How best do I housebreak a jack russell who's been trained to use a pee pad in a cage instead of going outside

Question

Our new puppy is 13 weeks old, and came from an older breeder couple who didn't much care if their dogs used their house as a bathroom. Long story short, we put the puppy out, she plays or (maybe 1 out of 10 times) goes potty. Of those 9 other times, she comes right in, goes straight to her cage, and pees. PLEASE HELP! This is getting really, really hard for us.

Answer 1

This is a tough one because you have to retrain her to go outside. Retraining is MUCH more difficult than training. All I can suggest is putting the pee pads toward the outside of the crate and moving them slowly out over a few days, then moving them toward the outside door over several days so she is going closer and closer to the door. Then move it outside and get her to pee on it outside.

The most important part is what happens when she goes outside. Take her outside to potty, stand there still and don't talk to her except to give her a command to use the bathroom (Go potty, hurry up, etc) ONCE then ignore her until she pees or poops. Keep her on a leash in one area, don't walk around and let her sniff everything or play. When she does what you want, praise her, pet her, play with her, give her a tiny super yummy treat and make it seem like she could do nothing better in this world ever! You can play with her outside at this point, in a different area from where you want her to associate with pottying.

Let her back inside and WATCH HER AT ALL TIMES until she is trained to consistently go outside. You don't have to crate her, but keep her near by putting her on a leash and holding it or tying it to your belt. When she starts sniffing or circling like she needs to potty, pick her up and whip her outside, command her to potty, ignore her until she goes then praise her.

When she goes inside and you don't see her, don't stress. Just clean it up and move on. It will take a little longer than normal potty training, but she'll get it eventually.

Also, keep in mind that she is only 3 months old, so she can only hold it for about 3 to 4 hours (her age in months plus one) before she really has to go so try to anticipate this need and take her outside before she decides to go inside. She will also need to go when she wakes up, eats a meal, drinks a lot of water and sometimes in between.

Answer 2

The worse thing you can do is give her any attention - negative or positive. Clean up the mess (Try Nature's Miracle. It has enzymes that break down what the dog's smell). Start putting her food and water on a schedule so you can monitor when she needs to go to the potty.

Look for the tell tale signs - back arching, circling, excessive sniffing, darting to her normal potty area.

Stop her before she does the deed, snap the leash on her, or put her outside.

BE PATIENT. She doesn't know to go potty outside. Take some time and let her figure that out. There needs to be a place that smells like her - SO use the towel you just cleaned up with, or puppy pads etc.

when she's going repeat "go potty, go potty, go potty" over and over and over..... every time she goes. You're training her to go potty on command!

Once the deed is done make a big deal about it. Lots of luvin, treats etc.

Remember the worse thing you can do is believe that myth that rubbing her nose and scolding her for what she thinks is right will help.

This will make her shy and she'll start hiding her evil little deed from you. So you'll smell it but won't find it. And if you want her to go potty outside w/ you standing right there, she can't be shy or afraid.

Dogs logic: I pee - I get in trouble.

Good Luck.

Take your time, be patient.

Answer 3

Hello...I had this experience last year. I brought home my yorkie that had been living with me in South Korea, and due to the evironmental factors there (no parks or outdoor spaces, just high-rises) my dog was trained on a pee-pad too.
Of course, when I got home to Canada, I had to re-train him.
Here is what I did: I put a pee-pad outside...so when the dog went out, he would pee on the pad outside. I did this for a week, and praised him A LOT when he used it outside. Likewise, if he peed inside, I scolded him to make sure he knew that was wrong now. After a week, I cut the pee pad in half...then a few days later, cut it in quarters...eventually I took the pad away and he knew that he had to pee outside from now on. The key to making this a success to is make sure to praise him LOTS AND LOTS when he does the right thing, and scold him when he makes a mistake.
Luckily, my dog was really smart and caught on to this concept really quickly (he was 11 months old)...Jack Russels are pretty smart too, so it just might work! Good luck!

Oh, one more thing...you might want to look up some info about proper crate-training, because he shouldn't be using the toilet in his cage. Buy a crate that is just the right size for him to lie comfortably, but not big enough for extra room or else he will pee in the back.

Answer 4

be sure that the cage/crate is only large enough for the dog to lie down as they usually will not pee where they sleep. begin putting a pad outside and maybe place a pad that the puppy had already pottied on outside and take her to it every time she pees in the crate. I also would take the pee pad out of the crate if it has a plastic bottom that can be cleaned.

Answer 5

Crate training is the exceptional approach. Dogs don't most often get rid of the place they sleep. On the grounds that he's such a young pup, he will cry. Put a clock (now not a digital) and blanket in the crate. The ticking sound of the clock will remind him of his mother's heartbeat and be a comfort for him. Take him out of the crate on the whole and instantly take him outside with a wee-wee pad external, in order that he learns he has to make external. After he makes use of the wee-wee pad outside, provide him a little playtime external of the crate with you, then put him back. Generally 15 to twenty minutes outside the crate is good sufficient. It is a lot of work, but will pay off in the longrun.

Answer 6

I have never converted to outside from pee pads, but I guess it should all be about the same technique. My husband and I potty trained our pit like this, we would let her out regularly, and when she came back in and went on the floor, we would scold her and throw her outside, no matter if she had to go or not. It was a longer process, but eventually she figured out that she had to pee outside and never went in the house again. Now if you want her to ask you to go out, don't let her out at all, and use the above. That worked for my Jack. And don't let her have access to the cage after she comes inside. Try that and see if it works for you.

Answer 7

get some puppy pads, start by putting them right by her cage, but on the outside, then in a day or 2 move it a little closer to the door, then in another couple of days move it to right by the door, then in a couple more days move it outside the door, once she is used to going out the door, it should be easier to get her to go when you take her out.

Answer 8

I agree with kogirl & sillybutt's answers...In addition, I've found that my dog will utilize the outdoors as a bathroom when she is attached to her leash & I walk her. If I allow her to go outside without a leash....she only plays...Have patience & lots of treats..Also try a command...I say "do your business".......

Answer 9

thats how she was trained so you have to reprogram her way of thinking....it might take a little longer than usual because of there neglagence but she will come around....do not leave food and water down...only give it to her on a schedual and about 15 minutes afterwards take her out....then pick it back up....nothing going in nothing comming out...you will know her intake and when shes due to out take....this works...i have 8 yorkies and it worked for me. good luck....but remember...thats what she new before you got her...

Answer 10

let her know that this isnt acceptable, scold her when she does this. To her this is whats okay. When she does go outside be sure to praise her i mean lavish it on and treats help as well.