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07-02-2008, 03:36 PM

ok good advice but he will go where ever even in the cage i dont get it? now when i took him outside for 30 min he didnt go but when he got inside he went how to i break of the crate problem. thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megs

Welcome to the forum, rediesil08. This is a great place to get more information on your new puppy.

Just to set things straight though, there is only one sized breed of Doberman. There are no small breed and large breed Dobes, although there can be some variation in their heights and weights, depending on the lines. "Miniature Pinschers," German Pinschers, and even Manchester Terriers may look a bit like a small Doberman, but these are all unique breeds.

I'm not sure what you mean about his front left paw sitting a little bit bowed. If it looks different from his right one, then it's probably a minor deformity, or maybe an injury. Which doesn't really surprise me, if you bought him from a pet store. Pet store puppies, in most cases come from puppy mills, be it directly or indirectly through a broker. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a pet store is pretty much the worst possible place to buy a puppy. You have your puppy already though, so you can't do anything about this now, except give him all the love he needs and raise him into a fine Doberboy! But you'll know for next time (and there will probably be a next time...) to search out a reputable breeder and never again support puppy sales in pet shops. You should take your pup to a vet for a check up ASAP to make sure he's in good health.

As for housebreaking, a crate is an ABSOLUTE MUST. If you don't have one, go out and buy one. Today! It needs to be big enough for your puppy to stand up, turn around, and lay down comfortably. I just bought the 31" high crate right off the bat, along with a divider to make it smaller until he needed more space. Or you can buy a small crate and upgrade later, it's your choice.

Train your puppy to accept the crate as his very own safe place. He should sleep in there at night, and also anytime you can't supervise him, you should put him in his crate. Leave the door open so he wanders in on his own. Praise him lots when he does, and give him treats. You can even feed him his meals in there, so he associates the crate with good things. Whenever he wakes up, take him out of his crate and outside to his "potty area" immediately. He should go right away. Praise, Praise Praise when he does, and reward him with some supervised playtime inside the house, outside of the crate. If he doesn't go after a few minutes, put him back in his crate, wait 15 minutes and try again. When he does go, praise and reward with some inside supervised playtime. He's probably quite young... 12 weeks or less? So he'll need to go out always right after he wakes up, after meals (1-2hrs following a meal, he'll probably need to poop), and he'll probably want to pee every 60-90 minutes. He can probably hold it for up to 2 hours if he's quite young, maybe 3-4 if he's 12 weeks or older, and successful crate training will teach him to hold it and not eliminate in his crate. Just be sure to give him LOTS of opportunities throughout the day to go outside, and praise him when he does. A puppy 8 weeks old and older should be able to sleep through the night without needing a trip outside. Take up water about 2 hrs before bedtime to help with this. But sometimes he may still need a relief trip outside in the middle of the night.

If he has an accident in the house, shuffle him outside quickly if you catch him in the act and tell him "GO OUTSIDE" or whatever you want your "Time to pee" phrase to be.... if you find an accident in the house, he's certainly already forgotten about it, so don't come crashing down on him too hard. Always keep things positive.

Check out the "Educational Archives" for more information on crate training as well as a whole lot of great information on raising a healthy, happy Doberman. Good luck with your puppy