So I know this may seem like an obvious answer to a common question (puppies are like toddlers and will be jerks sometimes), but I'm at my wit's end with her. She refuses to poop on puppy pads (but will pee on them) and refuses to poop outside (again will pee outside but not poop). She doesn't seem to respond to correction towards her behavior (I have 2 cats who make it very clear when they do not want to be played with) and seems out to destroy everything I own! Any advice is appreciated. She is 3 months old and a German Shepard mix
My puppy is being a jerk!
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Shepherd.
She needs to be in a play pen/crate when you are not watching her. She needs to be on a strict potty schedule every 30 mins. Do NOT let her play with the cats, teach her to ignore the cats. She is not out to destroy everything you own, shes a puppy and you aren't watching her.
She needs to be in a play pen/crate when you are not watching her. She needs to be on a strict potty schedule every 30 mins. Do NOT let her play with the cats, teach her to ignore the cats. She is not out to destroy everything you own, shes a puppy and you aren't watching her.
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She's a baby who doesn't really know how the world works yet. Most puppies don't even really know how to understand and respect other dogs' body language yet, nor do they always have the self control to back off when they should. Cats are basically speaking a different language than dogs, so it's going to be even more difficult for her to understand what they're trying to tell her, especially if they do things that dogs can interpret easily as play, like running away or smacking her with their paws. You need to reinforce the cats' "leave me alone" signals by stepping in and removing her when they tell her to back off, and preferably before they get to the point before they're really upset or running away. It may well be best to separate them completely except for supervised interactions during calm periods until they understand each other better and she's mature enough to have more self control.
As for the pottying issues, is there a reason you need to use potty pads? I find that teaching a dog to potty on a potty pad often leads to confusion about whether it's okay to potty indoors, and in many cases even confusion over why rugs, bath mats, a stray shirt, or any other absorbent, pad-like object on the floor are different from their pads. My first dog was potty-pad trained when he came to us at ~12 weeks, and would seek out pretty much anything pad-like to do his business on for ages before we got him properly housebroken.
When and where does she poop? Does she seem to be a 'shy' pooper and want to do it where you can't see her? Sometimes this happens because a dog's been scolded or even hit for pooping inside, and they learn not that it's bad to poop inside, but that it's bad to poop in front of humans. Sometimes a dog is just weird. You may have more success with her pooping outside if you use a longer line so she can get some distance and/or go behind a tree/bush/etc. to do her business. If she poops in front of you no problem, just in the wrong spot, wait her out. Bring her somewhere boring and just hang out. Many puppies get overwhelmed and distracted by their environment and totally forget they have to potty at all, so it takes way longer than it seems like it should. After you manage to wait her out and throw a treat party for a successful outside poop a few times, she'll be much more motivated to get her business done quickly for that sweet reward.
For both the potty issues and the destructive behavior, she needs to have a puppy-safe area where she can be when you cannot supervise, even if it's two minutes while you run to the bathroom. This can be a crate, pen, or room, but the general idea is there's nothing in this space the dog should not have unsupervised access to, just appropriate toys and chews. Crates are often the easiest tool to assist with potty training, because most puppies won't want to potty somewhere they'll have to lie in the mess, so they'll be encouraged to hold it (though remember they're still babies and physically can't hold it very long). I use pens, which gives a dog a little more freedom to move around and interact appropriately with chews/toys and learn how to entertain themselves. But in the end, it really just depends on what works for you and the space you have in your home.
As for the pottying issues, is there a reason you need to use potty pads? I find that teaching a dog to potty on a potty pad often leads to confusion about whether it's okay to potty indoors, and in many cases even confusion over why rugs, bath mats, a stray shirt, or any other absorbent, pad-like object on the floor are different from their pads. My first dog was potty-pad trained when he came to us at ~12 weeks, and would seek out pretty much anything pad-like to do his business on for ages before we got him properly housebroken.
When and where does she poop? Does she seem to be a 'shy' pooper and want to do it where you can't see her? Sometimes this happens because a dog's been scolded or even hit for pooping inside, and they learn not that it's bad to poop inside, but that it's bad to poop in front of humans. Sometimes a dog is just weird. You may have more success with her pooping outside if you use a longer line so she can get some distance and/or go behind a tree/bush/etc. to do her business. If she poops in front of you no problem, just in the wrong spot, wait her out. Bring her somewhere boring and just hang out. Many puppies get overwhelmed and distracted by their environment and totally forget they have to potty at all, so it takes way longer than it seems like it should. After you manage to wait her out and throw a treat party for a successful outside poop a few times, she'll be much more motivated to get her business done quickly for that sweet reward.
For both the potty issues and the destructive behavior, she needs to have a puppy-safe area where she can be when you cannot supervise, even if it's two minutes while you run to the bathroom. This can be a crate, pen, or room, but the general idea is there's nothing in this space the dog should not have unsupervised access to, just appropriate toys and chews. Crates are often the easiest tool to assist with potty training, because most puppies won't want to potty somewhere they'll have to lie in the mess, so they'll be encouraged to hold it (though remember they're still babies and physically can't hold it very long). I use pens, which gives a dog a little more freedom to move around and interact appropriately with chews/toys and learn how to entertain themselves. But in the end, it really just depends on what works for you and the space you have in your home.
She may be confused about corrections and what you mean them to be for. If you use them for potty training too, It's even possible she thinks you are correcting her for being on the potty pad. It's best, with housetraining, to just use positive reinforcement. If you don't use that method all the time, fine- but because housetraining is such a weird concept to them, it's generally better to use positive methods, not corrections. You could try getting some of her poop and putting it on the pad. Gross, I know, but it will help her realise what's expected of her, she's just confused.
And as far as cat chasing, this is also another area where management and positive methods are generally ideal. Try to keep her on a leash whenever she's around the cats. The more often she gets a chance to chase the cats, the more often she is self-rewarding. Keep her on the leash or at least under verbal control in the presence of the cats. When you can't actively supervise them, keep them separate- whether that's with a baby gate, or by putting the cats in another room, or crating the puppy- whatever. But management is key, you don't want her to even get a chance to start chasing, as that is very rewarding to her, even if she never catches them. "Watch me" is probably the most important thing to learn when learning to leave cats or other pets alone. Praise her a lot whenever she ignores a cat or lets it run past her or through the room- any time when she might be even a little tempted to chase, if she doesn't praise her. Definitely don't yell or chase her if she chases. She'll think you're being loud and joining the game- it'll just add to the excitement of the situation, making it worse. Remain calm and collected- calmly go get her, and work on an alternative behavior, like chewing on a toy.
In regards to the destructive behavior- make sure she has chew toys and- most importantly- an outlet for her physical and mental energy. Excess energy or boredom is one of the major causes of "bad" behavior. Work on substituting things that she can chew on, chewing is a natural and healthy behavior, she just needs to learn when and how to do it.
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Sounds like a perfectly normal puppy, to me.
Potty pads just create confusion, IMO, unless you want your dog to potty in the house for the rest of their lives. The info-graphic posted above is excellent. By "correcting her", I assume you mean scolding her? You really shouldn't. If you aren't watching her carefully enough, and she starts to potty in the house, just interrupt her with with an "Oop!" and take (carry) her outside. Scolding her for having an accident in the house could lead to her thinking that potting where you can see her is a bad thing, leading her to hide in out of the way places inside to potty, or her never pottying on a leash (problematic if you ever need to travel with her).
A crate or playpen is your best friend when dealing with puppy chewing and pottying inside. If you can't be right on top of her, she is put away so that she can't get into trouble.
The best way to stop her from bothering the cats is to not let it happen in the first place. Keep a leash on her, so that you can grab it and interrupt at the first sign of her being a pest. Reward heavily for ignoring them or leaving them if you need to grab the leash.
Potty pads just create confusion, IMO, unless you want your dog to potty in the house for the rest of their lives. The info-graphic posted above is excellent. By "correcting her", I assume you mean scolding her? You really shouldn't. If you aren't watching her carefully enough, and she starts to potty in the house, just interrupt her with with an "Oop!" and take (carry) her outside. Scolding her for having an accident in the house could lead to her thinking that potting where you can see her is a bad thing, leading her to hide in out of the way places inside to potty, or her never pottying on a leash (problematic if you ever need to travel with her).
A crate or playpen is your best friend when dealing with puppy chewing and pottying inside. If you can't be right on top of her, she is put away so that she can't get into trouble.
The best way to stop her from bothering the cats is to not let it happen in the first place. Keep a leash on her, so that you can grab it and interrupt at the first sign of her being a pest. Reward heavily for ignoring them or leaving them if you need to grab the leash.
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Beta Man. Please communicate with my husband. He definitely knows to use the inside toilet but he is equally comfortable in releving himself outside. Thank God we have 13 acres and no neighbors. 🤣
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