New Puppy experience, potty training

Question
Hi Carol,

First of all, I could not agree with you more in which you indicate you should do your homework before purchasing a specific breed of dog.  

About 3 weeks ago, I purchased a Jack Russell puppy (8/25/08 is his birthday) from a major pet store chain because I was taken back by how cute he was.  Yes I know, WRONG MOVE.  After bringing the dog home that evening and THEN doing research on the internet that evening I immediately thought I had made the worst decision in my life because I didn't realize how easily excitable and vibrant Jack Russell dogs can be, not good if you live in a condo, especially in the city of Chicago!  

I'm not one from shying away from my responsibilities so I immediately put my dog KODA, on a feeding schedule (7:30am and 6pm), crate trained him in 2 weeks time (oh my goodness the barking and crying the first 2 weeks were awful but now he loves his crate!), trained him on the words NO, OUTSIDE, POO, and PEE.  With the exception of crate training, I also provided KODA plenty of praise and love, with the occassional treat.

In 3 weeks time, I have an absolutely wonderful puppy that I simply adore.  Koda is extremely intelligent, loves to be held, sleeps on my lap all the time, and continues to be a little wild, but when he gets out of control I just say NO firmly and he immediately calms down and chews on his favorite chew bone.  Also, everytime I take him outside he always poo's, pee's, or both, BUT continues to still go on my living room carpet.

So, do you have any helpful suggestions you can provide me that will enable him to hold it so he will only go outside?  While I am at work he will go poo and pee in his crate which I'm surprised because I thought dogs didn't go in where they slept.  

Any help would be appreciated.  
Thanks
Tom Vlasic


Answer
Hi Tom,
I would worry more that the dog came from a puppy mill than it being a Jack Russell. However, you sound very committed and seem to be doing an EXCELLENT job with Koda (love that name)!
House training it the hardest, most complicated task to teach a dog but have patience and stick to routine and it will happen.
Basically you have about another week of crying ahead of you but it'll be worth it in the end. Basically what you have to do is take Koda outside every one to two hours AROUND THE CLOCK - you have to go absolutely overboard with the praise when he pees or poops outside. Give him a piece of cheese or meat or treat and overly praise him like he just did the best thing in the world! You are sending a clear message to his brain that this is a great thing to do outside. When he has an accident in the house, don't scream or scold him because unless it's immediate correction he has no idea why you're angry.
IF however, you can catch him in the act, that's the BEST time to teach and get him quickly outside. Praise when he's finished. Have a "code name" for him which means it's time to pee/poop, I use "gotta go pee?" (not very creative I know), but the minute my dogs here that, they rush to the door.
It's difficult to get up in the middle of the night to take a puppy outside but I'm telling you, a week or so of tiredness pays off.
Make sure in the night you don't coochie coo and play with him, don't talk, just take him outside, let him pee/poop, praise him and right back to bed he goes. Dogs learn by repetition and consistency, so you just have to be patient (believe me I know how frustrating it can be). Hopefully someone is home during the day that can continue the training. If he is locked up in the crate for 8 hours, there's just no way a puppy can hold it that long. It would help a great deal if there was someone who could be there to take him out at least 3 or 4 times during the day to continue the training. If you have no choice you'll have to try to make sure he goes out before you leave for work and the training will take longer, but it can and will happen if you are consistent. Believe it or not, their main goal is to make us happy, so don't go hard on him when he has an accident. I have no doubts Koda will be a well trained dog with you at the helm, you're doing a great job so far, keep the faith!