How hard is it to house break a 4 year old dog?
Posted on April 23rd, 2010 by admin
We are thinking of adopting a 4 year old female almost full blooded German Shepard. She has been mostly an outside dog. She would be a house dog if we got her and my husband is concerned she might be difficult to house train at the age of 4. Has anyone had experience doing this? Was it hard or did they learn just fine?
German ShepHErd. As long as you are willing to put the time in, it can be done. GSD’s are usually very smart dogs, but they need for you to teach them and to be consistant with the teaching.
I’ve potty trained dogs 3 times this old without a problem.
Potty training would be on the bottom of my list of concerns. Temperament and the amount of time I have to offer the dog would be up top. She’s likely going to need professional training to get her in line and is going to need you guys to reinforce it at home. And it’s not uncommon for GSD’s to need 1-2 hours of WORK, DAILY, to keep their energy levels in check. Not walks, but work like frisbee, agility, obedience, herding, fetch, chase, flyball, etc.
April 23rd, 2010 at 5:09 pm
do the same as you would a puppy take them out every few hours put puppy gates up so they dont go into too many rooms mite be easier since your not dealing with a immature little youngester
References :
dog owner10+yrs
April 23rd, 2010 at 5:27 pm
it was not that much hard in female dogs when compared to male dogs, try to teat it with great love and affection once it realizes ur love then they adjust every thing for u …….
References :
April 23rd, 2010 at 5:34 pm
German ShepHErd. As long as you are willing to put the time in, it can be done. GSD’s are usually very smart dogs, but they need for you to teach them and to be consistant with the teaching.
I’ve potty trained dogs 3 times this old without a problem.
Potty training would be on the bottom of my list of concerns. Temperament and the amount of time I have to offer the dog would be up top. She’s likely going to need professional training to get her in line and is going to need you guys to reinforce it at home. And it’s not uncommon for GSD’s to need 1-2 hours of WORK, DAILY, to keep their energy levels in check. Not walks, but work like frisbee, agility, obedience, herding, fetch, chase, flyball, etc.
References :
April 23rd, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Yes. This is a complex subject that I read about on http://www.talkingtodogs.com, and it cured my two Huskies of this problem in a few days. Dog Whisperer, Pam Whyte points in this site out that because dogs bring their natural instincts into our homes with them, they very often do not understand our commands. Our commands are then perceived by them as a challenge (which they are) and dogs counter-challenge us by urinating inside. As soon as the commands are replaced with simple natural communication (which is not at all gimmicky) the indoor urinating automatically goes away.
References :
http://www.NaturalDogTraiing.INFO
April 23rd, 2010 at 6:21 pm
It’s tough because the dog has behaviors built up from those four years. As was previously stated, go through training like for a puppy. However… please adopt the dog as the older they get the more they are passed up everywhere.
References :
April 23rd, 2010 at 6:53 pm
I got one of my dogs at approximately two and had very little trouble with her. It might have to do with her being a female as some males are more likely to want to lift their legs and mark. That being said, I have heard of female dogs trying to mark as well.
Set up a schedule like you would with a puppy. Take her out first thing in the morning to the spot where you would like her to go. Praise her when she urinates/defecates outside. Repeat after meals, several times throughout the day and right before bed. You might want to crate her at night, however, that might prove difficult for a 4 year old dog who has been mostly outside. Some dogs take to it with ease, some put up a bit more resistance.
My dog did just fine and never had any accidents. In fact, you might have LESS accidents than you would with a puppy. German Shepherds are pretty smart and easy to train in general, so my guess is she will pick up what you are wanting her to do quickly.
Good luck with her!
Add: She doesn’t say it is completely unsocialized or untrained, just that it was mostly an outside dog. While many adult dogs who are in need of homes can be poorly trained, I have to disagree that they see commands from a new owner as a challenge. I have fostered many rescue dogs and have adopted several adult dogs in my life. Some dogs have better temperaments than others, but in general, with a few gentle corrections and proper motivation they go on to become fantastic family pets.
BYB’s offered some great activites to keep her entertained and excercised and therefore less likely to exhibit any negative behaviors. Well excercised/stimulated dogs are easier to train!
References :
April 23rd, 2010 at 7:38 pm
You train an adult dog the EXACT same way you train a puppy.
The advantage to housetraining an adult dog is that it has a larger bladder.
When I housetrain an adult dog I commit a weekend to it – make sure the dog is hungry, bait water with blenderized canned dog food (so the dog drinks a lot), watch the dog like a hawk (usually tying it to me with a leash so *I* am not an idiot and forget to watch the dog), set a timer to let the dog out frequently, REWARD generously for successful outdoor pottying.
Here’s a good breakdown of how a dog or puppy thinks about housetraining: http://www.hawkwindsamoyeds.com/AboutSamoyeds/house_training.htm
References :
April 23rd, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Although the dog is 4 it knows what to do and what not to do.
All you have to do is train it to go to the bathroom outside, it will be the same thing as training a puppy.
http://www.puppyhousebreaking1.com/
If you need help.
Thanks
References :