How young is too young to house train puppy's?

Question

We just got a 6 week old black lab. I am trying to crate train her at night and some during the day. Only at night she poo's in the crate .. I have read that those traning pads are no good,it's just an excuse for them to go in the house.

Answer 1

Yup you're right, training pads are going to slow you down. They are just a lazy way to let the dog pee because people aren't willing to take them out. It doesn't help them learn to go outside at all.

6 weeks old is pretty young, but you can start training her now.Some get it right away, some are a little slower to get it. She has been taken from her mom very early so you might find that it is you more often than not telling the puppy that she has to go outside and carrying her out.

When she wakes up in the morning and after naps, take her outside.
When she eats and drinks, take her outside.
When she is having fun and getting right into playing, take her out :) They tend to forget when they are having fun, that they have to pee.

Always remember what goes in, will most definitely come out.
Get a little bell, and tie it to the door w/ a string that hangs down to where she can touch it with her nose or paw. Ring the bell yourself when you go in and out, when you take her out etc. Teach her that the bell is her way to communicate to you that she needs to go outside.
That is the problem most of the time, dogs don't know how to tell us that they need to go out, or we don't get the signal that they are sending. The bell gets rid of that problem.

Unless you catch her peeing or pooping in the house, you can't say anything about it. NEVER let her see you clean up her mess!

Take her out before she goes in her crate at night. She is very young, so it is likely that if she goes into the crate at 11. She is going to need to go outside by 2am, then up by 6am at very least.
If she just isn't getting it, that she can't go in the crate, sprinkle some of her food in there so that she is less likely to go. They don't go where they sleep or eat, as long as they came from a clean home, originally. A petstore dog, or one that wasn't raised in a clean environment will go in it's crate lots of time.

Be consistent and you'll get there!

Answer 2

You need to have the crate grow with the dog. To crate train,you need a crate only big enough for him to turn around and lay down in. Remember that for when he gets a little bigger. It does not apply yet. 6 weeks old is way to young to potty brake in house. Ask any vet or trainer...Buy a book...You should not worry about house breaking till 3 to 4 months old. They are just to young.But you can still get him into a routine. Keep up what you are doing but don't expect him not to have accidents. Never feed after 6:00 and always wait to put pup out right before you go to bed. At 6 weeks he cant hold anything. Don't expect it. Rule of thumb after 3 to 4 months.
For every month of age He can hold 1 hour till a year, then he should be able to hold all night or longer.
Get the training pads...They do work..You just have to get the dog to understand where he should go to do his business. Put poo on it so it has his smell. Try placing as close to door as possible. So you can move it to outside later.
Labs are highly intelligent...when he is old enough -- you should not have a problem and he will learn quick...


Good Luck and Good choice.

Answer 3

There's no such thing as too early; the earlier the better.
Labs are one of the easiest dogs to train, as well.
As someone mentioned, if you are crate training her make sure the crate isn't too big. I've tried the puppy training pads and they didn't help a bit. The only thing you can really do is take her out as often as possible and redirect her when she goes in the house. Try to watch for signs that she needs to go and act fast. The ideal way I've found (especially with labs) is to keep them outside and make it a treat to come inside. When they potty inside, take them out immediately. Of course, you would have to have the ideal yard/ environment to be able to keep them outside like this during the training process. Just try to be patient and remember to reward her w/ praises for good behavior. Good luck!

Answer 4

How big is the crate? If the crate gives her too much room to move around, then she will go in the crate. It's not a matter of age, it's a matter of instinct. Dogs do not like to use the bathroom in their sleeping area. You might want to look into getting a smaller crate; she just needs enough room to turn around, stand up, and lie down. When she starts to grow, then get a larger crate.

Answer 5

never too early-go ahead & start, shes old enough. as for pooping in the crate, i cant believe that. Puppies, dogs never poop where they sleep. I would say your crate is too large. I know it seems mean to have a small crate, & even wise from $ perspective to go w/ a larger one BUT for potty training purposes & overnight you need to have one for the size it is now. So I say start w/ a smaller cage for now. You can make comfy w/ nice blankie or doggie bed in it. And for training decide what type u r doing. I prefer outside, works for me great all the time. My dogs trained in days--be consistent tho! Every so many minutes, take her outside, to the same spot, have a reward ready to praise-praise w/ words, & praise w/ treats when goes outside. Keep taking her out, dedicate 1-2 full days--days you have off or can take off. It is just like a baby--repetition is how they learn. good luck!

Answer 6

As soon as you get her home you can begin house training her. Puppy pads can help if used properly, that is how I house trained my dog. I would place it like in the bathroom then every Monday I would move it about 4 feet towards the door until it was right at the back door. Then I just quit using it altogether and she learned to go to the door when she had to potty and we knew to take her out. Good luck. Persistence is the key to training.

Answer 7

Puppies, like human babies, have almost no capacity for "holding it".

However, it is never too early to train dogs that there are times for "doing the business". Start by establishing times for the dog to do its thing and stick to them. You are training yourself as much as the dog.

The dog should know that every day at xAM, and every afternoon at xPM and one last time at xPM at night it will have a chance to go and relieve itself.

The dog will come to count on these times. It won't make it to it every time early on, but don't be too cross. Give the dog a place that it can let go in "an emergency" until it is pretty regular. Be sure to let the dog know you are disappointed that it didn't hold its mess, but dont get angry unless it starts to poo in the living room or something.

Once the puppy can make it easily to those times then you can start to adjust them slightly to give the animal more control. Perhaps an hour earlier in the morning or an hour later in the afternoon. This helps to teach the dog to "hold it" better.

It won't be long before your puppy will know that when you get the leash it will have a chance to let it go on cue (as it should be) and it will get you prepared for the responsibility of meeting your dog's needs.

Answer 8

At that age, she won't be able to hold it all night. Try to get up in the middle of the night, so she can relieve herself and won't go in the crate. Dogs really try not to go in the crate because it is like their little den and want to keep it clean.

Answer 9

well i have a 9 month puppy and use newspaper not training pads the will make a mess if the bite it. i started training my pup ant 8 months old so u should when its about 7 or 8 but not 6 that's to young i had pups all my life so i know all about them so listen to me i starting putting hI'm in his crate a only one time my tine is 9:00 so every night a 9:00 put him in his crate and don't get him out and wake up about 9:00 in the morning and take him outside to let him poop/pee do that every day/night in know im had puppies all my life

Answer 10

make sure she goes OUTSIDE before she goes in the crate at night. She has to go to the bathroom at night, and there is nowhere else to go but the crate when she is locked in. Train her the sooner the better.