House Breaking a Dog w/o being mean??

[rayter]

Patience is a virtue when it comes to housebreaking a dog.

Try this method: Have newspapers on the ground next to the door to backyard. Every time you see him/her starting to do something immediately put him on the newspapers. He will learn to go on the news papers by himself. As soon as this happens take the news papers away. He will go to the door wondering where the newspapers are. When you notice this put him outside and watch him. If he goes outside praise him like crazy.

[Zoom]

Often-times though, paper training has the unfortunete side-effect of teaching the dog to go inside the house and they don't much care if the papers are there are not. It's much easier and simpler to teach them from day 1 to go outside in the yard. It takes work, diligence and patience on the owner's part but the results are solid.

[ProudPetOwner]

Originally Posted by smkie

It isn't necessary to yell or scream at anyone..in fact the more u do...the less u get your point across. If u keep your dog in the same room with u always during the training time it takes to teach them to eliminate outside..that will be the first step. WAtch when they first wake up and scoot them right out the door....don't wait until they squat...beat them to it by getting them outside and THEN when they squat tell them how proud u are..the same with after they eat. Most dogs and puppies will eliminate within 20 minutes or so after finishing their food. Victor goes straight from his dog food bowl to the door..so as soon as your pup eats..take him outside and play for awhile..running around always gets the bowels to moving and then of course praise when the deed is done. If your dog is very youg..get a timer and set it to the amount of time u think your dog will go between urinating..and take him out first.even if you think he doesn't have to go..he will catch on very quickly that doing his business outside pleases u. Use a short a sound..sharp..one time if he does start to squat. That is a sound no dog likes and it startles them so much that they very often will stop midstream...then scoot outside. I have housebroken everydog i have ever run across within 3 days..some less..my puppies were housebroken at 8 weeks when they went to their new owners. I did not give them run of the house where they could go unattended (literally) and when a bowel movement did happen..i didn't even scold..just looked at them with a shame on u face and cleaned it up figuring it was as much my fault for taking my eyes off the dog as it was theirs. Victor figured it all out very quickly and we were done with this in 48 hours. I would rather take a few days and concentrate completely on my dog then to hit and miss which is completely ineffectual. This has always worked for me..not only in housetraining my dogs..but in toilet training the children that were a steady source in my growing up life. My Mother was a licensed daycare for children under the age of 6..most were two. We had 4 potty chairs lined up in the bathroom...for many, many years. You learned to keep one eye on the child and could tell when they would change an expression (that usually meant only one thing) ..the more u observe, the easier it gets. I have never used a punishing style in my training..i think it teaches nothing.

Smkie- I keep our new puppy "Khloe" with me at all times the only time she is on her own is in the kitchen with a gate NO carpet hits her feet IMO it feels to much like grass to them.

I did however have a puppy pad at the door where Khloe and Sophie go out to potty, after reading some of the post I have taken it up I don't want to confuses her.

Sophie is my Maltese she does very well with potting unless it is raining than we have mistakes on the carpet. She is 5 years of age is there any hope for Sophie when it rains?? If so please let me know? I feel this is my fault for using puppy pads with Sophie.

[TheGoldenRetriever]

Originally Posted by Zoom

Often-times though, paper training has the unfortunete side-effect of teaching the dog to go inside the house and they don't much care if the papers are there are not. It's much easier and simpler to teach them from day 1 to go outside in the yard. It takes work, diligence and patience on the owner's part but the results are solid.

I agree with this ... for small-medium, medium, and large sized breeds. Outside-immediately and outside-only is how I trained my Golden and GSD from puppyhood, and both were solidly reliable in their housebreaking for their entire lives. But many dogs that are in the toy groups and some of the smallest among the small breeds never do grow to have large enough bladders to be able to wait overnight.

Whenever I see books and articles identifying many small or toy breeds as "very difficult to housebreak" ... or ... "may never be reliable with housebreaking" ... I read it as "owner needs a tiny dog with it's tiny bladder to be able to hold itself all night, or all day while the owner is at work" This simply may not be possible for many of the smallest dogs.

Barring personal anecdotes from those with toy breeds who have dogs that hold all night with "no problem whatsoever" ... to those folks, well maybe YOUR toy dog can. But just like people all dogs are individuals, meaning someone else's toy dog of the same breed may not be able ... and many times it has nothing to with "well then they housebroke it all wrong!". Instead, it's often a matter of physical ability, or lack thereof, because of the small bladders in these dogs even when they are adults.

In those cases it's a good idea to litter train ... using a litter box with either dog litter (not kitty litter!), absorbent pads, or just plain newspaper. It's really NOT necessary to buy one of those special "indoor potty" gadgets. Those tend to be very expensive, not to mention appear to be much more difficult to clean than a plain litter box with newspaper! Still, some dog owners might say "Ewwwww!!" at the prospect of litter training at all ... but they usually own medium or large breeds and so rightfully cannot imagine litter training their dogs!

But just like with cats, as long as a small dog's litter box is kept scrupulously clean by the owner then there will be no indoor odor problems. Instead, what will certainly cause odor problems is a small dog that continually "goes" in various areas of the house! I litter trained 5 adult dogs that belonged to other people ... dogs that always had accidents every night and had owners who claimed their dogs were "impossible to housebreak".

One was a yorkshire terrier, one a mini-dachshund, one a toy poodle, and two mini-schnauzers that were way out of standard in that they were very small for their breed. All were very easy to litter train and not one got "confused". All understood that the litter box was their potty for overnight and/or while their people were at work, at all other times they still reliably went outside. In one case, the mini-dachshund, litter training saved the dog from being given up to the local no-kill shelter because after 4 years the owners were fed up with cleaning messes every morning. It had never occurred to them to litter train because "well she's not a cat".

Originally Posted by ProudPetOwner

Sophie is my Maltese she does very well with potting unless it is raining than we have mistakes on the carpet. She is 5 years of age is there any hope for Sophie when it rains?? If so please let me know? I feel this is my fault for using puppy pads with Sophie.

I don't think it has anything to do with your previous use of puppy pads ... it sounds like she just has an aversion to rain! There are some dogs that don't like rain .. sometimes it could be storm phobia, but a few dogs just hate getting wet!

If you want your Maltese to only ever "go" outside then you might try a very large umbrella ... perhaps a golf umbrella. If that doesn't work then as an alternative you could litter train her so that she has an acceptable place to "go" during inclement weather instead of her using your carpet. It's far, far easier to clean a litter box lined with newspaper or absorbent pads than it is to continually clean doggy accidents from carpets! Urine especially can ruin a carpet, because it soaks down into the padding which will eventually need to be replaced. Litter training in this case can save your carpet.

[idreamdou]

Due, in part, to city living, we have all 3 of ours trained to use puppy pads. We have smaller dogs, and it is difficult for them to hold it for hours on end. The puppy pads give them a designated area to go in, they don't have to hold it, and its easy cleanup. Plus, I don't have to stand outside in the -20 degree snow!

[Mariya22]

Housebreaking your new puppy is going to take patience. You should begin to housebreak as soon as you bring your new puppy home. Puppies need to relieve themselves approximately six times a day. A puppy should be taken out immediately after each meal since a full stomach puts pressure on the colon and bladder.

A puppy is not physically able to control the muscle that allows him to "hold it" until he is about 12 weeks of age. Before this time, good housebreaking routines should be practiced to avoid having your puppy urinate and defecate all over your house. Watch for signs of urination or defecation, such as turning in circles. Take your puppy out often. Using a crate or confining your puppy to a small part of the house that has easy clean up floors are some ways to ensure your puppy does not urinate all over your house. It is much harder to housebreak a puppy if he smells is urine in places you do not wish him to relief himself.

[Fido Buddy]

i think it's impossible not to use a higher pitch voice when commanding or reinforcing.. dogs must be able to determine the mood of the command... if it is urgent, or what.

[I-Guard International]

Here is a link to my website that gives you a step by step instructions for house breaking your puppy that is positive! I-Guard International - Guarantee

Nick Lungu
I-Guard International
I-Guard International - Home

[DogsMN.com]

The good news is that all dogs want to follow and do what their pack leader wants them to do! The problem you have is that maybe when opportunities to learn to go outside and not inside come up, there are other factors confusing the message.

Here is the key helping your dog understand what you want, for example, potty training and redirecting unwanted behavior.

THE EMOTIONLESS CORRECTION

Next time the dog goes in the house, quickly and quietly pick your dog up and drop it outside (or if it is too big walk it outside).

When there is no emotional response to an issue, only a correction, there is nothing there to confuse your message!

Good luck!

Max Bitterman
Dog Behaviorist
Dog/Puppy Training Classes in Minneapolis

[vmills]

Every one has a method that works for them and their dog(s).

But every dog is different - one hates the crate, another will use a crate at night but not during the day.

I read many articles (on the web) and a few books that are excellent. In case you want to check out the books, they are listed here.