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help with boundaries, indoors

874 views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  adamsNancy 
#1 ·
Hi all, this is my first post. I've been lurking for a few weeks, though. :)

So about two months ago my family adopted a beagle mix puppy. She is now about 5 months old. Admittedly this is my first dog so I'm very new to this! Things are going fairly well; it's been a time-consuming and energy-draining process sometimes--definitely like having a toddler again!--but I do see improvements in her behavior so I know we are doing some things right, ha.

We are wanting to keep her out of the carpeted living room until she is reliably house trained, and past the chewing stage so we can hopefully keep our carpet and furniture in tact. We have hardwood in the hallway and open area between the top of the stairs and the living room. She has access to the stairs/front door and kitchen, so she has plenty of room to wander around.

I've worked with her using food rewards to try to keep her off the carpet, but she just isn't getting it. We've worked on having her not cross the line between hardwood and carpet, and she can do it while we're actively training, but any other time she forgets or ignores that she's not supposed to be on that side.

I am hoping for suggestions from folks who have been able to successfully establish boundaries in their home for their dogs. The entryway to the living room is too wide to gate off, so that's not an option.

Thanks in advance!
 
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#2 ·
Really nothing short of blocking her access to the areas you want to discourage her from going to will work. She will eventually get it, but I think you are going to have to find a way to block her access for awhile. In our house its easy, Samantha has the whole house and she decides where my wife and I are allowed to be. OK that's a bit of an exaggeration, but maybe not that much.
 
#3 ·
IMO, by the time she's likely to reliably follow an indoor boundary, she's going to be housetrained.

Get an X-pen, or multiple X-pens, at least 24" high (probably too high for her to jump, though a 30-36" will give you added insurance) and stretch it across the opening. One X-pen is going to be long enough for most openings, and I doubt any opening in a normal sized, or even larger-than-average house is large enough that 2 X-pens stretched out won't block it.

With pups, if you want them out of a space, you're going to need a physical barrier. IMO a 5 month old just doesn't have the emotional maturity/impulse control to grasp the concept of "stay beyond this boundary" with any clarity/reliability.
 
#4 ·
Thanks. We have been talking about getting an x-pen for when we leave for longer stretches of time anyway (holidays this year), so maybe we should bite the bullet and get one now. My husband isn't keen on blocking off the opening since for us humans, it's a high traffic area, but I'm tired of having to keep my eye out all the time, and it wouldn't be forever.
 
#5 ·
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