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tkimberlie · 06-18-2006, 05:26 PM

Hi -- This is my first posting!

We had so much trouble getting Kasey to feel the urgency to go to the bathroom outside, and ended up standing around for 45 minutes sometimes (bad news at bedtime!) before she'd go. Then, we got GREAT advice from a trainer that has made all the difference.

He said to take her out every three hours to the same spot every time *always* on a leash, and give her the same command. (We say "Hurry up.") Keep her there for only 2-3 minutes. If she doesn't go, take her in and put her in her crate, then try again in an hour. If she DOES go, praise her while she's going, then let her run free in a confined space in the house for the next hour -- always supervised, so you can see her at all times. We usually watched her for closer to two, since she was good about not making mistakes indoors at that point. For the final hour, she was back in her crate for a rest.

He also encouraged us to keep track of when she went to the bathroom, so we could learn her schedule. Turns out, she didn't need to go out as much as we thought she did. We could see a pattern over the course of the week (okay, we're neurotic: we created a spreadsheet to fill it in by hour! it was worth it!) and eventually we learned she only needs to go out every 4-5 hours. She's seven months old now and rarely has an accident.

Our goal was to have her go "on command," if she had to -- and it really seems to be working.

Hope this helps!! Kasey is doing great!!

Kim

06-18-2006, 05:26 PM	#7
tkimberlie Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 45	Housebreaking tips Hi -- This is my first posting! We had so much trouble getting Kasey to feel the urgency to go to the bathroom outside, and ended up standing around for 45 minutes sometimes (bad news at bedtime!) before she'd go. Then, we got GREAT advice from a trainer that has made all the difference. He said to take her out every three hours to the same spot every time always on a leash, and give her the same command. (We say "Hurry up.") Keep her there for only 2-3 minutes. If she doesn't go, take her in and put her in her crate, then try again in an hour. If she DOES go, praise her while she's going, then let her run free in a confined space in the house for the next hour -- always supervised, so you can see her at all times. We usually watched her for closer to two, since she was good about not making mistakes indoors at that point. For the final hour, she was back in her crate for a rest. He also encouraged us to keep track of when she went to the bathroom, so we could learn her schedule. Turns out, she didn't need to go out as much as we thought she did. We could see a pattern over the course of the week (okay, we're neurotic: we created a spreadsheet to fill it in by hour! it was worth it!) and eventually we learned she only needs to go out every 4-5 hours. She's seven months old now and rarely has an accident. Our goal was to have her go "on command," if she had to -- and it really seems to be working. Hope this helps!! Kasey is doing great!! Kim __________________ Love my Kasey!