New Puppy question

Crate...

Until the puppy learns that it's not ok to crap in the house, you have to crate her.
Put her in the crate if you cannot devote 100% of your time watching her, like when you are playing with her.
Then when you take her out of the crate, take her right outside to potty. This will teach her that going potty outside is the way.
But with training a dog, you have to be very, very consistent, that means you cannot let her out of your site where she can crap in the house until you can break this behavior... and remember one thing, if you don't catch a dog going to bathroom in the house, it's too late to yell at them or punish them for it. Dogs will not know why you are yelling at them/rubbing their nose in it if they are yelled at after the fact. They are not like humans and cannot associate why they are getting yelled at and craping in the house.
 
Crate...

Until the puppy learns that it's not ok to crap in the house, you have to crate her.
Put her in the crate if you cannot devote 100% of your time watching her, like when you are playing with her.
Then when you take her out of the crate, take her right outside to potty. This will teach her that going potty outside is the way.
But with training a dog, you have to be very, very consistent, that means you cannot let her out of your site where she can crap in the house until you can break this behavior... and remember one thing, if you don't catch a dog going to bathroom in the house, it's too late to yell at them or punish them for it. Dogs will not know why you are yelling at them/rubbing their nose in it if they are yelled at after the fact. They are not like humans and cannot associate why they are getting yelled at and craping in the house.

Excellent advice. :clap

I would also say that if you do not have the money for a crate, that it's probably not a wise idea to have a dog. For instance, if the dog gets ill, you won't have the money to take it it to the vet.

Dogs should be considered family members, not the last on the list of priorities. They are a huge responsibility, somewhat like having a child. If you're not willing, prepared, or in the financial state to have one I would suggest placing it in a home where the person is.

This is the reason I currently do not have one. I don't want a dog to suffer, or to not get the proper training they need. I love them, and getting one is high on my list of priorities, but I will make sure I'm able to take proper care of them before I take that step.
 
Im not saying I dont have the money for the dog.. I just dont have the money THIS week for the crate. Its called (single mom, and loads of bills). Ive already took the puppy to the vet and got him all his shots and de-wormed.

My point is, what if the puppy got a hold of a piece of chicken and got a chicken bone stuck in his throat? It could cost over a grand to get him taken care of.

At this point, you being a single mom and all, you wouldn't have the money to fix him, so it's likely he'd have to be put down.

Most people don't consider things like that before they get a dog, and it's only the dog that suffers, IMHO.
 
Well, Ive had a dog (my choc lab) for several years and never gave him a chicken bone. There is something called a payment plan at the vets office where I take mine. :) So Im not too concerned with that.

If I couldnt of taken care of the puppy, I wouldnt of gotten him.

That's good to hear. I love puppies... and see a lot of people who don't know what a huge responsibility they are. It's good that you do :D
 
crating is a MUST for dogs like german shepherds. They go in the crate ALL the time unless you have time to watch them. I also recommend getting into training, GSDs are NOT easy dogs to train...they have special training groups that work almost exclusively with GSDs...normally they will have you crate, then when the dogs out you have him on a choke chain...anytime he disobeys you tug it...but you really shouldn't do that until you've been properly trained because if you do it wrong you can hurt the dog. We did this with Kodi and it worked GREAT. Though his training cost $1000...but it was so worth it, now he is the best dog in the world.
 
Also..about crating...dogs wont usually shit where they sleep...but if the crate is large enough, they WILL, and they will sleep on the other side. Since your dog is going to be growing ALOT, I would get a fairly large crate, but one that has a removable divider. That way you can make the dogs area small enough right now only for him to sleep. its not supposed to be big enough to be a play room.
 
Um, Yes they will crap where they sleep .. a puppy is like a child .. until they are house broken (meaning they have learned to control their bladder and bowel movements) they will shit/piss whenever it starts to happen.

They simply cannot help it, just like a baby (up to 2 yrs old) can't help shitting in their diaper.

I have had several GSD's and I haven't had to spend a dime on any of them, and they were all perfectly well behaved dogs .. same with my dobies. One does NOT have to spend vast amounts of money to have a well behaved dog. They are also not hard to train either .. why do you think they use them for service dogs and police dogs? Because they are actually quite EASY to train, and usually eager to learn/please.

To train a puppy to not go in the house (I've house trained 7 litters .. each having 7 - 13 puppies in each litter .. while I was breeding Dobermans a few years ago) you basically just need to get them on a feeding/water scedule. Just like you do with children when you start to potty train them.

Lots of people think dogs (especially puppies for some reason) need 24/7 access to water/food .. when in fact .. they do not (unless they live outdoors, and then of course they need 24/7 access to water due to heat issues). Again, they are just like children and their food/water intake should be accounted for .. you don't let your kids just run around rumaging and eating whenever .. it should be the same with your animals. (letting your animal have 24/7 access to water indoors is actually quite unfair to them .. as they can't just go use the toilet like you can .. they have to wait for YOU to give them access .. so IMO it's rather cruel to do that to them).

If your pup is going to live indoors primarily, here is what I did to house break all of mine. At 10 weeks old he shouldn't take long at all; I usually house trained mine before 10 weeks .. and had them completely done within at least 2 weeks time (never took longer than that, was usually sooner).

1. Feed your puppy and water him, then wait about 10-15 minutes (this will depend on your dog, and it will usually be very evident how long you should wait).

2. Put your puppy on his lead (if he is leash broken, if not .. it makes things a little harder, but it's still very doable .. and if he is not leash broken I also suggest doing this ASAP) and then take him outside.
Note: Always take the puppy out the same door and take him to the same spot to do his business, this will come in handy later in his/your life (you won't be walking all over the yard scooping poop), and it makes being able to tell when he "has to go out" much easier as well.

3. Either walk or play with your puppy (keep him moving) until he potty's .. then keep going. Most puppies will deficate/urinate at least twice after eating and/or drinking .. the movement of walking/playing will help the food "move along" quicker.

4. Your first time out, I would stay out a little longer just to see if he goes again (it's not uncommon for male puppies to go pee 3 times, but most only go twice .. some do like to "hold onto" their pee for some reason (usually males do this, more often than females .. it's a preqil to their 'marking" behaivor).

5. Repeat this every time you feed and/or water your pup .. and don't leave food/water out unless you are prepared to take him out 10-15 min later.

Living in an air conditioned house .. your dog doesn't need food/water any more often than you do. Why people think they do is beyond me. You can offer water several more times a day than you offer food though .. but you'll need to take the puppy out 10 - 15 minutes later after doing so .. or he will most probably have an accident.

If you take the puppy out the same door every time .. after about a week you will notice him starting to go to that door when he "needs" to go out. Dogs learn by repitition, which is why I highly suggest going out the same door every time .. it will be less confusing for both of you .. and make it MUCH easier for him to learn his routine.

You will have to play with the time after a couple weeks to see how long he can wait to go out .. it's not hard to tell though .. since he'll start letting you know. Dogs would much rather go outside than inside ... once they learn to go outside. The smells they are supposed to use are out there, and once they figure it out .. they'll want to go out there to smell them.

Sorry, for the ramble .. hope this helps :)
 
Thank you Jenny! That is exactly what I needed to know. :)

I leave food out for the other 2 dogs that are here and I guess That is why he is shitting every where.. lol I will pick up the food and make sure to start him on a schedule. I have my sister's lab over here with my choc lab and they just eat whenever they want to. They never over eat or anything.. so I havent had a problem with them. Also, I know that because the puppy was de-wormed, he is gonna shit ALOT getting all that out. :(
 
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