By: rennicke

rennicke — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:22:43 +0000

I use a crate* to potty train with, but only for potty training and then I break it down and store it. I put blankets and a small food and water dish in the crate. Dogs don’t potty where they eat and sleep. When they are first little, I only expect them to hold their potty for 4 hours, and then 6 hours, then 8 hours and so on. So when they are first little, I set a timer or alarm clock to wake myself up at night to take them out. I only allow my puppy in the bedroom* or the living room, only one room at a time. They have to graduate to more space. If I allow them to have full run of the house, it will overwhelm them. I take them out the same door each time. I tie a dinner bell to the door handle. Do not use a jingle bell as they could get their toe caught in it. So when they are little, I ring the bell for them, and then open the door to go outside to potty. When they get bigger, I take their paw and whack the bell and open the door to go potty. Eventually getting to the place where the puppy will ring the bell and let me know when they need to go potty. Dogs want to please you, so it is your job to let them know what behaviors please you and what doesn’t. So when my puppy goes potty, I give her a treat*, and clap, and make a fuss and praise her. So she learns that going potty outside makes me happy. If she has an accident I use a word like “shame” and take her out right away. When correcting, I use a stern, firm voice, but I never yell* or spank* my puppies. Take them out when they first wake up, after they eat or drink, or when they are sniffing around. Some puppies go pee right away, but may not go poop until 10 minutes later, so wait for the poop. I have a little play time here, because sometimes I think they are done, and they are not. Puppies train at their own pace. While I may have a puppy that hasn’t had an accident in several weeks, I don’t let my guard down. I don’t explect my puppies to be “fully potty trained” until the 6 to 8-month-old time frame, and depending on the puppy, one-year-old. If they have a set back, shake it off, and start over. I only have my puppies in the crate when I am not watching them. When I am sleeping, cooking, ironing, doing chores, basically when I am not watching her. All other times, she is out of the crate practicing being a “big girl.” This is the time I train her how to behave in the house. So we are practicing “no barking”, ‘no biting”, “no jumping”, and “don’t eat the furniture.” I also have to practice “playing inside” so she doesn’t knock over things. Some puppies can sleep through the night around 3-months-old, but their bladder is grown around 6-months-old.
REVISIONS:
*I use a crate to train with. It is the method I prefer, compared to other methods I have tried. While personally, the crate traumatizes me, (it looks like a doggie jail), my puppies do better in the crate. They like it, I guess for the den like feeling, but I noticed that if they are in the crate, while I am doing chores, they are o.k., because the crate allows them to see me and be re-assured. The crate can also be a comfort when stored in the basement for dogs who live in areas where thunderstorms and tornados are an issue. It is a safe secure place for them. However, use the method that works best for you…..a laundry basket, a cardboard box, a woof-woof house, child gates……whatever works for you.
*Bedrooms, I use the bedroom and living room for training, because it works for me. Choose rooms that work for you, but watch for rooms that are damp, or drafty. While my puppies sleep in the bedroom during training, once they are trained, I let them sleep where they want to. They don’t have to sleep in the bedroom forever.
*Treats. While I use treats for training, you don’t have to. I like Charlee Bears for training (a little cracker for a little mouth,) I use them for training, but once they are trained, I cut back on them. Although I use them to give pills too. I used different treats for different things. We use one bone at bedtime to let the dogs know it is time to go to bed. We use a big rawhide for when we go on long trips, so they have a bone to amuse them, and they will be expected to hold their potty. When they get the rawhide, they will not eat their food and water, until we get home from our trip. (dogs are funny) Do what works best for you.
*Some puppies will go potty in the same spot each time. Some puppies litterally have to be told to go potty. A command like “go out” for #1, or “go finish” for #2 might work for you. This is a good thing to train if you travel with your dogs. By using commands, the puppy won’t get confused when you are visiting someone, on vacation with you, or when you get to a new home. The command will tell them what you want them to do in an unfamilar place.
*Yelling. It is not a good idea to “yell” or “spank” your puppy and then take them outside when they have an accident. They may get confused and think that going outside is punishment. While you want to correct them, if you are extreme, they may not want to go outside again.
*Sometimes it seems like you take your puppy out 5 million times a day. You can sit on a bench, or folding chair, or a 5 gallon bucket turned upside down to stay in the shade. I use an umbrella for shade too. You can always tape your favorite tv shows. In the winter I micorwave a gel pack heating pad, (sold at walmart in the pharmacy, made by Kaz, I think.) I put the heating pad under my jacket so I won’t freeze to death. In the summer, I freeze bottles of water, so we can grab one real fast on our way out the door. I have a mini back pack by the door I can just grab with doggie treats, a flash light, a rubber band for my hair when the wind is bad, etc. Do what works for you.
*Time lines. Keep it real. Puppies train at their own pace, so while your last 2 dogs may have trained faster, this puppy might take longer. Training is all about routines, and repeating yourself. It is about rewarding good behaviors, and correcting bad ones. If you have a set back, shake it off, and keep going. Good luck.

By: Karista K

Karista K — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:28:55 +0000

get a long leash and put it around your waist or wrist and if you see him/her starting to circle then take him/her outside when they go pottty give them lots of praise

By: prettysn

prettysn — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:24:53 +0000

I will tell you honestly cage training is the best. it might sound mean but it really works. I have six dogs and am still potty training the 2 littlest ones. i have crate trained them all and it really works.

By: Jackie S

Jackie S — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:02:59 +0000

OK- Take the dog outside every hour and dont go back inside until it pee/poops.say “go outside?” before you do take it out.I trained my Pitbulls to go pee/poo on command-easy-all you do is say “good pee or good poo” for whiche ever you dog does give it a treat and a pet when its done.Down the line you can just say go pee & go poo and your do will just do it.It cute the time down on waiting for the dog to find a spot to go if your inna hurry.But back to basics- make sure you take your dog out after playing with it,10-15 mins after it eats/drinks and just every hour. Before bedtime—whatever time you out your dog in his/her cage b4 you go to bed–dont feed or let it drink maybe 2hours before that bedtime! it makes it easier so you dont haveto clean up the cage in the morning.When you get up take the dog straight outside and say what i told you to. after his/her breakfast take him out 30mins after and then once an hour or as needed. NOW IF YOU NEED CAGE TRAINGIN ADVICE~~~ look for my answers i posted for cage training answers.Dont listen to these other fools on here.My training methods are straight forward and dont take no extra unnecessary crap. i like point A to point B straight line training…and my dogs are 100% fine

Comments on: How Do I Potty Train My 5 Month Old Westie?

By: rennicke

By: Karista K

By: prettysn

By: Jackie S