Dogs hell.....?

Question

We have a 1yr old lab cross german shephed... we have tried things to get him house trained but have not had much success apart from leavin the back door open all the time... BUT when it rains he will not go outside.... Please help me because we are now on the verge of havin to get him re-homed because its causin arguments between me n my partner.

Answer 1

First off, was he neutered? If not he may be marking. Intact males do that. Then, house training is really not that hard but you have to be dilegent and persistent. When you get up in the mornings, put a leash on the dog and walk him. Walk him till he pee's. Then throw a praise party. Tell him how great, how smart he is. Then walk him till he poops. Throw another praise party and don't forget you serve treats at parties. He should be taken out for another pee before you go off to work. Then crate him till someone comes home. Leash him and go for another walk. When he does his thing, don't forget the praise party. Before bed, same thing. You have to keep an eye on him and if you see him looking for a spot or heading to his favorite spot, get him outside. If you catch him in the act tell him "NO!" and get him outside. If you find a puddle or pile after the fact just clean it up and pay more attention for next time. The places he has gone needs cleaned with an enzyme cleaner (natures miracle) to eleminate the smell. You and your partener need to work together on this. It is so sad, many many dogs lose their home because the owners just don't know how to train them. You may find it helpful to check out a good book or two on dog training from the library. Good luck. For the dogs sake I hope you find a way.
I should have added, NEVER rub your dogs nose in his waste. It is confusing to the dog, they think you want them to ingest it.

Answer 2

Buy him a coat! My little Staffie won't go out in the rain unless she has her waterproof coat on, even if it's just into the garden for a wee. Go outside with the dog, take an umbrella for yourself, and make a big fuss of him when he goes with you. There's no instant fix, so you'll have to persevere. If you're getting angry with the dog he might associate that with going outside and it could be putting him off, he may even think he's doing something wrong. Remember to take the coat off when the dog comes in of course.
I have a German Shepherd cross who loves water, he'll sit out in the rain and jump into any water he can find. Maybe you can spray your dogs coat with a fine mist to get him used to the feel of water on him? Maybe make a game of it? I wish you luck.

I don't agree with putting a dog in a crate or a cage to stop it going to the toilet. If the dog needs to go, it needs to go. It's not fair to make it wait. You wouldn't like it if you were desperate.

I can't believe some idiots suggested rubbing your dogs nose in it! Never do that. It's cruel and it won't work. Some people are so pigging ignorant.

Answer 3

has your dog got plenty to do? Toys to play with look out into the street etc? do you take your dog for regular walks at least morning and night? it took my dog 2 years to house train him at 3 years old because he had been ill treated & the people before me didn't house train him every time i shouted at him he'd cower thinking i was going to hit him it caused arguements with me and my husband he had more toys than the pets shop he was treated really good went walks 2, 3 times a day then the minute we got back he'd have his pee in my house in the end i moved house where he could look out the window and i never had any more problems that was 1 year ago when hes ill he still wont do nothing in the house he'd rather wait so it could be your dog is bored or just dont like the house he's in

Answer 4

crating the dog works for house training... leave the dog inside the crate then take it outside. not just open the door and kick it out put it's lead on and drag it out if you have to.. the dog will not mess in it's crate and buy the end it will be dying for a pee/poo. our dog was house trained in 2 weeks using this method..
unless you catch the dog mid pee/poo don't punish the dog as it wont understand.. at a young age all it wants to do is play, they have a short attention span at a young age.. they forget things very quickly so if you punish your dog for mess it did 1 hour ago it won't understand and will just think that you're punishing for what it's doing at that moment in time....
rubbing your dogs nose in will end up making the dog more crafty and it will hide it's mess..
be patient.. if you catch it mid mess give it a firm no and take it outside

do you and your partner have the same rules for the dog if not it will get confused.. you need to both sit down and draw up a set of dog rules you will both stick with.. if not it will lead to bad habits that you will never be able to get rid of... be firm with the dog but fair..

Answer 5

Never ever smack your dog, definitely NEVER rub his nose in it! that is just very cruel, is he just weeing in the house? if so I agree with others who have said if he isn't castrated then it needs to be done now! as he is asserting dominance by marking territory, if he won't go out in the rain then you will have to put your coat and wellies on and take him out on a lead, does he get plenty of exercise? he needs to have at least 1 and half hours each day split into at least 2 walks 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon/ early evening, try crate training him if he wees during the night, get a crate just big enough for him to turn around in, nice warm blankets, no drinking water in the crate! take him outside last thing before you go to bed as late as possible, 11pm ish, and when he wees give him plenty of praise then settle him down in his crate, needless to say he probably won't like it much at first but will soon get used to it. Don't forget to toilet him after each meal and when he wakes up and after he has a drink, if you find a mess in the house don't tell him off unless you catch him in the act as he won't have a clue why you are telling him off and it could make him very timid as he will associate you coming into the room with getting shouted at and he will wee himself in fear! just calmly clear it up and then take him outside, try to get him used to a command like 'be quick' or 'go for wee wees', the former is what I use for my dogs and it works well, and plenty of calm praise after he 'performs'
Lots of luck.

Answer 6

If your only problem is when it rains, then take the dog outside. Don't just try to push him out the door. Grab an umbrella and the dog's leash, and take the dog outside.

Answer 7

Go outside with your dog. Take him outside after every meal, after a play session, after he wakes up from a nap, when he gets up in the morning, before bed and every 2 hours.

Keep him in a crate when you cannot watch him. If he starts to go in the house, interrupt him with a loud uh huh and TAKE him outside. When he potties outside, reward him with a really tasty treat.

Leaving the back door open isn't training him. He may wander outside to do his business, but you aren't telling him where you want him to go. Going outside with him and giving him a nice reward when he goes outside lets him know that you want him to potty outside.

Answer 8

i guess you and your partner didnt think ahead. Dogs take time and patience. it will get trained but only if you put a lot of effort into it. and rehoming is just admitting failure. get off your butts and train him properly. you have enough advice here to do it. then you can start enjoying him. a dog isnt a plaything.

good luck.

Answer 9

do you go outside with the dog and reward him when he performs?

I find that the best thing is to go out with mine... wait for them to go and then give them a treat... I choose a command which I say to them whilst they are going and tell them how clever they are whilst giving them the treat...

But you MUST go outside with them whilst it is raining to prove to them that the rain is not a problem..

My puppy still occasionally refuses but she'll learn that resistance is futile..

When we first housetrained ours we left the back door open all the time but this is not a good idea in winter and it also stops them learning to 'ask' to go out... therefore when the door is closed I often used to find them sneaking off somewhere to attempt to do their business. when this happened I picked them up and immediately took them outside... then praised them if they go.

I will still occasionally go outside with them now just to keep reinforcing the behaviour.. and they usually get a treat when they go.

good luck, I know how frustrating it can be :)

Answer 10

I have never read such a load of bad advice on dog training in my life.

You buy some dog biscuits an encourage your dog to come to you on the grass, when she pees, you praise her and give her a biscuit, make a fuss, she will soon get the idea.

Shouting, smacking or rubbing her face in poo will only make a good dog bad