Question about a new puppy. PLEASE HELP?

Question

I just got a new puppy home on Friday, mine and my wife's first. We are having potty trouble with him. He doesn't want to go on the paper in the house. He goes fine outside, and my wife and I throw him a small party each time he does outside. But we are not home some of the day, and want to teach him to use a wee wee pad. I'm from the old school, I'd shove his face in it to teach him, but from reasearch, I hear that's no good. He has a crate, but its not that big and I wouldn't want his coat to be sh!tty.
Please any suggesttions.....

Answer 1

Keep him in his crate when you are not home. The newspaper and wee pads only teach him to go to the bathroom in the house. When he is in his crate, he will do his best not to go. Dogs do not like to "potty" where they sleep. What you are doing to teach him to go outside is great. He should be housebroken in no time!

Also, don't give the dog any attention when he has an accident in the house. Even negative attention is attention and it will slow down the housebreaking process. Good Luck!

Answer 2

First of all how long is the puppy home alone? How old is the puppy? I would get a crate that is big enough for him to be comfortable. Don't get one too big or he will crap on one side and sleep on the other. Crate training in my opinion is wonderful. The crate also keeps your puppy out of harms way and from destroying your house. No puppy should left alone more than 4 hours in a crate withouth the opportunity of being let outside. Your pup is already telling you that he his housebroke by going outside. Going outside is the second step after the pads. Why go backwards. Don't put blankets or anything in the crate that your puppy can chew and either choke on or get stuck and wrapped around his intestines. (This happens a lot to young dogs chewing rugs, etc.) I just keep water in the crate. Dogs are den animals by nature. Most pups and dogs will enjoy the security and safety of a crate/den and learn to go in to the crate for security when the door is open if they feel like being left alone. They shouldn't mess in it because this is where they sleep and pups/dogs are naturally clean. If you work more than 4 hours at a time then somebody needs to stop home during lunch hour to let the dog out, or both of you if those are different times. The more you can let your pup in and out the better. You will naturally housebreak him. If your pup goes to bathroom in the crate it usually means you have left him alone too long. Be careful where you put the crate. Don't put it in direct sunlight and overheat your pup, or near an open window and draft him. Make sure it is a comfortable spot with some natural light. Keep your air conditioning on during the day to keep him comforatable in the warmer months.

Answer 3

Wee wee pads seem like a convenience, but really what you are doing is teaching your new puppy that, sometimes, it's ok to go to the bathroom in the house. If he knows how to go outside, then you're already ahead of the curve. Depending on the size and age of the dog, he can definitely go all day while you're out without having to go. A lot of dogs just lay around and don't eat or drink anyway when their owners are away. Don't sabotage your own efforts to have a well-trained dog... get rid of the wee wee pads and continue to work on the outside potty training.

Answer 4

First of all, you are correct when you say that rubbing the dog's nose in it is NOT effective. I think it's very big of you to try and change your ways. Rubbing the dog's nose in it gives the impression that you do not approve of going to the bathroom, so they will try to hide it from you. Not a fun game to play.

Secondly, if you're already getting the puppy to go outside then your job is done! "Giving him a small party" is exactly what you want to do! Putting pee pads or newspaper in the house will only confuse the poor little one, making the impression that it's okay to go in the house. The dog will not be able to jump to the conclusion that you are not home = can go on my pee pad. They just don't work like that. It also goes against every fiber of your dog's being to go in its crate. Dogs do not go to the bathroom where they eat or sleep. It goes back to their wild days and keeping their dens clean. Would you eat dinner or sleep in your bathroom? Why would you ask your dog to?

If you're worried about your puppy not being able to hold it while you're gone, see if a neighbor kid will come over to let him out and play with him in the middle of that day. It's summer, so it shouldn't be that hard to do. That way, when school starts, your pup will be old enough to hold it all day and will have kept his potty training manners! Good luck!

Answer 5

Get a child gate to block the puppy in the kitchen or some other room with a floor that has no carpet. In this room, put the puppy, the opened crate, his food and water, and a wee wee pad or newspaper. The less of other clutter, the better. Make sure there's nothing bad or dangerous the puppy can get to, and make sure he can't escape that room. Then.....leave to go to work. Hopefully, the puppy will sleep and rest in his crate, come out to eat and also start to use wee wee pad.

Answer 6

Well, most important, ONLY scold him if you catch him in the act. If you do catch him in the act and he momentarily stops going...I guess you could take him over to the paper where you want him to go and hopefully he'll finish on the paper. Gradually I think he would get the drift. Or if he is in an enclosed room and you put paper on the floor, sometimes he will automatically just go on it. If you aren't home for a little bit you coldput him in the crate. Usually small crates a good place to pottytrain because he will not pee and poo in the crate because he doesn't want to be in it himself. But if you are gone for a long period of time, don't put your dog in the crate all alone for that whole time. If he does get pee all over his coat, just wash it. It will help out in the long run if he is crate trained. I hope I helped and by the way your post made me laugh (I'm from old school). Lol.

Answer 7

Making peeimh or pooping a bad experience, by shutting him in his crate or putting his nose in it, is not on;y cruel, but ineffective, because it will create anxiety to the puppy about the toilet and it will cause the opposite effect. Th ecorrect way to train him is to take him on walks very often, every couple of hours or so at first, in order to get used to ddoing his business outside. If you are not there for many hours, I am sorry, but you are just not ready to raise a pup. I am not trying t6o insult you or anything, but really a puppy is a full time job. You will have many problems if you don't realize that. You could have gotten a grown dog from a shelter or a cat. No problems there! A puppy is tough work, my friend.

Answer 8

Use the crate!!! Do not teach any dog to go in the house. Paper wee pads whatever a dog has to go potty outside. That's a health issue for the whole family.

Get a new crate this weekend that is a bit larger. If he doesn't have room in it this week top stay out of his sh1t than he doesn't have room to sh1t.

Answer 9

Hi - I have a small breed too, and as long as I was trying to do it "both ways", taking my Peke outside, and having pee pads inside, my pup didn't become housebroken...She would go outside and inside - not always on the pads either. I finally figured out what everyone else is saying - it confuses the dog. When I removed the pee pads and we started going outside only - she caught on right away. She is completely housebroken and will go for hours without needing to go out. I am fortunate that my husband is at home all day with her, and takes her out as often as she needs, but when we do have to leave her, she has never had an accident in the house since we took away her pads. The biggest factor is: Patience. Just be patient, and your pup will come around...some pups just take longer than others.

Answer 10

There once was a woman that rubbed her puppies nose in it and then took him outside. So the puppy learn to poop in the floor, put his nose in it and go to the door. Take you pup out when your home and crate him when your not. He won't soil where he sleeps.Try not to leave him crated to long. Get a bigger crate as he grows. This works for my dogs. Good luck with yours.