Potty training + Amichien Bonding + Apartment

[Malika]

Hi there! Thanks for taking a sec to open this up. I need help.

I just got a puppy very recently and I have lots of time, energy, patience, etc. I work right next to home so she's not alone for long periods, etc. I go home on coffee breaks and lunch.

My training technique has been, so far (with the hope of remaining consistent), based on a book that suggests ignoring her for five minutes after being separated. It seems to be going well most of the time, but now onto my question/problem:

When I get home, I calmly let her out of her crate and try to stay calm and ignore her sometimes desperate attempts to get my attention. Sometimes she pees or poops during that time. How am I going to train her to wait until the walk to do that? I've never yelled at her and am trying to use positive reinforcment. She's not being rewarded nor punished for peeing or pooping. My plan is to reward her once we start going on walks (just around the corner...maybe this weekend).

Maybe I need to talk to a Amichien Bonding trainer? Please help reassure me that I can continue down this path, or get the **** off of it.

[Malika]

"Ideas?"

[kiya]

She is beautiful!
As far as the whole ignoring thing, I tried it, it's not for me. I did have a dog that pee'd when he was excited so the second we got home we immediately took him outside where we could "safely" greet him. Your pup looks very young so she just may not be able to control herself. You sound like your off to a good start.

[Gretchen]

I don't know about Amichien methods, but Maslow's hierachy of needs seems to make more sense. Starting with physiological needs: food water sex sleep excretion and homeostasis. So when you come home and your pup needs to pee or poop, that should come first, IMO. Glad you are not yelling at your dog.

Thanks for sharing the photo, she looks very sweet.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

When I have a foster puppy, if they are small enough, when I get home I will often either have their crate right by the back door in the kitchen, or will pick them up (if they don't excitement pee ) and carry them right out because they simply cannot hold it. The crate right by the door would mean you wouldn't have to do a lot of interacting with (I couldn't hold out for 5 minutes with that face!!!), carrying does, but for me, that exercise does not need to be so rigid if the dog is pretty stable overall.

And if you think about your own body, like Gretchen says, if you were unable to potty all day at work, thenn drive home, get home and someone wants to talk to you for that five minutes...there could be a problem caused by pure mechanics!

[m1953]

You did not mention the exact age of your pup but if it is under 6 months old, take it out on a leash to go potty as soon as you walk in the door.

[Whiteshepherds]

One of the reasons you ignore her when you first walk in is to teach her that she doesn't get to decide when you pay attention to her, you do. If she's as young as she looks in the picture don't make her wait to go outside any longer than she has to, her bladder isn't all that big.

[Malika]

Thanks for chiming in! I'm thinking of ignoring her while she's in her crate for a couple of minutes, then put her leash on right when she gets out. Is that a bad solution? I'm very aware of the bladder size vs. time thing and trying to do heel work and get her accustomed to the leash before bring her out into the world...but I need to get the show on the road. She's 9.5 weeks!

[doggiedad]

i would take my pup out of the crate and immediately go outside.
to teach my pup to be calm before i opened the door was a
training session. i would place the pup in the crate and wait
a few minutes then take him out of the crate at which time
i made him be calm for a few seconds before letting him out.
as time went on i made him sit longer and longer before letting
him out of the great. i didn't care if he sat or was standing.
he had to be calm before he could get out of the crate.
lots of time i opened the crate door and held in place for a few
seconds while saying "calm down" before letting him out.

[Castlemaid]

Originally Posted by Malika

Thanks for chiming in! I'm thinking of ignoring her while she's in her crate for a couple of minutes, then put her leash on right when she gets out. Is that a bad solution? I'm very aware of the bladder size vs. time thing and trying to do heel work and get her accustomed to the leash before bring her out into the world...but I need to get the show on the road. She's 9.5 weeks!

Yes! Do this! I have read Jan Fennell's book. Like many dog books, her techniques are common sense based on basic dog psychology wrapped up in a 'new' name.

Because of your pup's age, I agree with the others to that you have to modify the ignoring approach a bit. When you first come in, ignore her if she is making a fuss in her crate, but you can't leave her fussing too long, so be ready to let her out the instant she gives you a second of calm. I like the idea of keeping the crate by the door.

Walk in calm, ignoring her. Have her leash at hand, walk up to the crate and click it open, but keep the door closed with your hand. Ignore puppy and wait her out. The INSTANT she stops for a sec, calmly, matter of factly, open the door, put the leash on her, take her out right away. Let her do her business, then lavish praise and attention on her.

Because she is so young, I would shorten the time spans the book recommends for ignoring, because puppies have such short attention spans. Seconds, intstead of minutes. Pups need more immediate rewards and positive feedback for their actions. Much of the techniques in the book are for fixing relationships gone wrong (i.e. the dog was calling the shots), and your pup doesn't need that yet. Just needs to be a pup and feel like the world revolves around his needs.