How to Train Your Dog to Not Pee in the House

Hello! What a sweet face he has! I am sending you information on potty training and crate training if you decide to use a crate to help with potty training. You will want to spend a few weeks practicing the advice, and you should see a quick turnaround. Here is information on potty training, as well as crate training if you decide to use a crate to aid in the potty training process. Potty training: Know Your Pup. As you spend time with your puppy, learn your puppy’s love language. Just as some people prefer gifts, touch, or time spent together, puppies can be the same way. Some puppies love praise or pets, while others prefer treats. As you get to know your puppy, consider what reward your puppy loves the most. Create a Daily Schedule. It is best to have a routine for your puppy. A schedule helps them understand when to eat, play, and “go to the bathroom.” Your puppy should go out frequently and the routine should be the same every time. When? Start the day by taking your puppy outside, and repeating based on age and ability. They should also go out after napping, chewing, playing, and within 10 to 15 minutes of eating. Although some puppies can sleep for seven hours, it is important to set an alarm and take your pup out during the night. When you do, don’t make a fuss about it. Quietly take them outside with minimal stimulation and light. Praise them if they go to the bathroom and gently return them to their bed or crate. You don’t want them to get stimulated and ready to play in the middle of the night! As you get to know your puppy, you will become aware of their individual habits. Click here to learn more about house training schedules for puppies. Where? Take your puppy to a specific area to urinate or defecate. Be consistent. You can create an area by using urine-soaked paper or bowel movements to help create an aroma to stimulate your puppy. How? Take your puppy out on a leash so they can focus on the desired activity. This will help prevent them from wandering off to play. Once your puppy is in the selected area, use your verbal cue, such as “Hurry Up,” “Poopies,” “Go tinkle,” or any phrase your puppy responds to. What? Know the signs that your puppy has to go to the bathroom. Every animal may have a different “I gotta go” gesture, which often include restlessness, sniffing around, circling, scratching at the door, barking, and, eventually, squatting. At the first sign that your pup has to go, calmly and quickly take them outside to their bathroom spot. Deal with Accidents. Accidents are a normal part of house training a puppy. What to Do If you see your puppy in the process of urinating or defecating inappropriately, calmly and quickly interrupt them in the act. Tell them to stop (either by a jarring sound or command), and immediately take them to an appropriate location for elimination. After your puppy goes to the bathroom, lavishly praise them and offer a treat. Thoroughly clean up accidents, so your puppy is not attracted to this area again. Create a consistent feeding and watering schedule. Depending on the age of your puppy, they will eat three to four times a day. A consistent feeding routine can create a regular bathroom schedule. Take away water about 2 hours before bedtime. Learn more about ideal dog schedules here. What NOT to Do Don’t punish your puppy when they have an accident. At that point, it is too late. When a puppy has an accident in the house and they walk away, within seconds they have already forgotten about what they did. Taking them to the scene of the crime and yelling and/or rubbing their nose in it does not help and, in fact, can harm your puppy! Supervise. The best thing you can do is to prevent accidents and the best way to do this is to supervise your puppy at all times. You can tether your puppy to your waist with a five or six-foot leash and carefully observe them for signs that they need to go to the bathroom. If you can’t supervise, then crate or confine your puppy. The more accidents your puppy has in the house, the more confusing it will be for them and this can delay house training. Reward, Reward, Reward. It is important to give your puppy a reward for their good behavior. This can be for commands such as sitting and coming to you, or for appropriately eliminating outside. In a puppy, a reward can be a couple kibbles of puppy food or a treat, such as a small piece of meat. The treat should be exciting for them and only available as a result of good behavior. Crate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog's age, temperament and past experiences. It's important to keep two things in mind while crate training: The crate should always be associated with something pleasant and training should take place in a series of small steps. Don't go too fast. Step 1: Introduce your dog to the crate Place the crate in an area of your house where the family spends a lot of time, such as the family room. Put a soft blanket or towel in the crate. Take the door off and let the dog explore the crate at their leisure. Some dogs will be naturally curious and start sleeping in the crate right away. If yours isn't one of them: Bring them over to the crate and talk to them in a happy tone of voice. Make sure the crate door is open and secured so that it won't hit your dog and frighten them. Encourage your dog to enter the crate by dropping some small food treats nearby, then just inside the door, and finally, all the way inside the crate. If they refuse to go all the way in at first, that's OK; don't force them to enter. Continue tossing treats into the crate until your dog will walk calmly all the way into the crate to get the food. If they aren’t interested in treats, try tossing a favorite toy in the crate. This step may take a few minutes or as long as several days. Step 2: Feed your dog meals in the crate After introducing your dog to the crate, begin feeding them their regular meals near the crate. This will create a pleasant association with the crate. If your dog is readily entering the crate when you begin Step 2, place the food dish all the way at the back of the crate. If they remain reluctant to enter, put the dish only as far inside as they will readily go without becoming fearful or anxious. Each time you feed them, place the dish a little further back in the crate. Once your dog is standing comfortably in the crate to eat their meal, you can close the door while they’re eating. The first time you do this, open the door as soon as they finish their meal. With each successive feeding, leave the door closed a few minutes longer, until they’re staying in the crate for 10 minutes or so after eating. If they begin to whine to be let out, you may have increased the length of time too quickly. Next time, try leaving them in the crate for a shorter time period. If they do whine or cry in the crate, don’t let them out until they stop. Otherwise, they'll learn that the way to get out of the crate is to whine, so they'll keep doing it. Step 3: Practice with longer crating periods After your dog is eating their regular meals in the crate with no sign of fear or anxiety, you can confine them there for short time periods while you're home. Call them over to the crate and give them a treat. Give them a command to enter, such as "crate." Encourage them by pointing to the inside of the crate with a treat in your hand. After your dog enters the crate, praise them, give them the treat and close the door. Sit quietly near the crate for five to 10 minutes and then go into another room for a few minutes. Return, sit quietly again for a short time and then let them out. Repeat this process several times a day, gradually increasing the length of time you leave them in the crate and the length of time you're out of sight. Once your dog will stay quietly in the crate for about 30 minutes with you mostly out of sight, you can begin leaving them crated when you're gone for short time periods and/or letting them sleep there at night. This may take several days or weeks. Step 4, Part A: Crate your dog when you leave After your dog can spend about 30 minutes in the crate without becoming anxious or afraid, you can begin leaving them crated for short periods when you leave the house. Put them in the crate using your regular command and a treat. You might also want to leave them with a few safe toys in the crate. Vary the moment during your "getting ready to leave" routine that you put your dog in the crate. Although they shouldn't be crated for a long time before you leave, you can crate them anywhere from five to 20 minutes prior to leaving. Don't make your departures emotional and prolonged—they should be matter-of-fact. Praise your dog briefly, give them a treat for entering the crate and then leave quietly. When you return home, don't reward your dog for excited behavior by responding to them in an enthusiastic way. Keep arrivals low-key to avoid increasing their anxiety over when you will return. Continue to crate your dog for short periods from time to time when you're home so they don't associate crating with being left alone. Step 4, Part B: Crate your dog at night Put your dog in the crate using your regular command and a treat. Initially, it may be a good idea to put the crate in your bedroom or nearby in a hallway, especially if you have a puppy. Puppies often need to go outside to eliminate during the night and you'll want to be able to hear your puppy when they whine to be let outside. Older dogs should also initially be kept nearby so they don't associate the crate with social isolation. Once your dog is sleeping comfortably through the night with the crate near you, you can begin to gradually move it to the location you prefer, although time spent with your dog—even sleep time—is a chance to strengthen the bond between you and your pet. Potential problems Whining: If your dog whines or cries while in the crate at night, it may be difficult to decide whether they’re whining to be let out of the crate, or whether they need to be let outside to eliminate. If you've followed the training procedures outlined above, then your dog hasn't been rewarded for whining in the past by being released from their crate. If that is the case, try to ignore the whining. If your dog is just testing you, they'll probably stop whining soon. Yelling at them or pounding on the crate will only make things worse. If the whining continues after you've ignored them for several minutes, use the phrase they associate with going outside to eliminate. If they respond and become excited, take them outside. This should be a trip with a purpose, not play time. If you're convinced that your dog doesn't need to eliminate, the best response is to ignore them until they stop whining. Don't give in; if you do, you'll teach your dog to whine loud and long to get what they want. If you've progressed gradually through the training steps and haven't done too much too fast, you'll be less likely to encounter this problem. If the problem becomes unmanageable, you may need to start the crate training process over again. Separation anxiety: Attempting to use the crate as a remedy for separation anxiety won't solve the problem. A crate may prevent your dog from being destructive, but they may get injured in an attempt to escape. Separation anxiety problems can only be resolved with counterconditioning and desensitization procedures.

Hello Ayusx, The easiest way to train pup to not listen to other's commands is generally to teach your dog commands that only you know they will respond to - this is why protection dogs are often taught German commands instead of English. To teach pup to bark, first teach pup the Speak command. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak Once pup knows the speak command, recruit friends pup doesn't know to step onto the property or come to the door while pup watches from a window or inside somewhere. Command speak and reward with a treat when they do. Practice with telling pup to speak each time the person is there, until pup barks on their own when the person tries to enter without saying speak. At that point, have the person come onto the property, wait seven seconds to see if pup will bark on their own, reward if they do, and command speak if they don't - then reward but give a smaller reward when you tell pup opposed to when pup does it on their own. Practice until pup will bark each time someone enters the property. Practice with different people you can recruit, that pup doesn't know so that pup will learn to do this with anyone who enters the property and not just that one person. Draw pup's attention to people outside or people on your property, and reward pup when you see them watching someone in general - so that pup will begin watching people and staying more alert as a habit. Pup doesn't have to bark to reward this one - just reward when pup is watching someone and you notice that. I also recommend teaching the Quiet command, so that you can tell pup when to stop barking after they alert. Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark For the protection training with bite work you need to hire a professional protection dog trainer. Done wrong, you can create a dog who is fear aggressive and will not be under voice control and will be more of a liability to you than protection. True protection training requires a high level of off-leash obedience around high distractions, working with a dog's natural defense drive using positive reinforcement - via bite bags and the tug response, and building a dog's confidence rather than instilling fear. This requires a lot of knowledge about dogs and this type of training, staff to practice bites and holds with, and equipment like body suites and arm pads. This should only be done by a professional who knows how to accomplish those things without creating unwanted issues. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello! Yes the use of a bell would be beneficial in your situation. I have a few steps that I am going to send you that will assist in this process. Step 1 Buy a set of bells that you will be able to easily hear when your dog rings them. Hang the bells at your dog’s level on the wall next to the main “potty door.” Before going outside, ring the bells yourself and say “Go Potty.” Take your puppy out on a leash to the same location every time. When your puppy does their business, repeat “Go Potty” and give them a treat. Repeat this process every time your puppy goes out for about one week. Step 2 You will now begin luring your puppy to ring the bell themselves. Before taking your puppy out, show them a treat and slowly bring it next to the set of bells. When your puppy’s nose or paw touches the bells, say “Let's Go Potty Outside” and take them outside to their potty spot. Wait for your puppy to go and then repeat “Go Potty” and give them the treat. It is important to be rewarding your puppy for going to the bathroom outside. This is why the treat is only given after they have done their business! This process may last a week, give or take a few days depending on the puppy. Step 3 Now that your puppy is physically ringing the bells, it is time to phase out the food lure. Just before taking your puppy outside, gesture to the bells with your empty hand instead of using a treat to draw their nose over. When your puppy rings the bells, say “Go Potty” and take them to their spot. After your puppy goes, repeat “Go Potty” and reward them with a treat. Taking your puppy out on leash while working on potty training. This ensures that they will understand the bells mean “Go Potty” and not “go out and play.” If you take your puppy out on a leash and they do not go, confine them inside either on a leash or in their crate for 5 to 10 minutes and then repeat the bell training process. Remember to have patience with your puppy and yourself. As long as you stay consistent and fair, you and your puppy will get the hang of this in no time!

Hello, First, know that the breed combination you have is usually a highly intelligent, sensitive dog, who often needs a pet parent who is calm, consistent and they respect in order for them to work for you. I suggest temporarily using the crate more during the day. When you take pup potty, tell them to "Go Potty" and give a treat after each pee and each poop. If pup goes potty, give 1.5-2 hours of supervised freedom in the house. After 1.5-2 hours (or less if accidents still happen sooner than 1.5-2 hours), crate pup until it's time for the next potty trip, which as this age should be at least every 2.5-3 hours. If you take pup outside and they don't go potty, return to the crate for an hour, then try again in an hour or sooner if pup acts like they need to go. You want to manage the behavior enough that pup's schedule is preventing them from having accidents at this age, so that they will develop a long-term habit of keeping the home clean and actually want to keep it clean themselves too. This takes time to develop and requires a lot of consistency and preventing accidents due to management. If the accidents are happening sooner than 1.5 hours after the potty trip and are not related to times when pup is getting in trouble or is really excited (if so pup is probably submissive peeing or excited peeing, which is deal with differently), then follow the tethering method from the article linked below. If pup indicates they need to go sooner than the scheduled time, rush them outside to go. If you are too late and catch pup mid-pee, clap your hands three times to interrupt, then quietly rush pup outside. Once pup is outside, praise and act like nothing happened. Rewards and corrections have to happen right when the behavior happens - so only interrupt pup for accidents while pup is mid-pee, and once pup is going potty outside - you have to put aside your anger and act happy about them going potty outside, so pup associates outside with good things. Potty training is and punishing is tricky because done wrong, you can teach a dog to simply be more sneaky about pottying inside, or to avoid pottying in front of you completely - which back fires when pup also won't go in front of you outside. Timing has to be just right and rewards for doing the correct behavior have to also be given so pup knows that the correct action is good and not punishable. Disregard for person space is completely normal. Work on teaching pup a Place and Out command. Place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O75dyWITP1s Out - which means leave the area: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ Leave It method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite For the chewing, check out the article linked below. That behavior is also completely normal. Pups have to be taught to leave human objects alone and actually taught to like their own toys. One way to teach a dog to teach on their own toys is to teach commands like leave it, confine pup when you can't supervise, and use deterrents like bitter apple to make furniture and your things less appealing, then make pup's own things more appealing but choosing toys that are durable and hollow and can be stuffed with kibble. You can even feed pup their entire daily kibble as treats and in toys to stimulate pup mentally and help with the chewing and behaviors. Toys like Kongs, durable puzzle toys with treats inside, kong wobbles, ect...You can even give pup a frozen kong that will take him longer to get the food out of. Place pup's food in a bowl with water the night before. Let the food turn to mush, poke a straw through the Kong's holes, loosely stuff the mush around the straw, freeze the entire thing, then remove the straw and give it to him in the early evening. Add a bit of peanut butter or liver paste to the mush if he needs help being interested in it - don't pack it tightly or he won't be able to get it out. You can make several of these ahead of time to have on hand. Just subtract the food in the kong from her dinner kibble amount, to avoid overfeeding. Highly intelligent and more dominant personality dogs tend to do well with more mental stimulation and structure. Work on earning his respect through obedience and mentally challenging him to wear him out, like with training and toys. Watch out for methods that use a lot of physical force to gain respect, because Malinois and German Shepherd tend to have strong defense drives and those methods may backfire. Have pup work for what they get in life instead, by performing commands to earn things like meals, petting and play. Finally, avoid using cleaners with ammonia on your floor - ammonia smells like urine to a dog and can encourage pottying inside. Make sure deodorizing cleaners contain enzymes - only enzymes will break down the pee and poop at a molecular level to remove the smell well enough for a dog's sensitive nose. Other types of cleaners don't work well enough or just mask the scent. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello! How great of you to take him in. I usually tell folks when adult potty issues arise, it is best to wipe the slate clean with whatever you are doing and start fresh as if he were a puppy. Potty training a puppy is full of positive reinforcement anyway, so it should be not only gentle on him, but could provide him a bit of a confidence boost. The information I am sending you is geared towards puppies, but the process is the same. Potty training: Know Your Pup. As you spend time with your puppy, learn your puppy’s love language. Just as some people prefer gifts, touch, or time spent together, puppies can be the same way. Some puppies love praise or pets, while others prefer treats. As you get to know your puppy, consider what reward your puppy loves the most. Create a Daily Schedule. It is best to have a routine for your puppy. A schedule helps them understand when to eat, play, and “go to the bathroom.” Your puppy should go out frequently and the routine should be the same every time. When? Start the day by taking your puppy outside, and repeating based on age and ability. They should also go out after napping, chewing, playing, and within 10 to 15 minutes of eating. Although some puppies can sleep for seven hours, it is important to set an alarm and take your pup out during the night. When you do, don’t make a fuss about it. Quietly take them outside with minimal stimulation and light. Praise them if they go to the bathroom and gently return them to their bed or crate. You don’t want them to get stimulated and ready to play in the middle of the night! As you get to know your puppy, you will become aware of their individual habits. Click here to learn more about house training schedules for puppies. Where? Take your puppy to a specific area to urinate or defecate. Be consistent. You can create an area by using urine-soaked paper or bowel movements to help create an aroma to stimulate your puppy. How? Take your puppy out on a leash so they can focus on the desired activity. This will help prevent them from wandering off to play. Once your puppy is in the selected area, use your verbal cue, such as “Hurry Up,” “Poopies,” “Go tinkle,” or any phrase your puppy responds to. What? Know the signs that your puppy has to go to the bathroom. Every animal may have a different “I gotta go” gesture, which often include restlessness, sniffing around, circling, scratching at the door, barking, and, eventually, squatting. At the first sign that your pup has to go, calmly and quickly take them outside to their bathroom spot. Deal with Accidents. Accidents are a normal part of house training a puppy. What to Do If you see your puppy in the process of urinating or defecating inappropriately, calmly and quickly interrupt them in the act. Tell them to stop (either by a jarring sound or command), and immediately take them to an appropriate location for elimination. After your puppy goes to the bathroom, lavishly praise them and offer a treat. Thoroughly clean up accidents, so your puppy is not attracted to this area again. Create a consistent feeding and watering schedule. Depending on the age of your puppy, they will eat three to four times a day. A consistent feeding routine can create a regular bathroom schedule. Take away water about 2 hours before bedtime. Learn more about ideal dog schedules here. What NOT to Do Don’t punish your puppy when they have an accident. At that point, it is too late. When a puppy has an accident in the house and they walk away, within seconds they have already forgotten about what they did. Taking them to the scene of the crime and yelling and/or rubbing their nose in it does not help and, in fact, can harm your puppy! Supervise. The best thing you can do is to prevent accidents and the best way to do this is to supervise your puppy at all times. You can tether your puppy to your waist with a five or six-foot leash and carefully observe them for signs that they need to go to the bathroom. If you can’t supervise, then crate or confine your puppy. The more accidents your puppy has in the house, the more confusing it will be for them and this can delay house training. Reward, Reward, Reward. It is important to give your puppy a reward for their good behavior. This can be for commands such as sitting and coming to you, or for appropriately eliminating outside. In a puppy, a reward can be a couple kibbles of puppy food or a treat, such as a small piece of meat. The treat should be exciting for them and only available as a result of good behavior.