Request: House Training a Puppy
Archived on 07/30/2009
I have a puppy (Poodle mix) who is almost 8 months old. I can't get her housebroken. She wees on every throw rug or full-room rug in the house. We love her to pieces, but we can't seem to get her to get the big idea that "outside" is the place to go. Can you help us?
By Dr. O from East Coast, FL
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RE: House Training a Puppy
OK, I'll try to make this brief. I have a Yorkie who pooped in the house until he was almost a year old (even in his crate when we first got him, which they supposedly don't do.) But pee training was fairly easy. Here's what you can try.
Take her outside every couple of hours on a leash, or after meals for pooping. Choose a word to associate with peeing and pooping. When you get outside, tell her Susie, go pee (or whatever word). Let her sniff around, and sooner or later she will pee. Then you jump around and act stupid and happy, and tell her Good Girl! Good pee! And pet her, and give her a tiny treat (bits of cheese or hot dog work great) right away that you have in your pocket. You can't wait until you get back in the house. This is how she connects the treat with the act. Same with pooping. Reward right away! For the pooping you can try taking her out after she eats. That works great for most dogs. Mine was different; he would poop first time out in the AM.
When you catch her starting to pee or poop in the house (look for the "squat"), say "NO!" to startle her into stopping, then say "Outside!" as you pick her up and bring her outside. Then when she finishes outside, praise her, pet her and give her a treat.
It takes a lot of patience sometimes. You might even have to take her out in the middle of the night for a while, like a baby, until she can hold it long enough. Good luck! Don't give up! I almost did, and I'm glad I didn't!
(05/25/2009)
By Mary T
RE: House Training a Puppy
I had a poodle mix, a male, that was very difficult to train. He was just plain stubborn. With him I took him out every hour and if he peed I gave him a treat and lots of praise with a "good girl, out!" (make sure you say the word "out" in the praise) and a treat. If I caught him peeing I would say "No!, Out!" and put him out repeating the word "out" several times. Don't spank though, that will just make them go hide and do it.
Another thing is if you cannot keep a constant eye on her, put her in a crate while you are not able to watch her. Take her out hourly JUST to pee, give lots of praise and a treat if she goes and make sure while she is outside that you watch her saying "go out" repeatedly or just "out" repeatedly, then "good girl out". Put her back in the crate until you are able to let her out where you can keep an eye on her in the house. This really helped a lot too. I would put him in his crate while I cooked supper.
Just when I was about to give up on him getting trained that is when he started really doing well going outside, so don't give up. Good luck.
P.S. He was about 8 months or a little older when he finally got the idea, so it takes some time with some of the more stubborn breeds. It will happen though. (05/29/2009)
By minnabird
RE: House Training a Puppy
I had this problem with an older rescued dog & bought the disposable training pads. I started to work so I switched to a washable one to be more earth friendly and save. With my older one it took a bit but worked very well.
(05/29/2009)
By iliao93
RE: House Training a Puppy
I forgot to say you move the pad closer and closer to the out door and soon she will get the idea. The training instructions usually come included with the pad/pads. (05/29/2009)
By iliao93
RE: House Training a Puppy
This probably won't help but it's funny and I want to share it. I had gotten a toy poodle and she was about 8 months old and still needed some help being trained. I was going on vacation and asked the people who I got the dog from if they would take her for the week. They did. When I returned from vacation the dog was trained. The funny thing is, the people who trained the dog are Puerto Rican and the dog only answers to commands in Spanish! My poodle is now trained and bi-lingual! (05/29/2009)
By michele052002
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Request: House Training a Puppy
Archived on 05/25/2009
I recently got a 6 month old Yorkie pup. She was given to me because the original owners had problems potty training her. She also had a problem with chewing on things. CoCo Bean has only been with me for 2 days now, and I think she is doing fairly well. She has not chewed on anything except for toys. She has however, had some accidents and it seems as though it is a real bother to her to go outside. Is there any hope that I can housebreak her? Please don't feel that I am already giving up, because I posted this after only 2 days working with her. I am in this for the long haul, I just wanted to see what advice someone might have to help me along. Thanks. Lisa Marie from Friedens, PA
Feedback:
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
Try taking the poop and putting it outside in her designated toilet area. After nap and 20-30 minutes after she eats and drinks are musts for potty time. I would be cautious of taking her out every thirty minutes. You may be training her bladder to empty every thirty minutes.
Best of Luck. (11/14/2005)
By Jenna
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
I have a 12 week old Pomeranian named Symba and I found that using housebreaking pads makes a huge difference. Although at times, Symba will potty where he feels he should potty when he can't find a pad to potty on. You can find these pads at online pet stores, Wal-Mart, and your local pet store.
Also, don't feed her or give her water after 7pm. I've learned that Symba loves to be praised when he potties in his designated place. It's a trying process that takes a lot of patience, praise, and love. You can also use the pads for the outside because you don't want her to get use to eliminating on the inside and then you'll have to start the process of training her for the outside. So, try to mix it up a bit. Good Luck! (11/14/2005)
By familyofworship
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
I have a now, year old terrier and went through all that fun of training the little feller. One thing be patient and persistent with your puppy he will pick up what you want but don't give up. If your puppy is getting cold let him in and confine, then try 5 to 10 minutes later to take him out to finish. Mine got cold easily so had to take him out and he would do one thing and want in to get warm. We just held onto him for that time to get warm and try again. He usually would finish the second time.
Some puppies take longer than others to get the idea of what you want from them. My little terrier is great about going out. He has had only one accident in over 6 months and that was our fault. We did not let him out. Be patient and persistent, like your child it takes time and for him to learn control. (11/14/2005)
By Corkey
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
Everyone I know who has had good success training a puppy used a cage or a pen such as a play pen. It to them becomes their bed which they don't want by nature to mess in. Good luck. (11/14/2005)
By Suitsme
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
Try covering as large an area as possible with newspaper. Gradually reduce the amount of newspaper, leaving the area nearest the door until last. Finally put the newspaper outside. Takes a while, but it will get her used to using just the areas covered in paper. (11/14/2005)
By Veronica
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
Housebreaking pads will help you but won't teach the puppy to go outside. Consider getting a doggy door. Take her out every 30 minutes and praise her when she goes poopy and crate her when she is inside and you are unavailable or busy. Also, as soon as she quits eating she needs to be taken outside. It's very inconvenient and time consuming at first but once they get it, it's there for life. Patience and consistency with lots of praise will bring success. Took me 3 months to break my Jack Russell. (11/15/2005)
By SNIGDIBBLY
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
I have two dogs and both have been crate-trained and we rarely have any accident. When you get up in the morning, take her out of the crate and then outside immediately, then again after her breakfast and at regular times throughout the day. She might not 'perform' every time, but that's OK she'll be getting the idea of what you expect. Praise her when she does 'perform' and before you know it, Krissy will be completely trained. (11/15/2005)
By Claudia - MD
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
Keeping your puppy in a crate is the best way, at night and when you can't keep an eye on her. The best way to train is to leash your puppy when you take her out, take her to where she should go in the yard and say, "potty", or whatever word you want to use. Don't look at the dog, don't say another word. Right now the only reason she should be in that part of the yard is to potty.
When you go for a walk, leave by another door or avoid that potty area. At 12 weeks, she is still a baby and it will take months to master this new trick because puppies go more often. Puppies usually go about 10-20 minutes after they eat, if you take her out and she doesn't go, watch her closely, watch for signs, wait 3-5 minutes and take her back out. After she begins to go a few times in her area of the yard she will begin to make the connection that that is what you want. Catching her in the act and shouting "no", then taking her out to her spot is helpful too. She will begin to realize how to please you. Never spank or beat a puppy for accidents, a sharp "no" is all you need.
The crate is good because they don't like to mess their bedding area, she may cry at first. I had to put the crate in my bedroom at first and then slowly move it farther away until it was in the basement. My now 7 year old Shepherd/Collie sleeps in her crate and it doesn't even have a door on it anymore. If your puppy does mess in the crate it's because she couldn't wait, make sure she has gone before crating. Good luck. (11/15/2005)
By wonderpatty
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
In my experience raising Labs I have found the best thing to do is take them out after eating or drinking and also, immediately after waking from naps. Kenneling at night will help as long as the kennel isn't too big. If they have the chance to soil one end and sleep in the other end they will. Praise when actually using the outdoors is highly recommended and be sure to show disappointment in you voice when they go inside.
Good Luck (11/20/2005)
By Barbie
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
This is what I did with a 2 year old Maltese that had been in a kennel her whole life. I bought cheap hot dogs and cut them into small pieces. I would take her outside and when she did her business, I would give her a piece of hot dog. If she pooped, she got 2 pieces. This was the only time she got hot dogs. It only took about 5 days to house train her. Don't know if this helps, but she sure surprised me with how fast a two year old kennel kept dog got house trained. Good luck. (11/21/2005)
By Julia
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
There's a misunderstanding. A crate should "never" be used as a punishment. It should be the dog's special place/den. They naturally like to have a special spot in the house whether it's on the bed, in a corner, in a crate or wherever they choose. They should be able to go into the crate if they want to, even when you're home. It's supposed to be a good place not a bad place. Also training should be fun and pleasurable for the human and the dog. Never punish while training, only rewards. Every step in the right direction should be rewarded with a treat or something the dog likes. (12/14/2005)
RE: Housetraining a Puppy
I have a 10 week old Standard Poodle Puppy who is pooping and peeing in her crate every time i leave her to go anywhere. I have no clue what to do. Does anyone have any advice?
Editor's Note: It really depends on how long you are gone. 10 weeks is not very old and so I don't really think it is that unusual. You can try taking her out right before you leave and try not to leave her for more than an hour. If you are gone for hours, expect that this might be the case for a while until she is old enough to hold it. (05/09/2006)
By Kara D.
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