Hi, I would appriciate your advice and oppinions on my best approach to training sox, she is 1 yr old and we get her next week ( well excited me) right firstly she is used to being in the house on her own all day so isn't used to much excersize, so don't want to over do it with her, and she is also paper trained only, her current owners just put fresh paper down each day as their not there to let her out. I want to train her to go outside just wondering which is my best approach. I was thinking to put the paper outside the back door so she can see it and in theory go to the door when she wants to go on the paper!! I also need to get her out of the habbit of chewing as apparently she is really bad for shewing stuff, though left on her own I don't bame her she must be bored. I have waited so long for a pup that I don't want to over do it I don't want her thinking **** please send me back home..lol no I want to do whats best for her and know it will take patiece and dedication I have these, but not sure which changes to implement first or should I tackle it all at once? Any help and advice appriciated, I hae only ever trained a tiny pup rather than a 1yr old from previous owner. Thanks xx lisa xx

I would start the toilet training from the word go, so she does not get used to doing her business inside your house, and i agree the paper outside option is a good one! Dogs arent great at generalising so it shouldnt be too hard to teach her that in your house she goes outside. Then make the size of the paper smaller and further away from the doorso she gets used to going outside for her business. with lots and lots of praise!

No advice on chewing, never suffered this with buster, but things like kongs and treat balls will probably keep her occupied and busy! If she is excercised well and has regular training with yourselves (which will also be good bonding for you) i would have thought it would help.

With some things you may have to act like she is a tiny puppy and go back to basics with training. It may just take longer to over ride bad habits she has picked up

Hi thanks for the advice shaval, I have copied and pasted it into a document for quick access xx lisa xx

Great advice from Shaval.

I would definately treat toilet training as if you were starting from scratch with a new puppy.

With the chewing gie her things to chew, Kongs and Nylabones are good. If you leave it lying around she will chew it so don't put temptation in her way
If she chews something she shouldn't interupt her and gie her something she is allowed to chew, she'll soon get the hang of it.

Good luck.

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If she does wee indoors and you can mop it up easily with something like kitchen roll, then put the soiled kitchen roll out in your garden where you want her to go. This way the smell will be there and should hopefully prompt her to use the area again. It may take a bit of patience for a week or two but a bit of persistence now will pay off.
I second the treat ball idea. I use one for my 1 yr old JRT. I feed him his normal food but without biscuits, the biscuits get placed into the treat ball and he has to work for them. Keeps him quiet and stimulated and of course his actions are rewarded.
Plenty of walks too and when you feel ready and can find a safe place, a good run off the lead. My dog loves nothing more then to run free off the lead and chase his ball.
Good luck with your new friend.

Oh with regards to walks, a 12 month old will need her fair share of exercise but I would say depending on her recall a long line may be a good investment til you have good recall. It sounds as though she hasnt had a tonne of exercise so she may have poor recall, so treat it again like a puppy, so she doesnt get the idea in her head that she can ignore your first 5 calls

Long line, call her, if she doesnt respond just reel her in then reward her when she is back at your feet. Soon enough she will do it instinctivly and eventually she will do it off lead!

I recommend something stinky and yummy for treats outside....LOTS nicer than she would get anywhere else - like a special recall treat so she knows coming back to you means super fun times!

I say do it this way because if she gets used to ignoring you straight away, it will be a little harder to teach as she grows in confidence, which she will, so get it in as ground work.


edit: I have a 50ft long line which i got off ebay when training buster who had TERRIBLE recall. so they do still get some space to run.

Hithank you all for your help, you have all been amazingly helpful, you know explanations rather then just saying, makes me feel very welcome here. I am making a document for training advoce hints and tips that sort of thing, so feel free to add other comments. xx thanks lisa xx

Please take a few months to gradually increase the exercise levels, I have this awful feeling that I created joint problems with my boy when I took him on at 20 months, as he hadn't had much exercise and i think I may have overdone it too soon.
Particularly forced exercise like chasing a ball etc.

Hi thanks for bringing this to my attention, I will thinking a 10 min walk twice to 3 times a day and just playing inbetween, is that moderate enough? xx lisa xx

That sounds pretty good, as his stamina gets up you will be able to increase it slowley, but i would definatly stick to short and sweet, but regular excercise at first, like Rona says. You may find training sometimes seems to take backward hops the longer you get him - he may start off perfect then suddenly develop a naughty or rebelious streak, but Id say dont panic, this is normal as he grows in confidence with you Just stick to his training and dont get disheartened if he does rebel a bit later down the line. Consistency is the key