...

Yes, you should absolutely crate train him. All dogs should be crate trained, in my opinion.

Your dog is acting guilty because he is picking up on your signals. Your body language, your tone of voice, the look on your face when you see the mess, those all indicate to him that you are about to yell and scream at him. He doesn't necessarily understand "why" you are yelling and screaming. Dogs aren't particularly good at understanding cause and effect. They only understand the here and now.

That's why crate training is so important. You make sure that the dog is NEVER free in the house unless you are WATCHING HIM. The second he lifts his leg, you scream bloody murder, NOOOOOOO! (Never hit him, a verbal scolding is more than enough, though it must be done at the RIGHT TIME.)

Hopefully your scream shocks him enough that he doesn't pee... Then you immediately take him outside and use your potty phrase (that's what you say when you are asking him if he wants to go out, or telling him to go potty. I personally use "go potty" as the potty phrase.). So tell him "go potty" (or whatever you decide to use) and when he potties outside, you praise the heck out of him and tell him what a wonderful dog he is, (you can also throw in the potty phrase by saying something like "good potty, good potty" which is helpful in reinforcing your chosen phrase.) And you also might want to give him a treat.

Correction only works if you catch them IN THE ACT. Afterwards they are only reacting to your reaction. That's why it isn't working, and your 3 year old dog is peeing in the house, he can't put the two things together. It's not his fault, he's just a little dog, and he can't understand things the same way we do. Dogs want to please us, but we have to show them what we want in a way they can understand.

Having him fixed is up to you. It might help if he is "marking" but it might not. Crate training is mandatory either way.

This is a great site which just happens to be by a guy who trains German Shepherds, but this info works on ALL dogs, big and small.

http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm

Here's another good section of that site with some general advice on other subjects:

http://www.leerburg.com/articles.htm

And a great Q & A on housebreaking:

http://www.leerburg.com/qahouse.htm

So get your dog a crate and read the first and last link especially.

If, after you read these, you have any specific questions, feel free to email me.

Good Luck.

Thank you very much for the advice I have a crate and will get started..Thanks N Wade

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I'm DangerNerd's wife. We met on an internet personals site back in December, 1996. He flew across country to meet me for the first time in late February of 1997, and we were married a few weeks later. We've been together 9 years now. :-)

If you want to mail me, my email is DangerWench@gmail.com

Yes, I do sometimes copy and paste my own answers to answer different people's similar questions. I still personalize/edit them when necessary... but for instance, my advice about diet and exercise it going to be pretty much the same every time, and that's a very common subject for questions here... so there's no point in typing the same thing over and over and over again. ;-)

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Yes, hubby and I were both virgins on our wedding night, at the age of 26. Yes, we are both Christians, but we greatly dislike what "Christianity" (or "Churchianity") has come to represent in many people's minds these days... Hypocrisy, greed, pride... Things which the Bible says we are NOT supposed to do. We are supposed to be a good example, not a bad one. :-(

If you have a Christian acquaintance who is hitting you over the head with "Jesus will bring you peace and joy and happiness" tell them to listen to this:

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.mp3

(It's 9 megs, so it may take a bit to download)

If you can't download MP3's for some reason, you can download the zip file.

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.zip

If they are an actual preacher/pastor, this one is geared more towards them:

http://www.dangernerd.com/raycomfort.zip

Send them the link, or burn it to CD and give it to them, whatever it takes.

If they really listen to that, they will see how the Bible itself says the way they are annoying you is wrong. :-)

If you are a Christian, please listen to it, even if you aren't beating people over the head with Jesus. I promise you, it will give you a new perspective. It's totally awesome.

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I'm also fascinated by prophesy, and I do think we are living in an age where we are seeing many things come true that were prophesied 1,000's of years ago.

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There has been a lot of hubbub lately regarding my views on the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity... Mostly due to my not making myself clear. I did have a big long explanation here, but this time I will opt for the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Yes, the following is the simplified version. ;-)

The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is not the only authority. Their teachings include such documentation as Catechisms, and Papal Encyclicals (defined as "authoritative teaching instruments from the Vicar of Christ" (the Pope)) which have been written and added to throughout the years of the history of the Catholic Church.

Because of this, the Catholic Church has many teachings, beliefs, and traditions that are different from a Christian who believes the Holy Bible is the exclusive authority of Christianity.

A Catholic Christian believes in the Catholic doctrines, teachings, and traditions which include, but are *not exclusive to* the Holy Bible.

Most non-Catholic Christians believe the Holy Bible is the *exclusive* authority of Christianity... No other documents.

Much argument comes from this, as quite a few non-Catholic Christians (myself included) believe many of the man-made Catholic doctrines to be un-Christian and not corresponding with Biblical scripture. And obviously, Catholics disagree.

For more information about the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity, see the following link:

Roman Catholic Doctrine vs. The Holy Bible

And a final note about that link... That e-book isn't written by Jack Chick, I have a lot of problems with Mr. Chick. Some of his tracts are great, and some of them are way "out there" if you know what I mean. I do not support Jack Chick. This e-book is written by Rick Jones, who was a Catholic for many years, not Chick.

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"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2Timothy 3:1 - 7)

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring..." (Luke 21:25)

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Yahweh is my God, Yeshua is my Savior.

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