Getting him to go out

[vmullica@comcast.net]

I have a 12 week old Great Dane ,very smart and is willing to learn,he is already house trained ,knowns sit and no and come .He will go to the door to go potty with no problem.The problem Iam having is getting him out the door,most of the time he will follow my other two dogs out but for some reason usually at night I will have to carry him out, I don't think I will be able to do this much longer because of his size.As soon as I put him down he will go to the bathroom with know problem, he gets a lot of praise and when he comes in he goes to the room where I keep the treats and I give him a good boy.so cute.Can any body help me with problem.Iam new to this site and I think it is great.

[kjd]

vmullica,

Can't you get behind him and kind of encourage him to go out? You know: walk into him while giving him some sort of command for going out.

kjd

[vmullica@comcast.net]

I have tried it with treats ,and I know I should not be doing that,and its not all the time like I said,he follows the other dogs almost all the time except for at night. I don't want to push him because of his broken leg,he just got the cast off about 2 weeks ago.Once I carry him out he is fine and knows what to do.Iam at a blank.

[kjd]

Ah, you didn't mention his broken leg. Have you talked to the vet? If the vet says it is fully healed, it is probably stronger than the leg he didn't break.

I think you have one very smart dog. He has you wrapped around his paw. Does he still limp on that leg? And when he limps, does he get sympathy?

We had a cocker who injured one of her legs. She limped for a long time. And got sympathy. Unfortunately, she didn't remember exactly which leg had been hurt and started limping on the other -- that got her laughed at and she had too much pride to take that!

What would happen if you ignored the fact he didn't go out. Pretended to assume he didn't need to go and simply shut the door? Would he go in the house? Or would he go back to the door and ask to be let out? Rather than baby him, that is the first thing I would do. After the door was shut, I'd watch him like a hawk, to make sure he didn't potty in the house. If he really needed to go out, I think he would ask again and, this time, go out on his own. But why do that when he has a slave that will carry him into the cruel night and then give him a treat?

Ah, yes, the cuteness factor! It is a hard thing to break, but we humans have to learn not to fall for it! If you keep treating him for being cute, you will end up with a fat, bossy dog.

Try ignoring it and see what happens. Then let us know,
kjd

[vmullica@comcast.net]

Thanks KJD, I have good news , Dante is now going out at night by himself.His leg is all healed and he is running and jumping like nothing ever happend.He is now able to jump on the couch by himself with no help and has learned how to jump off the bed which is high, thanks to my husband who babies him more than me . He knows who the alpha dog is ,me and he also knows he can get away with anything with my husband,I need to find a trainer for my husband ,LOL.Iam now working on getting him to come when we are out in the front yard,which is all fenced in and very larg.He is exploring everything and likes to eat dirt.I carry the spray bottle with me to stop him He will stop for a minute and than find another spot andstartall over again,he is wearing me out ,I have a very large front yard ,I will try putting him on a long line.Any input on this.Thanks again for you help.

[kjd]

Wow! Sounds as if Dante might have been afraid of injuring that leg. Yep, he is one smart dog!

He is still only a puppy. When you squirt him for the dirt-eating, do you offer him something else to chew?

As for your husband, the question is: Does he allow Dante to do things you positively don't want Dante to do? If not, let him enjoy being Dante's slave. Or maybe he is Dante's buddy? Sometimes we get hung up on pack order and miss out on enjoying our dogs. [I was the doting aunt for the first grandchild. One day, she was being particularly obnoxious at the table. I told her to "stop it!" She was so shocked at upsetting me, she actually straightened up and behaved!] Your husband may dote most of the time, but I bet he does demand respect when it is important to him.

Many happy years with both Dante and your husband,
kjd