Dog training

Started by ShinyUmbreon189 May 2nd, 2016 11:32 AM
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ShinyUmbreon189

VLONE coming soon

Age 31
Male
Chicago
Seen December 17th, 2022
Posted July 7th, 2019
1,461 posts
11.2 Years
How do/did you guys (those that have pets) generally train your dog to mark outside? What did you do when he/she went inside and what did you do when he/she went outside?

I'm asking this question because I'm at the end of my wits with this damn dog. He's not mine, he's my sisters and her boyfriends dog but he REFUSES to go outside. Just today, me and him were running errands and decided to take him along. I was walking him in the grass for 10 minutes and he was literally holding it in the whole time. As soon as he got in the apartment and out of our sight he pissed. We never catch him in the act, he's sneaky but at the same time if you take him out he wont go, he's the most stubborn dog I've ever seen.
What I do for punishment is force him to smell his marks, not exactly shoving his nose in it but make him get the idea it's bad and in a deep tone say, "BAD" then crate him. I don't yell at him or spank him but it's gotten to the point where if he was mine he'd be at a dog shelter already, no dog should be 3 years old and not house trained yet, I think he's hopeless to train. It's mainly my sisters boyfriends moms fault because she allowed him to mark in the house without punishing him. I've trained dogs before but this one is special.. He's either really really dumb or just really really dumb. My Boston Terrier only had an accident TWICE as a puppy!! This dog NEVER LEARNS!!
Age 36
Seen 27 Minutes Ago
Posted 28 Minutes Ago
10,149 posts
17.1 Years
When you said that the dog is "sneaking off" to use the bathroom in some place where you can't see it go, it's afraid of you punishing it any time it uses the bathroom. This is caused by you "rubbing his nose" in the mess. Doing that doesn't actually punish the dog. It just makes the dog afraid of you seeing it go to the bathroom.

How often does the dog get let out? Just for a ten-minute walk a day? That's not enough for him to get even used to the idea that an outside world exists for him to pee on. He should be let out in the morning when someone in the house first wakes up, before bedtime, and then consistently during the day.

When he is let out, keep him out until he's pretty much forced to go. If he's only let out for ten minutes and is in some place new with exciting smells, sights, and sounds, he's too stimulated to even think of going to the bathroom. But if he's out in the backyard, then he'll get used to the smells, sounds, and sights of that area and go to the bathroom there.

When he does go to the bathroom outside, make it the most exciting thing in the world. Praise him, give him a treat, tell him he's a good boy. He'll then start to associate going to the bathroom in front of you as a good thing, which will stop him sneaking off and will also give him permission to pee while you're on the other end of the leash.

The only problem with all this that can't be helped is that this dog isn't your dog. He belongs to your sister and her boyfriend. If they don't take the steps to properly train him, then anything good that you do for this dog means nothing, because they'll ruin this dog. They'll undo all the training that you can give him.

No dog is too dumb or too stubborn to be trained. The majority of the time, it's actually the owners who are too stubborn to accept responsibility for this animal that they now own.

ShinyUmbreon189

VLONE coming soon

Age 31
Male
Chicago
Seen December 17th, 2022
Posted July 7th, 2019
1,461 posts
11.2 Years
When you said that the dog is "sneaking off" to use the bathroom in some place where you can't see it go, it's afraid of you punishing it any time it uses the bathroom. This is caused by you "rubbing his nose" in the mess. Doing that doesn't actually punish the dog. It just makes the dog afraid of you seeing it go to the bathroom.
Idk about that. I don't SHOVE his nose I just make him smell it then crate him for a bit.

How often does the dog get let out? Just for a ten-minute walk a day? That's not enough for him to get even used to the idea that an outside world exists for him to pee on. He should be let out in the morning when someone in the house first wakes up, before bedtime, and then consistently during the day.
He's let out in the morning (he'll go for my sisters bf), whenever someone's off we'll take him out every hour or 2, and before bedtime. If I take him out in the morning and he doesn't go I bring him in and he'll usually mark inside shortly after. After that I punish him by crating him and doing what I said above. After about an hour I'll try taking him out again, if he doesn't go I crate him. 30 minutes later I take him out and crate if he doesn't go. Eventually he'll go after he can't hold it and I'll praise him with a treat afterwards.

When he is let out, keep him out until he's pretty much forced to go. If he's only let out for ten minutes and is in some place new with exciting smells, sights, and sounds, he's too stimulated to even think of going to the bathroom. But if he's out in the backyard, then he'll get used to the smells, sounds, and sights of that area and go to the bathroom there.
I live in an apartment complex, he doesn't have a backyard. When my sisters bf bought him he lived with his mom with a fenced backyard but he still marked inside even though they took him out every hour and let him run around, they just never punished him and actually taught him to potty outside.

When he does go to the bathroom outside, make it the most exciting thing in the world. Praise him, give him a treat, tell him he's a good boy. He'll then start to associate going to the bathroom in front of you as a good thing, which will stop him sneaking off and will also give him permission to pee while you're on the other end of the leash.
You're acting like I don't know how to handle a dog outside. I trained a few dogs before, this one's just hard headed.

The only problem with all this that can't be helped is that this dog isn't your dog. He belongs to your sister and her boyfriend. If they don't take the steps to properly train him, then anything good that you do for this dog means nothing, because they'll ruin this dog. They'll undo all the training that you can give him.
My sister told her bf if he continues to use the bathroom inside she's going to get rid of him so he's willing me to help him train the dog. I've been doing it for a week and I've seen a little progress. He used to pee and poop at least 2-5 times now it's once a day.

No dog is too dumb or too stubborn to be trained. The majority of the time, it's actually the owners who are too stubborn to accept responsibility for this animal that they now own.
It's actually my sisters bf's mom not training him. She even allowed her 8 year old dog to continuously mark in the house even though they were both taken outside consistently during the day so he learned from her and her dog that it's "Okay" since they were never punished. It's hard to reverse that.
Age 36
Seen 27 Minutes Ago
Posted 28 Minutes Ago
10,149 posts
17.1 Years
Even if you're having the dog smell the spot he went in, that's still not punishing him for peeing in the house. You have to catch him actually going to the bathroom in the house and punish him in the act. He won't understand getting punished minutes after peeing in the house that he's getting punished for peeing in the house.

Except for that, everything is fine. You didn't fully explain the full situation in your first post, how you were now handling the training yourself, that you live in an apartment complex, and that you've trained multiple dogs before. Just remember that it'll take a long while for the dog to break the bad habits he learned from your sister's boyfriend's mother.