Potty training shihtzu

I find it disgusting that there is any mention of abusive, punishing methods in this milenium. Some myths never die. If you go to http://www.akc.org/pdfs/starpuppy/le...g_outdoors.pdf, you will find:

What Not To Do
Never punish your puppy for a housetraining accident. Rubbing a puppy’s nose in urine or feces is
Abusive and will not help the training process. If you are having housetraining problems, your S.T.A.are.
Puppy instructor can give you some advice. Your veterinarian can assist you with selecting the proper
Food and feeding schedule for your puppy.

I'm going to have to absolutely agree with this. The fact that people used to suggest that putting or rubbing a dog's nose to his waste does not warrant its propagation now. People used to believe in spanking or "whupping" their kids. That doesn't mean it's a practice that should be continued. The research has been done. In fact, it's been out there for a long enough time that any mildly informed pet owner has heard that this is not an acceptable house training method. I know for a fact that this suggestion has been addressed time and again on these boards, so I do not know why it is still being advised here. AMHD is a community, which is an asset to this site, but I think we have to beware of letting community politics or alliances get in the way of supporting what's right and what isn't. The best thing we can do on these boards is to support each other in gaining and spreading the best information we have in raising, rearing, loving and training our beloved pets and animals.

Dog training has taken a big turn in a new direction over the years. Professionals in this field have turned away from the previously used military-based models in favor of positive training methods. The fact is that the new methods are not just more humane, but they're also more effective when it comes to molding our pets into better behaved, more stable and more balanced additions to the family unit.

Turning back to the question at hand, my advice is almost always to invest in at least a couple of puppy training books. Not only will they save you time, money, energy and unnecessary frustration in the long run by detailing everything you need to know to teach your puppy how to live in your world, but they will also present ideas, suggestions and solutions to facets of dog care that may not have even thought of. When I got my last puppy, an English cocker spaniel who is now 9 months old, I got a whole stack of literature regarding puppy training and care. I read them through before he even came home with us, and I have continued to turn back to the best of them at each new stage in his development. The reason I suggest going this route is that I have been hands down amazed at how much easier this process has been every single step of the way because of what they taught me. In fact, now that I have read them, I really can't imagine trying to raise a puppy or a dog without them. There is no reason for anyone to have to reinvent the wheel and learn by trial and error the whole way through. If you start with consistency, you'll get the job done faster, better and more peacefully, which means that you'll have more time to really enjoy your puppy the way you should.

My personal favorites are The Puppy Whisperer and How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With. They cover all of the basic elements of puppy rearing through the whole first year, including smart ways of house training your pup. I also recommend How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days, which is short, sweet, logical and to the point. If you can't find them at your local bookstore or at your local library, you can easily find them online. There are a lot of other great training books out there too, so it might be a really good idea to visit your bookstore and take a look at what's out there so that you can find the ones you like best. Even if you're planning to take your pooch to obedience classes, there is still a lot more ground to cover than they'll be able to teach in the limited time they have with you. Be proactive!

In the simplest terms, you teach a puppy (or a dog) not to potty in the house by celebrating, praising and treating it every time it does the right thing outside. If it goes in the house, the only way you can "correct" it is if you catch it in action. In that case, you can say "no" or distract it (like with a slightly startling noise), pick it right up, and bring it outside to where it's supposed to go. Make sure you're cleaning up any accidents in the house with a proper odor neutrilizer (like nature's miracle), and make very sure that none of those products contain any ammonia. Also, you aid the situation by not giving your pup a chance to make mistakes. This means keeping it in an area that is a size it can handle at this point, like a kitchen with easy to clean floors. Also note that, in general, puppies don't begin to be physiologically capable of "holding it" properly until after they are 4 months old. Chances are, there will be accidents. Just learn what went wrong and why, and adjust the situation to increase its chances of success. Keeping it on a schedule and knowing when to take it out will also play a large part in this process. Be patient, keep your cool, and get informed! You and your puppy will be better off in the long run for it.

I wish you lots of luck!