Dog Training - How to Housebreak an Adopted Dog
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I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have treated her so 'well' before if you are going to want to keep her now as 'only a dog' after your baby comes. I doubt that there is any 'dog training' in the world that will help her cope with 'losing you to something better' so I would suggest finding her a good new home with people who will love and understand her and not 'ban her' from places she's always been able to go before.
Successful Dog Training at Home - Having the Right Mindset
- Edel: yes it's an good idea for put your dog in "Obediance School"
because that way she would be properly trained with each command! yes even 6mo puppies got to be scolded also middel
aged too .So think about this ok?
GodBless - I think that your dog will associate these new changes with the baby and feel seriously demoted. You will have a broken hearted dog on your hands if you start keeping her out of rooms because there is a new person in your house. I would take the dog to obedience school now. I would treat this situation like I would treat a new baby coming into a house with an older sibling. MAke sure you let that dog know that you still love her and that she has a place in your heart. Also, about the hair, etc.- I read an article recently that said children who grow up with pets, are less likely to develop allergies, etc. than children who have no pets. Their bodies are used to all the allergens, etc.
- The old saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" holds absolutely no truth to it, and that's a good thing, because you can teach a dog new things at any point during its life.
The type of training I would recommend you look into is called NILIF, or Nothing in Life is Free. It's not so much about formal obedience, but about establishing yourself as the "leader" in your household. Most dogs require strong leadership or they will test the boundaries and find out what they can get away with. Since your dog has been the "baby" of the house and is "very spoiled", it seems to me like there's currently no leadership in your home.
Do a Google search and you will find many websites about NILIF training. You may want to read through some of them to get an idea of what it's all about, and then start introducing her to your new rules. Teach her where it is and isn't okay to be, and what she is and isn't allowed to do.
You have to be very consistent with training - especially since she's had free reign of your home for so long. Once baby is born, you will have to still remain consistent and make sure she understands what she is and is not allowed to do. Correct her for the behaviors that are not acceptable - you can use a verbal correction, such as "no" or a leash correction, or even just quietly walk her to another room or her crate and give her a "time out". - If you want to train her, you need to start immediately. You've let her get away with pretty much everything for six years, and now it's going to hurt you. It's going to be extremely difficult to change the routine that she is used to.
Perhaps it would help to know exactly what your dog DOES know. At first, it sounds like your dog doesn't know any commands, since you say she must learn obedience. Then, you say that she comes when called from the stairs. Clarification, please?
How many rooms are you planning to restrict her from? Assuming the baby will have it's own room, why not just restrict your dog from that room? Since your dog is so used to having room, it's going to be difficult enough to keep her out of one room, let alone four or five or entire areas of the house.
When the baby arrives, you can't completely shut your dog out. This is another reason it's a good idea to only restrict her access to one room, the baby's room. The arrival of the child would be a major disruption of your dog's life even if you aren't going to restrict her. If this child appears and suddenly your dog is unable to go through most of the house anymore, she's going to develop some major behavior issues. Her whining and separation anxiety could get worse, and she could even start to get destructive. She'll have no idea why she can't go all the places she used to. She'll just know it happened sometime around the arrival of this tiny pink thing.
Again, only restrict your dog from the baby's room. To do this, put a baby gate in the doorway so she can't get through. You need to do this immediately, to start getting her used to it.
Do allow your dog to meet the baby. If you try to keep her away from the baby, she'll become overly curious and could cause unintentional harm to the baby in her desire to see what the fuss is all about. This isn't to say she needs to be in the baby's and your face all the time, because that's rude. Just let her meet the baby, and be sure that you are very calm about it. Let her see that it is nothing for her to be overly concerned about, and pretty soon she'll just be glancing at it going "Oh, it's a baby" and go on her way.
You are going to be extremely busy with this baby, as you know. But you need to make sure that you still spend time with your dog. (Assuming you are married) perhaps you and your husband can take turns caring for the baby and spending time with your dog. Hire a babysitter for an hour or so two or three days of the week and take your dog for a nice long walk and spend some good quality time with her.
Yes, you will be very excited and consumed by your new child, but you made a commitment to this dog six years ago. - You lost me. Why do you have to train your dog or keep it away from the baby? Your dog is going to want to protect your new baby as well as you. Do you anticipate your unborn child is going to be allergic to dogs?
Edit:
Treat your dog the way you would treat an older child and have a new baby on the way. Don't ban your dog from contact with the baby - just introduce them and let the family be a family. Your dog will understand that she has a new person to watch over - and you'll be surprised how well adapted your dog will be to the new little person that means so much to you.
Don't get a babysitter so you can take your dog for a walk. Instead, take your dog with you when you take the baby out for a stroll, to the park, everyplace you used to take your sdog - and then some. I think you are about to learn that dogs are more perceptive than you realize.
You aren't having your first baby - you are having another one. Your dog is going to have one, too. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
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