# Chewie, my Lab/English Bulldog mix...



## Stitch (Nov 1, 2007)

Hello all,

Well, seeing as this is posted in the 1st timers thread it's safe to assume that I have some general questions. "Chewie" is a black lab/english bulldog mix and we just got him Sunday. He's 3 months old and was a rescue puppy at Petland. I want to get started training as soon as possible. I've done a lot of basic internet research, but most of the info I found is either vague, or a service that requires a subscription. So, here I am and here are some of my queries:

First off is about crate training. I have a big crate seeing as he's a lab/bulldog mix we suspect that he's gonna grow to be about 70 - 80 lbs. Now I've moved the divider up so that he can only turn around and lay down. However he still poops a little at night, and I thought dogs hated sleeping in their own filth. Can someone please shed some light on this? In addition, I want him to be able to let me know when he has to "Go Outside" but I don't have a clue as to how I can make this happen.

Next, I want to teach him to "Come" on command. I don't know if he knows his name, or if he's just responding to my voice, but I've been saying "Chewie Come' and he seems to know what I'm saying, yet his reaction is delayed which means I usually say this 3 - 4 times before he responds.

Then, I want to teach him to "Sit". I've tried this several times, and what I usually do is say "Chewie Sit" and then push his butt down in the sitting position. Is this correct, or am I doing more harm than good?

From there, I want to teach him to "Wait" while in the sitting position until I tell him to "Come". But again I'm kinda clueless.

Well, thats all for now. However, I don't know if I should do all the above one at a time, or try some of these throughout the day randomly. 

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to all your suggestions!


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## Max'sHuman (Oct 6, 2007)

Hello,

I'm not sure what to tell you about the crate issue. But as for training. I would definately consult a "real" trainer or enroll him in a puppy kindergarten class if it's your first dog. Although plenty of people are more than capable of training dogs themselves it really helps to learn some basics from a trainer who understands dog behavior. There is a lot about reading your dogs body language that you won't understand until someone can help you learn to read it. Also a puppy kindergarten class will help socialize your dog to deal well with other dogs. All in all you can't go wrong.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

If you got him from Petland, he may be used to his cage also being his restroom, from which workers clean up his messes. You're doing fine as far as keeping space small enough, but you might have to just take him out a lot so he doesn't "need" to go when he's in there. If you catch him in the act tell him "no" firmly and hustle him outside to finish. Chances are he'll realize that going outside is preferable and makes you happy, so he'll do that. As for knowing when he needs to go, just watch his body language...most dogs act a certain way when they feel the need, so you just need to look out for it (sniffing around in a particular way, walking slightly differently, etc.)


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

I never, ever use my dog's recall command unless I am 99.9% sure he is going to listen to it and follow my directions. Saying it over and over and over again to an unresponsive dog causes the command to lose its meaning and importance. 

For all the behaviors you teach your dog, I would recommend teaching the physical action with a hand signal/lure first. As soon as the dog can reliably do the action in respose to the signal, add the word. Again, attaching a word to a behavior that the dog doesn't know just causes the word to lose its meaning.


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## Stitch (Nov 1, 2007)

Thanks so much for all the advice!!!

More suggestions are always welcome.

Oh btw, Last night was the first night without "Chewie" pooping in his crate!!!!


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