm her. Since she is only 6weeks old she needs a mommy and that is you. Buy enzyme floor wash and use it. And be patient. It can takes up to a year to toilet train, dependingonthe dog. I know some use crates, but i believe that should be the utter last resort.
On the subject of apostrophes: if changing keyboards to French gets rid of them then more people ought to do that until they understand the proper use of the apostrophe. Every “s” at the end of a word does not require the use of an apostrophe unless there is a contraction or to indicate possession of the following object.
Main topic of puppy training: consistency and constancy should be your watch words. Also, the dog should not be allowed to relieve itself in the house for ANY reason. The advice about using pee pads is poor advice, IMO. You’re (contraction) the alpha, be the leader.
Six weeks old and never been away from her litter mates? Of course she's crying.
Dufarge gave in to our female black Lab puppie's squalling and let the pup (Gina) up onto the bed to stop it. Fine when she was an eight pound puppy, not so much when Gina was an eighty-five pound adult, just waiting for one of us to open an eye. Then, kaboom, onto the bed, wiggle around enough so she had the lion's share. What a dope!
God, I miss that dog...
When I saw the title “How to housebreak and calm down a puppy—advice please!”, my initial reaction was, “What!!! Someone wants advice how to break into a house and how to keep the householder’s puppy calm (so as not to raise the alarm)???”
I’m sorry, but that’s how it is. Maybe I’ve been reading too much about Trayvon Martin.
Pee & poo........good luck. You just might have to use some tough love.
Of course....few people own a ticking clock anymore. Garage sale, Goodwill, VOA maybe
1. Too young to take from mom, unfortunately so...
2. Crate train. Crate train. Crate train.
3. Leave a leash on it at all times while in the house- so you can grab it and go outside quickly
4. Be wary of too much freedom. And by that I mean, leash training, eye contact (the foundation of all training) and recall need to start ASAP. Otherwise, the pup do what it thinks is best. And for, that usually is all wrong.
5. Practice operant/positive training techniques (google it).
6. Crate train. Crate train. Crate train.
7. Seek out a puppy socialization class immediately.
8. Get him out in public to meet people. Try to have him meet 100 people before he’s 16 weeks old.
9. Crate train. Crate train. Crate train.
I got my first real puppy (a Border Collie) in 15 years in April. He was 7.5 weeks old when I got him, and has been a dream, mainly because I’ve learned so much on training and now train others as well as rescue dogs. He loves his crate, loves people and other dogs, and has already mastered the basics as well as several tricks.
Trust me. You will get out of your puppy what you pup into him. There will be challenges, particularly the usual puppy stuff (chewing). But it will be worth it!
Julie,
Congratulations on gaining a new member of the family. We currently have black Labs number seven and eight, Gunner II and Liberty Belle. Please don’t be cowed by the “oh noes, a Lab!” Naysayers. Just sort through the good advice offered above. And remember two things: patience and consistency. After housebreaking, which will come easily if you’re consistent, will come chewing phase, which may last a couple of years. Labs are especially attracted to chewing things that you have held and retain your scent. My truck steering wheel cover attest to Liberty’s anxiety at being left in the truck for a half hour her first winter. Be patient and enjoy the profound friendship and loyalty of your wonderful new dog.
TC
Take her outside after each feeding, nap and play time or when she starts circling. If she drinks water, she’ll need to go outside in about 15 minutes tops (do not just let her out, you need to be sure she accomplishes your goal). Extremely important, do not come back in until she does something, and then praise her afterwards. As she grows, the time range will expand, so be patient, it will get better soon!
Be ever vigilant as to her indications, once you figure out what they are. One of our dogs would just wait by the door patiently, another would come to our chairs. She will get the drift if you and everyone in the house is consistent.
If she makes a mistake, make her watch you clean it up (slight scold is okay, but no nose-rubbing or yelling), and then place her bed and food dish in that area and sit with her for a while there. Read a book while she naps a bit, give her a treat, play with her, something fun. Then take her outside from there.
She has to recognize that every part of your home is her “bed” or den. Prevention would be to spend time with her and her bed in each room so that she learns how to get to the magic door from there. I did this with an adult dog and she never made the same mistake twice. She had chosen a room that we didn’t use much, so she thought it was okay.
As to the crying, you will have to let her cry until she figures out that nothing bad happens if you don’t come (but you will have to get up to let her out a couple of times a night). A ticking clock is fine, as long as the alarm doesn’t go off, or perhaps a radio with calming music or calm talk radio hosts.
I know it’s hard to ignore whimpers, but you are the alpha dog; dogs get their confidence from knowing who’s in charge and what the daily routine is, which also includes when it’s time to sleep.
Have fun with your new bundle of love!
You have lots of good advice, and some not so good advice. Reputable breeders don’t let puppies go at 6 weeks. Crate train. Crate by your bed, get up when she whimpers, take her out, take her to the pee area on leash, stand there til she pees, say “go pee” or something consistently as she pees, no playing, back in crate. Maybe twice a night, then hopefully to once a night soon. She is too young to hold it very long.
Then during the day she should be contained to a small area — I like ex-pens to make a spot maybe 8 x 10 ft or so. Take her out to pee often, using leash, same spot, same words. By 12 weeks or so give her a bigger area, but always put her back in the small area when you can’t keep an eagle eye on her.
Also, lots of play time with ball, tug toy, clicker training to respond to name, sit, etc. This will give her mental and physical exercise.
Puppies are a big job and require dedication and management and a plan to train. Go online and watch some videos — Google Emily Larlham, dogmantics.com, great place to start.
be the big dog.
take her out often to a designated spot to do the business and do not leave until she does it there. command her to do it there. tinkle. poop. then good tinkle. good poop. with reward.
keep a deaf ear to the crying and crate her when she does. do not give in. be the big dog.
she’ll love you more for it and will not bark so much either
teeman
“The last couple of nights, I could not stand the crying, so I brought her up to my husband and my bed.”
It sounds like the dog has you well-trained to do what it wants.
I had a lab that had to be trained.
first off the kennel/crate is a great idea..USE IT.
I got ‘Worf’ to poo not only outside, but in the farthest corner of my back yard. crate the dog as close to the door as possible...make sure the crate is not too big as they will go in one end and sleep in the other...
in the AM when you get up, pick the pup up and CARRY HIM/HER OUT SIDE to where you want it to go...do not let it walk back to the house. keep picking it up and bringing it to where you want it to go....till it GOES. make sure you wait till it does BOTH bathroom functions (if you think it probably needs to do both...) walk back and forth with it..exercise helps it go. spend lots of time out there if you have to.
when it goes LAVISH PRAISE. if it goes in the house...you have to push its nose into into it and say NO...say NO firmly and take it outside. You have to be FIRM with it, no need for cruelty but FIRM. after the dog goes in the house....is punished and put outside then clean it and put it back in the crate. then clean the spot where it went with white VINEGAR...do not be stingy with the vinegar....then bring the dog to the spot it soiled make it smell the vinegar and say NO then put it in the crate again...
Rinse Repeat till it gets it. my last pup, a Brittany male took about 2 weeks...keep at it.... my Lab only took a few days....they are all different.
I found my tagline! Whew.
I found my tagline! Whew.
Welcome to owning the best dog out there. I have two chocolates - littermates! Mine tip the scales at 90 and 95 lbs - big ole boys every ounce lovable lugs that wouldn’t hurt a thing. I got the little one as a puppy and then his brother from my buddy as a product of his divorce two years later.
Put the crate by your side of the bed, but towels and soft things in it for her to bed in. She may cry for a few nights but then she will stop. I used the crate for sleeping until he made it through the night for a week. It is important to leave the crate open during the day, as she may go in there to take a nap. Obviously, close it at night during the training phase. One of mine has one of those fleese dog beds on the floor on my side of the bed (right were his crate used to be).
house training trick that works! get a small set of bells and tie them to a shoe string and hang it on the door. Make it long enough for her to reach now, then adjust as she grows. Show her how to swat at them and immediately open the door and go outside. Tell her to go potty, and when she does, overly praise her. She will get the picture pretty quickly. Make her go outside every hour during the day - have her ring the bells first. Then you can ring the bells that she will come running to go outside. She will also pick up that if she rings the bell she get to go outside. The should only take about a week at the most. I know it sounds like a lot but well worth it.
Get one of those underground fence things - I use the Innoteck (sp) rechargeable version. Takes about a day to install and a week to totally train your pup. Don’t do this until she is about 6 months old. I will warn you that she will yelp the first time she is shocked, but she will never do it again, as labs are very smart dogs. I can have their collars off for weeks at a time and they mind their borders.
Lastly, enjoy dog ownership. I had no idea that my girls would love these dogs so much. They are all older now and still fawn all over them. Every kids needs to have a dog to take care of and love. I am convinced that it teaches them to be nurturing adults.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hILjnUk78Uk
Worst thing you can do is let them sleep in your Bed, cage training is the best thing you can do, they actually like the cage as it gives them safe feeling, security. And you will need to have them secure at times when you are not home [unless you don’t mind having your house destroyed. I have owned and raised over thirty Dogs and have found this method to be the easiest and least stressful for the dog.
Add a hot water bottle with the alarm clock.
Need a hot water bottle .
Need to have tight schedule for outside time .
Give praise and treats when she goes outside .
Use a one word term for going outside.
I had to train a street rescue which took 5 weeks but she got it.
Three regular walks each day. First thing am, last thing pm, immediately after evening feeding.
Calm assertive presence in front of puppy. Reward only acceptable behavior, never negative. Lose leash training where you demonstrate pack leadership, not the puppy pulling you all over the place. Very important as the walk establishes pack order!!
Clicker training. Great how to’s online. Learn the clicker rules first. User name “krissykris”on YouTube has excellent videos. But start at the beginning to get it right.
Be patient. Puppy will loom to you for the rules. They want rules, boundaries and leadership.
I have 8 month old, 72 pound great Pyrenees puppy. Voice of experience here.
Best wishes.
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