[quote author=ZooCrew
I was the one who said the 5 minutes. But it also depends on what they did wrong. Something minor can certainly be for less time. 30 seconds I don't think is long enough, and I don't think they learn anything from that. But that is just me.
Edited to add: I think Iz gave some great advice as well. Both of my dogs know the phrases "go potty" and "go poops". I believe it can really help their understanding of what they are supposed to be doing outside. And it also helps alot with me when we travel........
......as they have to go when we stop. They don't get to choose when they want to go, they go when I want them to go. They both have learned that going to the bathroom is the first thing they do when outside. Once done, then they can play and goof around. Â
We've been doing longer timeouts since last night and she HATES it. So I think maybe 30 second ones were way too short for her. That's what our teacher told me to do so I thought I was doing the right thing. I guess that's why it wasn't working. She'll still go right back and do the thing that landed her in a timeout but she actually stopped with just a "No" a little while ago.
Yes I agree with you, that was good advice about saying "go potty". I have always done this and then when she does go outside I give her a treat and say "good potty" and make a huge deal of it. She knows what it means but she still thinks it's much better to run around and eat things off the ground first. Sometimes it takes 2 seconds for her to go outside, sometimes it takes 30 minutes. Depends on her mood:) And all the while I'm saying "go potty" over and over again. I think she just likes to make me look stupid. No accidents since yesterday afternoon at lunchtime. I'm taking her out every half hour. She doesn't go everytime but still.
Fumble, I talked to the trainer about maybe doing more exercise and I want to check with the vet first but I think that might solve a lot of this. I've been trying to give her enough exercise to keep her lean but not too much because the breeder said only short walks until 6 months. But she has SO much energy and I think that's why she's being such a ...punk for lack of a better word:). And I think it would be better for her to have longer walks to burn some of the "crazy" off than barreling around the house getting into trouble. I'm concerned about her hips - I've heard some strange noises though my vet says they seem ok now and we won't really know until she's a bit older. I give her treats with Glucosamine Chondroitin (sp?). I'm just nervous to exercise her too much because I've heard that can cause problems.
It's 10 AM and we've already done 4 timeouts since she got up. But at least she's not going in the house. It's going to be a long day