Housetraining My GSD

Well, as you all know, I will be getting a GSD in about 3 weeks.

I'm a bit concerned with house training. Here is the approach I am taking:

About 20 min. after ever meal, I'll take him outside to do his business.

After a nap, I'll take him outside to do his business. (I'm a little worried about this one because if I fall asleep or he wakes up earlier than me and he goes... there's nothing I can do about it)

If I see him sniffing around the house, I'll take him outside to do his business.

I'm going to begin taking him out every hour when I first get him because a puppy doesn't really know when he's gonna go, he just goes. Similar to that of a human baby.

My hopes are that he will eventually get used to doing his business outside so much that he'll just be at the door when he wants to go.

I've read about ten thousand articles on the net and this is basically how I decided I will handle house training.

Any opinions? Any corrections? What do y'all think? Any suggestions? Throw anything out there for me. Thank you all.

Sounds good to me. Believe it or not, I got up every 2 hours...even all thru the night....and Ham was completely (as much as a little puppy can be until they have real bladder control) housetrained. He knew after doing this for just 2 weeks that was where he was to go. I no sooner got outside....he went. I did the same thing with Addie. Funny about Addie, tho........she never tells you she has to go out, I usually just take her if it's been a few hours. Ham, however, will come and practically knock me over if he thinks I'm not getting it....lol I never had accidents in the house. If you can't possibly be getting up thru the night...maybe try a little longer span......walking him as late as you can, then maybe once during the night. I would always also tell them to go as soon as we got outside.......then the praise, of course. You'll know your puppy's own routine after just a couple weeks......then as he gets older, you can increase the time between outings. With Ham, I know it's still only about 20 mins. after he eats.....then we're running outside! lol

I love how prepared you are!!!! Do you have a name picked out??...maybe I missed it if you've already said. Do you visit your pup????? Any pics??? I visited Ham for 3 weeks before I could bring him home.....even as a little guy, he would always come running to me first.....then the other puppies would follow.

Did you consider crating him for the night?


It helped me immensely with my pup. Everything else you listed looks great!

GSD's are very smart, you should have him housebroken in notime

Crates are really not a necessity at all, and there's no reason to think you should need one with a German Shepherd pup. I would suggest when you have to leave, though, that you have a puppy-proofed room for him so that he can't get hurt: no electric cords where he can get to them, nothing down where he can chew on it, a few favorite toys and a soft place to nap.

I've got to admit, I really do hate the indiscriminate use of crating to keep a dog out of trouble. Granted, there are some dogs that are incorrigible, but by and large in too many cases, crating is just a way to protect your "stuff" without having to spend so much time on training your pup. I find it particularly ludicrous to arbitrarily use a crate with a well-bred German Shepherd.

How would you like to spend several hours a day locked in a space just big enough to stand up and turn around in?

Crating has nothing to do with how well bred the dog is.

I used it to keep him out of trouble not to keep my stuff safe.
Crating if used properly is a very useful tool that in my opinion makes housebreaking much easier.
We crated out pup for night till he was about 3.5-4 months then we let him sleep without the crate.
At around 8 months of age we let him stay home alone without his crate.
He liked the crate, took his bones there when he wanted to get away from us

Result is he had 2-3 accidents when we just got him, then he learned in matter of days to tell us to take him out. While it was not solely crate training, i wrote procedure of what worked on my pup in website in my sig, i belive it helped immensely.

I'm glad to hear that you don't over-use the crate. Too many people have been poorly advised and depend on it far too much.

By well-bred, I mean a dog that has been irresponsibly bred from poor stock and has temperament/mental issues to deal with. I've been very fortunate in not having to housetrain any of my German Shepherds. Our first Fila didn't have to be housetrained, either. They just never went in the house at all. Shiva I did have to work with, but I lay that on her father's doorstep - he was a show dog imported from Brazil, not a dog from working lines. Kharma immediately took to going on a paper when we were away from home and in the middle of the night. For some reason she just wouldn't wake us up. As soon as her little bladder got toned enough though, she quit using the paper at all.

The only times when he actually had his accidents were mostly our fault anyways, not pups.

First few times he was very nervous ( just out of a plane) and the last time ( he was 4 months old) was because we were very busy at time and forgot to take him out after dinner.

Thanks so much Debi! And everyone else with a response!

I haven't visited my pup but the breeder has sent me a ton of pics of his breeding dogs, other puppies and the latest litter that I will be getting my pup from.

Actually I've had a name for quite some while, but I'm still deciding whether or not to use it: Max

And I'm sorry, but I'm not one to crate train. I've read about the approach and I just... I'm not really a fan of it.

But how does my approach sound? I came to this conclusion after reading a lot of articles about house training. Thank you all so much for your input.

Big Dog....sounds great. You're gonna be wonderful with your pup!! I know you're not quite decided.....but Max is a nice, strong name. What is the coloring of your pup? Geez, can you tell.....I can't wait til you get him. LOL

I wish everyone would study, make a plan, invest their time before the pup comes home, you are going to be an awesome dog owner...gold stars for you!

Haha, me too it's going to be a great day. Thanks for all your help. Even though it is hard to tell. I know I'm getting a black and tan GSD.

So, howzabout you post some of those photos of your dog's litter in the gallery????? Please?!

Hey, the only crate I've ever had was one we got for our big yellow cat, Gulliver, when we moved back east from California, and it was mainly to keep his litterbox in one place in the camping trailer, lol! Once we got moved it made a great home for enterprising spiders in the garage . . .

Hehe, I'll try... but it just shows the pup feeding with the big momma. They're all very young in this picture. They're all still pure black.

I think it's sooooo funny how they are born all black. When I first saw Ham's litter.....I said 'hey....they look like little black labs!??!' You can tell I knew nothing.

Yeah, at first I was like "I wanted a black and tan GSD."

But, I was soon informed that that's the way they look when they're born.

Yup... can't wait... just... 3... more... weeks!

I have had great results with house training using a bell. Even older dogs learn to use it quickly. Hang a couple of jingle bells next to the door you will be taking your dog in and out through. I hang mine from an old choke collar. Every time you take your dog out, let them see you hit the bell with your hand to make it jingle and say go out or whatever you choose. Before long your dog will hit the bell with his/her nose to inform you of their need. I have never had a dog who did not pick it up quickly. While this does not help getting them to go in the right spot, once your dog makes the association it is a great tool for them to communicate their need. DO NOT give them a treat for ringing the bell. Let them make the association without coercion or you will create a monster who will spend endless hours ringing the bell for "goodies." Just ask my husband! Dingo will drive him nuts if I am not home. She learned fast that if she rang the bell when I was not home dad would go to the kitchen to let her out and give her a treat instead if she sat by the fridge instead of the door. Never does it to me, though.

i have never used a crate, but I did grow up in a house where my mama pottytrained children 3 or 4 at a time year, after year, after year!!!!! Don't take your eyes off your pup and he will be housebroken before you can say Jack Robinson. If I leave the room ..they go with me. I take a bath..they come in the bathroom...I go to bed..(glad I am not a crate dog) they come with me. After they eat..when their eyes open after a nap...out you go Three days....no more than a couple beginnings of a puddle..with a aaaaahh out you go..and it is a done deal. I'd all most bet money on it.

The bells are a good tool, MoparStar. We don't need them around here, though, cause my bunch make plenty of noise banging the door, lol!

Big Dog - Congrats on all you're doing to prepare for the pup. Max sounds like a great name! I wonder why I like it so much, probably since I have a Max myself.