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Permalink Reply by Jessica on June 9, 2010 at 2:27pm

Not sure if I can suggest anything better then what you've done with Harley. It took us until Killian was almost 7 months old to be confident in his potty training. It depends a lot on the dog and the persons commitment to getting the dog outside with proper praise and reinforcement.

That said we just brought home Murphy the 8 week old bossy corgi boy this Saturday and boy is he totally different then Killian! I mean TOTALLY different. Killian didn't utter a peep until the day he was 5 months old and discovered he could bark at things so we never had a whining or barking trigger and had to solely rely on body signals and routine to get him trained. Murphy on the other hand has done nothing BUT bark since we brought him home so things have actually gone a little easier with his potty training.

Of course, readjusting to having a puppy in the house is also really tough. There have been a few occasions where I can already see myself being laxer with Murphy becuase he's the "second child" Poor Killian had the first time pet parents who were determined to do everything to the book. Murphy on the other hand has the benifit of experience so I think things may go faster - or at least be a little less stressful. :D

Good luck when the new pup shows up and I hope it all works out!

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on June 9, 2010 at 3:44pm

Potty trained in my book means no accidents for at least half a year. Physically dog's bladder will be fully developed by 9 months, so by then they are capable of holding 8+ hrs. However due to the crazy hormone from the teenage period, they unlearn everything you taught them, so technically, no dogs are fully accident free (potty trained) until the age of 1, 2 for some.

With that said, most people's mistake is taking their eyes off their dog, to fix this, always put your dog in the crate when you cannot supervise, if you need to go to the kitchen, put the dog in the crate, if you need to go to the bathroom, put the dog in the crate, if you need to pick up the phone, put the dog in the crate...etc.

The second mistake is the method of clean up, dogs nose are 40 times more powerful that human, they can smell things that you can't, even you can't smell urine, they can. To fix this, invest in 6 bottles of hydrogen peroxide and keep them at home at all times. First use paper towel to soak up every last drop of urine, until your paper towels can't pick up any more, then you pour the hydrogen peroxide to the area. Say if the spot is 1 inch in diameter, pour 2 inches worth of hydrogen peroxide there. For tough stain, there is a machine call "little green" click on the rescue store on your right and you'll see it under clean up, best invention ever, there's even a spot model, you press a button and walk away, does everything for you.

3rd mistake that most people make is schedule, puppies needs structure, here's a sample: wake up, potty, breakfast, potty, play, potty, leaving for work potty, lunch, potty, leaving for work again potty, come home, potty, play, potty, dinner, potty, play potty, before bed, potty. As the pup age, space out the potty time, 1 mo old = 2 hr hold time (considering you crate train) 2 mo old = 3 hr hold time...etc. It is always always your fault when an accident occur, slap yourself in the forehead and remember to put him in the crate.

4th mistake people make is inconsistency, puppy pads, indoor potty device, bell training, route to the bathroom...etc. Have a plan, make up your mind if you want your pup to go outside and outside only. Forget about puppy pads or indoor urinal. Hang the bell to the door to go potty, before you take your dog out, ring the bell yourself and teach him to ring it with their paw or nose, then proceed to go out on leash, never never never let them go out alone, pups are like children, they forget their task and get distracted, teach them whenever a leash is on, its mission time.

5th mistake is location, pick a target location and stick with it. you can use a margarine lid or bowl to capture urine, dump that urine on a desire spot, next time go to that location and proceed to give the command, after he accomplish his task, make a very happy big deal about it ( like you just won the world cup or the lakers just won the NBA championship) your dog loves you and wants to please you, so let him know what a great job he's done. For poop, pick it up and smear it on the desired location, same drill as above. Once you've mastered this, your pup will always go potty first thing they are out of the house and will release on YOUR command. Most people let their dogs go spot shopping, it's fine during the good days, but when you're sick, coughing your lungs out in the pouring rain is not fun. So master this and you will be able to summon the poop on demand magic.

6th mistake that people make is hesitation, the longer you live with your dog, you'll develop this 6th sense, you'll discover the pre-potty rituals and "the look", for example, my Mocha will first sniff, do a small left turn, then on the 5 second mark will squat and BAM!!! Never fails. The key is trust your gut, when you catch yourself hesitating, 89% chance is you are correct, so get up grab and go, don't hesitate when you see that first sign cause clean up sucks, period.

7th mistake is "I told you so", your dog loves you and naturally wants to please you, so pay attention to what he's gotta say. For example, my Vienna will paw me, go in front of the TV and stand on hind legs to "wave" and get my attention to release her. Mocha sometimes have too much to drink and will hold just to please me, but he'll wander the front door (route to potty) or body shake (trying hard to hold). Again, pay attention to your dog, he told you so.

That should cover it, there's more in the FAQ. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Monica, Orion, and Laika on June 9, 2010 at 9:55pm

I did semi-crate training with Orion, we have the life stages crate that you can put a divider in so the space is small but comfortable. If the crate is small enough the dog cannot pee in one place then move to the other side and sleep so with such a small place they are forced to hold it. This teaches them that they CAN hold it for long periods of time. I got Orion at 9 weeks old and since I got him he sleeps every night in his crate at least 8 hours before asking me to go out to pee and poop. We have never ever had an accident in his crate because he knows he would have to lay in it. Then when he was out of the crate he was always watched.

During things like dinner when an eye couldn't be kept on him, he would go up in his crate (never longer than 30 minutes during the day). Every time I saw sniffing or if he was playing then suddenly started to wander away I would take him outside to the same grass patch. Also after he ate, took a nap, or had really active playtime I would take him outside as well for potty. For the first week and a half he'd get really excited when playing with my brother's aussie so I'd have to take him out every 15 - 30 minutes to avoid accidents but no longer have to do that.

If I took him out and he didn't pee he went into his crate, and came back out to try again in ten minutes. If he peed or pooped he got to stay out, if he didn't he went back in the crate for another ten minutes. When I did this he rarely had to go back in the crate after the first ten minute period.

He is 12 weeks now and never pees inside and he knows when we go out to that patch of grass to instantly pee then his gets to play. The only accidents we have are poop (which is way easier to clean than pee) and its always my fault: Orion likes to adventure around for the perfect poop spot and sometimes I get impatient and take him back inside. Since he has enough control that I don't crate him when he comes back in without going anymore I'll sometimes find a sneaky poop somewhere but its ALWAYS when he was adventuring around and I didn't want to wait and brought him back in, so its totally my fault.

My brother did the same method with his aussie (who is now seven months) and he learned really fast which is why I decided to do it with Orion. Now that he's 12 weeks and has no accidents unless I'm being an irresponsible owner I feel like it worked really well and I won't change a thing when training my next pup.

Oh yeah, also remember to praise when he pees/poops in the correct area. "YAAAAAY Orion! That's a GOOD POOP!!" I sound like an idiot doing it but I think it works ;)

Good luck with the new puppy :)

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Permalink Reply by Renee Kovacs on June 10, 2010 at 8:39am

I've house-trained 7 dogs in my life, all with the same routine and all with the same success, and I've never owned a crate. For the first week or two, I slept on the couch with the puppy. Never had one leave the couch, never had one do any 'bad' things on the couch, didn't spend the night listening to heart-wrenching whining. Upon wakening - I took them outside on a leash, for a potty break.

Potty breaks had a specific protocol - a potty break is NOT a chance to run around, play or even interact. I stood still, they would walk in circles around me, look at me, bark, whine ...I just stood and kept saying "go potty" in a kind of flat voice. I just wanted the sound/words to get linked to the (eventual) act, I did NOT want a high-pitched voice to induce 'play' excitement. Eventually, given that there's nothing ELSE a pup can do on a short leash without options ...they would go potty, and IMMEDIATELY I would reward with food. I like the dehydrated lamb liver best (and so do they!), kept a baggie with the leash on a hook by the door - and that was the ONLY time they got that treat.

During the first month or so - potty-breaks end by going in the house, and then removing the leash. The whole idea is to totally separate play-time from potty-time. Business/pleasure. During the day, I never let a pup out of my sight - much as you'd watch a toddler. I always gated-off the kitchen (dog IN), just never had or used a crate. Puppies need for potty-breaks are quite predictable - immediately following a nap, right after eatting, after heavy play, when walking around sniffing, or every few hours if none of those predictors are present.

After a week or two of sleeping together on the couch, my pups had acclimated to their new life & had a sense of security - I then would leash them to the leg of the bed (short leash), they slept in their own bed right below my dangling arm. I could touch them, and that's all they ever needed when they would whine a bit.

Honestly - never took a pup out after bedtime, and never had any one of them go potty at night. It wouldn't take more than a week for them to catch on to the purpose of a potty-break (lamb's liver!). It was all tied together - leash, same spot, stand stand wait, say "go potty", give treat with happy talk, go back inside. Never mixing play with business. You end up with a puppy who can pee on command - and THAT is a huge help when you're leaving for a few hours and need them to be relieved first, when it's time for YOU to go to bed, etc.

The lesson is still only half-learned - they easily learn this is wonderful, but ALSO have to learn that the house is not a toilet. This method works so well that it took my pups - all of them - months before they'd even try going in the house. My Corgi, Ed, was about 9 mos old before he ever peed in the house - I was right there (fortunately), reacted as if he'd just bitten me (over-reaction, just voice, OMG NO NO). Never did THAT again! He just didn't KNOW the other half of the rules!

The treats kept up at least a month or so, then become 'hit or miss'. Sometimes, a treat and sometimes, just the happy talk. Gradually tapered off. Food is a high motivator, so is the CHANCE of food, then over time the pleasure of happy talk is 'good enough' (food still wins, that's for life, they are dogs!)

7 times tried, all various breeds, all successfully, none crated. All were given total run of the house after a short time, but 'kitchened-up' for their own safety if I left the house, until they had adult-brains. All of them could/would relieve upon request, in the designated area.

Actually, Ed is the only one who caught on so fast and so well ...that he'd try to fake me out! Can be hard to see if it's a squat-for-food, or there's some actual business going on! For Corgi's, you might have to modify the 'stand stand wait' part - to 'squat down and watch closely'! =)

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Permalink Reply by vera miller on May 24, 2012 at 6:07pm

i so agree with you,, Remy is going to be 11 months, and i did the same with him,, when i did have to leave him i was able to block off my kitchen, and put pads down in case ,, he never used them, he does not know what potty pads are for,, your comments make me feel better ,, i am doing good being a Corgi mom,,thanks

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Permalink Reply by Jane on May 25, 2012 at 8:51am

I would forget the pads and just take him out every 30 minutes or so. Don't expect him to tell you he needs to go out either at this point, just do it. Put the puppy on a leash, stand in one spot, and assign a command - "go potty" or whatever you choose. Treat and praise like crazy for success. At night we crated and if the puppy woke up crying, we'd take him out for a potty break but make it all business. No playing or cuddling. Potty and then right back to bed. I will say with Henry we were suckers and let him sleep out of the crate at night, and he peed on the floor every night until he was probably 6 months old because no one was there to correct him for it. Our fault, not his.

 

In the house, watch the puppy 100% of the time, he should not be able to sneak off and pee or poop without you noticing immediately. If he can't be watched, put him in the xpen or his crate. Potty training a puppy is 99% prevention IMO.

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