Does anyone have a link to that Basenji Canine Freestyle Video?

I had a similar problem when my last dog was a puppy. She was a rescue, and barely 5 weeks old when I got her, so her ability to hold her urine or bowels was not a very long length of time. As puppies get older they can go longer periods of time between eliminating, but it's important to research (google puppy housetraining) lengths of time for your puppy's age, and work out a schedule for her accordingly. My puppy needed to be brought to the puppy pad and fed every few hours around the clock, and she was initially more work than a newborn baby.

As far as the crating goes… puppies are more likely to soil a crate that is too large for them. That doesn't mean you need to run out and get a new one, but rather you can make the used area in her crate smaller. When my puppy was little, I had a soft bag carrier that was small that I placed inside the crate and closed both so she got used to the big crate, but was also just in the smaller carrier bag. You could also use boxes to reduce the size but I would worry about the puppy getting wedged in between the box and the crate, so if you use a box or wood or whatever, make sure it is secure and your puppy can NOT wiggle between it and the crate.

Also, accidents will happen with puppies once in a while. They are like human toddlers who have very little control and are learning and gaining strength every day to become more and more house trained, so patience is key.

Hope these tips help!

Oakley does the same thing, when a dog barks he looks at me or them like, "mom,what's their problem?"
As a puppy he got startled momentarily by dogs barking….he still stops and tries to find the dog barking if he hears one

child gates/fences/room dividers are nice if you want to keep them out of an area. At least thats what we had to do in our sunroom/daughters playroom. Daughter has her toys in the sunroom behind the fence with gate. Other toys she knows she has to pick up and keep track of or Ginger will get them and take outside.

Shoes, socks, underwear always get put up. I just got some shoes sleeves for the backs of 3 different closet doors. They help alot. My wife actually has to put her shoes up. Ginger taught her in about a week what I couldnt teach her in 12 years.

anything on the floor if fair game. anything on a low shelf withen reach is fair game.

Ginger has finally stopped tearing shoes up when she get them for the most part. She just takes them outside now. We have a doggy door so im always checking the backyard for her prizes.

Lots of chew toys. Got ginger a few antlers 6-7 weeks ago and wish I had known about that sooner. I cant praise those enough. Took her a week or so to actually want to chew on them but now she will take one and chew for 30-45 minutes at a time. They last forever too. out of 3 6-8" pieces we still have 2 left after 6-7 weeks.

@congosworld:

Once Congo is exploring a new place or tired of doing what we ask, food is not a reward. We've used everything from bacon to steak to dog treats to kibble. Even if he happens to come when we call, he'll ignore the food and look at us with disdain. :p His primary motivation is movement.

One of the things I have noticed by reading this forum is that many people don't know how to do positive or "reward based" training very well. You are trying to condition the response, not feed the dog. Failure to move to an intermittent reward system can result in failure of the training to "stick". What keeps people at slot machines? Wondering if the next time will be the "payoff"! Works with dogs, too! And it isn't just about how salient the food is, although that helps with early training. Anything can become boring or "less desirable" than freedom as it becomes commonplace. There is more value in something that is rarely available, so if you want really yummy treats to have an impact, use them sparingly. (I believe this is the foundation for the "really reliable recall")

I would add, don't "wear out" the dog by picking at him all the time. If you are at a social gathering, it might make sense to give him a short run, then confine him while you socialize rather than letting him wander around and constantly having to call him back. Then when you have time to give him your undivided attention, give him another opportunity to enjoy his freedom, possibly as a reward for obeying a few commands before you release him. The worst thing you can do is allow him to think that obedience is "optional". It is just too easy to teach a dog he doesn't have to be bothered when he doesn't want to, even if that isn't your intent.

Arlo does "downs" like Zoni (Aries' niece :)) does….with extreme enthusiasm by slamming her paws to the ground. Love it.

@JazzysMom:

Yes!! And as soon as you feel like you've got them trained and can relax a little DON'T!!! :p

Amen to that one JM!:D