Little Help With Japanese Spitz

[Persian Spitz]

Five months ago we adopted a Japanese Spitz from a breeder. His toilet was newspaper/pads and he usually aimed it correctly although his poop normally missed by a few centimetres. He learned how to sit, lie down and stay when we took him to puppy pre-school. At about 12 weeks or so he was staying in a penned area in a large room inside our house with lots of sunlight, a radio, hot water bottle, bed/blanket, toys, food, water and newspaper/pads; and our 10 month old Persian Cat. Recently we've kept him in the backyard, and we'll let him inside the house a couple of hours when we come back from work. I have a few questions:

1. Have I missed the toilet-training timeframe? We'd like to have him inside the house but he's wee'd on a rug a couple of times (away from the newspaper) and on the floor a couple of times.

2. He sometimes chases the cat he's grown up with and the cat seems a bit annoyed (arched back, front paws up but claws are not out), is there a way to socialise them or get the Spitz to stop chasing the Persian?

3. In the backyard he's pooped on a pebbled area which I'd prefer he didn't do so I cleaned the area and spread some repellant on there a few times but he still does his business there, is there a way to make him do his business elsewhere in the backyard? The backyard has some concrete, a paved area, a dirt area (unfinished) and some plant area.

4. Is it normal for a dog to bark at you for no apparent reason? Sometimes I go out to the backyard and he's waiting, he'll run a couple of metres away then bark, then do it again when I walk towards him.

5. When I walk him outside on a leash, he tends to tug on it. I stand still when he does so and he sits or lies down. When we start walking, he tugs on the leash again.

6. He knew how to sit, lie down and stay. Now when I say sit, he'll sometimes lie down. What's going on? i use "down" to get him to lie down .

Sorry about all the questions, it's our first puppy.

[Rysup]

So he is about 7 months?

He is still a puppy, and you cannot expect things you taught him very early on to be remembered without continuous practice. That includes toilet training. Basic commands and walking on a loose lead. To stop him going on the pebbled area you need to catch him doing it there, and move him to the spot you want him to go and praise, praise, praise.

To me it sounds like he is just playing with the cat, and when he barks at you he wants you to play too.

You need to keep the training up, maybe classes would be a good idea. Puppy pre-school gives you the tools, but you need to keep at it. Puppies need a lot more work than puppy pre-school can give them.

[puggy_puggy]

1. From my calculations your pup is about 7 months old now. Is he desexed? I am guessing that he is toilet trained and his marking on the rug and toilet is to do with him growing up and wanting to mark his territory and show you who's boss.

2. He is probably wanting to play with the cat.

3. Fence off the area that you don't want him to toilet in. Take him to the area you do want him to toilet in and praise him when he goes there.

4. Sounds like he is trying to start a game with you.

5. Obedience training school might be helpful. A different lead set up might also help.

6. Is someone else instructing him or just you?

[Persian Spitz]

Ahh ok, thanks for the replies. I thought he was some kind of wizard dog. Amidst the chaos of puppy pre-school, dogs running around, when I told him to sit and lie down, he would do it for a couple of seconds. He wouldn't "stay" though because it's kind of difficult when another pup was biting at him. So I'll keep on training him.

With regards to the toilet training, is it still possible to do it at his age (he's actually just 5 months old. When he was born I counted that as he was already our own. He's been with us for about 3 months). I've caught him in the middle of a wee, hoisted him up and ran him outside. Is this the right way to do it?

[Nekhbet]

he's still young and you need to be a little more consistant. Any dog can be taught anything at any age you just have to stick with it religiously, especially when it comes to toilet training! Keep him in the house but keep an eye on him even keep him on a leash, if you cannot then put him in his puppy pen for the time being. Outside is not the answer and he will learn nothing out there.

as for the cat they are just playing. I would cut the tips off the cats claws so he doesnt scratch the dogs eyeballs. Let them play, if you see it getting too rough clap your hands and loudly say 'AHH STOP' to break his concentration. ALso make sure the cat has an escape route or a cornered kitty can do some damage to a small dog.

Spitz are very human orientated and he's barking to try and initiate play with you. He wants human interaction and you should be having him inside with you. Instead of a puppy pad or newspaper try a shallow tray with some paper based litter in it for him to wee/poo on that way he cannot miss and it's a bit more black and white for him. Watch him like a hawk and if you cannot watch him put him in a puppy pen with his litter box. I would rather he in something like the laundry as dogs do not like to pee/poo directly where they eat and sleep so you can at least move the toilet away from his area.

He can still smell his pheremones on the pebble. Get some biozet or urine removal product, spray it on the pebbles then give them a good hosing. Then I would be spreading the keep off or just a little fence. I would be leaving a poo or two in the area you want him to go in to he gets the idea or lead him there when he needs to go and praise like hell!

for leash walking try this :

have a decent length leash and a flat collar. Start walking, when the dog shoots past you do a 180 degree turn and keep walking. Give him little tugs on the leash and say 'come on! come pup pup pup come on!' in a loud happy voice and when he reaches you 'YAAAAY GOOD DOG!!!' praise praise praise! Keep walking, every time the pup doesnt pull or looks at you PRAISE! if he shoots ahead do a 180 and encourage him to follow.

do not stop. Stopping allows the dog to get away with it and teaches him you will stop so he can carry on his pulling. This method also teaches the dog that 1) really really good things come from walking nicely and 2) he has to pay attention or he misses where you are walking. The little pops are NOT yanks. Just little sharp *pop pop pop pop*to encourage him to follow and it also blocks the brain from going into an opposition response (ie full on pulling) I only use treats as jackpot rewards (ie he did REALLY well!) otherwise they lose their specialness to the dog

as for lying down when you said sit he probaby does not really understand sit and probably got a better reward for down so he's pulling the trick to get the reward. If he does it, 'ahh ahh', call him over to you again and say 'sit' then use your hands to put him in the right position, and push a treat into his mouth. One smooth movement so he has no room for error. If he does pull the drop for sit then simply ahh, recommand to move him out of it and help him.

[Benny07]

All of the suggestions are good ones, as for the walking I found that if a tug with a voice command didn't work then I would walk them back five paces, turn around and start again. You might not get anywhere on your walk but it will teach them that they cannot get any further by tugging on the lead. Worked for me!

[W Sibs]

Sounds like a 5 month old puppy going through his rebellious stage

Charlie sometimes once in a while will try to test me. Like, he never pulls on his leash but for the past few days, he has been. When he pulls, I make him sit. He isn't allow to start walking till I say "heel". Only last for a minute though, then he will start walking calmly again

1. Have I missed the toilet-training timeframe? We'd like to have him inside the house but he's wee'd on a rug a couple of times (away from the newspaper) and on the floor a couple of times.

It's never to late to house train a dog. Take him out when he wakes up, after he eat and after he plays. Make sure it's the best thing ever when he does... praise him, cuddle him, give him treats, play with him after he does his business outside, where you want him to do. Do this all repeatedly till he lets himself outside to do his business. Be patience though, he is still a puppy. But, he is desexed? If not, he is just marking the place.

2. He sometimes chases the cat he's grown up with and the cat seems a bit annoyed (arched back, front paws up but claws are not out), is there a way to socialise them or get the Spitz to stop chasing the Persian?

We have a neighbour cat that comes in our yard to play with Charlie... they play chasey with each other. Charlie hates my brother's cat though.. so they avoid each other. So, i can't help with that..

3. In the backyard he's pooped on a pebbled area which I'd prefer he didn't do so I cleaned the area and spread some repellant on there a few times but he still does his business there, is there a way to make him do his business elsewhere in the backyard? The backyard has some concrete, a paved area, a dirt area (unfinished) and some plant area.

Teach him where you want him to go to the toilet. Block that area off till you can teach him not to go there.

4. Is it normal for a dog to bark at you for no apparent reason? Sometimes I go out to the backyard and he's waiting, he'll run a couple of metres away then bark, then do it again when I walk towards him.

He just want to play with you If you don't want to play with him, ignore the behaviour. Show no interest what he is doing, when he realise what you are doing... he will stop it.

5. When I walk him outside on a leash, he tends to tug on it. I stand still when he does so and he sits or lies down. When we start walking, he tugs on the leash again.

Maybe you should continue with his training. The instructors will teach you how to properly train him walking on loose leash.

6. He knew how to sit, lie down and stay. Now when I say sit, he'll sometimes lie down. What's going on? i use "down" to get him to lie down confused.gif.

Gotta go Back to basic. Retrain him on everything. Train him about 5-10 minutes a day. He knows everything, but the training will remind him that you're boss, and he has to listen to you. Maybe, at the same time, teach him some tricks.

Edited October 6, 2009 by charleswentworth

[puggy_puggy]

Ah ok. If he is only 5 months old he is still going to have toileting accidents. Make sure you are consistent with taking him outside to the toilet every hour or so, every time he wakes up, after eating & after playing.

[Miranda]

But, he is desexed? If not, he is just marking the place.

I would just like to point out that a correctly trained entire dog will not suddenly begin marking inside when it reaches puberty. I have entire males here and none of them ever mark inside.

To the OP it sounds to me as if this dog was never completely toilet trained to begin with, I would go right back to basics and start again as if the dog was an 8 week old puppy. I'd also get rid of the newspaper and pee pads, IMO this just confuses the dog. Train the dog to go outside ONLY, this will entail a little extra work and vigilance, but it will be worth it.