How do I successfully potty train my puppy?

Question

I have a 2-1/2 month old Chaweenie. I have been VERY unsuccessful in potty training him. He just potties any and everywhere. HELP!!

Answer 1

Your in luck I am a certified dog trainer here is what to do:

It is the owner’s responsibility to be sure the puppy eliminates in the correct area. So whenever the puppy is in the house he should be on a leash and in the owner’s presence to avoid accidents. Management of this behavior cannot be overemphasized. It is probably the single most important component.

It is futile and counter productive to spank a puppy or rub his nose in an accident. This will typically cause the puppy to be hesitant in eliminating in front of you. This makes praising the puppy for going in the right spot impossible because he is afraid to go in your presence. In addition, many puppies will often learn to just sneak off into an out of the way place to avoid your detection.


If an accident does occur the owner should make an inconspicuous noise to startle the puppy, without frightening him, and then immediately take him to his potty spot. The noise is intended to interrupt him before he finishes going potty. When he resumes eliminating in the correct area, praise and reward him for the proper behavior. If accidents are occurring in the house the owner needs to supervise the puppy more closely or it will take a very long time to successfully housetrain him.

Creating daily housetraining routines for a puppy in training will go a long way in creating consistency in the behavior. For example, feeding the puppy at the same time every day, taking the puppy potty through the same door every day, and going to the same spot every time are all good examples.

It is important to always clean up any "accidents" with an odor neutralizing product, such as Nature’s Miracle. Soap and/or other cleaning products will not get rid of the odor and that increases the chance that the dog will relieve him/herself in the same area again.

Whether you are housebreaking a puppy or an adult dog that has never been housebroken, take the puppy or dog out immediately after each of the following events: waking up, getting up from resting, drinking water, eating, playing, training and actively sniffing.

Once the puppy has been "accident free" on your housebreaking schedule, you must teach the puppy to hold his bladder a little past the time he may need to go. While crate training helps develop his ability to hold his bladder, he must also learn to do that even when he is loose in the house. By tying him close to you or to a table leg, at or near the time he is normally scheduled to be taken out, he will be forced to "hold it" for a bit longer. You can also watch the puppy closely when he is in the same room with you and when he starts to sniff; you distract him for a few moments by tossing a toy before taking him out.

Before teaching the puppy to hold his bladder, the puppy should be accident free for a minimum of 14 days in a row. Every ‘mistake’ the puppy makes sets the owner back 3 days. For example, if a puppy has been accident free for 8 days and then makes a mistake on the 9th day, the owner must begin counting from the 5th day.




Good Luck!

Answer 2

First you should contain the dog, i suggest the kitchen. You need to put 4 (that's what i used) puppy pads down. Put the crate in there e(as she will get used to it) and lots of her favorite toys in there. Place her on the potty pads and tell her "potty" or whatever command you wish to use. Every time she uses them reward her, same as when she Potty's outside. Every few days take away the pad that she doesn't use (for some reason my dog never peed where i had the 2end pad?) You should take her outside every 30 minutes until she gets older (she can't hold it for to long being so young) then extend it to once every hour (once she gets the idea and can hold her pee longer) And of course, praise and give her a treat when she pee's outside. Now if she pee's where you don't want her to, clap loudly to startle her (it will be less messy) then pick her up instantly, take her to the pad, or outside and tell her "potty" once she does potty out there/on the pad again, praise. She will realize, that's where you want her to potty. My dog is 2 and a few months, i always have 2 puppy pads down in case, its stormy,I'm not home, i don't get him outside in time etc. for him to use. that of course is optional. Good luck!

Answer 3

A puppy that small should be contained in a small area. He should not have the run of the house until he has several days of going where he should. You should be taking him to his designated potty areas upon waking, after every meal, after naptime, after playtime, and basically every 2 hours in between. When he goes in the right place praise and pet him immediately so he knows when he does that he gets rewarded. When he has an accident do not make a big deal of it, just clean it up with a urine cleaner and bring him to his designated area.

Answer 4

Some times it is harder.

It takes time and effort. The bladders are small and they are infants who understand no English.

Be sure the house is clean and clear of odors.
Be sure they go out every couple of hours and put a bell on the back door, low, and each time you take them out ring the bell and say, "let's check the back" Eventually show them to ring the bell with nose or foot.
Be sure they go out first thing you wake up and last thing you do before going lights out.

Watch them closely if you see them doing anything that would suggest they are going to take a squat or a hike, make a sharp noise (to break their attention) and rush them outside.

With constant supervision they can learn to ring the bell to tell you they need to go out.

Don't yell or punish, or the old trick "rub their noses in it"
Just show them what you want and praise them thoroughly for a job well done. Ignore bad behavior and reward good.

luck

Answer 5

To start you need to purchase a crate. Keep your puppy in your crate until you are going to feed him or play with him because the crate to him is a place of peace and relaxation. When you feed him and give him water take him outside to play for about an hour eventually he will go to the bathroom. When he does praise him. At night keep him in the cage and for the first couple of weeks wake up at least once in the night to take him outside again. (Take him straight outside to prevent any accidents.) If he is alone during the day keep him in the crate or put puppy mats in one room and limit the puppy to that room. Also if he does have and accident wipe it up with a piece of newspaper and place the newspaper by the door. If he has to got to the bathroom again he will try to find the newspaper when you see him heading toward it immediately take him outside and when he goes outside praise him.

Answer 6

be super patient and dont use puppy mats! i worked for a vet for years and we always told people not to use them. the dog gets used to pottying on the mat in some location in your house and will continue doing this for years even if there is no mat there. try to take him out every two hours or so. if you see him sniffing for a spot, but him outside. you just have to get him use to the idea of going outside. it's harder to train small dogs, but with patience and a lot of time i'm sure you'll get him trained.

Answer 7

howoften do you take him out?
at that age, he should be going out every 3-4 hrs
(for every month old they are, you take them out that +1 hours. so at 3 months, every 4 hours, and 4 mos every 5 hrs,etc)

Crating when you cant watch him (doing dishes, shower, etc) is the easiest and usually fastest way to potty train a puppy because dogs instinctly wont soil where they sleep.

when you catch him in the act, make a disgusted noise, and very quickly pick him up and bring him outside, where you sigh in relief (its for the puppy to know what to do to please you)

Never let him see you cleaning up an accident, i read they sometimes think they are giving you something if they see you cleaning it up.

give a special dog treat when he goes outside

Answer 8

Oh, God, I hate this question ! ! !

If you only knew how many times a day it is ask you would not ask it.

Why don't you "Search the question"? You will find all the best answers to this question. Don't know how? Look for the green bar at the top of the page. See it? Type your question there first before you post it.

All of my questions are answered there by the best contributors on this site. No need to post a question or loose points (5 for each question) either.

Answer 9

The crating method works well. Crate the puppy at night. Dogs don't like to pee in such close quarters. The main thing is to take puppy outside OFTEN....they have tiny bladders and when they go outside the cool air seems to stimulate them.