How long does puppy house training take?

By lovli (Guest Post)

I got a whippet puppy 4 days ago he is 9 wks, and he seems to poop outside but pees inside occasionally. I do put him out every hour or so, when he wakes up an starts sniffing about or when he has just eaten. Am I doing the right thing? He has paper down and normally goes on there if he goes in the house, when I put him out I always say go peepee and if I see him do it, I give him loads of fuss and praise. I'm just worried he won't get house trained through my fault, so if anyone can tell me if I'm doing this right. thanx. x

Editor's Note: He is still very young so he is really doing well for his age I would say. It sounds like you are doing all the right things.

By Vicki (Guest Post)

I don't think that mince meat is good for puppies. Some need to be on puppy food for a while. Try talking to a vet or someone at a Pet store for guidance on what to feed the puppy. The wrong food can cause serious problems. Small animals can go from healthy to sick in a matter of hours.

By

jess

(submitted via email)

5 years ago, I received this book as a gift for my then puppy cairn terrier. I followed the book (but lost it now) and it worked. It was a seven day (or shorter) schedule wherein you keep the dog inside the kennel cage for the duration. Please make sure the cage is clean and not too big. It starts with the first day - walk the dog just for peep and poop. Go back home directly, feed the dog, and then play for 10 minutes. Afterward, put him back to the cage. For the first day, do the walk and play every 30 minutes. This should be done until midnight. You then increase this to 1 hour the next day, and then 2 hours the following day, and so forth. Please make sure you only feed your dog one full meal in the morning and once in the evening. Treats are good in between. I took a week off from work to do this and it worked - never had an accident in my apartment. Good luck.

blraur86

By

Har'iet

Make sure you use something like Nature's Miracle to eliminate the odor of the pee when the puppy goes in the wrong place. You may not be able to smell it, but they can after you clean up with water and soap. It tells them it is a place to go again.

I also think the crate method sounds good. That is what my daughter in law used when training their mini dashhound.
Harriet

By

shirleyamh

Well there are alot of answers and alot of suggestions. From my experience I have found that all dogs, chihuahua's to the largest of mixed or pure breds are all trainable.
My favorite way to house train is to use the crate method. The crate needs to be just big enough for the dog to turn around. Dogs do not want to sleep in the area that they illiminate in. So they will hold it as long as they can. You take them out of the crate at regular times and immediatly take them outside to do their business. Use the same words like " go peepee poopoo" They will learn pretty quickly. Also very important is to take them out between 10 minutes to a half hour after they eat. You will find out your dogs digestion schedule if you pay attention. In the early stages of training, praise them as they do their stuff. Watch them as they do it so you will know whether or not they do it. That will tell you that maybe the next time you take them out will need to be sooner if they did not do it that time.
Good luck

By

blraur86

5 years ago, I received this book as a gift for my then puppy cairn terrier. I followed the book (but lost it now) and it worked. It was a seven day (or shorter) schedule wherein you keep the dog inside the kennel cage for the duration. Please make sure the cage is clean and not too big. It starts with the first day - walk the dog just for peep and poop. Go back home directly, feed the dog, and then play for 10 minutes. Afterward, put him back to the cage. For the first day, do the walk and play every 30 minutes. This should be done until midnight. You then increase this to 1 hour the next day, and then 2 hours the following day, and so forth. Please make sure you only feed your dog one full meal in the morning and once in the evening. Treats are good in between. I took a week off from work to do this and it worked - never had an accident in my apartment. Good luck.

By

SusanLee

Hmm, that is only a week over four months, she really isn't that old.

When I got my Boston Terrier she stayed in her kennel cage a lot. I made sure she had plenty of room to get in an area where she could do her buisness without getting into her sleeping area. I would take her outside everytime she woke-up and tell her to 'pee pee'. When we came back in, we played a while, then back to the yard for the pee pee lesson, then back in the cage. Believe it or not, she paper trained herself and it just dawned on me how that happened as I am writing this.

My mom gave me a chihuahua a year or so before I got my BT and the chi was paper trained. I keep paper down for her because she's little and she doesn't want to go outside without me. I kept the same pee pads in the BT cage. I bet that's how she associated to go to the chi's paper.

Understand, we had plenty of accidents, it just goes with the territory, like toilet training children.

My BT know what 'do you have to go pee pee' means, and she knows what 'do you want to go outside' means.

Also, smaller dogs, like terriers don't have the ability to hold their urine quite as long.

When my BT terrier was the age your dog is now, I was still taking her outside every 20 minutes or so if she wasn't in her cage. And I always associated the word 'pee pee' with those trips.

You have a smart, intelligent breed, she'll get it. It's just going to take awhile. If you like the breed, and get another one, it might train faster and easier or visa versa.