How should I punish my puppy for pottying in the house?

Question

I am crate training my almost 4 month-old golden retriever. he has never had an accident inside his crate and waits for me to take him outside to do his business. every morning and after each feeding when I let him out, he follows me to the front door and goes outside to potty. but when i let him play in the living room for a little while, he'll just randomly go pee or poop again on the carpet. My friend had a dog and she advised that i stick his nose in the mess so he can smell it, then spank his butt with a newspaper. That way he sees that its the newspaper hitting him and not my hand. I thought this was kinda mean but anyway, any suggestions without being physical?

Answer 1

No phone calls, no friends over, and no tv!
Freak out as he starts to do it, beat the furniture with a newspaper and start acting like Armageddon in upon us. That should stop it.

Answer 2

Go to Walmart (or a pet store) and buy a $25 crate, read about crate training, and follow the rules to the letter. At her age, she needs to go outside about every 2 hours. If she has an accident in the house, it's because you weren't watching her close enough. Let her earn more and more time outside of the crate as she becomes more reliable about holding her bowels. Also be aware that vets say a puppy can't control their bowels until they're at least 12 weeks old. At 8 weeks, they just don't have the neurological capacity to feel or control their bowels. To keep her bowels on a schedule you should have her on a feeding schedule. Feed her 3-4 times per day (e.g., 6 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm) while she is in her crate and leave her there for another 30 minutes. 30 minutes after she ate, take her out side on a leash to a specific spot. If she eliminates then she gets to play in the same room you're in for 15-20 minutes. Add 10 minutes of free time every few days as she becomes more reliable. If she regularly eliminates on your floor, you're leaving her out long. Dogs have a den instinct and don't like to eliminate in it UNLESS it's too large. If she eliminates in the back and sleeps in the front, get a partition and make it just large enough for her to stand up and lie down. Some people are going to vote my post down because they think crate training is cruel. These people are wrong - crate training is the absolute best thing you can do to house break. But never, ever use the crate for punishment and don't leave her in it for extended periods of time. Remember, you're taking her outside every 2 hours and if she poops and pees, then she gets ~20 minutes of time out of the crate. Also, a puppy this age sleeps about 18 hours per day. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with her sleeping in the crate instead of on the floor. Keeping her in the crate anytime you can't actively supervise her will also prevent her from chewing things up and ingesting things that can poison her or block her intestines. It's a win-win method to house train your puppy. edit: Never, ever punish your puppy for eliminating in the house. At best, it will eat or lick it up to hide the evidence. And at worst, it won't understand why you're mad and begin to fear you.

Answer 3

Not a good idea to hit the puppy esp. when it comes to potty training, he may become afraid to "go" in front of you. It does take time to fully crate train a dog. Perhaps give him less time in the living room and then take him back out for a pee/poo. If he doesn't go again outside pop him right back into the crate until the next time. After awhile he will get the hint, it just takes time and patience...

Answer 4

Please do not use your fiends way!!! You need to train the dog not punish!! He is young and has not developed full muscle control needed to not have accidents when excited. Be sure he is staying outside long enough to complete his business. Take him out to the same place to potty each time. He should go out every time he wakes up and after he eats as this stimulates his system to go . But when accidents do happen, just tell him in a firm voice "No" and take him to his potty place, he'll get the idea - he only wants to please you- so give him a chance. Also, be sure to heap on the praise for doing his business in the right place, but don't scold him for the accidents--ignore them and don't let him see you clean it up-you train him not the other way around.

Answer 5

Do not hit him with anything or rub his nose in the mess. He is a baby and after they play, they need to go outside. When he seems to be tired of playing, take him outside. You will have to learn what he does just before he has an accident in the LR. Time and patience will win out in the end.

Answer 6

Maybe keep him outside for longer so he can empty his bowels? Did he get wormed? If not he may have worms, that can cause accidents and stuff.

After he goes outside, make a big fuss and give him a lot of attention and maybe a small treat. When he goes to the bathroom inside, you can yell bad dog and not pet him or give him treats. He will equate going outside to poo and pee as a good thing, inside is bad.

Answer 7

Don't punish your puppy! Keep him out of the living room until he is fully potty trained, and give him plenty of affection when he "goes" outside. If he is in the house, keep a close eye on him. If he looks like he's going to make a mess, pick him up and take him outside. Praise him if he does his duty!

Answer 8

He is still learning, don't punish him. Rubbing his little nose in poop is just mean (and icky) and I wouldn't hit him. We crate trained our mutt and when she has accidents, we tell her "NO!" and put her in her crate for a little time out. She almost never has accidents anymore. When she does, it is because she ate something hideous that made her sick and she can't hold it. I can't punish her for that.

Answer 9

I have heard about the method of sticking the nose in the business, but that is abusive and not alright. All accidents are human error, so take him out more.

Answer 10

OMG! Never hit your baby! EVER! Please just don't do it. He's just a baby, he doesn't know.

When my babies used to pee-pee or poo-poo in the house, all we would do was tell them "no. no. Scottie" or No, No, Sammy" then we would place them outside, and they would go to the potty. Then we would clean up the mess. We always took them outside a lot, so they would not really have a chance to go pee-pee or poo-poo in the house. It worked for us.

Hitting, spanking, or shoving your babies nose into it's own feces is never a good idea.

Hope that helped :]
Happy owner of Sammy ans Scottie,a Mixed Beagle and a Full Beagle.