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How to train a dog to go outside by himself

Basenji Training
  • @Kipawa:

    1. Using a consistent phrase to tell your dog you want him to pee/poop works quite well. Our breeder uses the words "hurry hurry". When we got Kipawa, I started doing that with him in the backyard and it worked - but it takes time, patience, a few treats and TONS of love and praise when he does it right..

    I use "go pee" and "poop, poop, poop". Peeing isn't usually an issue, but I feel like an idiot when I am out in the hay shed in winter yelling "poop, poop, poop" as if I am cheering on a sports team. It usually works eventually! He knows what I want, but like most Basenjis, it can take some time…...and in my case, cheer leading.......to get him "in the mood."

  • I have always gone out with my pups, even now at almost 2yrs old, I still go out with them in the morning and evening before bed to make sure they go. And I mix it up between walking them on leash out front or going out with them in the backyard

  • @tanza:

    I have always gone out with my pups, even now at almost 2yrs old, I still go out with them in the morning and evening before bed to make sure they go. And I mix it up between walking them on leash out front or going out with them in the backyard

    +1. Also, like eeeefarm, I use "pee" and "poop" as chant words to get them to go - works perfectly. I usually won't leave them out until I've seen them go. As puppies, I would never expect them to go unless I was out there with them. Even as adults, it is the only sure fire way I know they've done their business. And even as adults I still reward and praise when they go outside.

  • @renaultf1:

    +1. Also, like eeeefarm, I use "pee" and "poop" as chant words to get them to go - works perfectly. I usually won't leave them out until I've seen them go. As puppies, I would never expect them to go unless I was out there with them. Even as adults, it is the only sure fire way I know they've done their business. And even as adults I still reward and praise when they go outside.

    Exactly…. a treat is always in hand as a potty reward...... along with praise. It particularly helps in the winter when the weather is not so nice.

  • @tanza:

    Exactly…. a treat is always in hand as a potty reward...... along with praise. It particularly helps in the winter when the weather is not so nice.

    In winter around here, getting to come back inside in the warmth is a reward in itself! I find he takes much less time to "decide" when it is stinking cold out, but takes his time when it's milder. The exception is extreme cold. Once he is holding up all the feet he can, doing what he is out there for completely slips his mind. ;) Summer is less of a problem, because when we walk around the property he usually gets his business done…...exercise is a good trigger. I don't know why Basenjis are so fussy about their "bathroom habits", but they all seem to be difficult at one time or another, particularly if the weather is not to their liking. (you'd think they would be smart enough to figure out they spend less time in the rain if they "go" at once, but no......that would be too easy!)

  • Oakley will pee in the middle of the road or anywhere really but pooping is a whole different story…walking is the only way and he seems to do it in the same spots on our walks.. If the wind so much as sways it will deter him... In the cold he just flat out refuses to go! It is a basenji thing

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8 Nov 2011, 19:03

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    See, it is possible to offer a well-written article debunking the dominance theory. I really like Dr. Yin's blog. My point about the weaknesses of the original article (which I'm very glad was shared with us) is in its journalistic framing and rhetoric, not its content. I suspect that basenji owners have long been savvy to the advantages of positive training, but like Dr. Yin mentions, a couple decades ago, most trainers probably didn't. And thus, dominance techniques are still very much in circulation. I distinctly remember being told when I was a kid (this would be 1990) that the best way to handle our Golden Retriever jumping on us was to grab his front legs and knee him in the chest (not enough to hurt him, but enough to make him uncomfortable). And holding him down until he submitted, and holding his muzzle, and all this stuff that in retrospect was clearly not the best way to handle a hyperactive puppy that just wanted attention. But of all the videos we rented, books we checked out from our small town library, obedience classes my family went to, and the vet, nobody ever told us differently. It takes a long time to untrain the general populace on these kinds of widespread beliefs, long-ingrained through authority figures like vets and hired professionals and now TV celebrities. I just don't think pitting two celebrities against each other is the best way to do it, since that just offends their fandoms. It's disappointing to see such a backlash against what is ultimately supposed to be a good message put forth in the Time article. Instead, focusing on the techniques themselves, not the trainers, as those other articles Lisa linked, gets the point across much better.
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    What an interesting article - I must say I do use 'No' but in future will think first before I say it!
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