Advice and recommendations would be appreciated!

After months of searching for a puppy from shelters, no such luck, because they kept getting adopted before my turn. As a result, I put out $500 to buy a purebred Akita puppy. He's 2 months old, and very adorable, cute, and as strong as a bull, but he can be very strong-minded.

But anyway, he's been pooping and peeing all over the house. Each day, I'd have to spend 2-3 hours cleaning up, and I'm very tired and discouraged. I've only had him for 3 days. How do you train puppies to poop outside? I don't know when he poops and pees so I can't train him to stop doing it in the house. Everytime I took him outside, he would only play and not poop and pee.

I also have a cat, and compared to dogs, she's a super genious. Cats know when to go make poopies in the litter box, but dogs would just do it anywhere. Dogs are such irresponsible barbarians. Anyway, I'm trying very hard to keep up with him, so I wouldn't have to give him up, but it is very hard work. I so wasn't ready for this. Honestly, I had thought about reselling him back, but my family told me not to, because they'll give me a hand with it. Once in a while, I'll bring him over there for them to take care of him, to relieve me for a few moments.

Any advice and recommendations would be great! How to train him to go make poopies outside; when and how many times to feed him daily; how to train him not to bite and tear everything in the house; how to make him stop whining at night because he sleeps in the washing room; etc. I should probably get a book to learn most things about puppies, but I'd like to hear it directly from dog owners.

Back to my cat briefly, she's a genious. She knows quite a few commands, like when I tell her to go to sleep, she would jump right into her bed. She also knows how to open doors, by jumping on the handles and twisting them to open. Gotta be one of the smartest cats ever.

Well, if you know little tricks or advice that would make my life a bit easier, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I'd have to sell him to a Korean restaurant. Just kidding! I'm definitely gonna keep him, but it's pretty hard work and discouraging. Thanks!

But anyway, here are some pics of the pooping devil:







I wanted a lighter colored one, but this one was the closest (in location) I could find. Black dogs are scary to me. Actually, he's a little bit of brown, and he'll be browner when he's grown.

 

Yeah it's hard training a puppy, but you gotta have patience. What I did was I took my puppy out about every 2 hours and would say "do your business". You can say whatever you want, but remember that he's gonna remember what you say, so stick to one phrase.

Anyways, I would keep saying it and when he went to the bathroom, I would said "good boy" "good business" and would give him a treat. A couple weeks of this and he eventually learned. Now he goes to the door and whines when he needs to go. He still does have his accidents, but you just gotta accept that. Goodluck.

PS: Please don't punish your dog for accidents inside the house. Some people punish their dog and that doesn't work. Just remember to reward good behavior and he should learn.

 

Positive reinforcement works infinitly better than negative reinforcement.

 

They also make doggie diapers (this is not a joke, I used to work at a pet supply store). Also if it helps, get house training paper. Put it in the comon spots the puppy does his business.

Take the dog out every 1/2 hr if need be until he does his business. Say "wanna go outside" or some other potty command. Dont punish him for pooping in the house unless he knows better. He is still too young to.

If you do scold him (shake finger and cal him a bad dog), make sure it's within 1 min, otherwise he wont know why you are, and it will confuse him. Patience is virtue, and let him know the cat litter box is there if need be. We actually trained our dog to use it if he was left for a long time, it really freaks out the cats!!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Quik S2K

 

I would never punish any animal. They don't have human brains, so they don't know responsibilities or faults.

These doggie diapers sound like a really good idea. I'm going to check into this.

What do you guys think about getting one of those doors with a "dog hole" in the center? Good or bad idea? I think I'll have to get one eventually, because when he's grown up, he can go in and out to make poopies anytime he wants.

 

Like someone said, take it out every time interval. You can also tell he kinda needs to go when he stops playing and starts to sniff around away from you and stuff. Take him out and wait until he goes, right after he goes immediately praise him and take him in. He'll learn that going outside means he needs to do his business to come back in and when he does do it, it's going to please you.

 

http://www.wpr.org/pets/training.html

http://www.wpr.org/pets/justpet.html

http://www.wpr.org/pets/alone.html

http://www.wpr.org/pets/pettips.html

http://www.wpr.org/pets/index.html

very good info from a very well respected lady with a great love for animals

in the last page there are some books which are very good and not to expensive 13 bucks shipped

Tony

 

I have had good luck with the dogs I have trained and as pups I crate train them until they can hold there own - the rule of thumb that was given to me from the breeder is that for every month a pup is alive they can hold their bladder for an hour (two months old = two hours) There will be accidents followed by late night showers, stern vocal commands and praise are the best training tools and it is true that they don't like to sit in poo so a kennel is best for training and don't use the kennel as a prison but as a safe haven - never scold your pet while it is in the kennel as it will associate the kennel as a bad place! Also, if you go to bed at say 11 pm remove the food and water two hours before as it will help them empty their bladder before bed time. Akita's are very smart dogs and try very hard to please - good luck and post some pics!

 

The breeder we got STARR from told us to withhold her water and food about 3 hours before our bedtime, she did quite well even from 8 weeks old. We used a cage from the beginning because they don't like to pee and poop where they sleep. We still cage her but don't lock it anymore now that she is a year old, we don't even close the door. She voluntarily goes into her cage to sleep. If you are going to get a cage you should get one that will hold the dog until it is an adult, so it will be quite large for your Akita. The only time she is locked in now is when we can't take her with us, during the day.