Trainings going too well :)

Tribulation

Well my new pup George is settling in nicely.

He's a very easy to train dog.

Odd question though, it was very easy to train him to go for a wee in out concrete back yard, only took him a couple of days to grasp this. At first he was rewarded with a little treat to encourage him, now we have weaned him off them.

But, when we take him for a walk, while he has a poo when he's out, we can take him for a 30 - 45 min walk at the park or on the beach and he wont go for a wee. As soon as he's back, he goes straight to the back door, we let him out and he's obviously bursting and goes where he's been trained.

Not at all bothered by this from our point of view, but it must be uncomfortable for him?

Hintza

I wouldn't worry you will be back on here in a few days saying he is doing it everywhere...;)

Marking his territory?

suki1964

You have to train dogs to go where you want them to go. So at first you train for the back yard, when out walkies you need to train them again.

Its why a trigger word is useful. When hes going in the back yard - say "wee wee" (or whatever it is you are not embarressed to use ) whiles hes weeing then praise like mad when hes done. Sooon you will be able to say the trigger and he will know its ok to go

At the moment he only knows its ok to use the back yard

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Yep - be careful with the wee on the concrete too - concrete is porous and will build up an awful stench whenever the sun hits it. Even if you clean it often - i found out all too late. How about stopping him from going out on the concrete for a bit so he'll be desperate for a wee on walks? Then when he finally does - loads of praise and be consistant, he'll soon get it. I have two who even though they wee on walks they still like to mark their area everytime they go out back (they are both neutered too).

Topdogfran

He's only little and won't want to mark outside of where he knows it's safe until he's around 5-6 months.

BTW - what breed is he? Some larger breeds can suffer with joint problems if over excercised when young, and 30-45 mins is a long time for a wee pup.

Tribulation

Topdogfran wrote: »

He's only little and won't want to mark outside of where he knows it's safe until he's around 5-6 months.

BTW - what breed is he? Some larger breeds can suffer with joint problems if over excercised when young, and 30-45 mins is a long time for a wee pup.

1/2 Alaskan Malamute, 1/2 Golden Retriever.

He's 16 weeks old and big for a puppy (everyone who sees him thinks he's much older).

Has two walks a day, in the morning first thing he has a 20 min walk to the park and back.

In the evening he goes to the beach about a 10 min walk away (often we drive up to the other end of the beach to get him used to the car). Often we spend around 20 - 30 mins on the beach with him mooching around, off his lead.

Frugalista

Topdogfran wrote: »

BTW - what breed is he? Some larger breeds can suffer with joint problems if over excercised when young, and 30-45 mins is a long time for a wee pup.

That's exactly what I was thinking! At 16 weeks old he would only need short, frequent walks to get him socialised and used to the lead. Mine don't go on "proper" walks until they are at least 6 months old.

Tribulation

Frugalista wrote: »

That's exactly what I was thinking! At 16 weeks old he would only need short, frequent walks to get him socialised and used to the lead. Mine don't go on "proper" walks until they are at least 6 months old.

As I said, he gets a 20 min walk at 6:30am, then at around 6:30pm we take him to the beach. The 30 - 45 mins includes the time where he's mooching around the beach.

I take on board what you've all said, and will make sure that if we take him to the beach, we always drive, then he hasn't got the 10 min walk back.

Or do you think that his early morning 20 min walk is enough at the moment? It's just that he has so much energy, tears up and down the stairs etc when at home, so I cant see a second short walk being any worse?

Frugalista

Tribulation wrote: »

As I said, he gets a 20 min walk at 6:30am, then at around 6:30pm we take him to the beach. The 30 - 45 mins includes the time where he's mooching around the beach.

I take on board what you've all said, and will make sure that if we take him to the beach, we always drive, then he hasn't got the 10 min walk back.

Or do you think that his early morning 20 min walk is enough at the moment? It's just that he has so much energy, tears up and down the stairs etc when at home, so I cant see a second short walk being any worse?

Now you've explained, it sounds OK - mooching about on the beach is fine, and even the 10 minute walk home should be alright. However, I would quickly put a stop to the "stairs game":eek: he could do some serious damage to his hips whilst he is this young. I always tell new owners not to allow free access to the stairs - one couple ignored the warnings and when their dog was hip x-rayed he had a score of 2/26!! They later confessed he had fallen from halfway up the stairs "but had only limped for about a week"!!

Malamute/Retriever cross, eh! I bet he's cute - have you got any pictures

smileypigface

We have always said "toilet" to our 20 month old ESS who we've had from a puppy - this covers wees and poos - we just started off by saying it when he did it - "toilet Roly, good boy". Now, if we are on a car journey and stop for a wee break he knows what we expect him to do so its been very handy - he got the idea very quickly when he was little.

Just before christmas a 3 year old rescue ESS took us on and we have done the same with her - just said it as she was doing her business!

Tonight, as usual, I let them out in the garden and said "toilet now" - Ruby (the rescue) looked at me and promptly did what she needed to do - might be coincidence but I was very pleased with her indeed (and told her so!) - so maybe you can teach an old dog a new trick!!:D

Tribulation

Frugalista wrote: »

Malamute/Retriever cross, eh! I bet he's cute - have you got any pictures

http://img9.imageshack.us/my.php?image=forweb1.jpg (just realised how dirty the oven is )

http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=forweb2.jpg