We have a 3 month-old Weimaraner that is behaving beautifully with the assistance of your training manual. The biggest issue that we are struggling with at this point is she continually wets in her crate while left alone. Is this still an age problem or is there something we can do to assist? It seems as though time spent 30 minutes or three hours is not an issue, she wets regardless.
Thanks,
Lee
Dear Lee:
First, I would want to make sure that your pup does not have any physical problems which may be causing this behavior. Such as a bladder or urinary tract infection.
Next, make sure that you're using an enzymatic cleaner (such as Nature's Miracle) to thoroughly clean the crate. Be certain that you are not using an ammonia based product.
Depending upon how your dog was kept when he was with the litter (if he was allowed to sit in his own feces and urine for a period of time before being cleaned) will determine how easy or difficult this behavior is to break.
The quickest technique is to let the dog spend most of his day (if weather permits) in a confined pen, outside on the grass. This will very quickly get your dog conditioned to want to urinate on the grass, rather than in the crate.
Also, be very careful about not allowing your pup free access to water.
(For those of you reading this newsletter who need basic housebreaking tips, please take a look at: http://www.dogproblems.com/housebreaking.htm It's pretty much the same information I offer in the book, but you can get a video which shows a visual demonstration of the whole housebreaking process, for those of you who are visual learners.)
