Need help with potty training!

[Logan's Papa]

Hi Folks,
It's been a long time (30 years or so) since we had to house train a puppy.

About what age should training begin? What age is their bladder and/or brain developed enough?

Logan is about 3 months old now. He spends a lot of time outside (which he doesn't mind at all) because we're tired of cleaning up after him. He usually holds it in until we let him in then he goes on the floor, which earns him a verbal rebuke.

Sometimes we catch him in time and take him outside, in which case we praise him.

Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[MissSuzie]

If you don't already have one, I would get a crate. Take him outside to the same spot each time to eliminate. If he doesn't go, put him in his crate. Do this every 20 minutes or so until he goes. Then he can leave him out of his crate for a while. Always take him out after he naps, plays and eats. 20 - 30 minutes after eating he should probably go poop. One of our favorite subjects here in Sheltie Nation!!!

Crate him at night, but at three months he may or may not make it all night. You may get a little whine to go out in the middle of the night. At three months Meggie went in her crate about 9:00 pm. and actually slept until about 6:00 a.m. But ocassionally she would let me know she needed to go during the night. She was crate trained from the start though and still, at 2 years old, likes her crate at times. She sleeps wilth me now and has for over a year, but her crate is her safe haven.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll get other ideas as well. Go with works best for you and your pup!

 

[mbfrench]

Hi Folks,
It's been a long time (30 years or so) since we had to house train a puppy.

About what age should training begin? What age is their bladder and/or brain developed enough?

Logan is about 3 months old now. He spends a lot of time outside (which he doesn't mind at all) because we're tired of cleaning up after him. He usually holds it in until we let him in then he goes on the floor, which earns him a verbal rebuke.

Sometimes we catch him in time and take him outside, in which case we praise him.

Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks,

Training needs to be started the moment that puppy walks in your door,as a new member of the household~

Verbal rebuke is not going to achieve anything.Cause if you don't see him do it,and you correct after the fact,he's not going to know what he's being corrected for...puppies have very short memories.You need to catch him in the act~see below

First I suggest either shampooing your rugs,or your floors where his favorite place is to potty,there are great products that take out urine smell,as if he can smell it,he will repeat going there.

If you see him starting to squat,gather him up quickly,even in mid flow or poo,and take him outside to finish in an area he has gone before.If he does'nt produce anything,bring him in and crate him.

10-15 minutes later,take him back outside,and tell him to "potty" or words of your choice.When he does a potty (make sure you have a treat in your pocket) then you treat him,and make a HUGE deal out of it.Using a clicker also may come in handy to.Repeat until you have results.

Having him outside all the time is accomplisihng really nothing.You have no idea of when he goes,so there is no knowledge of a schedule etc.and it's convienant to have him there as there is no clean up.

Don't take offense to this,but honestly a puppy at 3 months of age,left outside to his own accord,is only asking for trouble.Thats to young,plus these dogs enjoy the family interaction.They are to sensitive,plus other than getting into things he should'nt get into,and no interaction with the family,theres no socialization.

He should be fed at regular times,so he potties somewhat regular times.

So he's 3 months old..do you have a crate? If you don't have one,I suggest you get one, today!

It will be your best investment ever.No dog,unless they are sick really should never soil where they sleep.

He should be crated at night,nap times,quiet times. Start feeding him in his crate,so he associates good things (food) with going in his crate.Night time,he needs a schedule to potty.Which may mean getting up at 2am or whichever so he is comfortable all night.

Our last call used to be around 10pm.We have a 5 month old.Last week I fell asleep way before 10pm,and Jasper made it all night long without a whimper.From 9pm-5am

I have been extremely fortunate,our 9 month old Trapp,has been house trained since probably around 5-6 months.He has had free roam night & day of the house since then.

Jasper has not pottied once in the house,not even on the sunporch over 2 months.Once he got it,and the light clicked in his little brain..he was on his way.These dogs are extremely smart~


Jasper is slowly earning his right to have the porch,living,kitchen areas as places to roam without gates.We no longer crate him when we leave.He's only crated at night & nap times.

Time,patience,consistancy,positive reinforcement.

Lots & lots of info in past threads,and there are many of folks here that I'm sure will chime in.

Most of all..be patient!

 

[corbinam]

Lots of good answers so far.

The most important thing is that training should begin immediately. But rather than correcting mistakes, set your pup up for success.

You can do this with great success with use of the crate. If you aren't actively watching him (I mean every second, because puppies are opportunistic!) then he should be in his crate.

Take him out after eating, playing, or waking up from a nap. All of these things will make him want to potty. Take him out, walk him around for 5 minutes or so, and praise and treat if he potties. If he doesn't, come back inside and put him in his crate. Try again in 10 minutes.

Also, make sure that you are feeding him at the same times every day. With the above routine, you'll soon find that your puppy has a pretty set potty schedule. It makes predicting accidents a lot easier.

If you find that your puppy has had an accident in the house, just clean it up and realize that you weren't vigilant enough. If you catch him going in the house, make a loud noise (like "UNH-UNH") to hopefully stop the stream, gather him up quickly, and take him outside. Huge rewards if he finishes outside.

Good luck!

 

[Emmasmom]

I've been reading this thread and I guess I got lucky with Emma and also Noah. Emma took may be a week to train if that - she really worked well. We took her out after eating and every little while. The first week she had me up at least once a night. By five months, she would be done before 8:00 and go until 6:00. Sometimes she does want out later or during the night or early morning but this is rare.
Noah was similar. He walked into the house the day I got him and right to the patio door to go out. I had little trouble with him.

I can only repeat what has been said - regular time for feeding, taking out afterwards and every little while. Crating is good if you are away or at night. Dogs need an area to feel that it is their place - my dogs ended up taking over under my bed (whch is really high off the floor).

I never crated Emma or Noah but did keep them confined to the kitchen and living room areas until trained and in the laundry room when we went out. Because someone was home all day, both Emma and Noah were able to be taken out on a regular schedule during the day. Because both were on the bed at night, they let us know when they wanted out. If they were caught going, they were told no or bad and taken outside right away.

 

[Logan's Papa]

Thanks much for the advice, everyone! We did like you said and bought a crate. We haven't been as consistent as we should be, but I can tell that there is a positive difference already. He's messing in the house less, and today he seems to be acting more "mature". Less flighty. More like a dog.

When we started giving him treats for going potty outside, he started doing "token" messes. That is, he would pee for half a second so he could get a treat. Yesterday he even did half a poop job, got his treat, then finished the job so he could get another treat. What a stinker! Cute though.