Question:

I have an 8 year old lab I inherited from my mother. I’m trying to train him to go on the side of the house away from foot traffic. It’s not working. He *knows* where I want him to go, but he won’t go there unless I am standing there watching. My current tactic is to check the spot he likes to go every day and if I find something there, which I always do, I take him to it, scold him and tie him up in the garage. I try to praise him when he goes where I want, but he won’t go when I’m in the yard. He waits till I’m gone then poops where he wants to. I’m not sure I’m getting my message through. He’s very gentle and playful, but not terribly bright. I wonder if I’m sending mixed messages or something. Can someone help?

Response:

Quote:  He *knows* where I want him to go, but he won’t go there unless I am standing there watching. So stand there and watch. Jane Webb Moon and Mudpie

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > x-no-archive: yes > But, if you want your dog to "go" only on the side of the house, you > need to go ONLY THERE with him every day until it becomes a > conditioned response to go ONLY THERE.  Right now, there is no "there" > there. > Yes, you must stand THERE and see to it that he ONLY GOES THERE. > Yes, you should reward him (praise) for going there (in addition to > the natural reward he gets by relieving his bowels).  Yes, you should > use a verbal signal, like "Jake!  Hurry Up!"  No, you should never > punish your dog for going somewhere else.  If he goes somewhere else, > it’s because YOU screwed up, not the dog. > Your dog has already been conditioned to "go" in a certain way and in > certain kinds of areas.   You will have to replace the previous > conditioning with the NEW conditioning.  That will take some TIME and > EFFORT on your part, so don’t be impatient.

I agree with you Joe–good advice! >I wonder if I’m sending mixed messages or something. Can someone help? > Yes.  But you have to promise me not to scold your dog for simply > going to the bathroom, eh?  Promise? > PUFFING up and sucking in hot air, a la George "The Puffer" Boggs, let > me tell you, in my most POMPOUS and PRETENTIOUS manner, that this is a > classical conditioning (Pavlovian) exercise.  Voila! > Like those big words, do you?  Wait until you meet George Boggs.  He > has words so big that they won’t fit into any dictionary!

Here’s where I will probably be roasted over a slow open flame.  Being a silent viewer of posts in this and other related groups, I have seen your name (and other various body parts) belittled.  You have mentioned in the past that you only respond in kind to others’ comments.   Who started the name-calling in this thread??

Response:

..snip… > You, like so many others around here do, saw my ONE post that > contained a dig at George Boggs and then you apparently extrapolated > from it that I was INITIATING an attack on him.  Didn’t you?  Well, > unfortunately,  that’s exactly what so many others IGNORANTLY do. > So, my friend(s), before you butt in on a thread the next time, make > sure that you have at least taken enough time to really understand > what is going on BEFORE you jump in.  After you have jumped in, it is > to late, eh?

Hey, Joe (and everyone else involved in flaming each other incessantly), were you initially attacked by Boggs the way you just initiated an attacking Dan & Vicky?  I think they have their answer.  Why don’t you and the others take your childish name-calling and arrogance to rec.grow.up.?  Leave this newsgroup to people who are actually interested in discussing what the newsgroup is for – dog behavior. Consider yourself "corrected". Bruce — Bruce Chute               |"I’m trying to think, but nothing happens." Bose Corporation          |                       – Curley Howard Framingham, MA            |"If this week was next week last week…" My opinion, not Bose Corp.|                       – Daffy Duck

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