im losing it....

[gym2k2]

i adopted a 2 yr old long hair 3 weeks ago. At first i thought he was pretty much house trained but now im wondering. I take him out ...its like torture to wait for him to go. BUT, he has NO problem going in my dining room always in the same area. I put paper down. What does he do? He goes around it.
I just took him out for a half walk around the area. Nothing.
11

thats just one issue. The other is his barking...at_every_little_sound ANY time of the day or night.
how do i stop that to a minimum without the Dog's civil liberties union calling me for not being politically dog correct??!
im going crazy!!!!:caffeine:

[Mark]

Hi gym2k2,

First, welcome to DBB! :jacks:

It sounds like (?) doesn't know what is expected when you take him outside. Repeat your own key words (like, "go potty" or what ever you choose for the act) over & over, as long as it takes and then reward correct actions with lot's of praise and maybe a baby carrot as a treat. One day soon he will "get it" and you'll find your trips out shorter than now. In the meantime, when he goes in the house it's important not to over-react unless you catch him in the act.

A spray bottle with water in it sprayed in the face combined with the command of your choice (like "no bark", "shut it" or whatever you choose) works well for some. But this IS a Dachsie and they're gonna bark. :D

It's important when you use a command for a certain thing to be consistant with the same words for that situation.

I hope this helps and please do keep us posted,

[dutchman]

Hello and welcome to the board. I'm sure others will have many good ideas on the house breaking. I'll just list a few things. First the spots he is using need to be treated with something like Nature's Miracle or Smple Solution to help remove any sent that remains behind after a general cleanup. Do you have any type of small carpet claner like a Little Green Machine? They can some in handy if you have pets. Accidents can happen with any animal. Also remember he is going through many changes in his life right now and may be under some additional stress due to the changeas in his life. He may also be testing you to see what he can get by with. Now it's important that you help him get off on the right foot and not make a habit of going inside. I'm not an expert in this area I find spots that need cleaning from time to time in my house.

As far as the barking that can be a tough one. How is the general bonding coming along between you and your new companion. The apprach and how aggressive you want to be right now may depend a lot on the general personality of your new companion. If he is already a best budy and an outgoing dog you can take a more active approach than you could with a shy animal who's confidence you are trying to gain. General anti barking tips. When the dog barks place a hand under it's chin tilting the head back and saying QUIET. I say QUIET rather than NO BARK because many people feel the NO work should be reserved and only used when tying to correct something like an agression problem. The hand under chin seldom seems to work with our dachsie buddies. Among other things they tend to sit up to move away from your hand. The water bottle (most effect when aimed between the eyes) is an approach recommended by many trainers. I have one bottle with a very tight stream that I have to try an avoid an accident eye spray with but it works well with my boys when they are at the gate and I'm at the front door (25 feet) since I can hit them in the back of the ear where it attaches to the head and that gets their attention. If I go up to them to spray them in the face thay will stop barking and come running to be before I get there. Now most of the time the boys only have to see taht water bottle to quiet down. A citronella collar also works for a large number of stubborn barkers. They are expensive $90-$150 depending on how good a hopper you are plus the cost of additonal refils and batteries if you have to keep using it. You may be able to locae some place you can ret one. Locally there is a feed store that will rent the collar for $20/week plus you purchase your own bottle of the citronella $14. The collar works for two of my boys the third ignors it. I say it works in that they now know the collar and won't bark if they have it on but they are also smart enough to know when they don't have it on and will go back to barking without it. Like Mark said a certain amount of barking is noral for a dachshund.

Good luck, I'm sure your new companion will work out and in time you can look back and laugh at the tough early days. My current crew all boys in the order they were adopted. Frank LH red standard 18.5#, adopted at 6 moths about to turn 3. Tanner LH B&T Dapple tweenie 11.5# about 1.5-2 yrs. when adopted three months after Frank now about 4. Dexter smooth mini 10.5# about 5 years adopted 3 months ago.

Tom and the boys

[Meemoo]

One other thought that came to mind besides all the other great advice you've gotten. Be sure to clean that area well where the dog has peed with a good enzymatic cleaner such as nature's miracle, oxiclean etc. If the scent is still there the dog will go again in the same spot.

[MARTHA]

Welcome to the Board!

I am so sorry that you are having problems with your new baby. You have been given some great advice here. The two things that I want to stress is consistency and patience. These are two things that are hard to do at the end of long day. The love that we have for these babies makes us push on!

Good luck and let us know how you are doing. We all care about each other's puppers, their problem and their triumphs!

Martha and the Girls and the Fosters