How Do I Get My Puppy To Walk To The Front Door To Put Him Outside To Potty?instead Of Picking Him Up,when I Try To Call Him He Won't Come To The Door,or When I Try To Take Him By His Collor He Drags His Paws I Don't Know If This Is The Right Thing To Do Please Tell Me The Best My To Handle This.

Thank You Very,very Much,
Michael Bell

Try holding a dog treat in front of his nose and move to the door holding it in front of him, open the door and have him follow you outside and then give him praise and the treat. This will take about ten times and he will associate going outside with something good. From there you can vary the number of times you give him the treat until he is off treats for going outside. Once he gets the idea of his going out to his potty business he will go to the door himself. My small dog will even come to me and stare at me until I ask her if she wants outside. When I trained her I always would issue a command to "you go potty" and praise her for doing so. I can now take her out any time (like when it's time to go to bed) and tell her to "you go potty" and she does.

How old is your puppy? For a young puppy, you don't have time to mess around with treats. You need to gently pick it out and carry it out. If the weather is cold, it helps to leave a coat right by the door you can grab on your way out. Go to https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251809 It, along with other material in the same thread, should help you get off to a good start with your puppy. It specifically covers training the dog to go to the door when it needs to. You should be teaching obedience now, the puppy needs to learn to come when you call, whether you are at the door or not. The younger the puppy, the faster they learn, as long as you keep the sessions short, only a few repetitions of a command at a time.

Since information on obedience training is widely available and extensive, I never try to cover it. I do have a list of carefully selected books in the sticky. You can't go wrong with any of them.

It sounds like your puppy doesn't understand who is top dog. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete Here are some other gentle ways of teaching that:



''Elevation for small puppies: Sit on the floor and gently put your hands around your pup's middle, below his front legs, and lift him up. He is facing you. Hold him for 15 seconds. Repeat until he no longer struggles. If he is past 10-12 weeks, lift his front feet off the ground, but don't pick him up.

Cradling for small puppies: Hold your puppy gently on his back, as you would cradle a small baby. If he struggles, hold him firmly until he quiets for 10-15 seconds. With larger pups, you can do this as your sit on the floor, with your pup between your legs.

Quiet lying down: Place your pup on the floor on his side, with all 4 legs pointing away from you. Use your hands on his neck/shoulder area and middle, to hold him in this position. When he is quiet, praise him. Lengthen the time that you keep him quietly in this position. When he accepts this position well, handle his paws and muzzle, while keeping him quiet.''

The quotes mean this isn't my original work. It is copied from my Puppy Raising Manual. I have long used these or minor variations of them, and they are very effective. You may want to give him a belly rub while he is on his back too. Helps bonding. There is a big difference between him rolling over and demanding a belly rub, and you choosing a time to roll him over and rub his belly. The latter cements your place as pack leader.