Coprophagia and a few other minor things.

Question:
 Ok I am trying to "top off" some of Oscars training. He does incredialy well. Usally if I can get him to do/not to do something twice or three times he gets it andit becomes perminant (I keep praising but you get the picture)
The last few issues that I need to clearup before I feel cormortable moving on to the next stage of training (well thats what I call it, the slightly more advanced stuff) are as follows;
1. House training. We have made great strides in this area. He will go out side everytime I take him. He will NOT go in certine areas of the house. However, if I don't predict his needs (which s hard with him (more on this in a moment) he has no problems going in the bathroom/kitchen. I have closed off thoes area of the house best I can (he can jump the gates). But this isn't really solving the issu as he will just find another area (he hasn't yet but I am guessing he will because I haven't treated the underling issue)
2. Related to one, I can not predicts his bathroom habits, sometimes he needs to go 30 mins after a meal, sometimes not till much later. I take him outoften and that works well untilone of twothings happen, I sleep or he sleeps and I dont notice him wakeup. Then we get a mess. The normal signs don't work. He dosen't wimper, he doesn't circle, he does sniff, but hesniffs everything. He cant go from water dish to food dish without sniffing the area between. Is there a way to teach him a signal of some sort, I don't careif its barking, or scratching at the door or anything, but because he doesn't do anything now theres not a behavior for me to re-enforce.
3. Playing, I am having a hard time getting him play, he will play for maybe 2-3mins then thats it, I don't know if he is getting enough excersize. I can't get him to play with any toys either. By playing i basicly mean I pet him and he paws back. Thats about all I can get out of him. He does chew these stick like raw-hide things but only for a few moments and only if I leave him alone.
4 Coprophagia. It really bothers me. I tried cleaning it up but he goes for it as soon as he drops it. I have to say something in a rather stern tone just to get him to stay off it long enough for me to clean it up. I don;t really want to do drugs (side effects are scary) what other things can I try? (also when he does it I can't stand his breath, and he seems to let out thoes dog farts more.)
Any tips would be appreciated.

Answer:
For #4, you could try a tiny bit of crushed pineapple in his food. I think others have suggested meat tenderizer as well.
I had to walk Shippo in my yard on a leash the first month or so of having him, because he came to me with this habit... I never put anything in his food, and he lost interest after a while of just being prevented by me pulling him away with the leash. >^^;<

Answer:
1. Tethering him to you or crating him when nobody's around to supervise are feasible options. Keep the door to the bathroom closed too. This may help with problem #2 as well.
2. You can teach him to ring a bell when he needs to go outside.
http://www.uvhs.org/behavioral_docs/ringing_a_bell_to_go_outside.pdf
3. I guess you just have to find out what kind of toy he likes best. If he likes to chew, get him a Kong or a Nylabone. If he likes to chase, get him a ball or a frisbee. If he loves treats, get him a treat-dispensing toy. You can take him out on walks more often (or on longer walks) if you feel he isn't getting enough exercise. Some dogs, though, just aren't into toys. My own dog is this way, and she will only paw or bite at a ball then leave it alone. She doesn't like to chew either. She does love food, so she loves her treat-dispensing ball.
4. You can also just have him "Leave it" if you've taught that already.

Answer:
Adolph's Meat Tenderizer - sprinkle just a tiny bit on food and in about 3 days the food is no longer appealing to them. My vet told me to do this. Be careful with how much you use, it's salty.

Answer:
1. Tethering him to you or crating him when nobody's around to supervise are feasible options. Keep the door to the bathroom closed too. This may help with problem #2 as well.
2. You can teach him to ring a bell when he needs to go outside.
http://www.uvhs.org/behavioral_docs/ringing_a_bell_to_go_outside.pdf
3. I guess you just have to find out what kind of toy he likes best. If he likes to chew, get him a Kong or a Nylabone. If he likes to chase, get him a ball or a frisbee. If he loves treats, get him a treat-dispensing toy. You can take him out on walks more often (or on longer walks) if you feel he isn't getting enough exercise. Some dogs, though, just aren't into toys. My own dog is this way, and she will only paw or bite at a ball then leave it alone. She doesn't like to chew either. She does love food, so she loves her treat-dispensing ball.
4. You can also just have him "Leave it" if you've taught that already.
Try the bells on the door, it really worked for Jager. But be cautioned, it only works if you can hear them ringing. Jager will always ask to go outside. And he will always actually go outside if i am there to let him out. If i am in the shower and he's not crated, he rings the bells (my mom's said she heard them and asked me what that noise is) but when i don't let him out he's like "oh well, guess i'll just unload here then.'

Answer:
the bell idea is a great one. I will give that a try,Oscar is pretty smart so I'm sure he will get it. Creating him is a posibility, but he is alreadyin a crate for 8-9 hours a day and with him not excersizing I really want him to have as much opertunity to play as he can get. Long walks work sometimes, others he just sits down/lies down, and wants to go back in. Leave it doesn't work He will take the poop over a dog treat, now sure how to handel that, I will start trying small amounts of meet tenderizer. But it's not just his poop, its all poop (thats why I am worried we have ducks here and other water fouwl, that can't be good for him) The "other" poop I can usually get him to leave alone though.
On the playing front, I do have some good news. I got him to play for about 30 mins today. I just started plaing with him with my hands then added a soft toy to the mix. Then he was all over it. He does have a kong (the one you put treats in) but if it's to difficult to get out he just ignores it. I also used an old paper towls tube to get him going by calling his name thru the tube, he went bonkers for that (in a good way).
As for closing off the areas he "goes" in, that hasn't helped yet, mostly because he can just the gates. Closing the bath room off worked of course (can't just thru a door) but he just jumped the gate to the kitchen, and before I could get to him (obvious at this point) he had peed enough that he refusedto go outside.
All will come with patchents right?

Answer:
the missing verb in the previous post is JUMP I'll let you figure out where. lol

Answer:
He will take the poop over a dog treat, now sure how to handel that
What kind of dog treats? It has to be super valuable.
I still say the best way is to leash him while you're taking him potty, so you can pull him away from the poop (saying "leave it" is a plus, but you have to have a way of reinforcing it - this is where the leash comes in handy). Then, you can pick up the poop and not worry about the leash after that.

Answer:
I am currently training the "leave it" command, however Oscar has shown a tendancy to think that I am upset that he pooped, not that I want him to leave it alone. He is getting better. He amazes me very day at how quickly he can make progress in an area. As for the treat, he loves the treat. he will do about anything at a chance at one. I keep some lesser treats on hand for more rotune stuff (like re-enforcing sit). He doesn't like thoes as well, but If I keep giving him the good stuff I fear he will just do the stuff he wants to do to get the better treats. I save the really good treats for stuff like this, where I am trying new stuff.

Answer:
I would try and keep him on a leash when he goes. When he tries to turn around, just keep it tight so he cant get to it before you get your good treat out.
I'm having the same problems inside though. If he gets into my sisters room, he WILL go, so we shut the door. In my room, or his crate, he can do 12 hours if I oversleep :o before waking me up. (although he has limited water since he dumps it all over). In the living room though... between 1h and 4h of last being out, he will stop playing and pee. No warning, no going to the door, he just goes. Tying him to me wont work, he'd go anyway!
So yeah, hopefully the patience will outlast the training ;)

Answer:
at leastsoemone is the same boat as me. He won't go in his create or certin other areas i the apartment, but if he gets into one of the areas he will go in it's over, he can pee/poop in 2 seconds flat. hes doing better today,I tried the tight leash and it worked, nowhe goes for it after he finishes the treat (of course by then I have cleaned it up) and everyone is happy.