I'm not sure, in your situation, I would leave the dog outside until he made the decision to come in. It almost sounds as if the dog had bad experiences inside at the previous home and outside was the only place he could stay or maybe was forced to stay; anyway you now have to counteract all that.
All the good points have been made by others, now you have to put them all together.
Do not let the dog outside without a long lead (long closthesline or whatever); when you say come reel in the lead and treat and praise. You have to be consistent too; use the same word, treat immediately, etc. Also I don't think I would leave the dog loose outside until this is overcome. If possible I would also take the time to be outside with your dog (still on the lead) and play with him and praising and treating for any good interaction he does.
Also you might want to have a special treat just for the come command and for entering the house. He does not get this treat until he comes and/or he enters the house - but make it something really special that is not given except for this purpose.
Bad Problem
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I read in a previous post that someone feeds ouside the crate…Since he is used to eating in the crate do you think we should feed him outside the crate too try to break the habbit.
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A week is not very long at all, remember this is a learned behavior, to him there is nothing wrong with it…. so I think you need to keep working at it. And I still recommend that you wake him up, carry him outside and stay out till he at least pees.... and after you feed him, outside till he goes potty.....
While you can try feeding him outside of the crate, but IMO, I don't think it will make that much different.
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We are getting into the routine, our othe B does eberything very well but the little boy just doen't get it :(:(:(
Be patient and persistent. He'll get it.
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I have to agree with Pat about carrying him out - wake him up and carry him out. There have been times that my 7mo boy hasn't gone before bed so I let him go to bed, but then about an hour after he goes to sleep I wake him up, take him back out and sure enough he goes.
If he really hasn't gone outside since you got him, so you haven't been able to praise/treat him for going outside - maybe set aside a good chunk of time one of the days this weekend. Feed him, heavy dose of play, walk him and just stay outside with him until he finally goes - even if it is a couple/few hours. That way you get to see him go, and have the opportunity to praise him and give him a treat as soon as he goes. I was always taught to chant softly something like "potty, potty, good potty)".
Do you praise/treat your other b when she goes outside - because he should pick up on that as well.
Also, do you know when he goes in his crate - does he go right after you put him in there or is it more when he wakes up from a nap?
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What about walking him right after he finishes a big meal? I've found that puppies often go within 30 minutes of chowing down. Playing and spending lots of time outside is a good suggestion too. Get him revved up and thirsty, let him drink a lot of water, and then when he can't help it anymore, he'll go… then praise!
Is he nervous or anxious about being outdoors and walked around the neighborhood? I've seen puppies that were so scared of being outdoors (maybe grew up in a crate/sheltered area, like you describe), they couldn't poop/pee... so it was a matter of getting them relaxed enough outside so that they could do their business.
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Sometimes it helps if they smell where another dog has done its business outside so he will know that it is okay to pee/poop outside.
Jennifer
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Is the puppy frantic when crated or calm?
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Be patient and follow the advice given about carrying him out of the crate after he has eaten. Watch carefully for 'I need to poo' movements (usually restlessness and turning round and round. Also watch him behind to see whther he is pushing out although not all do this.
Personally I think you're expecting a bit much in a short time - usually I find the mothers train their pups in the first instant but he might not have had that puppy learning. I see this was posted as a 'bad problem' but it's certainly not that - there could be far worse problems LOL!!!
Again I say be patient, he's only a baby! You'll most likely look back on this in a few weeks time and wonder why you were so concerned!
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How much time does he spend in the crate, in a 24 hr period? If you said, I missed it…
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Keep the routine of taking him outside periodically as you are doing and give him LOTS of praise as soon as he does his business outside. It just needs time, since he understood that the only way of relief was doing his job inside the crate. Keep consistency and you will see the positive results you are looking for.
