Just have to vent...

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Yep you can stop all food that isn't his regular food (100% though) for a few days and see if he stops pooping all over. You can use his regular food as training treats, just make sure you are counting treats into his daily food volume. I might try and cut back on his food by 1/2 c. to see what it does. Really, he sounds like a REALLY excpetional puppy! Just give it some time hon

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

It's not his fault...just Brandon not willing to watch the puppy when he's out. I watch him and try to tell him what to look for so he can see it as well but when I do, he just gets angry and says "If you know him so well, why don't you take him out?"

I just know I never want to deal with this again. I'm done with the hassle of puppies. Grown dogs from now on for me. We wanted a puppy shepherd so we could get him acclimated to all of the other animals here. Other breeds I'm perfectly happy to get as an adult, a GSD is not one of those.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Now Jaimie, don't bash me, but:

GSDs are one of the brightest dogs in existence. They live to please. HOWEVER there should be only ONE person doing the training. I have raised a dozen or so GSDs from early puppyhood and housebreaking usually took 2-3 DAYS. Period. If you are using a crate with just enough room to turn around in and getting him outside the INSTANT he comes out of the crate and then praising him lavishly the moment he makes outside, you should not be having these problems!!!! The first week or two he should be in the crate more than he is out until he's got the housebreaking down pat. Puppies really do not need food rewards. They need lavish praise and petting and a big fuss about how good they are. But food treats only mess with their tummies (as you are discovering) and are not really helpful at all. Plus sit-stay shouldn't be a priority until they have the housebreaking down. Don't confuse their developing minds with too many new things to learn at one time. Tethering is a very good idea but only one of you should be doing it. Decide now who is the trainer and stick to that decision. The other person can reinforce what the trainer is doing but should not be launching their own training projects. Too many cooks and all that.


JMO as always.


Rusty

edited to add that the only time he should be out of his crate at this early date is when he can have your undivided attention. Cooking? Housework? On the computer or answering the phone? Put him in his crate. Never allow him the opportunity to make mistakes you have to correct him for. Positive reinforcement works incredibly well for GSDs. Corrections not so much. Yelling or scolding after the fact means YOU set him up for a failure. "Puppy training" is really a misnomer. The one actually being trained is the human! The puppy, on the other hand, is just being a puppy.

 

[dainerra]

Rusty, it's ok to have more than one person doing the training, but they all have to be on the same page. I guess that is kind of what you are saying, but I'm not sure. There should only be one METHOD, how about that?

That can be hard sometimes, especially with spouses

I prefer the rolled newspaper correction. When ever puppy has an accident, roll up a nice Sunday paper and smack your spouse on the head while saying "bad man for not watching the puppy" He will eventually learn. My husband was the same way when Singe was a pup. He would have him out "watching him" while watching TV. yeah, that worked GREAT *sarcasm*

I do agree that prevention is 99% of the battle. But, now that puppy knows it's "ok" to poop in the house, you are going to have a little harder time of it. He will figure it out in no time, the man? well, if you find something that works let me know!

 

[hollyclyff]

It sounds kind of like what happened when we got our puppy last year. My husband would take her out of her crate when I wasn't around and "say" he was watching her, but then she would pee on the floor. "But I just looked at the TV for a second" would be his reaction. EXACTLY - "you weren't watching her". He just couldn't get it through his head that watching a puppy meant REALLY watching her, not just mostly watching her. I had to make a rule that he wasn't allowed to get her out without me. After that, housebreaking went quickly. I found I had to take her outside about every 30 minutes the first few days. And then gradually add more time.

 

[NC ChickenKate]

The first thing a puppy needs is consistancy...and it doesn't sound as if the two of you are giving the exact same consistant signals to the pup. If it is ok to mess on the carpet for one of you and not ok from the other, the pup will remain confused as to what is and isn't allowed.

Whomever is the most consistant about what is allowed becomes leader of the pack...if no human steps up to become the pack leader the pup will continue to do whatever it wants where ever it wants whenever it wants...for the rest of it's life.

A "come-to-jesus" conversation between the two humans needs to happen asap. Who is in charge, what is allowed, what is not allowed, what training is needed, who will train and how often, what kind of dog is wanted in the house (companion, guard, hunter, etc.) all need to be agreed on and, possibly, a written contract between the two humans needs to be signed by both.

If the two of you are not able to train the pup on your own, take the pup to a class and learn...the pup will really enjoy it.

If the two of you are not willing or able to spend the time, patience and expense necessary to mold the pup into the fine dog it has every right to be...give it a home that is willing to do the work necessary.

I have professionally trained many breeds of dogs for many types of households for many types of duties...Someone needs to step up now for the sake of the dog...a bad dog is created by it's environment, it isn't born that way.

You always get the dog you deserve! Dogs are not born knowing what is expected of them, they need (and crave) firm, gentle lessons from someone in charge. Whomever is in charge must be willing to ALWAYS be in charge. This is what the dog is looking for.

Good luck, to you and the pup.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
GSDs are going to be shadows whether you tether or not. They are not called velcro dogs for nothing.

Crate training is definitely the way to go, but I agree with the others, once an accident has been allowed to happen in the house it gets twice as hard and it's not the puppy's fault. Training our older GSD took two days. Since the breeder both our GSDs came from starts housebreaking them very early, I'm sure Jax was well on his way to being potty trained when his original owner took him home. However since his original owner took him home and stuck him in an outside kennel, all that potty training was wiped out. Still we were dedicated to crate training and he caught on right away.

Kane, the younger one, never had an accident in the house. We bought his crate before we ever even brought him home. I think it really helps to have a breeder that cares about things like housebreaking and socializing. It made our job alot easier.

 

[mrkpero]

I just want to add that when my boxer was a pup, he would poop all over the house. Kept taking fecals to the vet to look for worms cause I thought something wasn't right. Finally the vet found coccidea in his fecal. He was treated for it and potty training went SO much better after that. A new tech didn't know what to look for so it was missed the first couple times, which made him sicker. Good luck with your puppy.

 

[ultasol]

Make sure you socialize. A well socialized GSD is a pleasure to own and meet. One that isn't.... well..... they can be very fearful.

My parents lost their third GSD at 13 years and now have a 11mo rescue and a 5mo pup. The 11mo was given up because of fear, and the beginning of fear-related aggression. They've had her a month and she's doing much better.

The entire time they had their other GSD the vet and the farrier were shocked at how 'nice' she was to them, as both had had multiple bad experiences with GSDs. This is a shame. As long as she was told it was OK, their old GSD loved people.

If a stranger showed up, she would bark and I am certain would have protected if need be, but a simple, "It's ok" was enough for her to act like she was meeting a new person on a walk in the park. My parents attribute this to taking her everywhere they could with them when she was young. She went to many Cornell polo games, music in the park, rides in the car to the feed store, etc.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Yep! Socializing at classes is going to help him. The neighbors stopping by, the parents coming up for the week...we don't want to take him anywhere like pet stores or feed stores until after he has had all of his shots.