Help with housebreaking a Rott puppy!?

Question

I adopted a rott puppy from a woman who was going to take the whole litter to the pound! Anyways, I have had her for about 4 months and she will not housebreak! I've tried every mehtod I could possibly think of. I tried cages, putting her in the bathroom for about 10 min, and everything else I could think of!
And to top it off, if she can get into our bedroom she'll poo in there before she'll poo anywhere else! I don't understand it! I love this dog and I want to keep her, but I am about to have a kid and I can't have her pooping in the baby's room or having my daughter crawling around on a floor the dog pooped on!
Someone please help me!
Oh and she is very well trained in every other area! The only problem I have is the housebreaking!

Answer 1

You sound like a wonderful pup owner, thank you for asking. Ok, you said you tried caging. How did you do this? When you have a pup, first off their gallbladders are small and cannot hold alot of liquid, this is why they pee alot. As soon as your pup is done eating, playing, sleeping get her outside. This is a must. Now myself, my female rottie and mastiff are crate trained. Here's how that works... First off the crate/kennel should only be big enough so the pup can stand/sit/and turn around. That's it. You see a dog will not go potty where it sleeps. Your house is one big potty for your pup. Sorry, but true. She can sleep anywhere to get away from it. So, don't feed your pup before you put her in her kennel. Leave her in there like maybe 15 minutes to start to get her use to it. Then immediately take her outside and hopefully she'll potty. Put her on a leash when you take her out, so also she will learn she is to go potty and not run around and play. If you don't work, I mean stay home by that, then you can do this throughout the day. Trust me she'll learn fast. If this is not possible for you right now, another trick is put her collar on her with her leash. Keep her with you through the day. Yes, that's right the whole day. Here's why. First off you will know where she is all the time, and what she is doing. Be sure she has some sort of hard toy to play/chew on. Again, about every 15 mins or so, get her outside and take her potty. Repeat, and repeat this is how she will learn. Once she does, you shouldn't have any problems. If she has an accident, please do not scold. She won't have any idea what you mean. Just again reinforce with her about potty rules, ie kennel for a little bit and then right outside. Everything you teach your dog will take a little time, and already I see how committed you are to this gal. Thank you and remember, just give her enough living space to turn around in and lay down in. My dogs love their kennels. Also, do not ever, ever use their kennel as a form of punishment. Like the dog poos on the carpet and you immediately put her in the cage. No, that's not what a kennel is about. A kennel is a dog's special place, their den, where you should not bother them. It's their get away, and a place where they too can relax. Thank you.

Answer 2

We followed Lynnie Goodman's advice stricly and seriosuly, it was EASY. I've used this technique for adults from rescue as well and have never really had a problem breaking them. The trick though is to be consistent and to really follow this for the first week or so. I know it's hard but the way i think about it, if you are strict up front, then they get trained much quicker and they get their freedom quicker. The more mistakes they have in the house, the harder it is so it's your job to make sure she doesn't have any accidents while she's learning...

Anyway, here's the technique:

1) 90 second rule:
a) Take pup outside on a leash to the exact same spot, be prepared by having very very special food treats in your pocket.
b) When you get to the potty place, stand still and make no eye contact and say nothing. Canine has 90 seconds to pee and/or poop. If canine eliminates, reward immediately and let it off the leash to play.
c) If nothing occurs after 90 seconds, go back inside the home and crate the canine. Crating after a no response is not punishment, its decreasing the ability of the canine using the home as a bathroom. Wait 20-30 minutes and return outside.

2) Timing of trips outside:
a) Immediately if the canine wakes up from a nap or when you arrive home.
b) 15-20 minutes after a meal or a large consumption of water or a play session.
c) Every 45 minutes excluding the above mentioned situations.

3) Increase supervision:
a) Canine is stationed on a 4 foot leash under supervision or dragging a 6 foot leash around that can be used to escort the canine outside.
b) When canine has an accident in the home, never never ever punish the animal. If you want, you can hit yourself with a newspaper. Through training, canines learn to eliminate in specific places and punishing them for an incorrect response is wrong.

Answer 3

We had this problem with our Border Collie mix. First, make sure you do not flush the poo. When you flush it, she makes the connection that you also go there and you are her leader so it must be right. As gross as it may seem, until you get her going in the right place, you have to place the poo in the right place (outside) every time and make sure there is at least something there so she will smell it and know where to go. Also, have her watch you put poo in the right spot. Show her. Be sure to go to that spot every time you walk her and stand there. Praise her repetitively. From your question, I can't tell if she has a problem urinating but, whenever there is an accident in the house, clean it up immediatly. If it's on carpet, use a special cleaner. I use Nature's Miracle (I beleive that's what it's called) and it takes the scent out right away.


Just a tip: If you don't want the puppy in the baby's room, keep coffee grounds by the entrance. Our dogs HATE the smell of coffee and stay away from it.


Good luck!

Answer 4

Startling your puppy when it potties in the house, will just teach your puppy that humans are scary so it is better to hide the poo where they don't see it. Months later when rearranging the furniture, SUPRISE! you find the dead poop graveyard.

You must go outside with the puppy. If you reward the puppy when it potties appropriately, the puppy will go where it gets food. Try taking the puppy outside every hour and reward it with a soft, semi moist treat every time she potties.

Take her outside after every meal, after she wakes up from a nap, after a lively play session, 15-20 minutes after a big drink of water, when she gets up in the morning, before bed. And use the crate when you can't watch her so she doesn't potty inappropriately.

Answer 5

Your puppy is still very young so it's not too late. You may have to treat it as a fresh start with paper training. Lots of praise when he does it right. No reaction when he does it wrong other than to take him to the paper and use a trigger command ( I use "tiddle time") to let him know that is where he should go. Eventually he should catch on. I had to retrain my old dog who was 13 to ask to go out since she had been trained to tray and then we moved to a house with a garden. She took about 2 months but learned. Be persistent and do not punish your dog for going in the wrong place - they will think you are punishing them for "going" and will bottle it until they have an accident. Do teach him a trigger phrase and use it frequently - even if you feel silly. Praise for his success and he will get it right eventually.

Answer 6

They can smell so use ammonia to clean the area spray the dog with a water bottle when they pee then put out side right away.when they go outside use happy tones pet them say good boy or girl when bad use no and firm loud tones.you can use a paper to hit you leg or your hand when there bad or rub there nose or show then the area and say no.rottweilers have to also know they are the last member of the family so they dont rule over the baby.they do this with younger children .might be the way your dogs saying its in charge of the area marking it .

Answer 7

One tried and true method I have done is--and it sounds kind of disgusting--is take the "droppings" and put them outside where you want her to go.
And after she eats wait about 30 minutes or so, and put her on a leash and take her to that spot.
Of course, when she does go there praise her--and give her a doggie treat.

Answer 8

I asked the vet about this as we have a 5 mo. old puppy and they told me every time you catch them..you STARTLE the heck out of them and they will start relating that to when they do their # Believe it or not...it is working. Always take them out first thing in the a.m. after they come out of their kennel (they won't soil the area they sleep in), always take out right after they wake up and after they eat. I have found he usually poops when I take him out after he eats. Also, praise is very important when they do it outdoors. Good Luck......they will learn...we just have to be very consistent.

Answer 9

Try this site, lots of doggie info
http://www.ddfl.org/tips.htm
good luck