Due to the fact that the dog was allowed to defacate inside the house, it will be a bit more challenging. You need to seriously consider crate-training. Crate-training involves confining the dog to a dog cage inside the house, unless being directly supervised. This dog cage, actually represents the little den the puppies would have been raised in by the mother dog, which the mother dog keeps clean. Dogs do not like to poop or urinate if they have to be right there with it, and the cage should be large enough for the dog to be able to stand up in and turn around. If it is larger, the dog will be able to get away from messes, and more likely to relieve itself right in the cage. When you get up in the morning, let the dog out right away. Right after the dog eats, let it out. Any time you let the dog out of the cage, let it out before doing anything else. When the dog is out of the cage to play, let it play on a hard surface such as tile, and supervise it directly. Only let it play for maybe 20 minutes, before letting it out again, or putting it back inside the cage. When you see that the dog is routinely not having any accidents in that 20 minutes (or 10 minutes if that is all it can handle), than increase the time by small increments. You want the dog to succeed, and have chances to be praised. When the dog is outside, go outside with it. You will know if it did anything. As soon as it comes back inside, if it did "its business", praise it generously and give it a treat. Say, "Good dog went out," and hand it the treat. If it has an accident in the house, decide what you did wrong, then matter-of-factly, soak it up with a paper towel or pick it up, put it outside and take the dog there, too. Show it to the dog. Say, "Go outside", or "Good dog go OUTSIDE." It sounds like a round-about way of doing things, but dogs learn by praise and not by punishment. If you think it is about to potty, whisk it out as quickly as you can, so that it has the opportunity to be successful. My friend trained her puppy to potty inside a box in the house. She is having a terrible time breaking it of this habit. She is being patient, and will eventually succeed, but cage-training is the best way to gain successes in this matter, and is not cruel - needing to take the dog to the shelter when it cannot be trained is cruel. Remember: PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!
|