stinky the bagle

Question
i recently adopted a bagel named stinky and wow he he's 3 months old and anytime we leave him he poops in his crate and smears and kicks it everywhere it was all over the floor he was covered in it. He howls and howls i thought dogs didn't want to poop where they sleep not stinky what do i do i can't handle cleaning shit off everything i will be starting a new job soon and he's not ready for being alone. i spanked him and put him in the bathroom and he stopped howling as much. I don't want to take him back to the pound but this is crazy.HELP

Answer
Hello Veronica,

Goodness! A stinky bagel? I share your pain. Although I've had no experience working with bagels, I have potty trained quite a few beagles and maybe this will be of help.-:)

First, since I haven't had the pleasure of speaking with you and asking questions, I will make some assumptions. I will assume that you are keeping him in the cage too long. You're correct when you say dogs don't want to poop where they sleep. However, a 3 month old puppy has minimal control and if he is being crated for too long (over 1 hour) he may soil his cage. So I'd suggest you start by making sure he goes outside every 2 hours and that he stays in his crate no longer then 1 hour (except at bedtime). Create a dependable bathroom schedule.

2nd, beagles do howl. Get used to it. However, you can decrease his howling by removing the stimulus for his boisterous conduct. Get him out of the crate and let him stretch his puppy legs. I noted he stopped howling when you gave him some room to stretch in the bathroom.

3rd, don't spank him for having an accident. He doesn't know what you're spanking him for and it only hurts your bond with him. Here's some comic relief for your suffering: If you want to potty train a puppy be sure and roll up a newspaper until it's as thick as a good club. If the puppy has an accident, grab the puppy and take him to his spot. Then grab the newspaper firmly and strike yourself in the head for allowing yourself to leave the puppy unsupervised...Get it? YOU MUST NOT LET HIM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT EXCEPT WHEN HE"S CRATED.

4th, be sure and check the size of his crate. Stinky should only have enough room to stand up and tightly turn around. Many dog owners buy a crate too large and the dog thinks the bathroom is in the rear.

5th, be patient. This is the most important training virtue. If you take Stinky out on a regular schedule,praise his proper performance and scold his accidents, then Stinky will learn.

Finally, go to: http://perfectdogtraining.com/perfect%20manners%20dog%20training_021.htm

There you will find an article that gives an in depth description of how to potty train your little Stinky.

Good Luck and Good Patience,

Sandy Finley
Perfect Manners Dog Training
http://perfectdogtraining.com