Potty Training (Your Dog)

[buckeyebri]

Okay, Brutus is pissing me off......and this right before the big game and me leaving him with a sitter for the weekend while I head out for it.....I know he is only 12 weeks old....

For the most part he is good, he is starting to go to the door and a couple of times has barked to go out. I reward him every time he does, but occasionally like just now he just goes pee somewhere without any warning....thank god for wood floors.

Any advice on potty training to avoid the accidents...I don't want to use the puppy pads....

How do you train them to hit a bell on a door to go out?

 

[Mac]

Stop wasting your precious time posting it on bp and go train . Acually what you're doing is pretty much all you can do other than taking Brutus out every once in a while even if he's not showing signs to go to the bathroom. And especially right after they eat since they have small bladders/intestines/etc, when they eat it puts extra pressure on their bowels.

 

[kinch]

Stop wasting your precious time posting it on bp and go train . Acually what you're doing is pretty much all you can do other than taking Brutus out every once in a while even if he's not showing signs to go to the bathroom. And especially right after they eat since they have small bladders/intestines/etc, when they eat it puts extra pressure on their bowels.

Exactly.

I raised a Basset (notoriously hard to train for this stuff) and taking him out after eating was key. Also-- praise them a ton when they go outside, but don't bring them right back in. Lots of puppies will then think "I go to bathroom outside, and I have to go inside." This was big with my guy, Sherman. Of course I've had to walk dogs, on pavement. It may be different if you have a yard.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Okay, Brutus is [censored]ing me off......and this right before the big game and me leaving him with a sitter for the weekend while I head out for it.....I know he is only 12 weeks old....

For the most part he is good, he is starting to go to the door and a couple of times has barked to go out. I reward him every time he does, but occasionally like just now he just goes pee somewhere without any warning....thank god for wood floors.

Any advice on potty training to avoid the accidents...I don't want to use the puppy pads....

How do you train them to hit a bell on a door to go out?

Puppy pads just teach them to go in the house.

A) Crate training! He won't go in what he considers his "den." At first, that's the crate. Then, slowly give him a room...then a couple of rooms. Eventually, he'll consider the whole house his den and won't want to spoil it.
B) Firm--but gentle--reprimands when he does go in the house. You don't need to hit him or rub his face in it. Remember, he wants nothing more than to please you. You just need to show him how.
C) Patience. Very few dogs are completely housebroken before the 4-5 month mark.

Take your time and do it right, and he'll be reliable for the rest of his life.

 

[MolGenBuckeye]

Ditto on the crate training. Sloopy has only had two accidents in her crate in her first year - once when she was scared, and the other time she was sick.

At this point, she only has very occasional accidents in the house. We have blinds on our back door that she's learned to nudge and make noise when she wants to go out. She does cry wolf a lot some days because she just wants to go outside, and occasionally we guess wrong. :ohwell:

 

[BigWoof31]

Schedule, schedule, schedule.

When you wake up - put him out for 10 mintues
After he eats - put him out of 10 minutes
When you get home from work - put him out for 10 minutes
Before he goes to be - put him out for 10 minutes


If he knows he'll be going out soon enough - it's likely he'll hold it. And in the case of a puppy bathroom emergency, he'll whine when he really has to go out.

 

[Cornerback6]

As ORD already mentioned, I think the best piece of advice is not to rub his nose in it. Also, I found in training my two dogs that giving the treat to them right after they pee outside or take a dump is an even more instant form of gratification and helps them easily relate the positive action (going #1/#2 outside) with the positive reward. That is, instead of thinking they're supposed to get a treat just for going outdoors. After awhile, they'll figure it out and you can give them the treats when you get back inside.

Woof's advice for schedule is great too. The more consistent you can be with it, the quicker your dog will pick up on the routine and understand the going out routine.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Here's a well trained dog:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPV9SwCecTQ"]YouTube - Dog poop, and pee in toilet[/ame]

 

[ulukinatme]

Schedule, schedule, schedule.

When you wake up - put him out for 10 mintues
After he eats - put him out of 10 minutes
When you get home from work - put him out for 10 minutes
Before he goes to be - put him out for 10 minutes


If he knows he'll be going out soon enough - it's likely he'll hold it. And in the case of a puppy bathroom emergency, he'll whine when he really has to go out.

I have to agree with this. Add in the crate training as well, it's huge. buckeyebri, you're absolutely correct, don't ever, ever use puppy pads, they're bad news. My wife brought two small dogs into the marriage and I can tell you that weening them off puppy pads and going in the house is a chore I'm still going through. It's been 8 months and theres still some accidents.

Small dogs seems harder to train than little dogs too. Training a Chiuaua has been awful, worst dog I've ever had to potty train. They're so willful, trying to keep them off the furniture and stuff is impossible. They're so small and sneaky, they'll leave you a little surprise about anywhere. If you put them outside in anything colder than 75 degrees they shiver and won't do anything. At least the Poodle puppy only has an accident on very rare occasions now, and even then he'll go by the door which means it was my fault or the wife's. Still, training a Poodle and Chiuaua that were previously on puppy pads has been 10x worse than any Boxer or Cocker Spaniel our family had in the last 28 years.

 

[Dryden]

Puppy pads just teach them to go in the house.

A) Crate training! He won't go in what he considers his "den." At first, that's the crate. Then, slowly give him a room...then a couple of rooms. Eventually, he'll consider the whole house his den and won't want to spoil it.
B) Firm--but gentle--reprimands when he does go in the house. You don't need to hit him or rub his face in it. Remember, he wants nothing more than to please you. You just need to show him how.
C) Patience. Very few dogs are completely housebroken before the 4-5 month mark.

Take your time and do it right, and he'll be reliable for the rest of his life.

Agree with crate training. Dogs are hardwired not to soil their den unless it's a last resort. Start with a crate, then expand to one room, and go from there.

The outlier would be if you have company over frequently. The pup needs to be integrated into the family lifestyle first, otherwise it might pee wherever at the first sign of a stranger.

 

[Buckin' A]

I trained my boxer to ring a bell when he needs to go out so that he won't scratch the door. I just bought one of those little service bells that you see on a counter in a store. Every time I took him out I took his paw and rang the bell. One day I heard the bell ring and he was sitting by the door waiting to go out.

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Crate training.

Of course, if you end up with a cage rat it's tough to break. A dog has to be especially stupid, however, to become a cage rat.

Woof's routine is a good one too. Use them together... and I agree with the no rubbing the nose in it. It can sometimes be tough to not get mad when the dog pisses in the house... and does it a lot.... but... like has been said, Dogs exist to please, and thus respond much better to praise when they do right than they do punishment when they do wrong. In fact, it's probably better to simply ignore them when they do wrong.

Think like a dog. Somehow the Alpha male is able to gain conformance with his "rules" without being able to speak, yell, etc.. I didn't really "get" that until I tried something I saw on the Dog Whisperer... it was pretty fuckin effective too...

Any time any food hit the floor, my lab was ALL over it. Like a friggin missile. So, I tried this -

I put him in "Sit" and placed a piece of bread on the ground next to me. He jumped immediately. I simply positioned myself between him and the bread, blocking his access. Then I waited for him to return to my last command "Sit" If it went "too long" I reminded him what he was supposed to be doing by pressing firmly, but without any "anger" or the like, on his hind quarters.

Once he was in sit, I'd move away from the bread. At first, he'd try to get it, but I'd jump back in his way. Within 10 minutes of this, I was leaving the kitchen all together and he would not try and get the bread. He had learned it was mine.

Then, after a good session, I gave him some other reward - a dog biscuit.

Another good thing I learned was to use your hand as "jaws" when you need to demonstrate dominance in a physical way. First - never be angry about it. Just be "sure" of yourself. If the dog senses that you're Attacking him, he will fight. If, however, he senses "Hey, this guy knows what he's doin... he's not trying to hurt me, he's just serious about this" he will show submission quickly and will learn whatever it is you were trying to teach him. Open you hand like it would be a dog's mouth, without closing your hand, use the area between your thumb and first finger to basically put him in a head lock against the ground. Again... NO ANGER. This is what an alpha dog does with his jaws. You do it with your hands.

Also... have a good reason for using physical dominance. If he nips at a child, for example... something where you need to let him know... "THIS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE EVER!" When he submits... relaxes (you'll feel it), let him up and be done with it. No further "discussion" will be required. He'll get it... and he'll respect you.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Fuckin' puppies