7 week old puppy, potty training.?

Question

half lab and half boxer. Had her for a week....she wakes up, takes a few steps and squats on my carpet.

How do I make her stop? What works, what doesn't? I want your experience, not what a book says.

Thanks

Answer 1

Personally, I recommend training a young dog to go indoors on puppy pads (I dont use newspaper because the ink can stain floors and carpets). I recommend indoor training at that age because a young puppy like that may need to eliminate as frequently as every 2 hours, that can mean bathroom trips at night. This is because their system isn't devloped enough until 5-6 months to "hold it". I also recommend buying an "attractant" because its more sanitary than leaving out dirty pads all the time.

First off, dogs (at any age) may need to use the bathroom anytime they:
eat
sleep
drink
play
wake up
are taken out of confinement
so after doing any of these things, for up to 20-30 minutes, your dog may have the potential to need to potty. Take your dog to her potty spot after doing one of these things and wait. It's best to lead a puppy to their spot on a leash so they learn how to get to that place on their own, and nicely repeat your potty word/phrase (I use "Go potty"). Praise them if they go, but do NOT get annoyed if they don't go or they may start thinking you don't want them to.

What works:
*Crate training: crate training works because dogs are naturally clean animals who do not like to sleep/eat/play where they go to the bathroom. A dog who is crate trained is less likely to go other places because you'll be monitoring what they do, and you can take them out and to their spot immediately.
However, you have to train the dog to like their crate, or getting them inside won't be a fun experience for anyone. Also, a young dog like that can only stay in their crate for a few hours before they need to be taken out to use the potty. Many people swear by crating, but I didn't begin using it until my dogs were 5 or so months old (they were introduced to their crate, and their crate was open but they weren't kept in it). I've also had dogs who held it til they were in their crate (I swear x.x).

*Doggy safe room: This is the method I prefer because I've never had a problem with it before. Like crate training, you're teaching a dog where to go and where not to, but unlike crating you don't need to worry about letting them out when you're sleeping/at work. A safe room is a designated room, usually with a child gate, free of things the dog could get hurt on. It has their bed, toys and a potty area. Initially you cover the whole floor (except bed/water) with puppy pads, and gradually reduce the area being covered until its 1-2 pads big.
The issue with a puppy room is sometimes a puppy doesnt catch on that the whole floor isnt his potty, just the pads. So occasionally you may need to by a repellent and spray the open area. If the dog doesn't like her room (you need to train him to like it), then he will probably make a mess when she's in there (stepping in/jumping in her leftovers).

*I also recommend clicker training. It's a fast, effective way to teach nearly any behavior and the dog learns to do things because its in their best interest, not because you force them to. I will post some information on getting started on clicker training and explain how to do it specifically to potty training. I have never failed at teaching housebreaking with a clicker.
*If your dog won't poo or pee on a pad, try to get a little of their mistake on it, the attractant should do the trick but sometimes a little of their own scent helps out.

*Obediance training. It seems unrelated but obediance training can cure many behavioral problems because it teaches an owner how to be the boss and gives the dog the confidence to be a follower.

Any of the above options are effective (and any combination). You potty train the same way, put the pads in one area which can remain undisturbed (for crating it can be another room, for the safe room, its the room you use).
When your puppy is out and you do a trigger action, take her to her pads to go. If she doesn't go within 5 minutes, let her leave but watch for circling (literally running in a circle or oval), dedicated sniffing (sniffing a lot, undisturbed by you trying to get their attention) or squatting. If you see these things grab your puppy and lead them (if she's going pick her up) to their pads.
If you want to transfer from indoors to out, slowly move the pad towards the door 2-3 inches a day. When they are at the door, watch for your dog to go to the door, and take them outside instead. If for some reason your dog isnt following along, train them in the new spot, or back them up a little bit.

***Also make sure you clean ANY mistake with a petstain remover that is designed to remove odor. Just because you can't see it or smell it doesn't mean your dog can't. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make. Pet stain cleaners break down the scent enzymes in a dog's feces or urine so they will be less likely to return to that spot.

What does NOT work:
*NEVER rub a dogs nose in their mistake. They don't understand what that means. They don't associate pee + nose rub + no with "dont pee on the carpet". Dogs can't associate past actions with current things and to a dog, your actions don't make sense. It might make sense to you, but they don't get it.
Think this way, you come in from school and see that your dog chewed up a pillow. You yell at your dog, but they chewed it up in the morning, not when you were coming in.. you didn't catch them doing it. Rather than associating you yelling and rubbing their face in the mistake, they are associating you coming home with being angry.
*NEVER get angry at your dog for making a mistake. Instead of going on their pads, they will just hide their mistakes from you and it will be harder to catch them.
*If possible, don't yell or say NO at your dog while they are making a mistake. They associate your voice with you. Try to make a shake can (a can with rocks or a few coins in it). Its a neutral distractant, so they won't feel so threatened by you.
*Giving up! Giving up is never the way to go. Your puppy is young and she can't hold it yet. Just like a baby. She'll get it (many dogs get it in a few days, like my basset got it in 3 days) but some take a few weeks (my Lhasa took almost two weeks before he was able to be left alone during the day). You need to make your expectations clear and the dog will learn from there.

I hope my suggestions helped! Good luck with your puppy!

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Never rub a dogs nose in pee.

7 weeks is too young to be away from it mom. It takes weeks/months o potty train a dog. A puppy that age can't hold it all night. You need to wake up a few times a night to take her outside or to a potty pad. I've done it with my 2 dogs when I trained them. Don't expect miracles. Some people do. You have a baby on your hands. Think of it that way.

Answer 4

it depends on what you want.
I live in an apartment so I wanted my westie/poodle to be papertrained. I noticed right away that my pup was always attracted to going on a small section of my carpet (lovely i know) so I put down some papers and started working from that area. I started with 4 papers- eventually threw the mat out- but kept the papers in the same place . I have reduced the papers down to one. I know it often confuses dogs to do indoor/outdoor training. But if you get your puppy used to the papers - you can introduce outdoor training a little easier. by bringing papers outside with you to have them go on and reward and all that jazz.

I had the same problem with my pup no warning that he had to go. in the puppy book i have they joked that there is a schedule to when puppys pee ... after they sleep, eat, or play. so basically all the time. In a few weeks you'll find that her bladder is stronger and able to last a few hours longer.

Limit her water intake to meals and after lots of playing. The less she drinks the less she'll have to pee.

And depending on the dog use treats! My pup responded very well to treats - sometimes he'd pee 3 times in a row just to get more dog cookies.

good luck!

Answer 5

Hi, I understand that you are looking for some advice or resources to help fully train your dog or fix behavior problems. If a professional dog trainer is not an option at this time, or if you want to trt training your dog on your own (a great way to bond), I'd suggest you https://bitly.im/aL2uT

A friend recommened it to me a few years ago, and I was amazed how quickly it worked, which is why I recommend it to others. The dog training academy also has as an excellent home training course.

Answer 6

A dog should be trained on how to eat, walk with you, not to bark, potty training and sleep on its place etc. You can teach anything to your puppy, dogs get trained easily with some good instructions. If you want some good training tips visit https://tr.im/J27jk

If properly trained, they should also understand whistle and gesture equivalents for all the relevant commands, e.g. short whistle or finger raised sit, long whistle or flat hand lay down, and so on.

It's important that they also get gestures and whistles as voice may not be sufficient over long distances and under certain circumstances.

Answer 7

This is how I potty trained my dog. Every 30 to 45 min. I would take the puppy outside. I tied a bell to the door on a string. Every time I took the puppy out I rang the bell. Now every time she has to go out she rings the bell that hangs off the door. Kinda like Pavlov.

Answer 8

catch her doing, it rub her nose in it or at least near it to show her that is wrong. say "bad dog, no" something like that, take her outside. when you do say "outside" or whatever you are going to call it to her. this is what has worked for me. i usually will smack em with a newspaper or something, not your hand, for extra effect. that is up to you.

Answer 9

she is to young to be away from her mommy

Answer 10

First decide where you will allow your puppy to go to the toilet. Have acceptable areas. When my puppies were small I had two areas that I allowed them to eliminate. In the garden and on newspaper placed at the door that led to the garden. I started potty training with the newspaper but also let the puppy know by means of praise and a happy voice that if he eliminated outside in the yard I thought that was very good behavior.

I only used newspaper for a short period of time and only when the puppy was very young. Over a period of time I moved the newspaper from just inside the door to just outside the door and then to not anywhere at all.

If you are toilet training your puppy to go outside ensure that he can get out! Can you leave a door open? Do you have a doggy door? Does he know how to use the doggy door?

Contain your puppy to one or two rooms.

Before your puppy is toilet trained don't let him have the run of the house. Try to contain him to the room you spend the most time in so you can watch him most of the time. Close all bedroom doors and barricade other areas that do not have doors. One idea to contain puppy is to use baby gates.

Watch your puppy as much as you can. This is where diligence comes into play. You must be prepared to watch your puppy as much as possible.

It is never a good idea to get a new puppy on Saturday or Sunday and then go to work on Monday. If it is possible try to organize at least a weeks leave from work so you can spend some intensive time potty training your puppy.

Know the signs that your puppy is about to eliminate

Puppies are quick. One minute they are playing and the next minute they are peeing on your carpet.
Some of the signs that your pup is about to pee are:

Sniffing the floor
Circling
Whimpering
Taking off suddenly to another room or area. They often do this when they want to poop.

Give your puppy the right message

When you notice your puppy doing any of the above things gently and without a big fuss pick him up and place him on the newspaper or take him outside. Don't frighten the pup when you do this. It's a fact of life that your puppy has to pee and he has to poop so you don't want him to get the wrong message that peeing and pooping are wrong. You want him to get the message that peeing and pooping in the wrong place is not acceptable behavior and toileting in the 'allowed' area is acceptable behavior.

Catching Puppy in the act

When you catch him in the act tell him firmly in a 'not happy voice' , "Nooooo don't pee there." Then take him to the newspaper or outside. If you shout and carry on at him it will only frighten him and he will soon learn to sneak off and do it where you can't see him.

Your puppy may have already started to pee by the time you reach him and although you may have dribbles across the floor still take him to the newspaper and then praise him for being there. Sometimes you are not quick enough and he has finished peeing by the time you reach him. Never mind.. take him to the paper anyway and tell him 'Do a pee here, good boy. Clever dog. ' Don't ever make the newspaper something to be frightened of.

I have found it helps to put some dog pee on the newspaper because the pup will identify the smell and associate it with toileting. When your puppy has an accident blot a little of the urine on to the newspaper. Somewhere in his brain he might think 'Hmmm, pee smell here. I think this would be a good place to pee.' and so he pees on the newspaper.

When your pup goes to the newspaper or outside of his own free will, wait until he starts to eliminate and then as he is doing it tell him in a happy voice what great fellow he is. 'What a good boy... do a wee on the paper... good work... well done'

Have a Schedule

Take your puppy outside once an hour. Stand with him but don't distract him at all. Let him sniff around. If he goes to the bathroom while outside tell him what a good dog he is while he is actually peeing or pooping Choose a word for his elimination. You can call it what ever you want as long as you are consistent with it. For example: While he is peeing say, "Do a wee, good boy, well done" or "Go potty, great work, good dog' By saying these words your puppy will then be able to learn these words and associate them with the action. In the future you will be able to ask your dog to urinate on command.

Immediately after he is finished toileting make a big fuss of him. Praise him, pat him, play with him. Let him know that if he goes to the bathroom outside you are very very pleased with him.

If you take the puppy outside and after three or four minutes he hasn't gone to the bathroom bring him back inside and try again in ten minutes.

Puppies will normally need to go just after they have eaten and just after they have woken up. Always take your puppy outside after these events. They go plenty of other times too so keep a watch out. Take him outside as soon as he wakes and within a few minutes of eating. Puppies may also need the potty while playing. If your puppy runs away from a game you are having always suspect he is off for a toilet break.

Expect Accidents

Don't have unrealistic expectations of your puppy. He is going to have plenty of accidents before he gets the message of what is expected of him.

Praise not Punish

Praising your dog for doing the right thing will always work far better than punishing him for doing the wrong thing. Don't get angry. Don't go overboard by yelling and screaming. Teach your dog by positive means instead of negative reactions.

Too Late. I just stood in it!

Accept some of the blame yourself, you should have been watching him better. Don't get angry.

If you find the mess after the event has happened do not rub his nose in it. This is a big NO NO and such an old fashioned idea that doesn't work. Instead, put your dog on his leash and take him to the puddle or mess. Change the tone of your voice... adopt a not happy voice and say 'I'm not happy with this' while pointing to the puddle or poop. It is more than likely that your pup will not want to look at what you are pointing at and he will avert his eyes from what you are showing him. Often, he will try to change the subject and maybe try to start a game or look for some other diversion. Ignore this cunning behavior. Always have some toilet paper or tissue at the ready and pick up the poop or blot the urine and take it outside and put it where you would have liked him to do it in the first place. Make sure you still have him on the leash and that he accompanies you and watches every step of the procedure. Put the tissue on the ground and then tell the puppy in a happy voice, 'Good place... do pee here... very good place' or words to that effect.

I still keep finding little surprises on the floor

If you are constantly finding puddles and messes follow the above procedure with one small change. When you take him to the puddle or poop and he averts his eyes and doesn't want to know anything about it, tie his leash to something nearby such as a table leg or chair leg. Make sure he can't escape seeing it. Leave him like this for a few minutes while you walk away and ignore him. Don't leave him there for more than five minutes, that's long enough to get the message across.

When you are not there

You can't always be with your puppy 24 hours a day. When you go out you have the choice of putting him outside or containing him to one room. You could also put him in the garage or make a fenced off area. Choose an area that can be easily cleaned after accidents. Put newspapers in the room with him near the door.

Don't shut him up in a pen or a small bathroom. That's not going to teach him anything.

How long does it take to toilet train a puppy?

On average it will take about two to three weeks. Remember that all dogs are not the same and some will learn very quickly and some will take a little longer. I once had a dog who learned paper training after one day. I caught her 'In the act' and put her on the newspaper and she never again went anywhere else apart from the newspaper or outside. She was a very smart puppy and an exception to the rule.

Expect Regression

Sometimes months after you think you have successfully toilet trained your dog he will have the odd slip up. Expect this and deal with it as you did in the beginning. Accidents may happen with fully trained dogs. Dogs that are not neutered or spayed have a higher incidence of eliminating in the house. Scent marking is another form of undesired elimination and can be managed by neutering and refreshing housetraining.

HAPPENS TO ME ALL THE TIME!!!!