Puppy Training Q

[DE3]

My 4 year old Australian Shepherd/Border Collie passed away a year ago, and we finally found a dog that meets our needs. It's a Australian Shepherd/Heeler. 7 weeks old. The parents were both very sweet.

I need house-training ideas. He'll spend most of it's time indoors. At the moment, we plan to lay a big plastic tarp, or plastic sheeting on the floor of our large living-room to help keep the potty smell from penetrating the floor. Sounds real stylish, eh? The dog will spend most of his indoor time in there until he has the potty thing down right. We're crate-training him too. Hopefully, he'll find a "favorite spot" to "go" when the immediate urge strikes. We can also put down newspaper on his "spot" to make clean up easier. Then, over time, we'll trim back the floor protection... Any suggestions here are welcomed.

My main question is this: Does any one have ideas to make/buy a suitable door/barrier to contain the dog within the room? The room has a 5 foot wide door opening without a door. (never had a door). I need to figure out the most cost efficient and convienient way to make a user-friendly barrier in the door opening to keep him in. It would be nice if the "door" was:

*lightweight
*at least partially see-through
*set up for easy human "opening/closing" (access)
*sturdy enough for a youngster that will be plenty strong.

I'm not too worried about fixing hardware to the walls -- I have an old, lived in house.

I have a half-baked idea about using a stretchable material (bungee cord-like) for the top part of the barrier, so a person could push it down to step over it. The rest of it would need to be flexible material of some sort to make that general idea fly.

Suggestions?

 

[Ker]

They do sell walk-through doggie barrier doors. Easy to install, and easy to operate. You might want to reconsider the whole tarp on the floor idea. It will likely end up being a wonderful chew toy, and something fun for puppy to drag around. I have shown and trained dogs for many years, and I have found that unless you are there to supervise a new puppy, being in the crate is the safest place, and as long as you are going to let him out for regular romping and playing, he or she will welcome having a space that is sacred. I had a tough " house-breaker" a few yrs ago. He got let out after every meal, every drink of water, every playtime, and a few times in between.. and after three months of this, he was safe to leave unsupervised. Alot of people think that crates are cruel, but in the greater picture, it would be more cruel to leave him alone in a house where a lamp wire looks like something fun to chew on. I would rather have a whining puppy than a fried one... Good luck with your little one... oh, and try cherrybrook.com for a nice selection of indoor gates, and puppy playpens are great prices !!

 

[Elizabeth]

They sell puppy pads: absorbent disposable pee-on-these pads. I think they might even be slightly scented in order to entice the puppy to pee there instead of anywhere else...

Re: the doorway. The quickest fix is babygates, but I don't know if they will be wide enough. If you can't find exactly what would work, maybe a semi-permanent block plus a babygate will cover that 5-foot gap.

 

[Immortal_sin]

I'm with Ker on the no tarp thing. The crate is the best place for him if you can let him out enough. If not, I would suggest an X-pen in the kitchen, so you don't have to worry about the rug. You can use the pee pads...but make sure that you get him to go outside as much as possible. I've heard of dogs thinking that ANY paper on the floor or rug is a pee pad, and therefore nobody could leave any kind of paper lying around, as the puppy sees it as fair game.
Good luck with the new pup, they sure are a handful, but worth it!

 

[DE3]

They do sell walk-through doggie barrier doors. Easy to install, and easy to operate. You might want to reconsider the whole tarp on the floor idea. It will likely end up being a wonderful chew toy, and something fun for puppy to drag around. I have shown and trained dogs for many years, and I have found that unless you are there to supervise a new puppy, being in the crate is the safest place, and as long as you are going to let him out for regular romping and playing, he or she will welcome having a space that is sacred. I had a tough " house-breaker" a few yrs ago. He got let out after every meal, every drink of water, every playtime, and a few times in between.. and after three months of this, he was safe to leave unsupervised. Alot of people think that crates are cruel, but in the greater picture, it would be more cruel to leave him alone in a house where a lamp wire looks like something fun to chew on. I would rather have a whining puppy than a fried one... Good luck with your little one... oh, and try cherrybrook.com for a nice selection of indoor gates, and puppy playpens are great prices !!

Good point on the tarp being chewed up...

I agree on crate training. Our last dog loved his crate, and would walk in on his own accord to "take a break" from us annoying human-folk.
I guess what I'd like to try and avoid in regards to crates and young pups is during those times when he's crated, and due to his age, cant wait to relieve himself... No simple solutions for sure, just trying to do the best we can to minimize the most painful parts of raising the dude. He clearly has all the potential one could ask for. Thanks.

pics of Zep (short for Led Zepplin) on his first full day home.

 

[DE3]

They sell puppy pads: absorbent disposable pee-on-these pads. I think they might even be slightly scented in order to entice the puppy to pee there instead of anywhere else...

Will they do #2 on those pads too?

Thanks

 

[DE3]

I'm with Ker on the no tarp thing. The crate is the best place for him if you can let him out enough. If not, I would suggest an X-pen in the kitchen, so you don't have to worry about the rug. You can use the pee pads...but make sure that you get him to go outside as much as possible. I've heard of dogs thinking that ANY paper on the floor or rug is a pee pad, and therefore nobody could leave any kind of paper lying around, as the puppy sees it as fair game.
Good luck with the new pup, they sure are a handful, but worth it!

I have all wood (or vinyl) flooring in this old house. Is an X-pen like a 4-sided containment unit?

...I simply have to take this opportunity to say...you have by by far my most favorite avatar I've ever seen..

 

[Immortal_sin]

yes, it's a wire cage that can be fashioned in any position, you could even use it straight to block a room off.
And thanks for the compliment!
Your little guy is ADORABLE!

 

[spidergoddess]

Congrats on the new puppy, most adorable. I've got an Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler) mix. Extremely intelligent dogs. Sometimes too smart, LOL.

My feeling with housebreaking is to train that it is never ok to go in the house. Crate training with regularly scheduled times of eating, drinking, and taking out are effective. Should you catch the puppy having an accident inside, make lots of noise and swoop puppy up and rush outside - then give tremendous praise when puppy is successful in an appropriate place. It is also a nice thing to have a potty command and train puppy to go when told. This comes in handy throughout the dog's life.

Weezil, my doggie girl, is six now and still loves her crate. The door is left open and she uses as her den. I've never used the crate as punishment, and she gets cookies as a reward if for any reason she is to be closed in, so she is always happy to run in if told to go there.