Does anyone know how to housetrain a dog?

Question

He is 8 months old now and starting to drive me nuts.. HELP!!!

(i mean like teachin him to poo outside etc)

im in the house all day with him and have had him from being 2 months old. I take him out a lot and praise him when he does it outside and ignore him when he does it inside he just deoesnt seem to get it?

Answer 1

House training is one of the first tasks that every new dog owner will undertake in the introduction of their puppy to its new home. There are three categories of house training types :
a) Basic house training ; the establishment of an allowable toilet area for your pet.
b) Submissive wetting ; urination occurring when greeting, disciplining or high excitement.
c) Marking ; upon reaching puberty - some dogs (male or female) will mark their territory.
House Training :
House training should only take approximately two weeks to establish as a routine provided;
a) you must be consistent and committed
b) you are prepared to train your pet from the moment you take possession. Have a leash, collar, a designated area and are prepared to maintain a schedule.
Retraining a dog that has already established bad habits can take six weeks or more.

As soon as possible get your new puppy to the vet for a complete check-up. This will assure you that you have obtained a healthy pup and alert you to any medical complications that can make house training more difficult. Situations such as intestinal upset, intestinal parasites and urinary tract infections can make house training difficult to impossible.

The designated toilet area can be as general as outside of the house or as specific as a particular corner of the backyard. You must have a specific plan as to what the designated area is going to be. You can not teach the dog what is acceptable if you are uncertain.

Your attitude is one of the most important ingredients in house training your dog. Your puppy does not know what is wrong. If there is a mistake tell him "no" but do not discipline too severely. You only want him to know that you are displeased, you do not want the pup to feel that you are the source of pain. When the pup has done well, pat him, praise him, let the dog know that you are very pleased. The pup will want to do things that please you. House training can be a foundation for all future training. Affection and praise as a reward for proper response - "no" signaling displeasure and guidance to show the dog what you do want.

Scheduling:
1. Create a schedule that is practical for you to maintain. If you can not stick to your schedule - you can't expect the dog to adhere to it.
2. Do not allow your dog to free feed until house training is well established. Be very careful of your dogs diet - avoid foods and/or snacks that can be upsetting to his digestive tract.
3. Schedule your dog's bed time and waking-up time. Adhere to these times as closely as possible.
4. Young pups will require frequent nap times, be sure that your schedule can accommodate the pup's naps. Remember that the pup will need to be taken outside after each nap.
5. Emotional intensity - after intense emotional stimulation (badly scared, frightened, or a particularly rowdy play session) the pup may need to relieve himself.
6. Within two to three days, most dogs will be able to "control themselves" for eight hours during the night. You must keep in mind that your daytime schedule will need to be somewhat flexible. By paying attention to your dog, you will learn his nap requirements. Your dog will learn "the routine" and you will both have a schedule that you can live with.

Supervise in the House :
1. By knowing where your dog is at all times, and what he is doing, you can avoid mistakes. When a pup stops playing and starts to look around for a "good spot", he needs to go out. By observing your dog you will quickly learn to tell the difference between the pup's exploring his new universe and his searching for a "good location".
2. If the pup starts to make a mistake, firmly but quietly say "No" and take the dog straight to his toilet area. Do not yell at the dog. Do not chase the dog. At this point it is up to you to be observant of your dog. Any mistakes that are made are due to your not paying attention.
3. If you can not supervise the dog for a period of time, put the dog in a confinement area (prepared with papers) or confine him to the room where you are.
4. When you are relaxing (watching TV, reading or on computer), have the dog with you. Give the pup some of his toys to play with. Have the dog on his leash or confine him to the room where you are, so that he doesn't wander of and have an accident. Teach him that it can be enjoyable just being with you.

When you can't be with your dog:
1. Provide a small area confinement area (bathroom with all "chewable" items removed, fenced off area of the garage, or a crate).
2. Do not leave food and water with the dog, or fill him with cookies or snacks before you leave. You should schedule the pup's breakfast to be at least 2 hours before your planned departure time. That way the pup can eat, digest his food and relieve himself prior to your departure.
3. Ideally, if you are going to be gone for more than eight hours, someone should give the dog a drink and an opportunity to relieve himself.

Taking the dog out (to the latrine) :
1. Take your dog on leash to the designated toilet area. Stand quietly, so that the dog can find the right spot. Do not distract the dog. Do not praise the dog during his search. If after about 5 minutes your dog hasn't gone to the bathroom, return him to the house (keeping a close eye on him) for about 1/2 hour, then try again.
2. As the dog starts to relieve himself; calmly praise him. Use a chosen word or phrase (good potty or wonderful potty). This phrase will only be used for praise in going potty.
3. When the dog has finished relieving himself praise him more enthusiastically. Let him know that you are very proud of him.
4. Remember your dog's routine. Some dogs will "potty" two or three times per outing in the morning, but only twice per outing in the evening. Urination is often followed by defecation, while other dogs will do the reverse.
5. Even. if the weather is foul, do not let your dog know that you don't want to be going outside with him. By teaching your dog that even in bad weather going outside is "the thing to do", to please you, then he will be more willing to convey his needs to you.
6. While you are learning your dog's "time table", take him out immediately after he wakes up, after he has eaten and after all play sessions.

Catching the dog "in the act" :
1. Without yelling, firmly say "No". If you still don't have the dog's attention, clap your hands.
2. Get the dog outside, to the designated latrine area. If the dog relieves himself outside praise him. Proceed with the potty routine.
3. Clean the mess with a deodorizing or odor killing cleanser. If the dog smells his own scent as having been used as a bathroom area, the dog will continue to use the area.
If the cleanser is not able to eliminate enough of the scent so that the dog can not detect it, you can help mask the scent over with vanilla extract. Just one or two drops will make it impossible for the dog to smell any lingering odor.

If you find a mess after the fact :
1. Do not punish the dog.
2. Accept the fact that you were not paying attention to the dog.
3. Do not show the dog that you are upset. Calmly put the dog on his leash and bring him to the location of the accident. With the dog at your side, firmly scold the potty. Do not scold the dog.
4. Blot up some urine, or pick up some stool with a piece of paper. Take the evidence and the dog to the latrine area. Place the paper on the ground and with the dog watching praise the potty for being in the "right" place. Temporarily leave the paper there. (Remove it when the dog isn't watching)
5. Clean up the remaining mess in the house as outlined above.


hope this helps you ... good luck in training anyway

Answer 2

Take him outside regularly and as he potters about keep saying a particular phrase - we used 'hurry up' - then, when he does a pee or poo (which he will at some point) praise him lots and lots. When he does a wee/poo in the house then tell him off (if you see him doing it) and take him outside - he will eventually make the connection that doing it inside is bad, and outside is good. Also, when you are going out for the evening or something you can take him out and say 'hurry up' (or whatever) and he will know you want him to pee and will do so and not get in trouble while you are out. Well, that's what we did with my dog and it worked. I am a bit worried that you haven't done it yet, 8 months is a bit old, you should start as soon as you get a pup, which is usually at about 2 months - as he has learned bad habits it might take you a bit longer. You will need lots of time and patience I'm afraid.

Answer 3

My female puppy was trained within 2 weeks of coming home (at 10 weeks old). I used a puppy crate, I would keep her little bed in it and puppies are taught by their mums not to Pee or Poo in their bed. When the dog wakes, they will cry to get out of the crate so that they can do their business, and they learn to recognise that they need to tell you when they want to go Poo/Pee. As soon as my pup recognised what was right, I stopped needing the crate and she's been brilliant. She's now 2 years old knows exactly what to do when I call out "PeePees!"

I once heard it's harder to train a male dog. But I am not sure that is true. You have to be aware of the times that a dog will likely want to Pee or Poo. Eg. right after waking up, or right after a meal, or right after a vigourous game. He will also start sniffing and circling before wanting to Poo. So if you pay attention to those things you can prevent it happening by calling out a command eg. PEE PEEs and following it with the action of leading him outside. You also must spray all the areas where he has already had his accidents in the house with a deterrent, because he will just continue to go back to the same patches of carpet if he can still smell urine or poo emanating from it. You might think it smells clean, but remember his nose is far more sensitive. And PLEASE dont smack him for making a mistake. A firm NO when he does it inside should be enough followed by calling out your command and leading him outside. Lots of praise and a nice treat goes down well when he does it correctly outside. He is still young, but if all else fails I'd seek advice from the Vet incase there is any underlying medical problem.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

be very consistent with your dog, after 'the dog has been sleeping, after his meal, after playing, those are the times to take him outside, if an accident does happen, just tell him/her NO in a strong low voice, pick him up and put him outside, praise your dog in every way when he does his business outside!!! Never put your dogs nose through his pee or poo, it will hurt your dog and it doesn't get it why you would do that. If you find out to late that an accident has happened, ignore your dog and clean up, they won't know what your shouting about when they're not doing anything wrong at that time. The praising is real important!!

Answer 5

Well make sure you always give him positive praise when he goes outside so he knows that he did something good. When he goes inside, ignoring him will only ignore the situation so since you dont discipline him for going inside, he'll go anyway. If you find him pooping on the carpet, grab his collar and take him to the spot he soiled. Point his nose right next to where he went and say "No, bad dog. No." and swat his nose a couple times so he gets the picture that its bad to go inside. It might take a while but just keep working on that. Good luck!

Answer 6

You have to catch him in the act of peeing or pooing once he makes an action that he wants to go either by lifting his leg or squating,you have to grab him quickly say no and carry him outside and put him where you want him to do his business.But it is important you catch him quick because if you dont show him he doesnt have the intelligence to think oh i mustnt poo on the carpet.In a matter of days he will then walk to the door when he wants to go out but you must be persistant.

Answer 7

I housetrained my mastiff very last year in march she became 5 weeks previous even as i began. I used the crate approach settle for for some adjustments. I placed the crate interior a touch pen contained in the kitchen and had her in there for most folk of the time even as she wasn't being held or performed with. i'd placed her out each so frequently even as she sniffed around the floor contained in the pen. If she became contained in the crate I had no concerns. I didnt feed her after 6 p.m. and once she were given up contained in the morning I enable her outdoors. Alot of recent proprietors make the mistakes of calling the puppy or wearing the puppy in formerly they have complete. My mastiff is 11 months previous and hasn't ever had an coincidence I also all started a job after wards and so had to coach her in for this also. i'd leave her contained in the pen for short sessions of time 10 minutes some situations then 20 etc till she became used to me leaving. That way even as i became particular i could believe her she knew i became coming back. some dogs will deliberately potty as an illustration of their being displeased at being left on my own for slightly. i'd instill this of their your pups head early on so he or she receives used to it.

Answer 8

i housetrained my labrador by putting his nose by (not in) his excrement and them putting him outside straight after. This taught him that he was goin outside because he had done his business in the house and that he had to do it outside. I also took him out in the garden every morning when i got up, quite frequently throughout the day, and last thing at night b4 i went to bed. He eventually got that he had to do his business outside and started standing by the door when he wanted to go do his business.

When he does his business in the house show him that you are cross with him then put him outside in the garden and close the door. Then when he does his business outside make a big fuss of him and give him a small treat (but not everytime tho).
Hope this helps.

Answer 9

The best way is to give him so much love and encouragement when he goes outside that he wants to do that to please you. Also, treats after he does it right. When he goes inside, make sure he knows he doesn't get the same attention. Do not spank him or rub his face in it. That is just cruel.

Answer 10

as soon as he wants to do toilet, even if he's already started, stick him outside or wherever u want him to go.

Also you can get a spray from the pet shop that repels him from doing the toilet where you have sprayed it.

You can also get these diposable mats which attract him to do the toilet on them (they have a plastic sheet underneath which stops it leaking onto the floor)