I wanted to know if anyone has any ideas on how I can potty train my new Pit Bull puppy? He is too little to take outside so I laid out papers all over.
By bellobella from Summit, NJ
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Hello fellow pet parent. Puppies are never too little to take outside for potty training unless you live on a polar icecap. LOL! As well, laying out potty papers "all over" does nothing to teach your dog discipline in discretionary piddling and pooping. In my opinion, "Crate Training" and a single "just in case" indoor pee pad are your best bets for a Pit Bull's best, successful house training. Paper training (and the far less acceptable "Litter" training of dogs) may indeed work with a miniature or toy breed, but similar situations are few and far between for puppies that will become over ten pounds as your Pitty surely will.
Please do some internet research on "Crate Training" and if you must leave a potty pad indoors as your pup grows, make it just one paper or pad and always in the same place. Otherwise, the puppy will unintentionally learn that he/she can do business anywhere something lies over the flooring (rugs, blankets, throws, books, magazines, etc.) and that won't be pretty!
Something that some don't understand about "Crate Training" is that if taught correctly, it is not a lifetime sentence for the dog to live in a crate when you are gone. All of my dogs "got it" by about age four to five months and never slept in a closed kennel again but continued to enjoy the crate / kennel as their home base "den" (their personal "safe place"). The only indoor accidents any ever had after the first four to five months were due to illness, not misbehavior.
Your puppy may be little right now, but you will not be happy cleaning up Pit Bull messes when he grows up and soils on several "papers" you've left spread about. Please do some research on "Crate Training" now so that you and your pup can have the best life together in the future. Good luck!
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I have a 6 month old male neutered Pom. We are still having potty issues. I have been training him on paper as he is an inside only pet and I am not an outdoor person. Some days he does just wonderfully and other days misses the paper entirely.
I work closely with him and am just getting impatient. Is he just still young? I wonder if I should go ahead and train him to go outdoors even though it is against what I really want. He's learning some basic commands and shows he knows when he had an accident.
Any advice is welcome. Please, someone help. Thanks to all.
By Nelwyn Mills from LA
I don't know what to tell you about your baby missing the paper sometimes other than that dogs don't aim like humans or even cats do. I've never had a dog that can potty in exactly the same spot every time and that includes puppies.
I promise I am not trying to be mean, but why do you have a dog, who needs outdoor exercise, if you're not willing to at least walk the baby even half way down the block and back a few times a day at his potty time? (03/16/2010)
By Deeli
I don't know much about dogs, but I have heard you can train them to go potty using cat litter and a cat tray. I know this would depend on the size of the dog and it might be more expensive, but it might be worth having a go. (03/16/2010)
By Sharyl
Oh my dear, this dog needs to go outside to potty. Dogs do not like to potty where they live, it's instinct for them to go outside. Please take the time to get out in the yard with your dog and praise him when he goes outside. It will be good for him and good for you, too, to get fresh air and some exercise. Dogs are not like cats, they need to go outside. Otherwise, give him to someone who wants a dog and get yourself a cat! (03/28/2010)
By Marcie
I am trying to paper train 2 four month old puppies. They just aren't getting it. I spray the papers lightly with the stuff that's supposed to make them want to go on the papers, but they would much rather shred the papers and drag them all over the room that they are in. Any suggestions?
Lynette from Elmer, NJ
Yep, mine loves to do that too. Fortunately, I crate trained him, and I suggest you do that too. They will start going to go outside much faster this way and you do not have to worry about them shredding the puppy-papers. If you leave them alone more than 6 hours in their crates though, you should place a puppy-paper inside one end of it.
By schubunny
This takes some time, but well worth it. They're 4 months old so you now have a pretty good idea how long after meals they need to tend to business. So, take their "offerings" to wherever you want them to make their deposits. Visit this spot as often as humanly possible. They should get the idea fairly quick.
Another good way to enforce trained behavior, add a bell to whichever door you normally take them out of, ring the bell as take them out. This will give them the idea that they should ring it to give you a heads up. Then and I know it takes a little $$, but there is stuff to remove their scents from your flooring. That is a very important step. I got that one from a dog trainer when I was trying to get my horse, I mean horse sized dog to respect my space. Hope that gives you an idea. (01/28/2008)
By amy
