I cant train my dog to go to the bathroom outside, any tips?

Answer 1

I just went thru this. I have a 9 month old rottie, and they are dumb and stubborn. He still figured it out. lol But i used a cage from the pet store. They sell all different sizes, but i would recommend buying the bigger one so that it can use it when its reached full size. They make inserts to block off part of the cage so the cage isnt too big when their puppys. U want the area the dog stays in to be small enough to where they can turn around in it, but thats about it. That is plent room for them to lay down. So when u leave put it in the cage, and it will not poop or pee in that small space. Its just something no dog will do. they wont s hit where they sleep, so to speak. And when u return take them directly outside, and give them an encouraging command like " go pee outside" and always use the same command. Now to get them to stop doing it when not in the cage! I guess it depends on how much the animal is in the cage, but i would take it out after meals, and after it has drank a decent amount of water. When it does have an accident, bring the animal to it, and discipline it (how ever u feel fit, just get the point across) and then directly take the animal outside to where u take it to go pee everyother time, and give it that same encouraging command u did when u took it out after the cage. Every time the animal does it good, reward it! I hope this helps! Dont give up! it will come.

Answer 2

All the ideas so far are great. An added note. I call it positive reinforcement. Praise, give your dog lots of attention and love when he goes outside. Giving him a treat as a reward works well. I have found with my dogs, no matter when they go, they know they did it. My trainer said to be angry at the mess they created. I used to make a big deal out of cleaning it up. Angrily pick it up/wipe it up..angrily throw it away. Let him know you are unhappy with what he did, not the dog. Sounds silly, but they will soon learn what makes you happy-going outside and getting a reward..and what makes you unhappy, being upset when you have to clean up what he did.
Make sure you clean up any mess in the house with an enzyme cleaner thoroughly. Nature's Miracle works real well. If he smells his scent, he will think it is OK to go there again. So clean everything thoroughly, maybe a few times if necessary.

No scent, no reason to go there. Your dog will learn with a little time and patience what makes you happy. All the dog wants is to make and keep his "human" happy. Take him out often for walks.

Answer 3

Watch him closely and even if the dog is starting to go pick it up quickly tell him no and put him outside let him finish and then praise him. Take them out often. If you have a fenced in yard and the weather is good sit outside with them for awhile and if you see him use the bathroom go and praise him and give him a treat.
Always praise and give them a treat for going outside when they are young. It takes time!! I don't like to put dogs in crates so I do it this way.

Answer 4

Take the dog out every hour or so and after he/she eats and drinks, stay out with the dog and make sure you see them do their thing and then give a treat and praise, can never give enough praise keep doing this over and over again, sometimes it takes a while but keep at it and sometimes an accident will happen in the house, but don't get upset the dog will eventually get the hang of it. after the dog goes make some fun time too. at night put the dog in a kennel in the house by the door someplace and make sure you get your self ready before you get the dog out and the first thing you do after you are dressed is get the dog outside so it can do its thing.

Answer 5

Dogs naturally want to go the bathroom on leaves, hay or other outside foliage. We take our puppy out at least every half hour, so even if he wasn't thinking about going potty, he'll have the chance once he's outside. After long drinks of water, & after he eats we also always take him out. At first, when our puppy still didnt know exactly what to do outside, we would just pick him up & place him in the leaves so he would get the idea to go when we take him outside. If you catch him going inside, instantly pick him up & take him where he should be going. Reward only good behavior, punish the bad as soon as you see it. Timing is everything, you don't want to wait to punish the puppy because then he'll be confused as to what he is being punished for. Also, we always verbally say "go outside" or "go potty outside" as we're taking him out, & as he's going we tell him "good boy, good potty" so he'll associate going potty outside with being a good puppy, also rewarding him once he gets inside so he knows he did a good job. Hope this is of any help!

Answer 6

How to Deal with “Accidental Housesoiling”
by: Dr. Nicholas Dodman





The correct approach is to train the pup to do what you want it to do rather than to punish an unwanted behavior.

A new puppy is likely to have small accidents around the house, even though you may do your utmost to prevent them. No system is perfect, especially when it involves an active and curious, puppy with incomplete control over its bladder and bowels. Let’s consider the three different scenarios when it comes to you, the owner, encountering a house soiling incident.

Before the Fact

If you are sitting at a table, minding your own business, and all of a sudden you notice your puppy sniffing the ground, circling, or (oh, no!) beginning to squat - stay cool. Do not suddenly jump up, yell, and charge at the puppy, as it will not comprehend such erratic behavior on your part. Instead, create a diversion, make a sound by banging on the table, or slamming a drawer, or even rattle a “shake can,” if you have one handy, to startle the little critter’s sphincters into contraction. But note: the diversionary noise should not be seen (or rather heard) to come from you. Rather, it should just happen – a sudden rude interruption of what was otherwise to be a wistful moment. If the puppy turns and looks at you, you might even shrug your shoulders as much to say, “Who me?” But, at the same time, make your way over to the mite, pick it up, and physically take it to an appropriate location, whether to strategically-placed newspapers or to the great outdoors.

Caught in the Act

If you enter a room to find your puppy midstream, or mid-bowel movement, once again, stay calm. It’s not a mortal sin, it’s an accident and there’s nothing done that can’t be undone. Again, you might want to make a diversionary noise to attenuate the elimination process and then carry or walk your pup to an appointed, acceptable location so that it can finish what it started. Later, return to the offending spot, clean up the mess with a paper towel or sponge and some water, and then treat the soiled area with a proprietary odor neutralizer. Nothing more, nothing less. Above all, remember not to punish the pup for its indiscreet behavior. It doesn’t know any better. It’s your job to teach the pup, not its responsibility to instinctively know what you want it to do. Punishment will only cause the pup to avoid eliminating in your presence and that will make housebreaking extremely difficult. Anyway, it’s unfair to punish a pup for failing to learn the proper location for elimination when you are the teacher.

After the Fact

If you walk into a room or come home to find an unexpected puddle or pile on the floor, do not immediately set out to catch and punish your puppy. Don’t yell, spank, or rub its nose in it. None of this behavior is appropriate or humane. Punishment of a pup that is caught in the act at the time is bad enough, but punishment after the fact is a disaster and will not be associated by the pup with what it has done. Its “accident” will have occurred minutes or even hours earlier and many other things will have happened in its life since that time. To have you suddenly come ranting toward it, shouting obscenities, and with your hand raised will only confirm, in the puppy’s mind, that you are truly psychotic and not to be trusted. This will increase its anxiety, especially around you, and will likely exacerbate the very problem that you are attempting to resolve (i.e. elimination in the house). The correct response in this situation (though you may be fuming inside) is to coolly, calmly, and collectedly, clean up the mess and neutralize odors as described above. Then think about why the accident may have occurred. Ask yourself how long ago the puppy was last taken outside. Were you asking the impossible – for the puppy to contain itself for longer than it was physically capable? Did you feed the pup and forget to take it outside? Was it transitioning from one behavior to another and you failed to capitalize on the opportunity? Whatever the cause, try and ascertain what it was and do something about it for the future.

Last Tips

Positive punishment, doing something physically to a dog to deter a particular behavior, is never indicated when training puppies or, indeed, adult dogs. This is especially true when it comes to housetraining. The correct approach is to train the pup to do what you want it to do rather than to punish an unwanted behavior. While negative punishment, withholding some desired resource, has a place in obedience training, even this training technique, has no place when trying to housebreak a pup. The only thing that you, the owner, needs to do is to show the pup where you want it to eliminate and reward it richly for eliminating in that location. Simultaneously, deprive the pup of opportunities for inappropriate elimination by being cognizant and ever vigilant. Keep a regular schedule and handle clean up in a matter-of-fact way. Don’t omit to use odor neutralizers when cleaning up messes as the odor of a previous soiling incident will attract the pup back to the same site as surely as a heat-seeking missile finds its source of heat. Odor neutralizers destroy the chemicals that cause the smell, thus completely eliminating this particular incitement for indoor elimination.

Answer 7

First, it takes time, praise and patience but most important is to not let puppy get the idea that outside is only for play. Take puppy outside first thing in a.m.. Don't encourage play. After 10 min., bring puppy in only to bring puppy back out in 20 min..Repeat until puppy goes. This can be exhausting but once puppy "goes" praise puppy and bring puppy in. Eventually puppy will understand-pee first,play after. Do this in afternoon and eve. as well. Remember "consistency" in each goal.

Answer 8

When ever he does poop outside, give him a treat. He'll figure it out!

Answer 9

Good luck. I'm having the same problem

Answer 10

crate training is the best way to housebreak your dog....