what are your puppy training secrets for poty training and obedience? i am getting a book from the library today after i have someone to watch her. I plan on downloading the dog wisper series and taking a few notes on that too.
what works? what does not? what should i not do?
i know the dog will be 130# when full grown as she is a great dane, so we have a no sofa or chair rule, no jumping unless told to, and no eating human food at all.



well, i picked up my pup yesterday after a nice 5 hour drive to get her.
I have her kennel set up on the fisrt floor in the family room where i slept last night so she would not, and did not cry. accidents have been minimal, 4 total, and 3 outside. so im at a draw for win/losses. she knows she is doing bad when she goes inside, but she gets scared outside and usualy will not go there.

bump for dog lovers

Go outside with her if she gets scared, take her out as often as possible, praise her for going outside, scold inside.

Try to teach her to go someplace very out of the way, my female dobie/dane won't crap on the lawn because I might find it, she goes into the woods. Dane piles are huge.

Bond with the dog and maintain your dominant Alpha position and training will be easy, she'll live to please you. Concentrate on using the same hand and body language every time for commands, dogs pick that up much easier than words. Don't punish her harshly, you don't want to break her. I've rescued Omega females and they're worthless. A Beta female is the very best choice for a pet IMO.

i have been doing the light scolding when they go inside(they can tell by the tone of your voice) and shower her with praise when she does good outside.
she is still affraid of the leash, so i have been letting her go outside without one on, but im always out there with her so i know if she did her business or if i should take her out 10 min later.

Got my pups trained by taking them out once an hour on the hour and praising them constantly. When they had accidents they were told they were bad dogs. Thye learned in a few days and then it took a little while to get them to stretch out how long they can hold it. They do good now!

bump for the night crowd

Quoted: Got my pups trained by taking them out once an hour on the hour and praising them constantly. When they had accidents they were told they were bad dogs No in a firm voice and were brought outside immediately where praise would follow once they finished their business. They were never left out of the line of sight and only had access to the room I was sitting in at all times. Thye learned in a few days and then it took a little while to get them to stretch out how long they can hold it. They do good now!

Puppies having "accidents" aren't bad dogs and laying the correction on thick doesn't help. As for the OP, no offense, but (from what has been gleaned given the post) you have already started out on the path to being a bad dog owner. You don't pick up the dog and ask what now. You pick up the dog after having done months to a year's worth of research to determine the best breed for you, the best way to take care of the breed, and how to raise a dog in general. There are a lot of POS dogs out there and 85% of them or better are from POS owners who are too stupid or lazy to give the dog its proper environment and/or training.

I sincerely am not trying to lob personal attacks at you, but this is a very sore subject for me, and it will likely be a generation or two before certain dogs will be regulated out of "civillian" ownership for the negligence of certain people. If you have committed to the research and are asking for a broader spectrum of solutions, than disregard. But if you haven't done it (or as much as you should) you are behind the 8 ball and you have a lot of catching up to do. Danes generally have a friendly/silly dispostion, but they are large animals. Poor handling can lead to a bad situation that ends up in court.

Right now you might want to do some extensive research on the breed including medical issues with danes (I know bloat is something to be extremely watchful about). Also look up socialization and crate training ASAP. Good luck, and here's hoping you become a good owner with a dog to be proud of.

ETA: If your dog seems scared to do business outside, consider taking steps to make her comfortable in that environment, like you would with her crate. Try giving treats out there, or playing with a toy that she enjoys there. Do certain indoor activities that can be done outdoors in your yard with the dog out there so she understands this is a safe place to explore and use.

Great Danes are some of the best house dogs.

Mine stays in the house and fares outside as well. She also has a huge ass chain for her tie-down.

I love her, though; she never questions me and never stops wanting to be here, unlike other species.

Quoted: Quoted: Got my pups trained by taking them out once an hour on the hour and praising them constantly. When they had accidents they were told they were bad dogs No in a firm voice and were brought outside immediately where praise would follow once they finished their business. They were never left out of the line of sight and only had access to the room I was sitting in at all times. Thye learned in a few days and then it took a little while to get them to stretch out how long they can hold it. They do good now! Puppies having "accidents" aren't bad dogs and laying the correction on thick doesn't help. As for the OP, no offense, but (from what has been gleaned given the post) you have already started out on the path to being a bad dog owner. You don't pick up the dog and ask what now. You pick up the dog after having done months to a year's worth of research to determine the best breed for you, the best way to take care of the breed, and how to raise a dog in general. There are a lot of POS dogs out there and 85% of them or better are from POS owners who are too stupid or lazy to give the dog its proper environment and/or training. I sincerely am not trying to lob personal attacks at you, but this is a very sore subject for me, and it will likely be a generation or two before certain dogs will be regulated out of "civillian" ownership for the negligence of certain people. If you have committed to the research and are asking for a broader spectrum of solutions, than disregard. But if you haven't done it (or as much as you should) you are behind the 8 ball and you have a lot of catching up to do. Danes generally have a friendly/silly dispostion, but they are large animals. Poor handling can lead to a bad situation that ends up in court. Right now you might want to do some extensive research on the breed including medical issues with danes (I know bloat is something to be extremely watchful about). Also look up socialization and crate training ASAP. Good luck, and here's hoping you become a good owner with a dog to be proud of. ETA: If your dog seems scared to do business outside, consider taking steps to make her comfortable in that environment, like you would with her crate. Try giving treats out there, or playing with a toy that she enjoys there. Do certain indoor activities that can be done outdoors in your yard with the dog out there so she understands this is a safe place to explore and use.

no offense taken. i have researched the health and genetic side of the breed fairly well. After reading “great Danes, a model of nobility” from cover to cover I learned a lot about the breed. I have been waiting for almost 7 months for a puppy to come available through a breeder that has good temperament, health and intelligence. As for temperament, I was initially looking into black labs, but found them to be far too hyper and energetic, next I was considering a Doberman but decided against that as they are a legal/financial liability and my insurance carrier would not cover them, then low and behold I was in my local running store and there was this massive dog behind the counter. I was a bit worried at first as it had huge jowls and just sat there looking at me. 5minutes later it was licking me and leaning affectionately against my legs. I looked for a breeder through a neighbor who is into showing great Danes in Wisconsin. He recommended me a breeder who  can be trusted to have quality dogs and pups for sale. Im having her stomach tacked(when she gets spayed) so as to deter bloat, her dish is elevated, and she takes a supplement powder that is supposed to help against bloat as well(breeders recommendation). she also is given bil jack large breed dog food(not the puppy kind as it promotes too rapid of joint growth due to its increased amount of protein and fats).
I have already started her socialization, she played very well today with my family's golden retriever and my sisters weinereimer.
I should have posted more details in my first post but I was in a rush as I wanted to have more time with the pup. In my defense, I am indeed a first time puppy owner, but have had 2 dogs during my childhood and teenage years. I would have to disagree that I am a bad dog owner, I plan on having my dane trained in every regard possible. She will not be getting nay human food, will refrain from jumping on visitors, walk by my side when on walks, know what ‘no’ ‘stop’ ‘sit’ ‘stay’ and  ‘enough’ mean as well as follow said commands. She is already in he process of crate training. She walked into the crate willingly tonight as she was tired and I believe that was a hint from her to me that it is bed time.
On a positive note, the puppy did eat all its meals today and is acting much more confident in her surroundings. She loves the home and playing with me. She hides behind me when something new is around or she is feeling a bit scared.
Basically I was trolling for success stories about training methods for new puppies.

Quoted: i have researched the health and genetic side of the breed fairly well. After reading “great Danes, a model of nobility” from cover to cover I learned a lot about the breed. I have been waiting for almost 7 months for a puppy to come available through a breeder that has good temperament, health and intelligence. As for temperament, I was initially looking into black labs, but found them to be far too hyper and energetic, next I was considering a Doberman but decided against that as they are a legal/financial liability and my insurance carrier would not cover them...

The details of that response are all reassuring and certainly counter the notion that you are off to a grand start as a bad owner. Glad to hear it. I have a few friends with danes, and they make for some very interesting and lovable characters. One did get the bloat DESPITE taking the same measures (and made it through with one expensive operation), so it is imperative she get some down time between meals and thirsty drinks before excercising. Also, puppy proofing for a dane is double duty... you have to proof for a normal dog, and for a giraffe. The dog will get large long before she matures and all food on countertops and "chew toys" (lost a pair of Ray Bans on the kitchen table to that bitch) are fair game.

Get this book and read it.

Then read it again.  I still reference mine 15 years later.  It is one of the best books out there for training a puppy.

Also, read this thread: www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=588586.

Some of you people scold your pups for going inside?

WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!

THAT'S WHAT PUPPIES DO!

A simple "NO!" while scooping them up and tucking their tail between their legs and taking them outside will suffice.

Quoted: Some of you people scold your pups for going inside? WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?! THAT'S WHAT PUPPIES DO! A simple "NO!" while scooping them up and tucking their tail between their legs and taking them outside will suffice.

thats basicaly what i do. i say "No!,  bad Ares"(her name) and she has her tail down and knows she was did not do something good. I am by no means going off on my dog, she is far too cute to even think about doing that.

+1 on the never letting them out of your sight untill they get house trained.

Every mistake is a step backwards.

You will also want to get a crate for her to sleep in. You need to do some reading up on crate training.

There is a dog breeder in Wisconsin that breed German Shepards for Shutzhund/Police/Protection work, the kennel is Leerburg Kennel. There is a lot of good info on that website about crate training and housebreaking. His books are good too, but there is a lot of free information and a webforum.

Here is the link to the free articles. leerburg.com/articles.htm

Quoted: Quoted: Some of you people scold your pups for going inside? WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?! THAT'S WHAT PUPPIES DO! A simple "NO!" while scooping them up and tucking their tail between their legs and taking them outside will suffice. thats basicaly what i do. i say "No!,  bad Ares"(her name) and she has her tail down and knows she was did not do something good. I am by no means going off on my dog, she is far too cute to even think about doing that.

That is the appropriate way to handle it.  I will make one suggestion.  Try replacing her name with "Dog" any time you are reprimanding her and use her name only during positive reinforcement.

Why you might ask?  This is so the dog will always associate hearing its name with a positive situation.  It makes getting a dog to "come" when called much, much easier.  

Every time your puppy wakes up from a nap take her outside.  Puppies naturally will want to go to the bathroom after waking up.

If you really are able to keep her off the sofa make sure you have a very soft bed for her to lay on.  We bought a large dog bed that was shaped like a small sofa for ours.  We then went to the medical supply store and bought high density foam and used that to stuff the dog bed.

Danes are extremely social.  They have a strong desire to be in contact with you at all times.

Get some elevated feeding bowls for when she gets older.  One of the suspected causes of bloat is gulping too much air when eating from the floor.

The best way to house train a puppy is a: crate train it and b:  keep it on a leash next to you until its trained.  Keeping it leashed next to you is an excellent bonding tool and it will remind you that puppy needs to go out often.  Take it to one spot off in the corner and give it the command to go potty [I just tell my dogs to go potty] and they will learn to go potty on command in the place I tell them to go.

The best book for puppies is "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the New Skete Monks of New York.

for crate training here is an article that I give all my new puppy owners:  LINK To article