[Queen khaleesi]

OK so all the pet experts out their ....I'm looking at getting a Papillon puppy...

(1 ) I need some tips on toilet training a puppy...???

(2) Crate training....???


(3) Getting Puppy use to a collar and lead..????

and later on down the track tricks....

[Exhaustedbuthapp...]

me too - I'm bringing home a Mini Schnauzer puppy on Thursday.

I'm particularly worried about toilet training.

I've been to puppy.com.au and there's a short video, but would also appreciate others experience on the best way to toilet train.

The puppy will be an inside dog, with walks twice a day and taken out for toileting as often as possible.

thank you

[*Spikey*]

The Crate Training thread is stickied to the top of the forum - very useful stuff.

Toilet training can be a hit and miss, but there are some tips within the crate training thread itself.

Basically, its like having a baby/toddler/young child. When their bladder and bowels are mature enough, they can hang on longer, and there are no accidents. In the mean time, take puppy outdoors for about 10-15 minutes after every meal and drink, and praise, praise, praise, when they go to the toilet. Use a spot that you want them to use all of the time, and you end up with a neat and tidy dog (eventually). With the mistakes, ignore the mistake itself, and hustle puppy straight to the designated pee spot, and praise the puppy there. No yelling or bad words, as puppy doesn't know its wrong, and even if it did, it can't help it. Finally, clean up any mistakes with an enzyme based cleaner - BioZet, Napisan, even vinegar will break down proteins so the scent marker is removed (and there is no 'go here' message left behind).

I'd also be keeping them to easily cleaned surfaces while very young.

Puppy school for the lead business, and simply pop on a very light collar when you get the puppy home. Check it regularly, because puppies grow and you dont' want it becoming too tight.

[80'sKnickerb...]

Hi,
1) Toilet training. It's hard! But stick with it for a few weeks. The way we did it with our Lab was in stages. When he was really young we initially put newspaper in the corner of the room and made him go there. The first time we put fresh paper down we put some of his pee on it and showed him the paper, patting him, making him smell it by putting his nose up close. If we caught him peeing somewhere other than the newspaper then we placed him immediately on his paper. He eventually got the message, especially once we started giving him a doggy liver treat as soon as he did the right thing. And lots of verbal praise in addition to the treat.

This was done in conjunction with taking him outside every hour and saying in a high pitched voice, 'pee pee' (you can insert whatever command you like). When he did his business outside - more liver treats!
Once he got the hang of going outside, we started moving the newspaper closer to the door leading to outside until eventually we placed it in the backyard and he got the message that going inside was no longer an option. He tried peeing again inside and got in big trouble. After that we never looked back
Obviously he was only inside while we were home and able to let him out regularly.

Great thing was our second dog we got 3 months after the first was really quick to pickup on the house training rules and she never once peed in the house. Was such a breezey puppy the second one because she was clever enough to copy the first dog.

2) Crate training? Not sure about that, never did it sorry.

3) Getting pup to use collar and lead. Best to go to puppy school as they are great at training (it's secretly more about training the human than the dog). The teacher I had was great, and taught me to 'think like a wolf' and see things from the dogs' perspective.
First put the lead on them when they are outside and don't hold it, just let them walk around dragging it here and there for a while everyday in the backyard. This will get them accustomed to having it attached to them.
Second, go for a SHORT walk everyday and make sure you stuff your pockets full of liver treats. Walk a few steps and whenever pup does the right thing over the course of those few steps, reward immediately with a liver treat. Offering praise at the same time is also good, but you can never just motivate with praise alone.
QUICK NOTE: The dog needs to have a treat as well. It's like motivating humans to go to work every day - we don't rock up at work for no money, and it's not like getting our boss's praise alone would keep us returning to the office. So, following that logic, it's probably best to give your dog lots of treats for good behaviour, and be really consistent. I can only speak for what worked with my two dogs.

If the dog pulls, stop walking immediately and say 'AH!!' with a kind of grunt in your voice, firmly and assertively (loud, but not so much that passers by think your'e nuts!). This is what our dog trainer taught us to say, and it was so effective.You will find yourself stopping and starting about 20 times over the course of 20 metres in the first couple of weeks, but this is the way to train. After a week or two, it will become easier.
With that 'AH!!' sound, the dog will understand not to pull, especially if they simultaneously get the message that they'll instead get a treat for walking at your side. Teach them the command, 'HEEL', which means walking pleasantly at your side without pulling. Remember, dogs respond largely to voice and tone as you no doubt know, so be sure to get your assertive tone going on.

It takes a lot of consistency, so really it's like dealing with a small child in that sense. The dog needs to know that if they do 'X' then 'Y' will always happen without fail. So if it HEELS correctly without pulling, it will always get a liver treat. Similarly, if the dog pulls then it will always hear you get stroppy and say 'AH!', coupled with you stopping their walk to stand still.

It is a lot of work but worth it as it's definitely worth having a pet rather than a pest.

I learned these techniques from attending puppy class every weekend 10 years ago. My dogs eventually learned to heel by my side without any lead at all. They now are both 10 years and have been stopping at the road kerb to cross the road, no lead, since they were about 6 months old. These days I put them on a lead just to placate the neighbours because we've moved interstate and the dog laws are more stringent here, plus the neighbours don't like big dogs, which is fair enough.

Nuff about me! Best of luck and lots of perseverence to you Enjoy your Papillion pup! Oh and in case you haven't had a chance to yet, you may want to research papillion pups to see what sort of learning style, temperament etc they have as some dogs resist training while others are more conducive to it. My DD has a book about dogs that outlines all the breeds and it was surprising how some don't 'do' training while others respond to it really well.
P.S. I have a labrador and a staffy cross.

[cira]

Lots of great puppy tips here:
http://www.dogstardaily.com/taxonomy/term/182

[*Spikey*]

I used to recommend the puppy pad + move it closer to the door method.

But stopped doing it when some dogs identified any 'paper' left on the floor as a puppy pad, and therefore fair game.