Dog training

Okay…I’ve owned a dog for 15 months…since she was two months old…she is perfect when I"m home…no mess or peeing or shitting. But when I’m not home, I have to leave her in two rooms to romp around. Then she poops and pees. The old “rub nose in it” no longer works (It worked when I saw it and punished her immediateley, but not when its not immediate). I’ve limited her food to only one time a day…and she’s still fine and in great shape.

The problem obviously affects when I have guests in my apartment…especially ladies…can’t fix the mess and deodorize in time…=P

I hope someone can help me with some other ideas. Oh yeah, I live in an apartment, so there is no option of a yard…well, not yet.

Thanks.

Jason

PS…if there were such a thing as a T=Dog, she would definitley (sp?) be one…she may be kind of small (mom a Rotweiler and Dad a Beagle)…but she is strong as F**K!!

Good training to all.

I saw the same thing on either Discovery or TLC. The show was about animal psychologists. (Better then pet psychics.)

Anyway they pretty much said that the dog missed the owner, and felt a little abandoned when he was gone. I cannot remember how they treated the problem though.

Go to the Pet supply store and buy a collapsable kennel.When you leave the house, put her in it.She will get the message,plus it will be much easier to claen and keep your Apt. sanitary

She is lonely and jealous and since she can’t talk to you about it she is getting back at you for leaving.

Seriously though, she thinks of you as hers, and when you leave she is a little bit ticked off, so she wrecks your crap. and when you bring other women home she gets mad because you are paying attention to another woman who isn’t her.

when you bring a female of any species home, she is gonna try to make you into what she wants you to be (I am so dead for this aren’t I) and in this case she wants you to be somebody to play with, and she can’t understand why you would leave her all the time.

First off, no she is’nt doing it to ‘get back at you’ or because she’s lonely. She’s doing it because you taught her to. How so, by the retarded training method of rubbing her nose in it. Phyiscal punsihment is an archaic and ineffective way of training dogs, although it’s great for making them neurotic. When you physically attack a dog for messing in the house or chewing something she’s not supposed to, all she knows is that, it’s safe to do it when you’re not there and unsafe to do it while you are there as my owner will attack me. She cannot connect the concept that you are punishing her for something she did hours ago. I’ve never been able to understand why people are so willing to physically attack there ‘best friend’ who loves them most, kinda sick and sad really.
Look, reward based training is the only appropriate way to train a dog. House training is simple, just reward with food and praise your dog when she goes outside. She will start to equate going outside with good things. Very simple classical conditioning. Any behaviour you desire from your dog is easily accomplished with food reward and praise. Let me repeat one more time: PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT DOES NOT WORK AND IS SIMPLY YOU HAVING A TEMPER TANTRUM ON YOUR DOG, ATTACKING IT, AND HAVING IT BECOME AFRAID OF YOU. Sorry for the harsh words, but I have little tolerance for it.
BTW, I operated a pitbull rescue for many years, I’m very well read on the subject and have much practical experience. Just telling you so you don’t think I’m talkin’ out my ass.

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/separationanxiety.html

short dave you are so wrong.

magnus is on the money and tonygorman has the right idea.

buy a kennel big enough for her to stand up and turn around in comfortably. put her in this crate during the day when you are out. she will wine, and poop in it for awhile… but don’t worry. dogs are extremely smart and don’t like to make a ‘mess’ in where they sleep or eat. as soon as you arrive home, immediately take her out side to do her ‘business’, take her to the SAME spot everytime so she knows its ok for her to go there (she will smell her last squirt). don’t expect her to keep her crate clean for 16 hours, be reasonable. keep a small bowl of water and some toys in the cage. turn a radio on so she isnt fustrated. when she is happy, so will you be happy. in time, you will be able to keep the door open on the crate, and she will use that crate for safety and go in the crate automatically at night for bedtime, or when she is scared.

jaystyles

btw, take her to dog obdience class. you both will be better for it. also, rubbing her nose in her mess will only create her to resent you. then you will have bigger problems.

jaystyles

I’m with Magnus…

A beating just doesn’t work.

Crate utilization is what got my husky over it. She would be upset or vindictive or whatever and then shit or pee in my room. Before I would even gather the cleaning equipment I would put her in her crate in close vicinity to where her mess was made and let her watch me clean it up. I would then let her sit in there for an hour or so (no need to let her out she just relieved herself on my damn carpet right?)

Once her timeout had concluded I would let her out, talk really positive to her and usher her out to the back yard for some harcore play time to let her know all was forgiven. It didn’t take just one or two episodes, it was a series of events that finally got her over it. Vigilance on your part along with consistency will let your pooch know that that sort of behavior is a no-go.

Can’t stress enough how correct Magnus is on the beatings, though, that dog is your companion and you want her to be there when you need her most. You don’t want her scared of you. Magnus has been gracious enough to post photos of his dogs on this website and they are exemplerary animals.

Take care dude, hope this all helps.

bradtgif… gonna have to say one thing.
the crate shouldn’t be used only for ‘time out’. the crate should be for her to go for safety, when she wants to be alone, or for sleeping.

jaystyles

Jay

-Good point, I built her a house outside for those purposes, while indoors she chills out on her dog-bed.

B.

Yup…these really do help. Good words here. Thanks all.

I have two dogs in a small apartment. I agree with both Magnus and BradTGIF, physically disciplining your dog is ineffective and will often exacerbate the problem. Not to mention that it is reprehensible and disgusting.
Your dog’s behavior is a direct response to yours.

With my first dog who had terrible separation anxiety and would chew everything while I was gone, I spent a couple of months “weaning” him. I work full time but evenings and weekends I spent leaving for short periods of time and coming back so he would get used to it. It took a while but eventually it did get better and finally went away.

With my second dog responded almost instantly to crate threrapy and even though I have no behavior problems with him now, his crate is set up in a corner and he seems to like having his own little area to go to. I have read that if a dog feels insecure or anxious, having a “den” can be an effective remedy. Anyway, worked for me.

Your dog also might be bored. If you do a search using “separation anxiety” you should be able to find a lot of good info. You may also want to check out www.dogpsychologycenter.com, it is run by a man named Caesar Millan whom they call the “Dog Whisperer” and he does amazing work with “problem” dogs. You won’t get specific potty training advice but some good insight into dog behavior if you look at some of the article on his press page.

Out of curiosity, how long is she alone in the apartment, and how many times are you able to walk her per day?

I’m leaving for work at about 7:30-8am…I get to walk her right before i leave…then I get home at about 6-6:30pm (after the train ride home…easier than driving…and a workout…walk her again…then one more time before I go to sleep. The AM walk is only for about 20 minutes…the second and 3rd are about 30 minutes…maybe that’s not long enough considering that the problem occurs in the daytime while i’m not home…maybe extending the AM walk will help?

Jason

Thank God for Magnus. Pushing her nose in it? Man, thought that died out with the rolled up newspaper. If it’s really that much of a problem, get her trained professionally. You can even do it at PetSmart for little money.

Can you go without “relieving” yourself for 11 hours? If the answer is no, then do not expect your dog to. That is the issue! You are leaving her too long without being able to go to the bathroom. The longest I leave my puppy is 6 hours. Is there anyone who can let her out when you are gone?

Crate training, i.e. get a kennel.

Learn how to use it. It’s the best way to train a dog.

I will be honest and say I didnt read all the responses to the thread so someone may have said this allready. But one thing that needs to be done is that you get the smell totally out or the dog will always think of it as a place that is good to go.

Even if you cant smell it, the dog can. Use vinegar and let it soak for a while on the floor to remove the smell.

The crate/kennel is a great peice of advice also.

Go to www.leerburg.com. Look through the articles posted and go to the discussion boards. It’s one of the best dog-related sites I have found.

Porkchop

I’ve trained many dogs and shown dogs for years. Get a crate for your dog. Dog’s are den animals and don’t mind being put in it. I brought one for one of my dogs because she was destructive when she was a puppy when I was gone. She spent about 1 year in the crate whenever I was gone. I never took the crate down because she feels very comfortable in it and sleeps in it every night. I’ve never had to lock her in the crate since.

Dog’s will not pee or poop in their crate. Your dog is actually doing it when you’re gone because it’s an attention thing. DO NOT scold her for doing it. She wants you to give her attention for this, whether bad or good attention. Just DON’T give her attention if you come home and she has done this. Just ignore her. That’s the worst punishment at all to a dog. And never hit her. This creates a mean streak in dogs.