How long to puppy train?

[PRINCESS VIJA]

I am seriously considering asking Santa for a puppy, but I don't know about puppy training... how long does it take?

For those that work full time and have dogs, how long can they go without "going"? I will have about 3 weeks before I go full time, is that enough time?

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I don't know how much I can help, but gonna try anyway . We have a 13 week old Golden Retriever that we brought home at 8 weeks. He has been staying in his crate without going out at night (10pm-6am) since we was about 9 weeks. However, I stay home all day and am able to take him out every half hour if needs be. At about 12 weeks, he started going to the door and batting at the door knob when he needs to go out. I think that may be a little ahead of the norm. I hope you think long and hard about getting a dog. We have been waiting for about 6 years, until we were in the right place to add a puppy to our family. They certainly require a lot of time and attention. However, our Sully has become such a joy in our lives, I can't imagine life without him.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

[cristbaby]

I agree with the previous poster, they do require a lot of time and attention. The best thing to do is take him out every half hour and crate train. It took me about 6 weeks before our puppy was fully trained. He is 8 months old now and he can be left for about 8 hours. That's pretty good for a puppy.

 

[tiggerlover]

I don't have any advice as I have never had a puppy. Just wanted to pop in when I saw your name to say......

Hi, Vija!!!! How have you been?

 

[Pop Daddy]

the puppy will be trained right after your carpet is ruined

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Mickey fliers and cristbaby, thanks for your advice, I have been doing some research, but I wanted to hear from the trenches how it goes, we want a puppy, aw: but not sure if it will be Christmas time , or summer ....

I don't have any advice as I have never had a puppy. Just wanted to pop in when I saw your name to say......

Hi, Vija!!!! How have you been?

Fantastic! Thanks for asking... BTW today is my birthday and you made me smile! I love my DIS friends!

the puppy will be trained right after your carpet is ruined

Thanks!

 

[drayke]

I've had three dogs and housebroken them all the same way. I took the dog outside every few hours to a grassy/sandy place and would tell it to pee. When it peed, would praise, pet and reward with a treat. Keeping to the time table was especially important at night! For two nights, would continue the outside every 3 hours or so. didn't get much sleep those few days, but in the end, the dog learned to go outside. I didn't have to deal with paper or any inside accidents. I've also taught the dogs to ring a bell by hanging a bell on the door and before I take them out, hit the bell and then open the door. My current dog doesn't use the bell except only occasionally when she really really has to go and I'm in another room and don't hear her whine to go, that's when she'll just slightly hit the bell. The side effect of the bell is that the Cat has also figured out that ringing the bell will bring me to the door.

 

[Carole]

We also have a Golden who was really easy to train. We crated him at night and while at work. When we were home, he was taken out frequently. I also tethered him to me whenever he was out of the cage. This really worked well for potty training but I was chewed on alot! Goldens are the best!

 

[Karel]

How many hours a day will it stay by itself? If you get a young puppy, I think it's cruel to keep it crated more than 4 hours a day.

3 weeks isn't enough time to train. Most dogs will not go to the bathroom in its cage.

Maybe you can get an older dog?

 

[Aimeedyan]

A puppy can hold it 1 hour for every month of their life plus 1 hour. So, a 12 week old can hold it 4 hours. Anything more than that is cruel. For that reason, we adopted puppies only when our schedules allowed for us to come home every 2-4 hours.

My Shih Tzu isn't fully trained and he's 1.5 years old. My Mutt is 6 months and not 100%. 3 weeks is not enough, even for a brillant dog, but it's a great start.

I would consider adopting a slightly older dog that can hold it longer if you need to leave it longer than 3 hours at a time.

 

[castleview]

The housebreaking came pretty fast, getting her to stop eating the shoes took over a year, and we're still working on keeping her off the couch at 10 years of age. Now that I think about - we were trained to keep the shoes out of her reach after a year and my DH is still not trained to say "Get off the couch!"

Have fun though. Puppies are so cute!

 

[tiggerlover]

Fantastic! Thanks for asking... BTW today is my birthday and you made me smile! I love my DIS friends!
Thanks!

Happy Birthday, Vija!!!!
I hope you had a wonderful day!!!

 

[brittsmum1998]

We got an 8 wk old bichon frise two weeks ago today. It took 4 yrs for me to finally give in to a puppy but it had to be the right fit for our family. She is very happy, energetic and outgoing already. I definately recommend crate training. She loves hers and will go in when she wants a nap. We have not had an accident in 4 days now!! although if I don't notice her at the backdoor she will pee right by the door but can't yell at her for that. I keep thinking about the bell, but I'm afraid she would try to eat it
First couple nights I would hear her cry and take her out. Now she goes to bed around 9:30 and wakes up w/ us at around 6:30 am. I don't consider crates cruel at all (we don't use them for punishment) and because Jasmine is used to the crate she considers it her 'safe' place. I'm at SAHM also but have had to leave her crated for upwards of 4 hours during day for appts. and what not, she is SAFE!! there. No cords etc. While it took me 4 yrs to agree, I don't regret a second of it and cant remember when she wasn't here already. Good luck to you.

 

[mrsv98]

You are getting good advice about housebreaking so I will add MHO about the timing. We always bring our pups home in the winter. We are getting another lab in Feb and it makes housebreaking quicker for us. When the weather is nice, the pup will be distracted by smells, birds, etc. When it is cold, they don't want to stay out any longer than you do, they go out, do their business and want to come in.

By the time the weather is warmer, training should be well in hand. Also, it is always easier when you have an older well trained older dog to help. With our youngest, we would watch her follow Sammy and copy her. She was trained in a very short amount of time.

Good luck with your pup!

 

[Carole]

When crate training, my husband would come home for lunch every day to let Dusty out. I don't think it is cruel. It was much better than the dog house and pen outside which Dusty has never used. At about a year old we started leaving him out all the time - he just sleeps by the door until we come home. As soon as he see us, he grabs something to put in his mouth to give us.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Thanks for all the helpful information. It is a big decision, and trust me, we are looking at all the details.... not sure which way to go!