Feelin' Really Bad

BigDog2191

Big German Shepherd
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#1
Okay... *sigh* this is probably my 1000th call for help.

Every since spring break started (Thursday), Rocky's house training has been crumbling terribly! Today he must've had like 15 accidents. It's been terrible.

I'm starting to think I might have to give him away, sell him, or something :( .

I'm doing the best I can but I mean, I've been making a lot of bad decisions which have been affecting Rocky's housetraining.

I said, NO and pick him up when I see him doing it inside the house. Now, he seems to be hiding his business from me.

(I did the nose thing, I got desperate. I know, I'm sorry!) :( :(

This is really starting to get ridiculous. Rocky was outside for 30 minutes and then came inside and started peeing! 30 MINUTES! I got so pissed ( this is when I did the nose thing). Maybe if I could learn to control my anger, I mean I get so frustrated I feel like punching a hole in the wall and screaming!

This is getting really, really bad... help please.

And I know, all those times that he has to go after: eating, playing, and sleeping. But I mean, it just doesn't seem to work! And I know I should take him out every hour or so but I mean, I know for a fact from having him 2 weeks he doesn't go that often. But I mean, I can't keep my eyes on him every second.

Do you think it might be because the routine has changed? Normally, he's fed in the morning, then takin out to potty, then put in the kitchen where he stays until my dad comes back during lunch time, where he feeds him again and puts him back in the kitchen, then I come home play with him, take him out, and generally do everything else the rest of the day.

Someone, please help!!!!! :(
 

smkie

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#2
believe me hiding is not unsual..actually it was Victor's first step in the right direction..your puppy understands that what he is doing is wrong...but he hasn't learned to tell you in a way you understand yet..so you need to back up a bit..go back to the timer..take him out every hour..half hour..until he is going regularly outside again..i timer reallllllllly helps remind you. Then when he is voiding his bladder, or moving his bowels in the right spot..make sure you are outside with him..tell him how proud you are of him (this is a good time to teach where you prefer he go..like the back of the yard..take a treat to let him know if you are rewarding other behavior with treats..make a huge big deal of it..if you are scolding him for having an accident..stop..it might be making it worse, just say ohoh..that is a no..and make sure you get him outside before he does it again..then you will be starting the communication going..Victor is at the very minute sitting her with a little quiet whine and pace to the door letting me know he means right now..so i better take him out. So I am back now...brr it is cold outside..Make especially sure that you take him out when he first wakes up from naps..after he has drank a lot of water..immediantly after he eats..He has the first part..he knows something isn't right..oh please don't think you have to give up your puppy..teaching children and puppies takes lots of love..and sometimes extra attention..each is different. If you are still having accidents after what i wrote you..then you can umbilical... a method where you keep your puppy on a leash all the time with you..so you are aware of the second they try to squat..and you too become more aware of their body language. Victor now paces to the door..and if i am not coming quick enough he stomps his feet and gives a little whine..if i am still saying hold your horses..he will come bump my arm. He didn't do that at first, he was confused.
Old boss had a great saying for you..he actually made me memorize all the old boss sayings that i post..and i am glad he did..this one went
any problem throughly understood is fairly simple.
your dog is just like a 2 yr old child right now..if you think of the puppy that way..it will be easier for you to understand why they get confused..and a lot of what they are doing..by the time he is one year old..he will be like a 5 year old child...and will mature to about the age of a 7 year old child and that is pretty darn smart!
 
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#3
Well as you already know, getting mad is not helping.Dont give him the run of the house unless you can watch him closely. If he's in the kitchen most of the time it may be to large of an area for him. When I was working with my daughters puppy, she was at school, I had to work. I used a babygate and blocked the puppy in the hallway, giving her just enough room to move around some. I came home everyday at noon to potty her and let her run abit. Then again when I came home at 4. All evening my time was devoted to watching the puppy closely, taking her out often. The slightest sign of her looking for a place to potty inside she would be taken out.
With Princess I had the advantage of being with her all the time, but it was still alot of work. It was alot of walks outside. A pocket full of treats to reward her when she did it outside, alot of praise, it took no time. I had a husky once when I was a teenager, he did fine with everything but his pooping. It took a couple of months before he stopped pooping in the house. I'm sure alot of that was my own fault.
You just need to calm down with him when he does have his accidents. You dont want him to become afraid of you. He'll get the hang of it, he'll figure it out, but you have to put 100% into him right now.
 

moe

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#4
Big dog if I remember correctly your pup is only 8 weeks old? some pups are still with their mother at this stage, your pup is very young, and you getting frustrated at this early stage is not good, your pup CANNOT HELP ITSELF at this stage, physically it is still very young to be able to FULLY control its toilet movements, its like expecting a 1 year old child to go up to the bathroom and change its own nappy. give the poor guy a break, and continue to teach it to go outside, its you who have to be vigilent, I have two puppies here that I am teaching to go potty, they were born here so I have the difficulty of getting them out of the habit of going in the house on paper which they have done since leaving welping box, they are now nearly 16 weeks old and STILL have accidents, if they do have an accident I do NOT rub their nose in it(this is an old wives tale) putting poo or wee on the end of the pups nose is in fact leaving the scent on the pups nose whereby it will smell this on its nose all the time and thus confuse the pup where it is supposed to go, (pups smell the ground for an area they have been before for a trigger to go there again) if it has this scent on its nose THE SCENT WILL OBVIOUSLY BE EVERYWHERE ITS NOSE IS. dont make a big issue of the puppy having an accident, dont clean the mess up in front of the pup, put the pup outside and clean up when pup is not looking, use a BIOLOGICAL cleaner this will eat the ensymes that cause the smell for the pup to go back to that area. sorry but it seems you are expecting far too much far too soon for your pup and you are probably causing stress to the pup, which will totally confuse it,

Mo
 

Saje

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#5
As frustrating as it is, BigDog, everything you are describing is normal. When Maverick was a puppy we never even bothered to take him out for just a few minutes because he would be way too excited to go potty. If we took him outside even for a short walk he'd forget he had to go and be dragging me all over. LOL And yes, as soon as we'd get back go in the apartment. He pottied in the house a lot. But as he got older he learned to hold it longer and longer and things got easier and easier.

I know you love your dog a lot and I hate to hear that you are considering giving him up. When you finally get him housebroken you will wonder how you could ever feel that way.

My recommendation to you is to try and accept that you are going through a bad spell and that's all it is. If you start to feel angry and frustrated with him then YOU take a time out. You don't want to take it out on him. He is a baby. Would you take it out on a child for not going to the toilet when you are potty-training them? I doubt it. So, take a deep breath, walk away. Whatever you need to do to calm down and remember that he's a baby and you love him.

And yes I do think it's at least partly because his routine has changed. Routine is one of the things that make this a lot easier.

Good luck with everything.
 
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#6
BigDogs, please, please don't worry so much. Just keep reminding yourself that Rocky's a baby. The breeder really didn't do you any favors by letting you take him at six weeks because you're having to teach him a lot that his mama would have taught him if he'd been with her long enough. On the up side, he's got to depend on you for more and he'll remember that when he's a big dog. You'll always be Rocky's hero.

There are going to be setbacks on all sorts of things. Think about how long it takes you to "get" some things. Get your Dad to tell you about house training you when you were a baby, lol! Bet you peed in his face more than once when he was changing your diaper! :D

My Purdue, long after he was housetrained, developed a strange fascination. We had a long mirror in the hallway that hung so you could see to the floor. Well, when he was about 6 months old, Purdue just got totally amazed and engrossed with standing in front of that mirror and watching himself pee! I was ready to scream! I never did figure out what was going on, but I moved the mirror after trying to convince him to stop for a couple of weeks, lol.

Another member - Apollonara - with a pup was having problems with housetraining like you are. She got the bright idea of scolding the puddles and piles instead of her dog! It worked very well and really helped get her dog house trained. It also let her get rid of some of that frustration.

It helps, too, if you'll talk to Rocky. He won't understand it all right now, like a baby wouldn't understand. But, like a baby, the more you talk to him the more he will learn and understand eventually. He'll also learn to 'read' your voice very quickly; the different tones and vocal cues. Lots and lots of puppy conversations when he's wound down and ready to relax for awhile. Lay down and cuddle with him when he's sleepy and whisper to him, too.
 

BigDog2191

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#7
Thank you all for your help.

I'm happy to say, today has been an extremely good potty training day. Not one accident so far and he's been going outside several times to do his business. I've praised him and rewarded him as well.

Well, I'm really going to try hard to remember that he's just a puppy. I just hope he continues to learn.
 
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#8
ROFL! Oh, he'll keep learning all right! Along the way, just like a kid, he'll learn a few tricks you'd rather he didn't . . . They go through all sorts of phases of general naughtiness and mischief making, but it's all worth it 'cause you end up with someone who loves you more than anything, no matter what. And you're going to end up with one smart dog, too!
 

Saje

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#9
That's good news Big Dog! See, ups and downs. Have patience and a little faith. :D
 

Barb04

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#10
Glad to hear you had a better day today Big Dog. Please have patience and I know you will be so happy you did once Rocky is housetrained. I'll be getting another puppy sometime this week so I'm reading everything you're going through plus all the advice so I will be prepared. Doggie hugs & kisses to Rocky.
 

Debi

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#11
Hey Big...no advice from me cause you're doing fine. What has happened here is you have now been offically entered into true puppy parenting. Yep....ups and downs...frustration sometimes. Don't worry...once the potty training is complete....we'll be here for you for the teen years! Just remember to vent to us.....cause Rocky's just a kid. :)
 

smkie

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#14
:D Jim always called me the DOGGGGGY MAMA when i came in the room..congrates BigDOGDADDY!!! It is a great name to have! :D
 

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