Toilet and lead training an adopted breeder?

We will be getting a 6 yo Havanese (to replace our recently departed 16 yo Havanese) around the beginning of May, after she has weaned her last litter. She was a champion and has been bred 4 times since the age of 2. During her 4 years of breeding by a reputable breeder, she has not been on a lead and has relieved herself either on wee-wee pads or simply would let herself outside going through a doggy door.

We are experienced dog owners. but have concerns about what it will take to retrain our Gucci to walk on a lead and to ask to be taken outside to go. As we see it, we will have to undue approximately 4 years of habit build up and would appreciate any advice. Also, we have the feeling that her retraining may be same as if we started out with a puppy...hopefully, not.

 

Well, things have changed, but I'm leaving the post up as the topic may be of interest to others. My wife (will be her dog) and I have figured out that although the dog will be 6 yo, we most likely will have to train her as we would have to train a puppy. And, we may not have the dog for too long a time as she will be ours from her middle-age on.. Sooo, we are now going to look for a puppy...one of hers (she just delivered 5).

 

I am pretty much a first time dog owner, and our dog will be two by the end of July. We got him as a puppy and toilette trained him straight away when he was 7 weeks old. We led him out and went with him just to make sure he did his business before we took him inside. I am supposed you will have to do the same. We didn't use a leash, because we had a fenced in yard.

Your plan sounds solid and it will take time to re-train the dog. Love and patient, that's all I wish you good luck!

 

Thanks for your encouragement, BC. However, we will be getting a puppy from Gucci's litter and will train appropriately.

 

Ah I see! That's not good about her needing full training at the age of 6, I can understand why you'd prefer to have a puppy.

 

Pardon me if I'm wrong on this but I think a 6-year old dog is harder to train than a younger dog. So many times I was offered by a colleague a breeder to be culled, yes, a 6-year old pekingese that I declined until that colleague gave me a baby pekingese. But that's another story. Our apprehension for the 6-year old is the difficulty of adjusting to our way of life especially that we had one other dog already. What if that newcomer wouldn't be friends with the existing dog?

 

I hope you will post a picture of your puppy as soon as you can! Love puppies! I can imagine how much you all will have, and love, don't forget all of that loving lickings good

 

If I understand right that dog is already potty trained? I don't think she will just forget the fact she used to go outside through the doggy door to relieve herself in the old house She might need some guidance to remember her old routine, but I don't think it'll be that hard.

 

I am a little confuse. Will there now be two animals, the grown dog and then a puppy? Whatever the case I will say I now first hand that you can 'teach an old dog new tricks' and my Remy is living proof. In this case it's new behaviour and from everything I have read it's quite possible to retrain a dog. Granted some might be more pliable than others but with patience and love the dog will respond.

http://www.pet360.com/dog/behavior-and-training/dog-retraining-basics/jJBwYB4HHUK2iZR8RvWZug

 

I believe they will only get the puppy now, not the older the dog! I think even with the older old, you can still train it once you get it home. It might takes some time but dog loves to make you happy and the reward system works out fantastically , for me at least!