I own boston terriers. Does anyone know how to house break them.?

Question

would like to hear from boston terrier owners and I'm not prepared to pay for advice.

Answer 1

Ha Ha good luck I have one too! I have never had as smart of a dog but so so stubborn & hard headed as my "Idgie"! It's like if you make her mad she will do right in front of you! I guess I learned that you should only feed & water in the morn. Within the hour she will pee. As well as several times during the day to. Within 2 hrs she had to poop. Then early in the evening cause she would do it all over again. See I left her food & water out all the time, BAD IDEA. I also let her run in the whole house from day one (7wks), VERY VERY BAD IDEA, but I was weak!!!
It took me about 6 months to break her that way, I've shampoo'd my carpets & scrubbed floors till I was so frustated that I would just cry! I came so close to selling her! But I didn't! She is 8 months now and has finally gotten it. I went about it the wrong way I think, I just couldn't bare to keep her in that old kennel when I brought her home, so I suppose it was my fault. I tried to use the doggy door right off the bat, she didn't get it. She would go out and play then come in & pee!!!!
I started out with the praising thing, I really did, like every book, article & every piece of advise I heard. But after 3 months I found myself screaming and swatting at her with the fly swatter, only I couldn't catch her! I heard to stick her nose in it, I wanted to a time or two, but I showed her & scolded her when I found it in the floor. I couldn't stick her nose in it after the fact, I felt like I should have caught her when she did it. That's nasty & doesn't work anyway! Anyway one day I was so mad and I screamed so furiously she hunkered down in the floor with her head down, and I felt so bad, I cried then too!!!!! I haven't done that anymore but that's when she started listening to me. I still feel horrible! She will do that now if I get onto her, but she will bark at the fly swatter. She is turning out to be a JOY JOY JOY, we love her so much. She is so funny and is always doing something out of the ordinary. Just be patient and know it is going to take a long time you will want to give up to, but don't! When they finally get it, it will be BLISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

I have two at the moment. I got harry as a pup last year before christmas. I would basically let him out as soon as we got up in the morning. Then after i fed him i'd wait a few minutes and then take him out again. When he was a very small puppy (with a baby bladder) i would take him out every few hours, especially if i noticed he'd been drinking a lot. I also crate trained him. Make sure the crate is just big enough for them to stand, turn around, and lay down in- no walking room. Also, don't put a blanket down or anything at first (unless it is cold in your house) that way they will feel it if they pee; at first i had blankets for him in there and realized he was peeing anyway cuz he couldn't feel it, ya know? It only took like 2 times being crated without a blanket for him to stop messing the crate. Then i put the blankets back in and took the divider out of the crate. He NEVER has accidents in the crate anymore. He very rarely has them in the apt. either, just take him out as soon as you wake up in the morning and after they eat. Luna is my other boston, she is about the same age as harry (just over a year now) and i rescued her. She isn't as good as Harry but she is pretty good about not having accidents as well. Also it is important to not punish your dog for having an accident unless you actually catch them in the act of doing it. If you come home and there is a wet spot, you can't grab your dog and show him the mess and spank him b/c he doesn't understand why he is in trouble. If you come up and see him squatting you can say no or whatever and then try to get him outside before the deed is done. Also be SURE to PRAISE HIM whenever he goes outside, such as petting, saying good boy, and giving him a treat.

Answer 3

Crate training is definitely the way to go. My 12 year old baby died a few months ago - he was crate trained beautifully. I think I abandoned the crate at about 6 months or so, but that was after 4 months of training. I now have a 10 week old Sheltie who I am also now crate training that I've had for just a couple of weeks. He loves his crate and will now go in there on his own to sleep. A few things to keep in mind though with crate training: - a young pup generally cannot go more than 4 hours without needing to pee. I'm extraordinarly lucky that my pup will go from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. without needing to go. During the day is different so I go home at lunch. - keep the crate in your bedroom at night, so that if the pup whimpers you'll wake up and take him out. Crate training usually fails when the pup is not let out of his crate when he really, really needs to, and then gets in the habit of soiling in his den - Crate training is not cruel. If you watch your pups when they sleep, they will normally try to find some kind of "den-like" location to push up against. A crate is just like that. - If you do use a crate and they have an accident, totally clean it up so that all odour is removed. - The crate should be a positive place - never a punishment. Entice your pups to go in with toys and treats. - Make sure the crate is not too big. The idea is that they will not want to sleep in their own mess. They should have sufficient room to to get up, move around, lie down flat. For 2 boston, I would recommend a medium size. There are many different kinds of crates now: hard-side plastic, wire, and the new soft-sided. I went with the latter and I love it. It's light weight, very portable so I can move it around easily, and cosy, but lots of air ventilation too. - Pick one method of training and stick to it. Don't do a combination of puppy pads, crate, newspaper, etc. It just confuses them - The first answer you got was mostly right: praise and reward for good behaviour, gentle rebuke for wrong behaviour. - Ensure that you take them outside at regular intervals - waking up, after playing, after meals. - Watch for their cues. If they need to pee, you will get whining, restless behaviour, etc. If you always use the same door to take them outside, eventually they will go to that door automatically when they need to go. - 5 months is not so old that you shouldn't get the odd accident, but if this is a daily occurence then you need to take action. One thing to remember....it is never to late to crate train. Dogs of whatever age will adapt very well to it with time and patience. It helps, of course, if you've gotten your dog from a breeder that introduced crates at an early age. Mine did. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I've had Bostons and believe me they're very hyper pets.Depending on their age,try letting them out every two to three hours,let them do their job and bring them directly back in,don't allow them to play after pottying.They will soon learn that is the reason you're putting them out .

Answer 5

CAGE TRAIN THE DOG IT IS THE BEST THINK AND IT IS NOT MEAN AT ALL I DID WITH MY TERRIER AND HE WAS TRAINED IN ABOUT 2 WEEKS .FOR POTTY TRAING JUST BRAISE THE DOG WHEN IT DOES SOMETHING GOOD . ALSO IF IT DOES GO POTTY ON THE FLOOR AND YOU CATCH HIM/ HER STICK HIM/HERS NOSE IN IT AND TELL IT BAD THEN PUT THE DOG IN THE CAGE 1

Answer 6

Buy the Dogs for Dummies book, second edition. It should cover housetraining, and anything else you might need. :)

Answer 7

The exact same way you train any other breed.