dog urine training

Question
i have a 4 month old male dog of lasa apso breed, i have tried several things to tach him where to do his urine and potte but have failed every time.

this are the followings ways i have tried.
1)i have soaked a newspaper in his urine and kept in the area where i wanted him to do the act, where ever he use to do his act i use to tap him on his head and say the word NO to him and would take him to the place where i had kept the newspaper. but what happened was that later on he started eating that newspaper soaked in urine.
2) then i changed the newspaper to a soaked cloth and repeated the same process as stated above but again failed. he would do his act all over the house

many a times i have noticed him doing his urine when he is is sited and doesn't even move from the place after doing the act.

what can be the problem in such case? my parents say as few people are born mentally retarded may be this dog is also the same,,, but i refuse to belive so. may be as few children learn slow he may also be a slow learner.


so please suggest me an effective way of teaching him where to do his act,,looking at his behavior

Answer
Hi Rahul,

First, your dog should not have the run of your home until he's reliably housetrained. That means, when you can't be watching him like a hawk, he needs to be in his crate, or confined to a puppy safe area (with the help of a child gate or two). If you're not crating your puppy, the area where you keep him should have newspaper down over the entire area, which you pick up and change when it gets soiled.

Some dogs just don't grasp the concept of paper training. One minute you're trying to coax him into urinating on paper, the next minute you're mad at him when he soils behind the couch. Many dogs just doesn't get the concept that it's okay to urinate in one area and not another. For dogs like yours, paper-training makes the overall job of housetraining much harder and longer. By only allowing your dog to relieve itself outside, you're teaching him that it's not acceptable to use the house. Using newspapers will override this training, but for now use it for over night, or when you leave the house (if you're not crating your dog).

You need to clean the areas where your dog has soiled in your home with an enzymatic cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle. Otherwise, your dog can smell where he's soiled before, and just keeps re-marking those areas.

You didn't say how often you're taking your dog outside for walks. By providing him with frequent opportunities to relieve himself outside, you prevent him from having accidents inside home. That means a walk first thing in the morning, after he's had his meal, before you crate him, when you take him out of his crate, after playtime, and just before bed.

Establish a regular schedule of feedings and walks. This helps you to control the times he has to go out and prevent accidents in the house.

If you take him outside, and he doesn't "go", bring him back to your home, put him in his crate (because you know he has to "go" and you don't want him to do it in your home!) take him back outside in about 20 minutes. Praise your dog whenever he goes to the bathroom outside.

Remember, this method of housetraining is based on PREVENTING accidents. By faithfully taking the dog out often enough, you'll get faster results than if you discipline the puppy after the accident has already happened. If you puppy makes a mistake because you didn't get him out when you should have. It's not his fault! Clean up the mess without yelling at the puppy, and promise yourself that next time you'll get him outside in time.

If you catch the pup in the act, stay calm. Firmly tell him "NO!" while you scoop him up immediately - don't wait for him to stop piddling - and carry him outside to an area he's used before.

Keep in mind, that this is new to your dog. For weeks or months, he's been used to "going" in your home. You're starting at square one, so be patient. I know this sounds like a lot of work, and it is! The results of all of these walks will pay off in a well-housebroken puppy and clean carpets.

Best of luck,
Patti