HELP with Chesapeake Bay Retriever
CWolking
We have a 12 week old Chesapeake Bay retriever, really a great puppy, very
mellow and seems to learn reasonably quickly. We bought a pet kennel for
him as a method of housebreaking. Problem is, he is now wetting the
kennel quite frequently. We have picked up on the fact that this might be
his way of telling us he doesn't like to be in the kennel (a quite
effective way, we might add). We have a large, fenced in back yard which
he doesn't like to be in unless we are out there with him. He is out of
the kennel for as much as possible but must be in there when we are away
for a few hours and at night (because he will still pee in the house).
What is the best way of housebreaking this dog? How do we continue using
the kennel without him wetting the thing after being in there for 20
minutes?
Thomas MacClanahan
In <19970309030...@ladder01.news.aol.com> cwol...@aol.com
The crate is the fastest way to housebreak a dog. But from the sounds of
what your chessie is doing, I'd guess your got a large crate expecting him to
grow into it? The crate to be effective for housebreaking should be just
large enough for the dog to turn around in it. Any larger and they will not
equate it with a den. So use cardboard boxes and divide your crate until it
is just large enough for your puppy.
AND then the next key is to take up all water at about 8 P.M. and make sure
the dog is given the chance to go out and relieve itself a couple times
before bedtime. Do not come in until he has gone. When he begins to go. You
can issue a command "pee" "business" or whatever you are comfortable with.
The pup will soon equate the command with what he is doing and then you can
issue the command and he will go on the command.
YOu may wish to join us on the Chessie e-mail list. We have a very
large subscription base of some of the best breeders, handlers and
trainers in Chessiedom. Questions and answers range from field work,
to dog shows, health questions, housebreaking, and on and on.
To subscribe send an email to list...@mail.eworld.com
wiht the only text in the message being
subscribe chessie-l firstname lastname
where you substitute your first and last name where appropriate.
Tom MacClanahan
mac...@ix.netcom.com
TuleMist Chesapeakes
co-owner ches...@mail.eworld.com
Dogman
On a cold day in Hell, 9 Mar 1997 03:02:10 GMT, cwol...@aol.com
(CWolking) wrote:
>We have a 12 week old Chesapeake Bay retriever, really a great puppy, very
>mellow and seems to learn reasonably quickly. We bought a pet kennel for
>him as a method of housebreaking.
But you haven't said a word about HOW you use the crate to housebreak
your puppy, eh?
> Problem is, he is now wetting the
>kennel quite frequently. We have picked up on the fact that this might be
>his way of telling us he doesn't like to be in the kennel (a quite
>effective way, we might add).
No, that's not what he's telling you. He's telling you that you
didn't EMPTY HIS BLADDER BEFORE you put him in the crate.
>We have a large, fenced in back yard which
>he doesn't like to be in unless we are out there with him.
Is this a surprise to you? Are you actually surprised that your 12
WEEK OLD PUPPY prefers to be with his PACK?
When YOU were a small baby, did you ever like to be left alone in your
room? Or did you prefer to have your mom smiling down at you and
talking, playing, etc. with you?
> He is out of
>the kennel for as much as possible but must be in there when we are away
>for a few hours and at night (because he will still pee in the house).
On the assumption that you got your puppy at around 7 weeks, there is
no GOOD reason that your Chessie puppy isn't already pretty reliably
housebroken. You must be doing something wrong.
>What is the best way of housebreaking this dog?
Is this the first time you've asked yourself, or anyone, this
question? Why didn't you think about asking this question of SOMEONE,
ANYONE, before you brought your puppy home?
>How do we continue using
>the kennel without him wetting the thing after being in there for 20
>minutes?
By making sure that his BLADDER IS EMPTY BEFORE you put him in the
crate! Geeez. Why is this so hard for some people to understand?
Do you have even ONE book about how to properly raise a puppy? Or are
you going to keep trying to raise your puppy by trial and error?
If you do not want to completely RUIN your puppy, you will immediately
get at least ONE good puppy-raising book and then enroll him in a
puppy training class. (And excellent book to get is "The Art of
Raising a Puppy," by The Monks of New Skete.)
It is VERY important that Chesapeake Bay retriever puppies get
PROPERLY SOCIALIZED to all the sights, sounds, smells, and goings-on
of life, and especially socialized to OTHER DOGS, or your puppy will
stand a very good chance of ending up in a shelter someday because
it's supposedly too "territorial," or too "aggressive," or too
"protective," etc.
Almost every CBR who has ever ended up in a shelter ended up there
simply because their owners didn't have a clue about properly raising
a CBR, or ANY dog for that matter.
Here's how to get your puppy housebroken in the meantime:
Feed your puppy TWICE per day at approximately the same times. Half
of his recommended daily amount in the morning, and half in the early
evening.
Feed your puppy's second meal to him no later than 6:00 PM (5:00 PM is
even better). Do NOT give your puppy any water after 7:30 PM.
Yes, TAKE HIS WATER UP no later than 7:30 PM. Prior to that, make
sure you spend some time PLAYING with him. Make sure you TAKE him
OUTSIDE no less than three times between the hours of 7:00 PM and when
you go to sleep and finally put your puppy in his crate for the night.
(Yes, the crate belongs in your bedroom, right next to your bed.)
Then, set your alarm for MIDWAY through the night (i.e., if you go to
sleep at 11:00 PM and wake up at 7:00 AM, set your alarm for 3:00 AM
and get up and TAKE your puppy outside to "go"). Spend only a few
minutes with him, but wait until he actually "goes." No PLAYING with
him. Start to use a command to "go" every time you TAKE him outside
(e.g., "Hurry Up!"). Just UP and OUTSIDE and then BACK to sleep.
Then, when you wake up at 7:00 AM, immediately after YOU do YOUR
thing, TAKE your puppy outside so that he can do HIS thing, eh?
During the night, if he howls or whines, just IGNORE him. At the
most, say "Shuuuush!" once and then IGNORE him. Maybe hang your hand
down and place a finger or two on the crate so your puppy can SMELL
you. He'll be more inclined to quickly go to sleep knowing you're
right there next to him.
As the puppy gets older and his ability to "hold it" gets better, you
can eventually eliminate the middle-of-the-night outdoor session. By
16 weeks, or so.
Now, during the day, your puppy should NEVER be put into the crate
right after he has had a big drink of water. Yes, it's YOUR
responsibility to observe him at all times he is out of his crate.
Always try to take your puppy OUTSIDE to "go" before you put him in
the crate. Even for an hour or two. Yes, you must make sure that you
actually see him "go" outside before you should ever put him in his
crate. If you don't see him "go," don't put him in the crate.
NOTE: Make sure that your crate isn't too big for the puppy. Ideally,
for housebreaking purposes, the crate should be no bigger than to
allow your puppy to completely stand up and turn around in. With NO
BEDDING inside. NOTHING.
If it is too big, you should consider blocking off part of his crate
with a board or a piece of heavy cardboard. This will make your puppy
less inclined to soil his own den because he won't want to lay in it.
Good luck with your CBR puppy! CBRs are wonderful dogs, but they
require KNOWLEDGEABLE owners. Please take the time to LEARN about
your dog, eh? PLEASE?
--
Dogman
qbt...@v1.arg
E-mail address rot13 encoded to foil advertising spam
Joey "Dogs" Vaffanculo Contract Locating and Communication Company
http://www.i1.net/~dogman
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Ebeth Jones
In article <332b0e58...@news1.i1.net>, Dogman <qbt...@v1.arg> wrote:
>
>No, that's not what he's telling you. He's telling you that you
>didn't EMPTY HIS BLADDER BEFORE you put him in the crate.
>
yep. My recent housebreaking experience taught me that if I don't
stand over my puppy and actually see her go, chances are I will be
unpleasantly surprised when we get back in the house. Another thing
I learned is that puppies, unlike the older dogs of my acquaintance,
are far more interested in running around and exploring when they
get outside, no matter how badly they have to go, and will often
hold it in order to spend the trip outside having fun - so if it
looks like they don't have to go, just keep waiting...and waiting...
eventually they'll give in.
Ebeth Jones
--
Elizabeth Jones E-MAIL: baj...@nvl.army.mil
"This punishment is not boring and pointless."
Bart Simpson
