What would you say is the easiest way to begin housetraining dogs?
@ethansmom0129 (136)
United States
April 16, 2012 1:27pm CST
I have a 3 month old puppy. We have only had her for about 12 days now. We have purchased weewee pads, which only become tore up pieces of paper on the floor. We have tried to just make her see and smell it and keep taking her outside very frequently. She continues to urinate and fecate in my home. She will do it right in front of you, no matter where she is. She doesn't even seem to care. It is hard because my older dog is beginning to try and urinate in spots (that were scrubbed) from the puppy. What is the easiest way of beginning this when I already have 1 housebroken pet? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
3 people like this
5 responses
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
16 Apr 12
I adopted a dog from a rescue and he wasn't a young puppy... but he appeared to have never been housebroken so I had to start from scratch. First and foremost, it takes a lot of patience, paper towels and what we now just call "pee spray" in my house
Puppies have to be taken outside really often... I never waited more than two hours with my dog. She also needs to be taken out within a few minutes of finishing her food/water. They can't wait very long. Your dog doesn't "care" if she pees or defecates in front of you because she doesn't understand. There is no emotion for her. Don't yell at her or get really mad because she is not associating what she's left on the floor with the actual act of urinating or defecating (just like shoving a dog's nose in its business doesn't help them to understand either).
The rescue I adopted from highly recommends crate training because dogs do not like to soil the area where they sleep. There is a ton of information online about how to crate train correctly. If you don't care for that idea, and if you are home with the puppy, you can also try "umbilical cord training." This means having your puppy on roughly a 6' leash and keeping the leash on your belt, around your wrist, etc. so the puppy is near you at all times. It requires you to be very vigilant and as soon as you see any sign that the puppy is about to "go," you need to very quickly get her outside (or to wherever you want her to potty).
Basically, it really helps to get your puppy on a schedule and stick to it. Make sure she is always taken out as soon as she wakes in the morning or wakes from a nap and also after she eats. As I said, taking her out every two hours should be about right for a pup of her age - and take her even if you don't think she has to go... they usually go anyway, even if you have to wait a few minutes. When she potties where you want her to, make sure there is lots and lots of praise.
As far as clean-ups go, in the meantime, I find this particular spray is fantastic and there's no odor - which might help with your older dog: http://www.armandhammer.com/pet-care/dog-care/Products/arm-and-hammer-pet-stain-and-odor-remover-plus-oxiclean.aspx
Best of luck with the puppy!! ![](/Content/images/emotes/happy.gif)
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2 people like this
@Suebee (2013)
• Canada
2 May 12
Great advice thinkingoutloud. I used the crate method to train my dog and it worked really well. In addition to being a great training tool, the crate also doubled as a "safe place" for my puppy. When she wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle, the kids, just wanted to relax or whatever she would go to her crate. I used a book called "Mother Knows Best" for training my dogs. Excellent book not only for housetraining but training your dog in general.
1 person likes this
@ethansmom0129 (136)
• United States
2 May 12
Thank you for responding. I went and found a book similar to that called, "Raising Man's Best Friend". I am learning some really interesting things that I never would of thought of. I also, went and bought a carrier for her and like you said, suebee, it has also become sort of a safe haven for her.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
7 May 12
That's awesome... crate training is super effective
The dog I adopted is a mini-dachshund (although he's on the upper end of the weight scale for the minis). He doesn't use a crate much anymore but dachshunds LOVE to burrow. So he has an open dog bed with a big blanket. He burrows right under the blanket to the point you can't even see him and that's his secure place to sleep. It's really pretty cute to watch him do it too ![](/Content/images/emotes/lol.gif)
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@Octav1 (1419)
• Romania
17 Apr 12
At the age of 3 months, she is like a child. She doesn't care where she does her duties as long as it is something that comes natural. Do you think that a small baby would ask you when and where to pee? This is exactly how things go with a small puppy.
You have to start taking her outside as frequent as you can (every 2 hours, at least) but especially after she wakes up, after she eats, after she plays. Stay with her outside at the place you want her to pee/poo and congratulate her when she does it in the right place. Don't expect things to change over the night, it can take you one week to housebreak her or it can take you two months. Just be persistent and she will eventually learn what's the right thing to do.
2 people like this
@ethansmom0129 (136)
• United States
17 Apr 12
Thank you. I have done this before with my male dog, but it didn't seem to be this frustrating. I recently transitioned from the office, to working out of my home office, which means I am able and do take her outside at least once every hour or two and she will do her business outside and then we will be back inside for 2 minutes or so and she will go again on my floor and right back out we go. I guess I just need to be patient.
1 person likes this
@carolbee (16230)
• United States
16 Apr 12
What I did, and it worked well with every dog, is tell the puppy no and put him outside. Some animal lovers may not like what I have to say next but it really did work and well. Rolled up one piece of newspaper and just barely tapped the pup's nose when he peed in the house. Next I carried him outside and kept saying outside as we went. The puppy finally got the message and would go to the back door and bark when he wanted out. The newspaper makes noise and scares them enough to remember. I also would hit my hand with the newspaper so he would hear it again. I say "he" because all our dogs were males. One of our kids moved out and left her dog with us. All she said was I would never get the little guy housebroken. Well I sure did and by that time he was over a year old he would let me know when it was time to go outside and do his business. I mean he was not a puppy when I began to train him. Good luck.
2 people like this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
17 Apr 12
House training puppies are easy, it's the older dogs that have been abused that are hard to train. First, how big is your puppy? You will need to get a crate that is big enough for her turn stand and turn around, but not big enough for her to pick a corner as her "bathroom" The crate is not to be used as punishment, but to prevent her from making a mess and this is because if it is the correct size, she would rather hold it than go where she is laying.
Of course like the one member said, puppies do go out A LOT, with my girls, when I first brought them home, I took them out every 2 hours, including overnight. Just like a human baby has needs so much, so will your puppy. Then around 6 months she should be only going out maybe once overnight and of course by a year, she should be holding it overnight.
Next, my daughter gave me a bottle of woolite Oxygen cleaner, this not only removed the stains but the smell as well. See when a dog goes, they will continue to go in that same spot, this is why when you take your dog outside you will see her sniffing, she is looking either where she went last, or where another dog went, and she will go there. So when she does have an accident, firmly tell her no, and put her outside. Then using this product, clean up the spot. Between two dogs, I only had to use my can twice and ended up giving the rest to my neighbor, because my dogs were trained within a week of doing this.
Now for those weewee pads? Throw them out..Unless you want her to use them all the time, they only will confuse the dog. These are mostly used by people who live in apartments and can't easily take their dog outside, so they have these pads for their dogs to use.
I hope that hopes, if you have any other questions, just let me know..:)
@Livin_my_life (3)
• United States
2 May 12
I had the same problem, not that long ago. I had to make sure to take the puppy out ALOT. They do not understand when they have never been taught. They get the urge to go to the bathroom and they just go, just as you did when you were a baby. Be persistent and keep taking her out often and you will see her start to pick up on the habit. Dogs like routine, just like children.
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