In a message dated 11/19/2002 7:15:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> My 11 week + old berner pup is quite bull headed. If she does not like > to go out or walk after she is out she just sits or lays down. Remember when you read that Bernese are smart? ;-) She's not bull-headed, she's using the means at her disposal to get what she wants. Your challenge/goal is to make the things YOU want more important and gratifying to her than what she wants. You won't have the option of picking her up much longer... > I am using different techniques to work with her resistance > but I am looking for the magic bullet (technique) to work with her > resistance. The "magic bullet" is really an arsenal comprised of PATIENCE, PERSISTENCE, and CONSISTENCY. All the "techniques" in the world are worthless in the absence of those three. With a fully loaded P, P, and C arsenal, just about any technique will work... some more effectively than others, some more happily than others, and different techniques work better on some dogs than others. > Also, she is not warning me when she needs to go out. When in the crate, most pups will instinctively let you know when they have to go...does she do this? > if we let her roam in the house after a few hours she will just pee anywhere. Yup...because she doesn't yet understand the concepts of : (A) Holding herself until she gets outside. (B) Letting you know that she has to go outside. I wouldn't expect an 11 week old puppy to understand these complex and learned behaviors. > Any advice? The key to using a crate as an aid to houstraining is that it builds on the puppy's instinctive desire to keep her quarters clean. When she's in the crate and signals that she has to go...get her outside to potty IMMEDIATELY (whether you're in the middle of dinner or in the shower, doesn't matter...outside post haste!). Side note: That means NO crating for a period longer than she can physically hold herself (puppies have a very immature bladder...they can't go long.) Having a puppy crated to the extent they have to relieve themself in it is not only self-defeating, it qualifies in my book as cruelty. So...responding when she signals from the crate to go out starts teaching her that if she lets you know she has to go, you'll respond and take her out. Obviously your dog isn't going to live her life in the crate, so the second aspect of housetraining is making the 'leap' of transferring the 'keep my area clean' concept from the small space of the crate to the larger concept of any building interior. Looking at it that way, you can see that it really is a lot for your puppy to learn. As with any large challenge, it's best to break it down into steps and work up to the finished 'whole'. With your puppy, that means that while she's out of her crate, YOU are responsible for anticipating when she'll have to potty and getting her outside BEFORE she does it. You can count on a jaunt: after a meal after drinking after a nap in the middle of play when she gets excited early AM (if not in the middle of the night) late PM (before bed for the night) The fewer opportunities she has to relieve herself in the house, the more quickly she'll learn that it's not the place to potty. Normally, I watch them like a hawk and if the pup is inside and starts indicating she's looking for a spot, I'll give out a quick "UH!" and scoop her up into my arms, out the door, and put her down on the lawn. If you catch them in time, they'll stop what they were about to do and hold it until you put them down...then you can tell puppy how wonderful she is for going in the right place. Quite honestly, I have no idea how this would work several floors up in a highrise. I never had to wait for an elevator with a puppy needing to pee...just had to stand there shivering in the back yard waiting for her to find just the right place.<g> When you can't watch her, confine her...both for her safety and to prevent the opportunity for her to learn that it's ok to go in the house. As she matures a bit, give her more freedom, again...in steps, not all at once. As they can manage (be responsible for) more space comfortably, my puppies go from the crate, to an xpen, to one room, to two adjoining rooms, to the first floor, to the whole house. Expect occassional lapses, especially just when you think she's got it down pat. It happens...just back up a step and go from there. Imagine that you're working with an 11 month old toddler and you'll be pretty near on target in terms of your berner puppy...except that the toddler isn't going to be 90 lbs of raw power in another 6 months. -Sherri Venditti
