# Too young or too many distractions?



## Sandman0077 (Jun 5, 2011)

Hello all. Me and my wife just picked up our first puppy Apollo and through numerous searches we have come to realize we are completely at a loss with his training! He is 9 weeks old, and we have had him for a week now. We attempted to house break him by just taking him outside after he would eat and wake up, but that wasn't working at all. So then we purchased him a wire crate, and we have attempted to crate train him two days. The first day was a complete disaster because he would scream and scream and he wouldn't give us a time to let him out so we would wait. The 5 minute crating turned into an hour or so, so we didn't bother with trying overnight. Then yesterday we went out so we crated him (2 hours) and we came back and he was still screaming!

He's not a bad puppy. He sleeps on the couch with us, he has almost stopped chewing on our powercords, and he occasionally gets into the cat box, but as far as house breaking or listening to us, he is doing horribly. Could he just be too young to "get it" yet?

That was my first thought, but here is the second issue. We also have two kittens (12 & 9 weeks) that he chases all day long. Sometimes he bites the younger ones neck and starts to jerk it around like a rag doll! When he is in the crate, the cats decide to play on top of it and around it, which I know drives him crazy.

Also, when we bring him outside to go potty, he gets so distracted by the world that it takes him 30+ mins to do anything but sniff. The neighbors have 2 dogs (Lab & Bulldog) that like to go potty in our yard, and I think it scares the little guy. He walks waaaay around the piles and keeps going, like he's looking for a "clean" spot. We've asked the neighbors to keep a better eye on where their own dogs go (we don't let our pup crap in THEIR yard), but their dogs scent is still there.

We are HOPING to train him later on as a protection dog, so we want to train him properly now and not traumatize him too much as a pup by doing the wrong thing. My previous dogs were just strays that learned where the dog bowl was, but I want to do Apollo right. We are reading so many different things that we second guess our methods daily and it's not helping Apollo at all. Some people say 5 minute crating and build up, others say to only let him out to eat and potty.

What do we dooooooo????


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

The thing nobody ever seems to tell you about crating is that they are going to scream. They are going to scream bloody murder. They are going to scream until you feel like you'll lose your mind and shoot your puppy. 

When I picked Kopper up, it was in the middle of the worst ice/snow storm North Texas has seen in decades. What should have been an hour drive home took five hours. . . and he screamed THE WHOLE TIME. Then he screamed all night and into the next day. Took a little break and screamed the next night. Then it gradually started getting better. Don't ONLY let him out to eat and potty, but you certainly don't have to start with five minutes and build up. People have to work and sleep. Just be very matter-of-fact about it. Put him in the kennel when you're leaving or sleeping or need some time without puppy. Have him out but tethered to you the rest of the time. 

A couple of times I took him and his crate into our (climate controlled) tornado shelter just to get some sleep. 

I thought house breaking was going to take forever too. Part of the issue is that their bladders are so tiny and they legitimately don't have much control over it yet. Often by the time he realizes he needs to go, he's already gone. Keep taking him out often-- literally like every 10 or 15 minutes if he's not in his crate. If he makes a mistake, don't make a big deal out of it at all, but clean it with an enzymatic cleaner. I promise you he will get it. I promise.  

As for going outside, don't let him wander around the yard. Too many distractions. Take him to the designated potty spot on a leash and just stand like a statue until he goes. THEN he gets to run and play. Happy fun time comes _after_ we work, and right now our work is potty training. Your designated potty spot should be the most boring spot in the yard.

I don't have cats and don't know anything about them, so somebody else will have to chime in there.


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## Sarah Rose (May 21, 2011)

You could try obedience classes. On the crate part, we have our dogs crates trained to the point all we have to say is "Kennel!" and they go into it no matter where they are in the house. It took time. We would have sessions with the dogs where we would say "Kennel" and put them in the crate without closing the door, then give them a treat for it. We would do this over and over in sessions until eventually they would go in on their own. The key was to not ALWAYS close the door on them. They eventually realized going into the crate was a positive thing, and they would get a treat for going in. When we would need to leave, thats when we would close the door, but after a few trials of asking them to go in there without closing the door. Our two older dogs, we dont even need to give treats to anymore and we can close the door immediately. Our 13 week old already has it down, but if you close the door immediately on her first time going it she will remember that and not want to go back in the next day for you. She needs some time yet. As for the potty training goes....be patient. If you see an accident happen, tell your pup "NO!" and put them outside while you clean it up if you can (so they related it to outside). On top of that, EVERYTIME you see your pup go outside and do its business, give it a treat or praise it heavily. Do not have any negative physical contact with the pup. Our Ninja did the same thing outside as yours when we got her, wandering around and being distracted. Then we would let her in and immediately she would go potty inside. You just have to be consistent and I know your pup WILL catch on. The key is patience as well. Some pups take a little more time than others. Ninja is already almost done being trained with both, thankfully (by these methods). It's on to bigger things for her soon here!


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## clearcreekranch (Mar 18, 2010)

Wolf's name for about a month was "puddles". You have to take a puppy out a LOT, not just after meals and when he wakes up. You have to be diligent, so he is not set up for failure. I swear, I would take Wolf out 15 times a day for a few weeks and still had accidents. Now, he is 16mos and I can say that was a LONG time ago. He goes out by necessity, 4xs a day, but does go out with me to the barn a few more times. And the absolute worse thing that you can do is give in to his behavior in the crate. Make it a safe place. Give him a kong filled with something yummy or a treat. And don't give any water for about an hour or two before bedtime and you last potty break.


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## DWP (Mar 31, 2011)

*Keep up the good work*

I know it is hard to believe now, but keep at it and your efforts will be rewarded. Use the forums on here and ask questions. Read and do research. It will all work out in time, and you will be amazed at what they can do and be.


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## stealthq (May 1, 2011)

Sandman0077 said:


> That was my first thought, but here is the second issue. We also have two kittens (12 & 9 weeks) that he chases all day long. Sometimes he bites the younger ones neck and starts to jerk it around like a rag doll! When he is in the crate, the cats decide to play on top of it and around it, which I know drives him crazy.


I'll chime in on the kittens. Your kittens are too young to be playing with your puppy. I would not even allow it even under supervision unless you're holding the puppy. Hard as it is to believe, your puppy is strong enough NOW to kill the 9wk one, maybe the 12wk one as well. If not, it will not be long before he is strong enough to kill both. The sad thing is, it will all be an accident. He's a baby, and doesn't know his own strength. The kittens are babies and don't know enough to stay out of his way. I would confine the kittens to a room - or a couple of rooms depending on what kind of space you have available. It won't hurt them any, as long as you take time to play and socialize with them just as you do the puppy. Then as they get bigger and it's a lot harder to have a fatal accident, socialize your puppy with them. Keep puppy on a leash so you're sure you have control. Eventually, you should be able to phase the leash out.


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Lots of good advice. 
It's very important that you do not let your puppy out while he is in full blown tantrum mode. This will teach your puppy that he can get out faster if he cries. My puppy was the WORST when it came to crate training; it sounded like we were torturing her. Finally, she has calmed down with the crying, but will still do it when she's feeling like a snob. Putting a large sheet over the crate will also help, but it may make the puppy get hot.

I don't have cats; don't like them. A good solution to that though is to have him on a leash while he's in the house and attached to you. Easier said than done! I find it very annoying to have to drag my puppy around with me, but at least you can keep an eye on them while they are out. Also, puppies should never have free run in the house until they learn the rules. Otherwise, they can get into big trouble or hurt themselves.

Also, in the next few weeks, after he is more comfortable in his new home, he will start to nip and bite. This is perfectly normal. Read up around puppy behavior/training to figure out how to deal with the biting stage and how you can use it to your benefit to teach bite inhibition.

Good luck!


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

to your questions: yes and yes

he is really young to have the hang of housetraining. crate training. OMG Singe screamed the entire first night home. The people next door could hear him howling and asked the next morning if everything was ok. *eyeroll* 

It does get better.
As far as housebreaking, yes the scent of the other bigger dogs could be intimidating for him. He is just a baby and your entire yard smells like the home of big mean dogs that could eat him up. Clean up the mess (or tell your neighbors to come over and do it) and work with them on keeping their dogs out of your yard. Not only is the smell intimidating your pup, but they can also spread worms and other disease.

Feeding him in his crate can help. Otherwise, you pretty much have to let him cry in out. When he is quiet, come in (no big fuss) and let him out of his crate. Take him out to potty after eating and drinking. Keep him with you. No exploring the yard or he will just get distracted and forget what he came out for. Pick a potty spot (makes cleanup easier!!) and just stand there. If he shows no sign of wanting to go, then back inside. Tether him to you or crate him. 15 or so mins later, back to the potty spot. repeat as often as necessary until he potties. If he starts to go in the house, just a quick "OOPS!" carry him outside (even if he is still peeing) and put him in his spot. Even a dribble outside is cause for a party. Now that he has gone potty, play with him a couple of minutes. Explore the yard, have fun so that he knows that potty outside = treats and playtime. No potty outside means no fun.

Check out the different forums in the puppy section here, you'll find advice on pretty much everything you can think of. and some stuff you havent' thought of yet!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Sandman0077 said:


> He is 9 weeks old, and we have had him for a week now. We attempted to house break him by just taking him outside after he would eat and wake up, but that wasn't working at all.


What exactly did you do that "wasn't working at all"? It can take weeks or months to fully housebreak a puppy, so it's not realistic for ANY method to have "worked" at this point, it's going to be an ongoing process for a while. For starters, you need to watch him every second when he's in the house. He should either be in the same room with you and within sight, tethered to you by a leash, or confined in his crate if you can't supervise him that closely right then. Crates are great for when you're doing stuff like cleaning, cooking or eating meals, or taking a shower, any time you aren't able to have your full attention on the puppy. The more accidents you can prevent, the faster he'll figure it out. It's also really important to make a huge deal out of it when he DOES successfully potty outdoors. I always give a treat and lots of happy praise. Carry a few treats in your pockets so you're always prepared to reinforce the correct behavior, or wear a treat bag at all times, which is what I do. 

He doesn't have a lot of bladder or bowel control at this young age, so he probably doesn't have a lot of warning himself that he needs to go, just like a toddler. When he needs to go, he needs to go NOW, not a few minutes or even a few seconds from now. Taking him out very frequently (like every half hour or hour, especially after eating, napping, or playing) so he has fewer accidents and more successes will help, especially if good things always happen when he potties outside. If you break down potty training into components you'll see that it's a lot more complicated than you realized - he needs to learn:

#1 - Peeing and pooping outside is good
#2 - _Don't_ pee or poop in the house (my puppies have always figured out where TO go before they figured out where NOT to go!)
#3 - Recognizing the NEED to pee or poop before it actually happens (there's a reason human babies wear diapers)
#4 - Knowing _how_ to communicate to you that he needs to go out (run to the door? bark or paw at it? ring a bell? stare at you?)
#5 - Having enough control to hold it until he can let you know and you can respond by taking him out



> We also have two kittens (12 & 9 weeks) that he chases all day long. Sometimes he bites the younger ones neck and starts to jerk it around like a rag doll! When he is in the crate, the cats decide to play on top of it and around it, which I know drives him crazy.


I would not allow him to chase the kittens. A puppy around adult, dog-savvy, cats is usually fine. The cats know how to handle themselves and there's not such a huge size difference between them and the puppy. Supervise all interactions with the kittens, and keep him on leash if you need to. Reinforce good, calm behavior around the kitties with treats and praise. It's probably a good idea not to let the cats tease him in his crate either. Can you cover the crate so he can't see out, and close off that room to the cats while he's crated?


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