Don't know where to start!

Sorry to hear about the health issues. That I can’t help you with.

But, the training issues are another story. Potty training works better with a crate to help restrict her movements in the house. Start feeding her meals in a crate to get her used to it in a positive manner. If she has a fave toy or chewy that you can stuff with food even better, give it to her in her crate only.

If she is not in her crate she should be tethered to you by a leash tied to your waist. At four months she is very young and her bladder is not mature at all. Take her out every hour if you can (at night she can go longer as she is not “active” and everything kind of slows down…) and give her a reward with a treat or play when she goes outside. DO NOT PUNISH her if she has an accident, if it happens just clean it up and move on. Accidents happen because you missed the signals or schedule, it is not her fault. She will need to go after a meal, a nap, some play etc. Many dogs are not fully housetrained until they are a year old so be patient.

Crating will also help with the inappropriate ingestion of things and prevent her from chewing on things that can be dangerous. Leaving her to her own devices is like leaving a one year old crawling around in the house by themselves…they put everything in their mouths because they are teething, and because that is how young animals explore their world.

Biting is common as well and she needs to be taught it is not appropriate to put her mouth on humans. The best way to do this is when the teeth hit the skin (even if it is gentle and doesn’t hurt) YELP and put her on the floor and walk away. If she goes for your pants, which small dogs sometimes do, keep walking out of the room and close the door, just for a second or two. Re enter and try to give her attention again, if the teeth start again, do the same. You will have to do this over and over and over so be patient.

Tug of war is not a problem. You can actually use it as a reward if she enjoys it that much BUT do not reward her barking, ever! Let her bark and leave the room …barking is attention getting behaviour and ignoring her is the best way for her to learn the game ends when the barking starts. As soon as the barking stops come back to her. That is her reward for being quiet. Then play with her. The most important thing here in training is that YOU control the games and the playtime and the food and the walks etc etc.

Fetch needs to be taught. Start by teaching her to “give”, give her the toy and then offer her a treat when she ‘gives’ the toy give her the treat. Repeat many times until the gives it to you right away, then add the “give” cue so it has a name. Then start putting the toy/ball a few inches away on the floor, get her to give, reward, then a foot away, then a few feet away etc. Be sure in the beginning to reward her each time. Once she understands to bring the ball back to you the throw itself becomes the reward.

Hope this info helps! Good luck.

hi,

hope this info about crates will help you.

Some people worry that crate confinement is cruel, but if you do it right, your dog won’t see it that way at all. His crate can be a cozy den where he retreats from household chaos or just relaxes. And once he’s housetrained, your dog will have the run of the house as well as a nice little den of his own—just leave the door open for him.

http://dogtime.com/housetraining-crate-training…