House Breaking a 9 Month-old

[cmd]

This is a continuation up to my "Puppy now or puppy later??" post

Well we did it. Number 3. We have had 2 Basenjis for nearly 12 years. We lost one this year, leaving us with a 12 year old male, Ramsey. We added a female pup to the house 6 months ago, Bonnie who is now 10 mos. But after feeling like she really needed a younger play mate, we decided to add a 9 month old male to our mix. We must be crazy.

Now we have 3 with "Smitty."

Unfortunately he was use to living in a kennel with several other Basenjis, so the first night was a challenge. Ramsey is use to sleeping in our bed, Bonnie just made the transition from crate to our bed (which is about to be reversed). I put her in a crate next to the new guy. She was fine, but Smitty whined – ok, YELLED and "barroo'd" in his crate. By 1 am I had to move his crate to as far from our bedroom as possible (and have since relocated Bonnie next to him too).

He doesn't seem to get that peeing inside is bad. Only once did I catch him. I firmly told him NO! and ran him outside. I let them all out right away when we get up, after napping inside and shortly after dinner. Since he doesn't have the sleep schedule of a 8-12 wk old and he's spending most of the day sunning outside its hard to figure out when he needs to go.

On the plus side, he is VERY sweet natured and really laid back (when out of that evil crate). I think he'll be a great dog once we get him conditioned. I just hope we can do so before the winter weather starts to come!

Any suggestions? Just keep up with the "outside" and NO! and consider ear plugs?

[Duke]

Contratulations CMD for the new member in your family, Smitty! I know you didn't take getting another B lightly. Sounds like Bonnie picked him for you. What a good idea.

I don't have any experience training an older puppy, but it sounds like you're doing the same thing I'd do. Train just the same as a younger pup. I'll bet you have quicker results with Smitty, because he is older - and not so infantile like a 3 or 4 month old. He may be eager to learn more quickly for you. (fingers X crossed)

If I have any advice - help make his transition at home the 1st week or 2 a quiet one (if possible) so that he can begin to feel secure with his new family and his new home. Like a new baby, everyone has to get used to each other. He's probably feeling insecure at night, maybe that's why he's so noisy. Hopefully, when he knows he's home, he'll be more comfortable and quiet at night - That's good for you! Good luck! I'm looking forward to a progress report.

[youngandtired]

I would do the same as you, except I would take Smitty outside to potty right before bedtime. Sahara goes for me right before bedtime and last all night. I think Smitty is just afraid and needs time to get use to his new home, I know you need your sleep as well, but hold tight. I think he will feel less secure in the basement, would he tear up a stuffed animal? Good Luck

[susanhayek]

@cmd:

"House Breaking a 9 Month-old"

He also doesn't seem to get that peeing inside is bad. Only once did I catch him. I firmly told him NO! and ran him outside. I let them all out right away when we get up, after napping inside and shortly after dinner. Since he doesn't have the sleep schedule of a 8-12 wk old and he's spending most of the day sunning outside its hard to figure out when he needs to go.

On the plus side, he is VERY sweet natured and really laid back (when out of that evil crate). I think he'll be a great dog once we get him conditioned. I just hope we can do so before the winter weather starts to come!

Any suggestions? Just keep up with the "outside" and NO! and consider ear plugs?

**Peeing in the house is not "BAD" it's just what doggie do when they don't know what to do. It might work better to train what you want him to do and not what you don't want him to do.
We take ours outside every 20 minutes and especially after waking and/or eating, and PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE if they get it right. If they don't we say nothing, absolutely nothing if they have an accident. My puppies trained in approximately 4 months. The older dogs trained more quickly.
I used a lot of Nature's Miracle.

All my dogs, whether we get them at 10 weeks or 6 months slept in my bed. Not one had an accident.

s.

[carol]

You seem to be doing the right things, it will certainly take time, and a lot of patience! I Have a rescue female, that made house breaking a huge issue, untill I started doing the umbilical cord thing. Take a leash, about 6 ft. long put around your waist, clip through hand hold, and clip to regular collar. You will know when your dog starts sniffing and circling to do, that it needs to go out! It took my female about a month and 1/2 to catch on! Except in the rain!:eek: gg Carole

[cmd]

Thanks for all your advise so far. Here's the update… patience and persistence seems to be paying off. We confined him to whatever room we were in so we ALWAYS caught him. After just 3 weeks of this he started running to the door! I completely thought he'd never get it. He didn't seem to be connecting "outside" with "potty time". But its been nearly a month now and he is about as house broken as our other 11 mo old. We still have accidents, especially when its wet out, but all your advice seems to be paying off. Thanks.