Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jane on August 8, 2012 at 5:47pm

If you catch Ferris in the act, I'd just let out a loud screech to interrupt him and immediately take him out. Praise like crazy if he finishes outside. If you find it after the fact, even if it's 30 seconds later, there is nothing you can do but scold yourself, lol.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brooke Busteed on August 8, 2012 at 5:57pm

He is 3.5 months old.  I take  him out AT LEAST every hour.  I usually can just tell when he has to go, however it is so consuming, maybe I will give the bell a try.  He used to bark when he had to poop, now he just gives me a look or like yesterday poops in the house with not so much as even a look :(  I live in an apartment unfortunately so I can't just open the door to the yard or anything.  I guess I just need to keep doing what I am and hope that time and patience pays off.

 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Juno on August 8, 2012 at 6:00pm

Sounds like you're doing good! as the weeks go by, you want to slowly increase the time between potty breaks from like an hour to maybe an hour and 15min or hour & a half. It is sooo consuming...Juno is just five months right now but once you get it, you will be SOOOOO happy. When i first had juno...yeah, tell me about it the potty thing was crazy. Patience will pay off and it will be worth it. :)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ludi on August 8, 2012 at 8:25pm

While you have him leashed to you throughout the day, try to pick out a pattern on when he tends to need to "go" the most, once outside. Usually it will be after drinking, eating, playing, and waking from a nap. Once you start noticing when he tends to really need to relieve himself, and when it's just a small dribble, you can fine-tune the schedule of taking him out to suit his needs.

But again, it's important to not give him a chance to have an accident indoors. Each one sets you back further in your training.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on August 8, 2012 at 6:44pm

At 3.5 months old he is too young to really understand housebreaking.   I think perhaps housebreaking was not explained to you thoroughly.   The entire point is to watch the puppy like a hawk, take him out on a schedule, and keep him confined so he ONLY has the opportunity to potty outside.  This will develop a strong habit for him to only want to potty outside, and pottying in the house will be uncomfortable for him.  As he develops more mature bladder and bowel control when he's around 4 or 5 months old, he MAY start telling you he needs to go out, or he may not.  But really at the age your pup is now, by the time he realizes he needs to potty, he is already going.  

Honestly I never wait for my adult dogs to tell me they need to go out.  They are on a potty schedule.  They are housebroken in the sense that they hold it til I take them outside.  I have one who will whine and paw at the door if he has to go out at a weird time, and one who does not.

However, you are not (at this point) training a potty signal.  You are taking him out frequently, only allowing freedom immediately after he's pottied, and confining him the rest of the time to avoid having him potty in the house.  You are conditioning him to associate relieving himself with being outside, rather than teaching him to tell you that he needs to go out.  

If you catch him in the act, make a noise to distract him, pick him up and carry him outside and praise him lavishly for finishing out there. Do not scold him because every accident is the human's fault.

Scolding for inappropriate pottying has only one place, and that is when a fully potty-trained adult dog is taken to a new inside place and tries to eliminate.  A sharp "ah-ah" and a firm leash collection is to remind the dog that housebreaking rules also apply to this new inside place.  

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Allie May Thitte on August 8, 2012 at 9:13pm

Hope no one misunderstood what I meant with the crating. I don't mean he's in a crate all the time, but its super important to confine them to a small space (crate, xpen ect) when you can't give them your full, undivided attention. The "no" really for us is only to get their attention as we run to catch them in the act of an accident. Like I said, those are learning moments for us. If you catch an accident right when it happens, I consider that a good thing bc it teaches them that the floor is not a place to release. (even though it may not be so great for your rug)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tomahawk and Fences on August 8, 2012 at 9:22pm

Tomahawk had his accidents up until he was five months. What finally made it so much easier was taking him out every two hours. Just as Ludi says, if he poos and pees inside, it reinforces the behavior, so if I wanted to make him do it outside, I had to give him every opportunity to do so.  Also, like Beth said, once he has full bladder function, create a potty schedule for him. I take Tomahawk out 4 to 5 times a day now. When we wake up, after his first meal which is around 1, again  around five, after he eats his second meal, and one more time before we go to bed. It makes it so much easier. You just have to make a schedule that can work for you and your pup.

Now I can let him walk around the house and not worry that he will have an accident. You'll get there, just take him out and if you catch him in the act, scoop him up as soon as possible and place him where you find it acceptable to go. Also, praise him when he does it right! Tomahawk will wiggle his butt like crazy whenever I tell him he is the best pooper in the world. :]

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page