I’M A FIRST TIME DOG OWNER: Can someone please help me form a schedule for house braking my new puppy.?

Question

My husband and I just got a new puppy, we where told when we got her that she was house broken. Well after cleaning up so much pee and poo in our house we have come to the conclusion that she is NOT house broken. We have been using the crate method of potty training and its just not working that great. Maybe we are doing it wrong, but she just does not get it. She is an 8 month old mutt ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPOIPT4uRvM ) and her name is Courtney. Right now we have been keeping her in her crate and only letting her out to eat and go to the bathroom. When she does go potty outside we praise her, give her a treat, and let her play in the yard with us or around the house with us for 15 minutes. The problem we are having is that she takes forever to go to the bathroom outside. Sometimes it takes 4 trips outside (each lasting about 15 minutes with 30 minutes between trips) before she finally goes to the bathroom. Sometimes we think she has to go but just holds it anyways. Like today, its 6am here and the last time she went to the bathroom was 8pm last night, and that was on our hallway floor. We tell her NO when she goes inside but she just does not seem to care. She pees when she gets excited, and she gets excited over everything. I work at home and because we just moved to a new house I’m closed down for a few weeks. So I have about 3 weeks to work with her on this before I have to start work again. We get up at 3am and go to bed at 8pm, can someone help me come up with a good schedule for me and my husband to fallow with our dog.

Oh yeah, and she gives NO sign when she has to go outside and use the bathroom. So we have no clue when she has to go untill she goes.

OK, Did anyone really read what I said...She is 8 MONTHS OLD!!! Not a pupply that needs to pee every 2 hours. Also you all keep telling me to take her outside to pee (I DO THIS ALL THE TIME SHE JUST DOES NOT PEE).

Answer 1

Okay, I'm glad you have three weeks for this, cause it will take every minute......Stop keeping her in the crate all the time....Her body needs to move around for her bowels and her kidneys to work well, they need circulation, which increases with exercise....Keep her in the room you are in by building barriers out of boxes or anything you have....watch her closely.....give her chew toys, and bones to keep her busy....if she acts like she is going to go, or starts going, grab he quick, tell her no while you are taking her outside....keep a close eye on her. Keep praising her when she does go outside. Play with her often, this will keep her kidneys working well. Remember, she is still a puppy....Keep her water and food controlled. Water every two hours, food twice a day. Take her out 30 minutes after she eats or drinks. This will be very time consuming, but if you keep at it, it will work. Still put her in the crate at night, and when you leave the house only.....Eventually she will come up with a way to let you know....I have had dogs who go to the door and either sit or bark, ones that just sit and stare at me, and ones that come up to me and bark....so just watch her, take your time with her, and it will all pay off in the end......

Answer 2

I've heard that rubbing her nose in what she's done is effective, but I'd call that quite inhumane.
Watch what she does for a while until she does use the bathroom and make a mental note of her bahavior right before she went. Usually female dogs *some males included* will get into a squatty possition. If you see this behavior or whatever she does right before she goes, pick her up and bring her outside, keep her out until she goes and then bring her back in once she has finnished.
If it's a matter of she just starts going with absolutely no warning sign *as in she's still standing up, or laying down and she didn't even know she was going to go* then it may be a continance issue. If that is the case, it's a case for your vet to diagnose.
Be patiant with your puppy and she will learn. I've never heard of a dog that couldn't be housebroken, but if all else fails, there's allways doggy diapers^_^.

Oh yeah, and a schedule may not work because the puppy may not understand you are taking her outside to do her business, and let's try putting you on a schedule of when you can use the bathroom. Not such a happy idea, huh? If she understnd that messing inside is bad and messing outside is good, she'll figure out how to let you know when it is time, teach it to ring a cowbell or something.

Answer 3

Nice video, she looks like a healthy, happy, and intelligent dog.

You can't take her out too often, so keep that in mind with any schedule you create -- more often is far better than not often enough, and extra visits outside, out of schedule, are always ok.

Teach positively, not negatively -- no punishment for mistakes, but abundant praise for successes. If you catch her making a mistake *immediately* take her outside. Keep in mind that dogs aren't robots any more than you are -- it takes them a little time to "go" once they get outside, and if you're impatient they'll pick up on that, making it harder for them. Ever try to use the bathroom with someone watching you, tapping their feet?

Crate training is highly recommended by some people; I've never used it myself, preferring to give my animals as much freedom and space as possible. However, I'd think that from what you described, you may be keeping her in it TOO much; to her, going potty outside means a few more minutes of play then back into a box she goes, whereas if she does NOT go potty, she gets to go out much more frequently, though with less praise.

It is my experience that the best way to train an animal to do anything is to form a bond with them so that they want to do what pleases you -- just because it pleases you -- then all you have to do is get them to understand what you want and they'll seldom make a mistake. Courtney looks bright and intelligent, so that'll probably work for her.

When you see Courtney going inside, tell her NO as you do now, and immediately take her out (interrupting her if at all possible). If you don't correct her WHILE she's doing it (two seconds later is two seconds too long) she won't connect the correction with the peeing -- she'll simply be confused that you're mad and she doesn't know why. If she goes outside even a drop, praise her like crazy and give her a treat (food works best but lots of affection can be an effective "treat" too).

For most dogs, it's nearly instinctive to "go" outside -- they don't like to soil their living quarters (one of the main precepts of crate training). Give her a chance to settle in, give her lots of love and positive reinforcement, (and lots of outside-time) and I'm sure she'll come around quickly.

Answer 4

I don't know how to help with all of it, but I will tell you I did have the same problem. My dog would pee anytime she was excited. They call that submissive peeing, they pee because they think that is what pleases you the owner. The thing to do is, when you let her out, don't give her an bit of attention. Let her calm down so that way she won't pee, and she will get used to not peeing everytime she see you guys. About the peeing when she goes outside, I still have a problem with that. You can take them outside over and over but they won't go until they are ready. Good luck. I would talk to a local grooming place, or a place that holds classes for dogs, and just ask them for advise.

Answer 5

First, never punish the dog, even scolding, for peeing when excited, it will only make her more excited and likely to pee. Plus, it will teach her that pee + human = bad things for dogs.
Hence, when you are outside with her, she won't go because she doesn't trust that you will not scold her.

Person always goes with dog outside:
dog wakes up, goes outside
Dog eats barkfast, goes outside
dog has nap, wakes up, goes outside
Dog finishes play session, goes outside
Dog drinks lots of water, 15 minutes later, dog goes outside
Dog eats dinner, dog goes outside.
Ready for bed? Dog goes outside beforehand.

Dog should be out of the crate more, but must be attended. Tethering the dog to your body helps you watch dog.

Clean up all pee spots immediately with enymatic cleaner or white vinegar and water. Do not punish dog if you find urine or poop. Just clean up.
If you catch dog in act, just say "oops!" and take dog outside.

EVERY time dog pees or poops outside, reward dog with tasty treat. That is the fastest, most efficient way to get do to potty outside.

Dogs are opportunists. They will go where the best rewards are, and frankly, unless you never talk to your dog, your praise is truly faint praise to a dog.

Answer 6

Sounds like you are suffering from crate guilt. Seriously, the best thing you can do is leave the dog in the crate and only take her out to go potty. Feed and water her in her crate. She will bark and scream and you just need to put up with it for a couple days. She WILL stop.

If/when she has an accident in her crate, wipe it down with Natures Miracle and put in a fresh towel (oh, go to Walmart and buy about 10 cheap WHITE bath towels - these will be her "crate diapers" until she stops having an accident in the crate).

Take her out every 30 minutes or hour. While you are out have your husband check the white towel for accidents (take it OUT of the crate fully and open and check as they will bury their accidents) then clean and replace towel as necessary. Pick her up when you take her out of the crate and do NOT make lovey sounds yet. Then as you approach the door say nicely, "outside? outside?" Put her in the grass and say nicely and quietly "go ahead" and when she does do something, keep repeating "outside, good outside" (quietly so you don't distract her) and when she is done, praise/reward, make a fuss. Pick her up and bring her in the house and put her in the crate with a treat, making a happy fuss the whole time.

When she starts to bark or whine DO NOT LOOK AT HER OR ACKNOWLEDGE HER. Once she calms down say nice things and give her a treat in the crate.

At night when you go to bed, cover her crate with a blanket or towel and go to bed. You will have to get up in the middle of the night every few hours to wake her and take her out. Her age in months + 1 is the number of hours she can hold it.

Repeat this system for weeks and you WILL have a trained dog. This system WORKS.

PS, just watched your vid, she is adorable. If she is not peeing when you take her out, then keep her in the crate till she does. Eventually she will. Trust me I have been to hell and back with training 5 puppies in my life, this is the only way that works. Her world for now must be: 1. crate, 2. outside.

Answer 7

oh no. don't keep that poor thing caged all day just because you don't want a mess. i crate train all of my dogs, but it's not for punishment. anyway, no puppy is housebroken when they leave their mother. it will take months to completely house train a pup. the only thing i can tell you to do, is to watch her like a hawk. the instant she wakes up from a nap, take her outside. if she wants to visit before she goes, it's ok. just as long as she stays out until she goes. when she gets a drink, even a small one, you have 10 minutes TOPS to get her outside again to pee. same with eating. also, to help with the poop, don't allow her to eat when she feels like it. give her a schedule of feeding 3 to 4 times a day, depending on how old she is. that way, you can control for the most part how often she's going to go poop. also, don't keep her in her crate all day. she's part of your family, and as irritating as housebreaking is, it's not fair to be confined all day for something that comes naturally to her. you weren't confined because you had an occasional accident as a youngster. same thing with your pup. believe me, it sucks, and it's very hard work. but it will happen, it just takes a lot of time and even more patience. good luck, and enjoy your new baby.

Answer 8

First of all, you will need to use a good enzyme cleaner to get rid of the smell of previous accidents. That will confuse her (the smell).

Take her out first thing in the morning when you get up-don't play with her or even pay attention to her until she does her business-it shouldn't take too long. Then bring her back in, play, romp, etc.

Take her back outside before you leave (or in two hours if you stay at home)

Is she going inside the crate? If not, keep her in that crate when you can't watch her-no exceptions. BUT, you are going to have to temper that with making TIME to watch her-she can't stay in the crate all the time.

Once she is consistent with going outdoors, then she can begin to play outdoors again.

If you are taking her out and bringing her back in and crating her the minute she potties, you are teaching her that the fun ends when she potties and that is why she's holding it.

Answer 9

chetco is spot on for house breaking your pup! however, 1 part apple cider vinegar and 3 parts of water in a spray bottle is much cheaper that what you buy at the pet store. it will not stain and it leaves no smell. courtney is smelling where shes been before,and going there again. blot the spot with paper towel, but do not throw away. spray the spot and blot again with a clean paper towel. take the first towel and place in the yard where you want her to go. she can now smell that shes been there before. i watched your video, and always but always highly praise your dog whenever she does something good. she is a smart dog and you should have little trouble training her. p.s. if you tease her with her toys, she will learn to do it back to you. it gets really fun playing then!!!

Answer 10

Ok, your pup needs to go out CONSTANTLY. Every 2-3 hours, even if it means you have to wake up in the middle of the night to do it.

It may take her a while, but every time you go outside, use a word. When you go out say, "Go potty!" or something like that. When she does go say, "Good girl to go potty!". Make sure you use the word when you praise her. That will help you teach her to go on command.

Also, set up a schedule, and keep to it. Make sure that you take your dog out at the same time each time. If you need to, set a timer to tell you when to take her out.

We trained out dog to ring a bell when he needs to go outside. You can hang a bell near the door, and every time before you go outside, have her ring the bell while giving the command "Ring the Bell!". When she does, make sure you reward with saying the word 'bell'.