Rhonda

I have a beagle -Maggie- who is almost 13 yrs old. I inherited a German shorthaired pointer-Molly- from my son. He wanted me to house train her when she was 4 mos and then he didn't want her back! So we kept her. I had never had this breed before but she is THE most stubborn breed I have ever tried to train. It took me 4 YEARS to get her to give in to me. I have trained alot of dogs to obedience but this dog takes the cake.

She now will walk on command and will obey on command as long as she is in the house. Outside she knows I can't reach her and she refuses all tactics including shock collars tho I don't like them.

Well she eats everything in sight. So as my DH is handicapped and falls alot if not careful she can't run the house. So she and her sister are on leashes in the house and are contained. They go outside several times a day and run in the closed in backyard.

I bought Maggie a bed the first time. Molly got ahold of it and ate it. Green fuzzy stuff everywhere!!! I threw it away and got Maggie a new one.

Maggie likes to be close to me so she will pull her bed over by my feet which puts it in range for Miss Molly to reach it and she steals it!! Any way several beds later including one or two I bought especially for Miss Molly we are now the proud owners of another new bed for Maggie and Miss Molly has been allowed to keep the last torn up bed she destroyed yesterday. Despite the fact that I tied it so Maggie couldn't move it and Molly supposedly couldn't reach it!!! Somehow Maggie got it close enough for Molly to reach.

So Molly also breaks her leashes /chains/web leads/ etc all the time. Soooo I went to town bought Maggie's newest bed yesterday and I bought a length of cable with all the hardware. Came home and made a 4' leash out of the cable and now Molly is not able to break or chew through(at least it will take her some time!) and Maggie has her new bed tied tightly so her sister can't steal it!! WE HOPE!! LOL


Here is Molly in Maggie's bed waiting to be discovered!!! She used to steal batting and fabric I would forget and leave too close to her and then she would sit in the middle of it and wait of me to find her that way! Silly dog!!!

Carrie Jo

How do you house break them??? I have two puppies, 1 golden retriver and one pomarianian and am having a heck of a time.. I have to shampoo my carpet again..I have had them about 6 weeks and I am not making alot of progress.... HELP!!!!

Quiltmaniac2010

I got a German Short-Haired Pointer years ago and it was absolutely impossible to house-train her. I crated her at night and she would poop in her crate and be wagging her tail at me in the morning (and flicking poop everywhere with her tail!) She had absolutely no problem with pooping where she slept which is very unusual for dogs. I gave up and went back to Shelties and haven't been sorry. They may be a bit "barky" but they are smart and very loyal companions! So sorry to hear about your problem...

Rhonda

Contain them and put them on a schedule. I keep mine in a small area as they don't like to go where they lay. If you can use a kennel that is not a whole lot bigger than the dog that works well. I have confined mine to a small area. Use a leash and tie them to a fixed place.
Then take them out every 2 hrs and especially when they first wake up and before you leave or go to bed.
Pushing their nose in it only confuses them. They don't know what they have done. They only know you are mad at them. They are like small children. Treat them accordingly. They won't remember 2 mins from now what you just told them to do. You have to repeat firmly when you tell them something.

Use a no nonsense low tone of voice. No yelling. It will excite the dog and think you want to play.
I took Maggie outside to the same area on a leash and repeated go potty every little bit. Not over and over as they will tune you out. But as you would to a 2 yr old you are trying to potty train. Remind them from time to time and watch for them to walk around and when they start going in a tighter and tighter circle say go potty and you should be able to catch them in the act then and praise them softly. You will eventually get them to associate the words to the act and they will begin to understand what you want.

It takes a committment of taking them outside often. When they mess inside I just clean it up and start over.

I also teach my dogs the outside command. I ask them if they want to go outside and when I say it they know it means getting to go play.

I teach them stop with putting my hand up like a stop sign.

I believe a concientious animal owner should have control of your dog. Tho my efforts with Molly are mixed! LOL My DH is her recognized master. She will obey him on a dime!

Rhonda

My aunt and uncle raised shelties. I had a sheltie when I was a kid. My dad called her Midget and he used to feed her cheese in the middle of the night and tell mom it was Midget's fault the cheese disappeared! LOL

I have Molly's number for the most part. She doesn't mess in the house. There are accidents at times when she has a diarhea for whatever reason but she will whine in a panic when she has to go til you let her outside. She is a very smart dog just incredibly stubborn! But she is the sweetest thing. She is so patient with the little ones.

I used to lay on top of her to take the dominant role but it didn't do any good. I have found I have to treat her like a kid and I stare at her eye to eye and tell her what I want her to do. She takes a few mins to give in to me every single time but she gives in.

she has learned to walk on a lead. She will give when I tell her to. I teach my dogs to put their toy in my hand. I don't reach out for it they have drop it in my hand. She is really good about that. She knows if she can have it back I will give it to her. I also teach my dogs to have a soft mouth when taking a treat so they don't scrape a little hand with their teeth when taking a treat from the kids.
I also train them to sit and look at me with head up and I put the treats on the floor at their feet and they are not allowed to look down til I say ok. They both do this well.

It is an exercise in control. Tho Molly still needs to work on the stay command! LOL She does good for a few minutes but I usually require my dogs to stay even when I go in the other room and they can't see me. but that seems to be beyond Molly's ability. She is like a kid with ADHD. She has little self control.

sueisallaboutquilts

Rhonda- just one look at her face and I am thinking you must be a terrible liar I don't believe a word of it!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahaha
They are so darn cute :D:D
PS. My son is training his new puppy and I must say I don't envy him!!!

Rhonda

LOL Her eyes do look like she expects me to beat her doesn't it!! LO Far from the truth!! She likes to think she has the upper hand!!

nycquilter

I'd like to say because I have rescued dogs/girls, that they are very grateful and instantly become wonderful. Hmmm...my chocolate lab is stubborn for no reason other than she can be. When she came to us, she had NO language skills, not receptive or expressive. Even the vet was convinced she was deaf. Anyway, fast forward several years and she understands everything and is well-trained but will express her abilities by refusing. For example, call Lexie to come for a treat? she is the single most food motivated dog ever but she will stand and look at you like you've grown horns. Finally, she will saunter over...she is too funny. Because she was used as a breeder and mistreated for four years, I can understand and allow this as long as she MOVES when necessary.