Need housebreaking tips for Great Dane Puppy?

Question

My great dane is 10 weeks old, we take him outside every morning, after he eats and at least every other hour of the day. The problem we are having is when we take him out he may urinate a little but mainly he just wants to eat leaves and walk around, then as soon as we get him in the house he pees or poops. Any suggestions??

Answer 1

Take him to the same area each time you take him outside. He will smell it and eventually understand that this is the place to go. Make sure you get all the urine stains and smells out of your carpet/floor, or he will keep doing it.

Answer 2

Housebreaking a Great Dane is no different than any other dog.

Until they are about 16 weeks old, when they should be able to fully hold their bowel movements and uring, you should take them out after every nap, every play session, every meal, and then judge how often in between otherwise. It sounds like you are doing a pretty decent job there.

But puppies also have short attention spans, so make sure that if you take puppy out and he potties, praise him profusely and let him have a little play time in the yard. Sometimes you just don't give the puppy long enough to do his business. They are curious and like sniffing around and may get distracted and NOT potty and forget to.

We found with ours that they got wrapped up in other stuff and forget about pottying until it was too late and then they'd go on the floor in the house, without even giving us a sign...

Give him enough time outside or take him out a few more times during the day...

Answer 3

Routine is the most important aspect of training. From the beginning, feed 4 times per day, at the same times, and put the bowl up in 5 minutes, or when finished.

A puppy will need to go just minutes after eating, so whisk him outside, and stay with him until he 'goes'..Give him lots of praise when he does his job, play a few minutes, and come back in..

If you can spread down a bag of sand, from a garden center, it will give him a good place to go, so you can kind of aim him there, and not just all over your yard..

He should only need to go poop after eating, and perhaps at bedtime..

However, he will need water down at all times, and need to pee frequently..so, outside every other hour for that..and keep a close eye on him..He will need to go during active play, and every time he wakes from a nap..If you watch him, you will see him acting restless, and sniffing the floor, etc when he needs to go..at first, peeing may be just a matter of pausing, and uh-oh, there it is..He won't even be aware...So its important to never scold him for peeing...this is what makes traumatized pups that refuse to pee outside, or try to hide it in the house..as they get scolded for it, and it becomes a traumatic event..
Keep the product, Nature's Miracle, on hand, for instant cleaning of pee spots...or ask your pet supply which enzyme cleaner they recommend..

Puppies physiology only allows them to hold pee for about 1 hour per month of age...so expecting any more is unrealistic..a good reason for a playpen or crate at night.. He may hold it through the night, but is likely to need to pee at least once during the night..You can remove the water a couple of hours before bedtime..

By following a routine, and being ever watchful for the first few days, you can have him petty well trained in just a couple of weeks..or less

I house-train all of my pups before they ever leave my home, and I do it an entire litter at a time..it normally takes about 4-5 days, with very few accidents, before they are asking to be let out..
But, if you hang a little bell on the door, or a desk bell on the floor, and show him you are ringing the bell each time you take him out, he is likely to begin ringing the bell when he needs to go..Just be very vigilant, and yet stay relaxed..an accident doesn't mean failure..
Remember, it takes forever to potty train a human baby, and it is so nice that puppies can learn it so much faster, but they are still allowed to be babies, and don't deserve to be stressed about the training...
If you have important areas to keep clean, just keep him away from those areas until he is a bit older..

I recommend using a soft step-in type harness for the walking and leash training, as it is less frightening and stressful..eventually, as trust is developed, you can switch to a collar..but a soft harness takes the fear away from the beginning...Walking stimulates the bowels to move, more so than just putting the dog out..

Answer 4

I suggest for a month take your puppy outside every hour on the hour. When he does his business praise him and give treat. Eventually he will do his stuff outside all the time.
I would also like to inform you of a great place to get harness and dog collars for large breed dogs. I know, I have a large breed:

Harness and Lead: ForDogTrainers (on internet)
Collars - Ebay USA - Amish Leather (on internet)

Answer 5

Excellent replies! Fortunately, Danes are an easy breed to house train. The most time it ever took one of mine to learn was two weeks. All the advice above is good, and I wish you luck!

Answer 6

Take him out after every meal, after naps, after play and at regualr intervals throughout the day. When you take him out tell him to potty and wait for him to do so..when he goes praise him lavishly...if he dosn't go within a reasonable length of time take him in and put him in his crate and wait 10 -15 min and take him out again.
When he has accidents do NOT call his attention to it, rather just take him outside and clean up the mess..no fanfare, no reprimanding, no attention of any kind.

Answer 7

Don't feed him as often and take him out regularly for longer periods of time.