[bugsyandme]

Please help me! I am so frustrated and I love my boston terrier but his habits are beginning to seem like patterns, that I just can't understand.

I was supposed to get him when he was 8 weeks old ( I think it would've been the proper age to get him potty trained.) I had told the pet store owner to hold him for 5 months. And mind you she lives in a rural area in Oklahoma and I live in a industrious area in New York City. And with that conclusion I'm beginning to suspect it wasn't such a good idea to get my puppy at this age. At his age is it going to be more difficult to potty train him? How long will it take?

I find it really hard to potty train him because the environment's so different for him. He's scared of un-going traffic, passing by pedestrians, loud noises, motorcycles! Everything city related.

I got him to get used to it by reinforcing him all the time and telling him he's a good boy! I have to do it constantly to get him to walk and it's working but he's still scared of everything when he looses concentration on walking and I'm getting tired! Is there anything else I can do to make him like to walk and poop outside? (I'm suspecting this is one of the main problems he won't poop outside.)

He doesn't get it! He's only pooped outside twice in the two weeks I've had him. All the other times he's pooped is in his crate. I take him outside on a 4 or sometimes 6 hour schedule after his meals and he doesn't poop outside at all. 2 hours after I take him back in from his walks he poops in his crate. It seems like he doesn't get why I take him out of his crate to poop outside! How do I make him love and respect his crate and not potty in it?
He practically lives in there eats and sleeps in there. I descided to do this to him because he always pooped in the living room all the time the first week I had him.

I walked him at 9pm and 10pm last night but he didn't poop on both walks.
Last night was the first night I let him sleep in his crate in a separated room.. he cried sometimes but shut up after he didn't get any attention from me.

2 hours or so later he wakes me up with the loudest bark ever! He woke me up at 1am in the morning and I found poop in corners of the cage. (I put his bed and toys in there so he wouldn't poop! But it didn't help)
The good thing was that he made sure he pooped on the crate and didn't get his toys and bed dirty. But that's not good! What should I do to make him hold it in more and respect his cage? Why did he poop in the crate dis-regrading his bed and toys were in there?

It's as if he barked out of spite. I feel like he's got control over me. It's a pattern now he expects me to clean after him when he poops in his beloved crate at any given time of the day or night. I've been thinking if I should just let him scorch in his own poop and piss so he can finally understand its wrong.
Help!
:confused: :confused: :eek: :(

[fredg]

Hi,
Your question is quite long, but I will answer 2 of your questions.
First, about the potty training:

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/crate2.html
Tips on Crate Training.
Scroll down to "How do I get my puppy used to a crate?"
"In the beginning, he should only be expected to stay in the crate for 2 hours at a time and overnight. During his periods out of the crate, your puppy needs plenty of playtime and attention. I like to give puppies at least an hour between crating periods where they're played with, loved, allowed to explore and romp. This burns off their boundless puppy energy and helps them understand that crating is only a temporary thing."
The above quote is from the site I gave you, and the site has some very good information on crate training.

Next, the barking and being afraid of traffic, etc, can be overcome.
As a new puppy owner, I highly recommend a video by Ceaser Millan, a Professional Dog Behaviorist. He rehabilitates dogs, and trains people.

He has his own TV program, the Dog Whisperer, on the NGEO (National Geographic) channel, on Friday nights mainly, but also comes on some other days. This video is available from:
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/

There are other good videos available on the web, but this one is really worth your attention. You might also consider enrolling in a training class with your dog. You could gain much from the trainer.
Dogs tend to be dominant, want to be the "boss"; until you show them that they are not; you are. The TV program explains it all, if you get the channel. and the Video shows you how to be the "boss", and overcome traffic fright.
I do wish you the best, and good luck.

[fredg]

HI,
Thought I would post again, specifically to the "being scared" part.
Many dogs are scared of loud noises, especially like passing cars, etc.
One way to do it is almost the same as you are doing now.
Persistence is the key, so you have to do the following every time he acts "scared".
When walking him, keep about two feet of leash between him and your hand. Keep the leash tight, and do NOT let him walk in front of you. When he acts scared when a car goes by, IMMEDIATELY get his attention by pushing him down with your fingers, (don't hit him), just push him down, look at him, and say "shhhh-h-h-h-h" out loud. This will get his mind off being scared, and re-concentrate his thinking on you.
You can also pull his leash, pulling his head up, and telling him the same thing, IMMEDIATELY after he looks scared. This technique is shown on the TV show I mentioned, and I also have trained some dogs myself, using this, to not be scared.
It might take a week, but he will soon learn not to be afraid.

[bugsyandme]

Thanks fred!

Oh shoot I missed half of the show! (cesar millan rocks!)

I finally got my dog to poop thanks to your advice. I just needed to let him out for a bit and play with him.. then after the play I put him in his crate.. as soon as I saw him sniffing around I took him out to poop.. and success!

I got so excited that I sent him home too early and I forgot he needed to pee. :(

Next time I'll take a longer walk.

[fredg]

Hi, bugsy,
You are quite welcome.
I am so, so glad you can watch the Dog Whisperer. There was another episode on last night, about a Pomeranian who tried to "tear down" the front door, when someone knocked at the door. Then he would "attack" whoever came in, barking his head off. Ceaser Millan went through what it takes to calm the dog down, and have him sit about 10 feet from the door. When the person came in the door, the dog just sat there, wagging his tail!
Congratulations on making progress.