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Potty training biting and crying

1K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  Patches Mom 
#1 ·
I have a blue Dobe that is 12 weeks brought him home at 8 weeks and I've had dobes all my life but this is the first male and he's driving me crazy. When we take home out to potty no problem we bring him back in and within 10mins he'll go again. We take him out he will go. He has already seen the vet and no infection. It hasn't gotten any since then. Also chews on everything. And if any one leaves the room he crys. I've never had this kind of problems. All my other dobes never had this trouble all females. Please help
 
#2 ·
If he's going every ten minutes then take him out every ten minutes so he's being successful. Seems like males do tend to go a bit more as pups due to growing so quickly it can be hard for the bladder to keep up. IMO there are 3 key parts to house training a dog.

1)Trust, does the dog trust you to take them out when they need to go? It seems not if they are going in the house. Just as you have to trust the puppy to not go in the house they have to trust that you will let them out in order for them to want to hold it.

2)They need to know they should go outside. You seem good here but make sure you are praising him and giving him high value treats for going outside.

3)They need to know it's NOT ok to go inside. I think you are lacking here. You should be catching him EVERY time, saying "no" or "ack" and taking him out midstream to finish and then praise him (no treats).



He's a teething puppy and needs frozen stuffed kongs, bully sticks, frozen wash clothes... He's teething and needs to cut those teeth on something so let him know what's ok to chew and what's not. My male seemed to teethe much worse than my female.

If he's crying every time someone leaves the room it sounds like he needs to be crate trained. We played a lot of crate games and I NEVER went to him if he was crying. The only way to get out of the crate was through being quiet and behaved, anything else and they stay. If you go to the puppy every time or even every once in a while when they are crying you are reinforcing them that crying or acting out gets them the attention they're wanting. Dobes do tend to be whinier than a lot of other dogs though.

Best of luck with your boy! Have any pix? Not sure if you've owned a blue before, if not make sure you read up on their skin issues.
 
#3 ·
Just took this photo now, just so you know my wife and I take him out when he gets up after he eats after he plays and in between he goes out at least once an hour. All the females I've had were so easy. He doesn't use a crate unless we are both not home my wife works day time and I work nites. Ear posting is completed I hope. Been unwrapped 2 days so far. Hope their is another way to house break. And if we do crate him he will potty in the crate even if it's less then an hour.
 

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#4 ·
If he's pottying in his crate then his crate is probably too big for him. Only enough room to stand, circle and lay down. If his crate is bigger than that but a box or something in it to make it smaller.

Every dog is different. The mentality of comparing them all and trying to train them all the same way and expecting the same dog every time is setting your dog up for failure. If you start putting "limits" on how often you think it's acceptable to take him out then you are setting both of you up for failure and house training will take 4x as long. The fewer accidents he has the more likely he is not to have another. The more accidents he has the longer it will take you to house train. twice an hour is not enough at his age, he's showing you that, start taking him out more and when he's successful at that time increment for a while then add 5 more minutes on, when he's successful add on, when he's not subtract. Remember it's also a trust thing, if he doesn't trust you because you have a mindset that he should go "this" often, then house training him will take a very long time.
 
#5 ·
House breaking 101 :
If you take them out on about a 6 ft leash it helps keep them focused tell them go potty ,hurry up or what ever words you want to use just use the same words each time. Stand in one spot let them go all around you till they find the spot then Praise like it is the greatest thing you ever saw. If they do not go in about 20 minutes go back in and crate them or tie them to you them go back out in about 30 minutes.pups need to go out after naps,playing, eating & drinking 1st thing in the morning last thing at night depending on the age of the pup you may need to take them out at night too. Always use a pet urine enzyme to clean up all traces of urine or feces you can use a black light to find all traces. It takes about 3-6 months of contestant training to house break a pup the more accidents they have the longer it takes. Hang a bell on the door you go out you ring it until the pup gets the idea how to ring it yes sometimes they ring it to go look at a squirrel but its a phase they go though you just have to go though it with them. Do not forget to praise each time they go to reinforce the potty training. If you are consistent you will also have a pup/dog that will go potty on command comes in handy when it rains,snow, is icy, on a trip at night . People will think you are a amazing trainer too. Good Luck with your new baby.
Are you going out each time with him and making sure he goes and praising every time he goes I believe it is important to ask them if they need to go potty or what ever words you want to use same words each time though. When he is playing you might ask him if he needs to go like a little reminder. I still to this day ask mine if they want to go if they have been in the house awhile.If you hang bells on the door if you ring them each time when taking him out he will learn to ring the bells on his own. This system really works just have to be consistent with it.Hang in there.
Bitting :
Puppies bite, and thank goodness they do. Puppy biting is a normal and natural puppy behavior. In fact, it is the pup that does not mouth and bite much as a youngster that augers ill for the future. Puppy play-biting is the means by which dogs learn to develop bite inhibition, which is absolutely essential later in life.

The combination of weak jaws with extremely sharp, needle-like teeth and the puppy penchant for biting results in numerous play-bites which, although painful, seldom cause serious harm. Thus, the developing pup receives ample necessary feedback regarding the force of its bites before it develops strong jaws – which could inflict considerable injury. The greater the pup's opportunity to play-bite with people, other dogs and other animals, the better the dog's bite inhibition as an adult. For puppies that do not grow up with the benefit of regular and frequent interaction with other dogs and other animals, the responsibility of teaching bite inhibition lies with the owner.

Certainly, puppy biting behavior most eventually be eliminated: we cannot have an adult dog playfully mauling family, friends and strangers in the manner of a young puppy. However, it is essential that puppy biting behaviour is gradually and progressively eliminated via a systematic four-step process. With some dogs, it is easy to teach the four phases in sequence. With others, the puppy biting may be so severe that the owners will need to embark on all four stages at once. However, it is essential that the pup first learn to inhibit the force of its bites before the biting behaviour is eliminated altogether.

Inhibiting the force of bites
No painful bites.
The first item on the agenda is to stop the puppy bruising people. It is not necessary to reprimand the pup and, certainly, physical punishments are contra-indicated, since they tend to make some pups more excited, and insidiously erode the puppy's temperament and trust in the owner. But it is essential to let the pup know when it hurts. A simple "ouch!" is usually sufficient. The volume of the "ouch" should vary according to the dog's mental make-up; a fairly soft "ouch" will suffice for sensitive critters, but a loud "OUCH!!!" may be necessary for a wild and woolly creature. During initial training, even shouting may make the pup more excited, as does physical confinement. An extremely effective technique with boisterous pups is to call the puppy a "jerk!" and leave the room and shut the door. Allow the pup time to reflect on the loss of its favourite human chew toy immediately following the hard nip, and then return to make up. It is important to indicate that you still love the pup – it is the painful bites which are objectionable. Instruct the pup to come and sit, and then resume playing. Ideally, the pup should have been taught not to hurt people well before it is three months old.

It is much better for the owner to leave the pup than to try to physically restrain and remove it to a confinement area at a time when it is already out of control. If one pup bites another too hard, the bitee yelps and playing is postponed while the injured party licks its wounds. The biter learns that hard bites curtail an otherwise enjoyable play session. Hence, the bite learns to bite more softly when the play session resumes.

No jaw pressure at all
The second stage of training is to eliminate bite pressure entirely, even thought the bites no longer hurt. When the puppy is munching away, wait for a nibble that is harder than the rest and respond as if it really hurt: "Ouch, you worm! Gently! That hurt me you bully!" The dog begins to think "Good Lord! These humans are so mamby pamby I'll have to be really careful when mouthing their delicate skins." And that's precisely what we want the dog to think – so he'll be extremely careful when playing with people. Ideally, the puppy should no longer be exerting any pressure when mouthing by the time it is four to five months old.

Inhibiting the incidence of mouthing
Always stop mouthing when requested.
Once the puppy has been taught to gently mouth rather than bite, it is time to reduce the frequency of mouthing behaviour and teach the pup that mouthing is okay until requested to stop. Why? Because it is inconvenient to try to drink a cup of tea, or to answer the telephone, with 50 pounds of pup dangling from your wrist, that's why.

It is better to first teach the "OFF!" command using a food lure (as demonstrated in the Sirius video*). The deal is this: "If you don't touch this food treat for just two seconds after I softly say "Off", I will say "Take it" and you can have the treat." Once the pup has mastered this simple task, up the ante to three seconds of non-contact, and then five, eight, 12, 20 and so on. Count out the seconds and praise the dog with each second: "Good dog one, good dog two, good dog three…" and so forth. If the pup touches the treat before being told to take it, shout "Off!" and start the count from zero again. The pup quickly learns that it can not have the treat until it has not touched it for, say, eight seconds – the quickest way to get the treat is not to touch it for the first eight seconds. In addition, the regular handfeeding during this exercise helps preserve the pup's soft mouth. Once the pup understnads the "Off!" request, it may be used effectively when the puppy is mouthing. Say "Off!" and praise the pup and give it a treat when it lets go. Remember, the essence of this exercise is to practise stopping the dog from mouthing – each time the pup obediently ceases and desists, resume playing once more. Stop and start the session many times over. Also, since the puppy wants to mouth, the best reward for stopping mouthing is to allow it to mouth again. When you decide to stop the mouthing session altogether, heel the pup to the kitchen and give it an especially tasty treat.

If ever the pup refuses to release your hand when requested, shout "Off!", rapidly extricate your hand and storm out of the room mumbling, "Right. That's done it, you jerk! You've ruined it! Finish! Over! No more!" and shut the door in the dog's face. Give the pup a couple of minutes on its own and then go back to call the pup to come and sit and make up. But no more mouthing for at least a couple of hours. In addition to using "Off!" during bite inhibition training, the request has many other useful applications: not to touch the cat, the Sunday roast on the table, the table, the baby's soiled diapers, the baby, an aggressive dog, a fecal deposit of unknown denomination… Not only does this exercise teach the "Off!" request, but also to "Take it" on request.

Never start mouthing unless requested.
By the time the pup is five months old, it must have a mouth as soft as a 14-year-old working Lab; it should never exert any pressure when mouthing, and the dog should immediately stop mouthing when requested to do so by any family member. Unsolicited mouthing is utterly inappropriate from an older adolescent or an adult dog. It would be absolutely unacceptable for a six-month-old dog to approach a child and commence mouthing her arm, no matter how gentle the mouthing or how friendly and playful the dog's intentions. This is the sort of situation which gives parents the heebie-jeebies and frightens the living daylights out of the mouthee. At five months of age, at the very latest, the dog should be taught never to touch any person's body – not even clothing – with its jaws unless specifically requested.

Whether or not the dog will ever be requested to mouth people depends on the individual owner. Owners that have the mental largesse of a toothpick quickly let play-mouthing get out of control, which is why many dog training texts strongly recommend not indulging in games such as play-fighting. However, it is essential to continue bite inhibition exercises, otherwise the dog's bite will begin to drift and become harder as the dog grows older. For such people, I recommend that they regularly hand-feed the dog and clean its teeth – exercises that involve the human hand in the dog's mouth. On the other hand, for owners who have a full complement of common sense, there is no better way to maintain the dog's soft mouth than by play-fighting with the dog on a regular basis. However, to prevent the dog from getting out of control and to fully realize the many benefits of play-fighting, the owner must play by the rules and teach the dog to play by the rules. (Play-fighting rules are described in detail in our Preventing Aggression behaviour bookelt.*)

Play-fighting teaches the dog to mouth hands only (hands are extremely sensitive to pressure) and never clothing. Since shoelaces, trousers and hair have no neurons and cannot feel, the owner cannot provide the necessary feedback that the dog is once more beginning to mouth too hard. The game also teaches the dog that it must adhere to rules regarding its jaws, regardless of how worked up it may be. Basically, play-fighting teaches the owner to practice controlling the dog when it is excited. It is important to refine such control in a structured setting, before a real-life situation occurs.

In addition, play-fighting quickly becomes play-training. Starting the games with a training period, i.e., with the dog under control in a down-stay, produces utterly solid stays at a time when the dog is excited in vibrant anticipation of the game. Similarly, frequent stopping the game for short periods and integrating multiple training interludes (especially heel work and recalls) into the game motivates the dog to provide eager and speedy responses. Each time the owner stops the game, he or she may use the resumption of play as a reward for bona fide obedience. Everything's fun!

Potential problems
Inhibiting incidence before force
A common mistake is to punish the pup in an attempt to get it to stop biting altogether. At the best, the puppy no longer mouths those family members who can effectively punish the dog but, instead, the pup directs its mouthing sprees toward those family members who cannot control it, e.g., a child. To worsen matters, parents are often completely unaware of the child's plight because the pup does not mouth adults. At worst, the puppy no longer mouths people at all. Hence, its education about the force of its bite stops right there. All is fine until someone accidentally shuts the car door on the dog's tail, whereupon the dog bites and punctures the skin, because the dog had insufficient bite inhibition.

Puppies that don't bite
Shy dogs seldom socialize or play with other dogs or strangers. Hence, they do not play-bite and hence, they learn nothing about the power of their jaws. The classic case history is of a dog that never mouthed or bit as a pup and never bit anyone as an adult – that is, until an unfamiliar child tripped and fell on the dog. The first bite of the dog's career left deep puncture wounds, because the dog had developed no bite inhibition. With shy puppies, socialization is of paramount importance, and time is of the essence. The puppy must quickly be socialized sufficiently, so that it commences playing (and hence, biting) before it is four-and-a-half months old.

If a puppy does not frequently mouth and bite and/or does not occasionally bite hard, it is an emergency. The puppy must learn its limits. And it can only learn its limits by exceeding them during development and receiving the appropriate feedbacks.
Ears:
Might need to post though teething sometimes ears get floppy at that time better to post a little too long than not long enough.
We some times forget how puppies are when they are young. Good Luck
 
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