Putting the papers out is good- but this time, go out with the dog, on leash. No playing, exploring, etc, just hang out for a few minutes and wait for him to go. If he goes, give him a "good dog!" and a treat, and then go have some fun- explore, play, take a walk, whatever. If he doesn't go, back into the crate for him, and try again in half an hour. Repeat. Once you've had some success on the papers, go to the same area, but this time there are no papers. Same process- keep dog on leash and no fun until business is done. If you have one area of the yard you'd like to use, by all means start with the papers there, then transition them out. You can also reduce the amount of paper gradually, making the transition easier, but many dogs don't need that intermediate step. Keep the leash on and continue to reinforce going in the right spot for a week after the doing is going reliably the first time you take him out- he may not need it, but an investment now can reduce the potential for problems later, and you've got nothing to lose (except your time of course!) Then you can start allowing the dog to go with you, offleash, same process. Then start hanging back so dog goes on his own. Voila! Agilitynut, Brodie, Kyp!, and Arie |