Help Potty Training a Puppy

I also have a new puppy, Mine is 4 months old now. A crate is essential! Put the puppy in the crate whenever you can't be watching its every move. Then, when the pup is out of it's crate, watch it every second. If it squats, make a noise and say "outside"! Then put the puppy outside right away. The more you catch the puppy in the act, the faster it will get it. It's a lot of work in the beginning, but well worth it to put in the effort. Dont say "No" to the puppy when it has an accident, just "outside".
One more thing, if you can find time to do obediance training, I highly reccommend it. It is usually a one night a week thing, and so worth it!

Crate training. Crate training. Crate training.

A crate gives your pup an area he feels is "his" and most animals will not mess where they sleep. The crate should be big enough for him to comfortably turn around and lie down. Not so big where he can mess in one corner and avoid it.

Some may feel it's cruel, but with a young pup and two young children, it will give the dog an area where he can be when he wants to rest, be alone, etc. AND, it not only saves your home from mess, but also potential distruction.

Also, look into some puppy classes when he gets a bit older, the classes will instill a strong bond with the dog and the family and will allow socialization with other dogs (very important).

It's not easy with a new pup, and it's 1000 times harder with a new pup and a new baby! But, if you stick to a crate and also with taking the dog out when he wakes up, about 5-10 minutes after he eats, and when you see him sniffing and circling...house training will come in time.

Good luck...and if I were you I'd start thinking of some REALLY interesting Fathers Day gifts for dear hubby. Lol.

YOU NEED A CRATE. Feed and water the dog in the crate, they will not want to go potty where they eat. Unless they were a pet store dog, then you have an uphill battle. These puppies are forced to go where they eat due to the way they are kept, so it's really hard to potty train them.

DON'T USE PAPERS. This is very confusing. Dogs see things in black and white. If you let them go in the house sometimes (which is what paper training is), they will think it's okay to go in the house ALL the time.

I am a breeder/exhibitor of show dogs and have raised and trained many puppies. The crate is the most humane (dogs are DEN animals by nature and love to have their own place) and fastest way to train a puppy.

I highly recommend you get any of the books by the Monks of New Skete. I gave these out to all my puppy buyers. They are fantastic. The art of raising a puppy is a great one.

Good luck! Your training time wil also depend on the size and breed of your puppy. Some are more diffucult to train than others. If it is one of the toy breeds, it could take a while. But be consistent!

Hi C.,
Put your puppy in a confined place such as a big box or buy a kennel for him. Make it big enough for him to sleep in one half of it and put the papers on the other half. Even puppys know not to pee or poop where they sleep. Once you see he's getting used to peeing on the papers you move the papers out of his sleeping quarters and towards the door. You eventually move it out the door. Every time you see him peeing where he is supposed to you praise him or reward him with a treat or petting and hugging him. Eventually he will start standing at the door to be let out. He may even start barking at the door if he becomes impatient and has to go really bad.
The best times to take him out is immediately after a nap or when he wakes up in the morning. Also approximately a half hour after feedings. And especially after they have played rigorously. They are a lot of work but are very much worth it.

Good luck

A.

Hi C.,

I've been where you are a ton of times. House breaking a puppy is very difficult and frustrating, I won't lie! But you're new little guy will get the hang of it eventually.

I think that everyone here has given you really good advice. Take him out very often the praise him like he's done the most miraculous thing in the world when he goes outside. When he makes an accident inside, do not rub his face in it or yell at him; this doesn't work and he really doesn't understand. Just take him right outside as someone else had suggested.

If you have carpeting and you need a good product to get the pee smell out, I recommend Urine Out powder. I have tried everything there is and this is the only product that really works. It just makes the whole potty training process easier when you can clean up the mess and not have that lingering odor. You can Google Urine Out Powder and find the website that sells it. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats, so I've had lots of accidents to clean up!

Good luck and hang in there!

Patty

The way I trained my puppy was to take him out OFTEN and use a key word or two that you repeat each time you go out. We used the phrase "do it." Repeat this over and over again when he is actually pottying and then give him LOTS of praise. If you find a mess, don't rub his nose in it, but make him look at/smell it and then ask, "Gotta do it?" or whatever your key word/phrase is and use a questioning tone rather than a commanding tone. Then IMMEDIATELY take him outside and give the command. It takes some time, but he'll learn the words rather quickly.

Libraries have great books for dog training! :)
Congrats on your new addition.
-Amanda

Wow... wasn't that nice of your hubby to add another responsibility to your plate... ;) First, make sure to get a very strong spot cleaner (I recommend the Bissell Little Green machine and the cleaning solution for pets). If the little guy has accidents (which he will), he will tend to have them in the same place unless you get the scent out of the carpet! As for training, we took our dogs outside about every hour and had words for each type of potty. When the dogs went, they were EXCESSIVELY rewarded with treats & praise when we came inside. Also, take the pup out immediately after he wakes up from sleeping. And, don't scold the dog if you don't catch him in the middle of going in the house. They don't understand why they are in trouble and think it is for whatever they are doing when you scold them. I'm sure there are trainers out there who have much more specific advice, but these general techniques have worked for both our lab mixes! Good luck!!

Hi C.,

Sounds like my husband.....Yikes...However, I did not have youngsters...What bread is your puppy....I have a German Sheperd and an English Mastiff, 90 pounds and 150 pounds full grown respectively. Both were brought home at 8-9 weeks old. Do you have a crate? We used crate training. Try to avoid the paper training as it adds to the confusion. At night and for short periods during the day we would keep our dog confined to the crate. They don't usually mess in the space where they sleep and it starts teaching them that they can't mess wherever they feel like it. The rule of thumb is that after they eat or drink that within 10 minutes they usually have to be let out. It was effective. Once you let them outside you place them where you want them to do their business. And repeat "Go Potty" or whatever term you are comfortable with. The key is be consistant. Also signs to watch for is sniffing the floor, walking in circles or the dreaded "they begin to squat down". A sharp no and promptly take him outside. Let me know if I can be of more help. Trust me, I've been where you've been.

Good luck.

I agree with everyone - crate train the puppy. We did it for our dog, but he was one of the few that didn't mind sitting in his filth. Eventually he got it though. Besides crate training though, I had a trainer tell us of another way to potty train:
Bell trian -
Each time you take the puppy outside to go potty, you hit a small bell against the door frame. Then you start to leave the bell at the dog's height so that eventually it will get the idea to ring the bell itself (with it's nose or paw) to tell you it's time to go potty outside.
We did a lot of bathing, since he sat in his own filth, but it did take him about 3 months, so please be patient!

Hi C.,

Have you heard of crate training? This is one of the best ways to go w/ a new puppy. The crate must be big enough to accommodate the dog when full grown as he(she) will quickly learn to use it as a refuse & a quiet place to lay down. What is recommended is to put the dog in the crate while you are not home or busy doing other things (which w/ 2 little one's may seem like a lot at first!) Let the puppy out to go potty outside & if he/she does go, then reward the puppy by letting him/her play outside the crate for about 15 min. - then he goes right back in. If the puppy does not go potty then put him right back into the crate until his next try. The puppy will whine & cry a lot at first - THIS IS NOT CRUEL so don't feel that way - though they do pull on your heart strings - don't give in. Any dog expert will tell you this is the very best way to train a dog. There are a lot of books on the subject so you may want to get one & check it out.

Good luck & don't get too stressed out. Most pups learn to go potty outside very quickly and crate training will be easier & safer for all of you!

J.