Do you have any idea what your Boston terrier is up to all day when you’re out of the house for hours on end?

Chances are she’s bored! The fact of the matter is that dog’s love to be around their owners. However, there are some dogs are perfectly content spending the day sleeping …

… But then there are others that will spend the day tearing apart your house!

If you have a Boston terrier in that second group – one that potentially suffers from separation anxiety you need to do something about this behavior soon!

Boston terriers are known to be pretty high-energy, playful and social dogs- which can become a problem if a dog’s left alone inside for too long.

I’ve had quite a few readers ask for tips and ideas on how to keep their Boston busy throughout the day, so here are some ideas to get you started!

1. Leave the TV or Radio on when you’re not home. (This may help soothe your dog and make her feel like she’s not alone.  Silence often represents isolation or abandonment to your dog, which can result in separation anxiety or destructive behavior.
2. Make sure your dog has enough room to run and get exercise.
3. Keep toys around. Dogs usually have a favorite toy so do your best to keep that one around for your Boston to play with.
4. Dog Treat Dispensing Toys- These provide countless hours of entertainment. Just stash treats in a hidden compartment of the toy and your dog will spend hours trying to get them out!
5. Consider getting another dog! Dogs that have a companion or playmate are generally happier animals and less inclined to suffer from separation anxiety and/or behavioral problems.

Remember, dogs aren’t much different than we are! They like to have company throughout the day and they like to keep busy. So always try and do your best to spend time with your dog each day. When you know you’re going to be gone for several hours at a time, consider trying some of the steps above!

If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment below!

No related posts.

I’ve talked to a lot of dog owners that just can’t seem to master crate training.

Personally, I think crate training is a great method for housebreaking your Boston terrier, but of course it’s not going to work with all dogs.

Here’s the story of a Boston terrier owner that tried a crate training alternative and had great results!

Roscoe’s Story

A friend of mine adopted an 8 month old Boston terrier from the Humane Society. They told her the dog was housetrained but when she got him home, she realized he was not!

Roscoe had no idea that he was supposed to use the bathroom outdoors; in fact I think he had it backwards. My friend would take him outside for hours at a time and he wouldn’t pee or poop. The second she brought him back inside, he’d go to the bathroom!

She researched various potty training methods and decided that crate training was the most widely recommended and accepted method for housetraining.

Crate training’s supposed to play on the idea that dogs don’t want to make a mess in their “living area.”

But according to my friend, Roscoe had no problem with pooping and peeing where he sleeps.

He eventually understood the concept of going to the bathroom outside (taking him to the dog park helped with this), but he still had accidents when he was left in the crate while my friend was at work.

We were discussing Roscoe’s issue at the dog park and someone mentioned that he might have an anxiety disorder, and the crate may be making him worse.

So, we recommended that my friend try using a baby-gate, to section off an area of the house and leave Roscoe there.

So far, this is the best method for Roscoe. He doesn’t have complete access to the house, but he still has plenty of space to move around and play with his toys. And he’s been having fewer and fewer messes every day!

So if you’ve tried housetraining your dog, and gotten nowhere you may want to consider this crate training alternative: use a baby-gate!

It may be the answer to all your problems. You can find a baby-gate at Wal-Mart for about $20, so you’re not taking too much of a risk!

Related posts:

1. Crate Training Your Boston Terrier
2. What is Clicker Training?
3. The Fundamentals of Training Your Puppy

Over 90% of pets in America are indoor pets! So it’s pretty important that you get the whole “potty-training” thing down quickly.

Using puppy pads is a very effective method for training your Boston Terrier.

The more involved you are with potty training process, the faster it will come for your dog.

House Rules

1. If you don’t catch your puppy doing it – don’t punish him for it!
2. Praise your puppy every time he does something right!

The most popular way to housetrain a puppy is also the most old-fashioned way. Put newspaper down in a certain area of your house and encourage your dog to always go potty only in this area. Nowadays, we’re a bit more sophisticated though. You can purchase pretreated puppy pads, which have a chemical that attracts your dog to use the bathroom on it … pretty much the same concept as using newspaper.

If you see your puppy doing a “potty-dance” (walking around the house sniffing the floor), just pick him up and plop him on the puppy pads– where you want him to go potty.

Praise your puppy endlessly and give him a treat if he goes potty on the papers or puppy pads!

Transitioning From Inside To Outside

You may be wondering how to transition your dog from peeing on the puppy pads inside the house, to peeing outside where you don’t have to clean it up. Fair enough!

The more consistent your puppy becomes with using the puppy pads, you can start moving them closer and closer to your door … and eventually outside.

In no time, you’ll be able to kiss those puppy pads good-bye forever! Your puppy will start going outside EVERY time he has to eliminate.

Some people think this method of potty training takes longer than other methods since it’s encouraging the puppy to eliminate inside your home.

What To Do When Accidents Happen

If you catch your puppy in the act of going potty somewhere in your house other than on the puppy pads, it’s probably your fault … so you should not get mad at him. You weren’t watching him or paying attention to his signals like you should have been.

Quickly and calmly pick-up your dog and in a stern voice say, “No.”Then carry him outside, or over to the puppy pads to let him finish his business. If he finishes on the papers, reward him right away.

The fastest way to speed up housetraining is to spend as much time with your puppy as possible. Puppies learn much faster when they’re constantly supervised.

Maybe even take a week off work to spend time with your puppy until he starts figuring out what is and isn’t acceptable behavior. It’s also a great opportunity to bond with a new puppy!

Did you housetrain your Boston Terrier using puppy pads? Tell me your story, leave a comment below!

Related posts:

1. Crate Training Your Boston Terrier
2. Is Your Puppy Eating Poop? Here’s Why …
3. Puppy Biting and Nipping

Many puppies go through a phase of eating their own poop. So here are some tips on how you can break your puppy of this disturbing habit while you are housetraining your Boston terrier.

It’s actually very common for dogs − mostly puppies, to develop a liking to the taste of their own poop … gross I know!

The technical term for this revolting habit is Coprophagia. Many “dog people” have studied this behavior and found it has “natural” roots. Pregnant dogs or dogs that have just given birth often eat their poop and the poop of their puppies to hide their presence from predators. Other causes of Coprohagia may be nutritional deficiencies or boredom.

When I first got my Boston Terrier, Lucy, she was chowing down on poop pretty much every chance she got. I felt the need to watch her ALL the time, 24/7 no exceptions.

But since we can’t always be there to watch our pets, there are a couple other things you can try.

• Talk to your vet about a product called FORBID. It’s very similar to MSG; you can actually use MSG instead if you need to. Just sprinkle a little on your dog’s food at night. When your puppy uses the bathroom and tries to eat her poop, it will taste terrible to her! This should put her off eating it for good!
• There is another OTC product called “Deter,” which works similarly to FORBID.
• Some natural foods you may want to try are canned pineapple and spinach. These foods make your dog’s poop undesirable to her.
• Another approach is to sprinkle some Tabasco sauce on your dog’s poop. When she tries to eat it, it will taste terrible, and she’ll eventually stop going back for more!

It may take a while to break your precious pooch of this habit, but don’t get discouraged! You should be able to succeed with patience and persistence!

Usually a month of “non-poop eating” behavior is long enough to break the habit for good. For more articles about housetraining, click here.

Have any tips of your own? Leave a comment below!

Related posts:

1. Puppy Biting and Nipping

Crate training is one of the most effective ways to house train a dog.

Dogs don’t like to get their resting/sleeping quarters dirty. If they are given the opportunity to use the bathroom elsewhere, they will.

Keep in mind, that if your puppy does not have an accident in her crate, she will need to be taken out when she is released. When you take her out and she goes potty, reward her with a treat and praise her.

Crate training also helps teach your dog to have bladder and bowel control. She will learn that she cannot go whenever she feels like it, she has to hold it and go at convenient scheduled times.

If your dog soils her crate because you left her there too long, the house training process will be set back several weeks, if not months. So be careful, not to forget her in there!

At night, give your puppy the opportunity to relieve herself every hour. Each time you let her out, put her on leash and immediately take her outside. Once outside, give her about three to five minutes to go potty.

If she doesn’t go potty within the allotted time period, simply return her to her crate. If she does perform, then immediately reward her with treats and praise. Never give your dog free run of your home unless you know without a doubt that her bowels and bladder are empty.

Some people find it helpful to keep a diary of when your dog eliminates. It’s a good idea to have her on a regular feeding schedule, she should soon adopt a corresponding elimination schedule.

After a while you’ll know what time of day she usually needs to go out, so you can begin taking her out only at those times instead of every hour. After she has eliminated, she can have free, but supervised, run of your house.

If your boston terrier does have an accident in the house, just clean it up. Don’t punish her … if she has an accident it’s because you have given her unsupervised access to your house too soon.

Until she can be trusted, don’t give her unsupervised free run of your house.

Related posts:

1. Crate Training Alternative
2. Housebreaking Your Boston Terrier

Congratulations on bringing home your baby Boston Terrier!

Housebreaking your Boston Terrier is going to be a challenge … here are some tips that will hopefully help you out!

1. Take the puppy out after meals, waking up, and playing.
2. Put the puppy in a crate when you are not home.
3. Always take the puppy out before and after putting her in the crate.
4. Reward the puppy when she uses the bathroom outside.
5. If you catch the puppy going to the bathroom inside the house, tell her no in a firm voice. and immediately take her outside.

Housebreaking a puppy takes patience and persistence, so hang in there and your hard work will be rewarded! Best of luck with your Boston Baby!

Related posts:

1. Crate Training Alternative
2. Crate Training Your Boston Terrier
3. Using Puppy Pads