Dog Question

[smitdavi]

Thanks guys...It's puppy bedtime.

[Cenookie]

Chew toys are your best bet. Dogs chew because they get bored, so give them a chew toy.

[yourchoice]

Originally Posted by smitdavi

Any tips on potty training the pup?

First, dude, if you potty train your pup, you're my hero! I've only been able to house break them

Seriously though, some really sound advise throughout this thread. A couple of other things that have worked well for me:

• If your pup turns out to be a serious chewer, take an old washcloth, soak it in water, tie it in a knot and freeze it. Chewing on the ice cold rag may soothes his teeth/gums.
• When the dog does his duty outside like he's supposed to, praise the living heck out of him. I mean to the extent that if your neighbors hear you they may think you're nuts.
• If you can catch him in the act of having an accident in the house (stern NO)and you rush him outside and he actually finishes his business there, praise him 5X more than the prior example...I'm talking your neighbors call the asylum . Just a couple instances like this and he'll pick up on it really quick.

Good luck bro. Cute dog.

If he goes and you witness it, don't call him over to you and then tell him "NO". This will just confuse him. As you catch him in the act, walk over to him, tell him "NO", wipe it up with a towel or what ever you want to use. Bring your puppy, and soiled towel outside leashed. Set the towel down and he will smell the towel (they always do, I don't know why), then say "go potty" or "Do your Business" or what ever you choose to call the act. Crate training is great. Just make sure the crate is small enough. He should only have enough room to stand up and turn around. This will deter him from "going" where he sleeps. He will have to do his business about every two hours or so depending on consumption. So, clear your schedule.

Make sure you take his food and water away a few hours before bed time and make sure you take him out before you bed down for the night.

A trick I do and no one will believe me, but here goes. I have a belt that has bells on it and a loop at the end which hangs from the back door (where I take him out to "GO"). When he was a puppy, everytime I took him out to do his business I would shake the bells and say, "let's go do your business". We would then go out (leashed). I would take him to the same spot everytime and I would repeat "Do your business". Once he did, I would take him directly inside, no playing etc. That way he would relate the bell with doing his business. This has worked GREAT!! My Boxer is three years old and to this day, when he has to "go", he rings the bells with his nose. Give it a shot my friend and good luck. Sorry so long.

[Pulse]

Originally Posted by Waynegro1

...A trick I do and no one will believe me, but here goes. I have a belt that has bells on it and a loop at the end which hangs from the back door (where I take him out to "GO"). When he was a puppy, everytime I took him out to do his business I would shake the bells and say, "let's go do your business". We would then go out (leashed). I would take him to the same spot everytime and I would repeat "Do your business". Once he did, I would take him directly inside, no playing etc. That way he would relate the bell with doing his business. This has worked GREAT!! My Boxer is three years old and to this day, when he has to "go", he rings the bells with his nose. Give it a shot my friend and good luck. Sorry so long.

Yep, this is the bell trick I was mentioning before. Works great for every dog I've ever had/trained so far...

Great advice here Wayne!

[smitdavi]

Well that was an interesting night. At first we just decided to throw him in and see what happens. I believe he reaction was "oh hell no!!!" he was barking and whining like crazy. So I took him out, calmed him down and then placed a treat inside the crate. He went in and I praised him. When he would walk out I would just pick him up and walk him back in the crate. Finally he would ly down and would leave the door open so he would see I'm not trying to punish him. When he would fall asleep I would shut the door. Worked really well all night. First time it went about 30-40 minutes...he would wake up and cry. So we got him out and took him out to potty. Brought him right back in the cage and went through the routine. By the end of the night he was sleeping for about 2-2 1/2 hours straight. He's doing good with the potty stuff too. He's beginning to run to the back door when he has to go. We're a little tired, but we both expected to not get any sleep for a while. Let me know what you guys think about this method

[DonnieW]

I'm on my 3rd Lab (see my pics in the other thread). Almost all the info in this thread is GOLDEN. Our Labs are well trained and with each one we've used different methods of training, so there is proof that there are many different ways to go about teaching your pup. A couple things will remain constant with Labs (specifically Retrievers).

First, they instinctively chew and eat everything in sight. You can do your best with sprays and potions, yelling and/or scolding - fact is, only time and patience will see your dog cease its destructive ways. As others have said, keep him happy with LOTS of toys. You'll soon realize Labs can digest every thing known to man.

Second, Labs are crazy sensitive about food. They are amongst the easiest and best dogs in the world to train (duh, only a few dogs are trusted enough to lead the blind!). Food is their big motivator. But food is also their biggest enemy. I can't count how many times I've seen FAT Labs. Use food as a motivator to teach and you will be rewarded, but be disciplined with it.

With respect to crate training, I agree 100% with the others. It will pay back in spades if you put up with the relentless crying. The whining every night won't last long. Stick with it!!! I promise it will pay off and you'll be so happy pup is comfortable in there.

You've got a gorgeous pup there. He will soon be your best smoking buddy.

[Footbag]

Originally Posted by smitdavi

Well that was an interesting night. At first we just decided to throw him in and see what happens. I believe he reaction was "oh hell no!!!" he was barking and whining like crazy. So I took him out, calmed him down and then placed a treat inside the crate. He went in and I praised him. When he would walk out I would just pick him up and walk him back in the crate. Finally he would ly down and would leave the door open so he would see I'm not trying to punish him. When he would fall asleep I would shut the door. Worked really well all night. First time it went about 30-40 minutes...he would wake up and cry. So we got him out and took him out to potty. Brought him right back in the cage and went through the routine. By the end of the night he was sleeping for about 2-2 1/2 hours straight. He's doing good with the potty stuff too. He's beginning to run to the back door when he has to go. We're a little tired, but we both expected to not get any sleep for a while. Let me know what you guys think about this method

Sounds pretty good to me. Remember to not treat the crate as punishment. He should like the crate and feel comfortable sleeping in it. If he cries, take him out to go, but not to play. You don't want him to think you are taking him out to play because he is crying.
You'll only lose sleep for a few days, and then he'll be fine in there.

The bell trick that was mentioned above is a great idea. Just start ringing the bell when you go out every time.

Remember, were training you to be consistent in your behavior. If you are consistent, he learns.

[smitdavi]

Originally Posted by Footbag

Sounds pretty good to me. Remember to not treat the crate as punishment. He should like the crate and feel comfortable sleeping in it. If he cries, take him out to go, but not to play. You don't want him to think you are taking him out to play because he is crying.
You'll only lose sleep for a few days, and then he'll be fine in there.

The bell trick that was mentioned above is a great idea. Just start ringing the bell when you go out every time.

Remember, were training you to be consistent in your behavior. If you are consistent, he learns.

Yeah that's why I left the door open to the crate to make him feel a little better. He drags his chew toys in there so I'd say it's pretty safe to say he doesn't hate it in there lol.

[smitdavi]

Originally Posted by Pulse

Yep, this is the bell trick I was mentioning before. Works great for every dog I've ever had/trained so far...

Great advice here Wayne!

Personally I want to train him to use the toilet

[DKPRLP]

Originally Posted by smitdavi

Personally I want to train him to use the toilet

Casar Millan ( the dog whisperer )could prob do that.

[smitdavi]

Well last night we just decided to ride it out and throw him in the crate....boy that was hard. But once we got about 5-10 minutes in he quit and we had a good nights sleep. Got up once at 1, 2:30, and then he slept till 7:00, but it was hard to let him cry and whine like that.

[taltos]

Soundl like he and you guys are doing well. As has been hinted at, treat the crate as his sanctuary. Keep it as a place that he can retreat to when he wants to get away. That being said, make sure that when you discipline him, it is done away from the crate. Good luck with that handsome puppy.

[tsolomon]

A lot of great advice in this thread, so I don't have much to add except having a puppy is like having a new baby, until you get them on a schedule, everyone will be a little tired. Labs are about the easiest dogs to train so positive reinforcement with treats and praise will do the trick. Never call a dog to you to do something bad, but go to the dog instead. I believe in discouraging bad behavior with words like off and no and then redirecting to something you can praise.

[smitdavi]

Originally Posted by tsolomon

A lot of great advice in this thread, so I don't have much to add except having a puppy is like having a new baby, until you get them on a schedule, everyone will be a little tired. Labs are about the easiest dogs to train so positive reinforcement with treats and praise will do the trick. Never call a dog to you to do something bad, but go to the dog instead. I believe in discouraging bad behavior with words like off and no and then redirecting to something you can praise.

We've been doing a combo of both...NO to the bad stuff and redirect his attention to something else then praising him for that.

[smitdavi]

any suggestions on helping me walk him...he'll walk when both of us go, but he won't go anywhere when it's just Katie or just me

[tsolomon]

Sounds like he doesn't want to leave his pack. Can you take him for a walk if only one of you is at home? My first suggestion would be to drive him to a field or park and just let him sniff around and build on that. If you have a friend with a dog, have them come over and see if he will follow the other dog. He has to learn to associate walks and car rides with good things happening to him. It will take time and you need to be patient with him. Have Katie meet you halfway through the walk if you get him out.

[smitdavi]

Just an update:

He's only had ONE accident in the house this past week. He goes to the back door when he has to go, barks when he has to #2

We've taught him to sit

He sleeps through the night....almost

He actually likes his crate

With the walks he still struggles, but he eventually gets the hang of if it and comes along. We have to coax him with treats lol

Now if we can get him to stop the nipping, life would be great

[replicant_argent]

Originally Posted by smitdavi

Just an update:

He's only had ONE accident in the house this past week. He goes to the back door when he has to go, barks when he has to #2

We've taught him to sit

He sleeps through the night....almost

He actually likes his crate

With the walks he still struggles, but he eventually gets the hang of if it and comes along. We have to coax him with treats lol

Now if we can get him to stop the nipping, life would be great

It sounds like you have a pro teaching that dog... you aren't getting professional help, are you?

WOOF!

I'm glad to hear it is going well, and I bet you are proud of the pup too. You chould probably post another pic or two, damn... Lab puppies are cute.

[smitdavi]

Originally Posted by replicant_argent

It sounds like you have a pro teaching that dog... you aren't getting professional help, are you?

WOOF!

I'm glad to hear it is going well, and I bet you are proud of the pup too. You chould probably post another pic or two, damn... Lab puppies are cute.

No pros...couldn't justify spending the money on something that we can do ourselves, ya know. He goes in for his second round of shots on Monday, then he will be 10 weeks old. I'll get some new pics up later this afternoon

The funny thing is, is that right after I posted the last post he pee'd inside lol