In need of advice on puppy training

[lgjjp]

We have 2 puppies that I'm trying to pad train. They are 3 months old and when we brought them home a few weeks ago we were told they were pretty much pad trained. One puppy does pretty good going on the pad or at least having 2 feet on the pad about 90% of the time. The other puppy barely uses the pads just goes where she is standing. Outside training I know how to do...have trained a few puppies to go out no problem. However due to the fact that both puppies are only 6 lbs and barely 8 inches tall going outside where we probably still have 6 inches of snow in our yard and bitter temps it's almost impossible to outside train them. I am at a loss as to how to convince the 1 puppy to use the pads. On the rare occasions when she does use the pad we give her plenty of praise and a few treats. Any advice will be so appreciated!! Thanks

 

[sksjasams]

Are you letting the puppies have free reign of the house?

We actually trained our puppy to use a litter box, but he was only 2 months old when we got him. I am not a fan of crate training, so when we got our puppy, I bought a supergate (octogonal gate) and a piece of vinyl flooring. We put his food, water, toys, litter box and crate (with no door) inside the supergate.

We only let him out to play and run around after he had pee'd and only when we could watch him 100% of the time. You can't take your eyes off of them for a second. Every accident is a minor set-back, so you want to avoid them at all costs.

At the very beginning, DS and I would take turns sitting by the supergate when we could and when it looked like he needed to go, we would put him in the litter box. He caught on very quickly. One thing to remember is that puppies will need to go after eating and after exercising/running around.

Good luck! I hope others will chime in with some advice. Our puppy is 3 1/2 now so my memory is not as sharp with the details.

 

[lgjjp]

They only have living rm dinning rm and kitchen. Every other area is blocked off. When I go out or can't watch them they are blocked into the kitchen. She is very hard to read...we have sm children in the house so I can't always tell when she's looking for a spot to go or just hoovering up the crumbs from the girls. Sometimes she gives no sign at all just stops and squats to pee. I'm so ready for the snow to stop so we can get them outside!!

 

[sksjasams]

Gosh, you may want to look at confining them to a smaller space. Everytime they pee somewhere that is not on the pad, that is confusing them because their scent is in that new spot then. It's hard for them to learn that there should only be one potty spot.

 

[JillyBean1899]

Also when you see her peeing in a wrong place, clap your hands loudly or use a can with pennies/rocks in it (something to startle her ... like humans, they'll "clench up" and stop peeing briefly when startled), then pick her up, put her on the pad, and she should start going again. When she does, praise her like she's the best thing on the face of the planet.

Also, praise her anytime she goes on the pad, especially if she does it on her own. Once it becomes warm enough to outside train them, just move the pad a little closer to the door each day, until I gets outside. And I know this sounds weird, but if you put a hula hoop or a length of rope tied into a circle or something like that on top of the pee pad, you can actually move the hoop to a spot on the ground outside and train them to pee/poop only inside that circle.

The one thing that doesn't work is rubbing her nose into it if you find an accident later. They don't understand that what they did before is why they're "in trouble", so it does absolutely nothing except make the dog afraid of you when you go to pick her up.

 

[Dasha Hermosilla]

Gosh, you may want to look at confining them to a smaller space. Everytime they pee somewhere that is not on the pad, that is confusing them because their scent is in that new spot then. It's hard for them to learn that there should only be one potty spot.

I agree. Give me less free reign. When we brought our puppy home at 8 weeks (and a golden retriever so large), he had roam of only a small small part of the kitchen. Get some of those free standing baby gates/play yards. You can expand the zone as the puppy gets older/better.

 

[ceecee]

I was anti crate and my first pup never really was trained. I got a crate for the next one and it was a breeze. At least make the area small especially if the pups are that tiny. My two labs are totally trained but still go in their crates to sleep (or if they've gotten into mischief or it storms) the doors are left open but when we tried to get rid of the crates they walked around all night long. Also lots of praise when they go in the right spot!

 

[ixmnrs]

Good advice so far. Just wanted to add to use a pet spray to clean the areas after the accident to remove the scent so puppy doesn't get accustomed to peeing there. Good luck.

 

[cfriend416]

I'm another proponent for crate training. My dog went wherever she was standing until we got a crate. Dogs naturally want to keep their living area clean. If they have tons of living area, they have no need to hold it or have a designated "bathroom" space.

Some people think crates are cruel, but dogs are den animals and naturally like enclosed spaces. Crates are only cruel if they are too small for the size of the dog or if they are kept in them for hours and hours at a time. As long as try have regular potty breaks (every few hours or so) there's nothing wrong with using a crate as a house breaking tool.

*Disclaimer - I am by no means a dog expert. This is what I have read and been told by my vet.

 

[JillyBean1899]

I'm another proponent for crate training. My dog went wherever she was standing until we got a crate. Dogs naturally want to keep their living area clean. If they have tons of living area, they have no need to hold it or have a designated "bathroom" space.

Some people think crates are cruel, but dogs are den animals and naturally like enclosed spaces. Crates are only cruel if they are too small for the size of the dog or if they are kept in them for hours and hours at a time. As long as try have regular potty breaks (every few hours or so) there's nothing wrong with using a crate as a house breaking tool.

*Disclaimer - I am by no means a dog expert. This is what I have read and been told by my vet.

This is completely accurate. As long as the crate isn't used for punishment or for extended periods of time, a crate is just like any other training tool ... a tool to shape behavior. As long as the puppies are let out when they can be supervised, and every few hours to potty overnight (yes, if they're young/small enough, you will need to let them out overnight), crate use is fine.

 

[lgjjp]

Thank you for all the advice! We do have a crate but I'm hesitant to use it. Both puppies were brought home at the same time 1 pup my daughter kept and the other friends of hers took. We didn't know it but they kept that puppy caged all the time. Basically ignored her. After 3 weeks decided they didn't want her anymore so my son took her, however he and his wife are building a new home that won't be finished for 4-6 weeks. They live with my sons inlaws who won't allow the dog to stay with them so I have this pup till they move into their new house.Those 3 weeks kept in a cage pretty much destroyed any progress that puppy had made. So I'm starting from scratch basically with a puppy that is now almost 4 months old and I've never done pad training so I'm kinda lost as to how to do it. At night she sleeps in a pack n play in my room where 1/2 is her bed and 1/2 is pads and she does well. Seldom even uses them at night. I hate to keep her confined to a small space all the time especially since the other puppy seldom has accidents and can roam free but I guess that's what we will do.

 

[Eastern]

Can you shovel out a space for them right near a doorway? That is what I do in the winter if it snows, and my dog is really small. At first she was scared but now she knows to go out and quickly come back in.

When they are puppies you really have to watch them every second and take them out on a regular basis. So when they get up, after they eat, and every couple of hours until they get older. If you are watching them and they start to go, interrupt them and take them outside. They'll catch on after awhile. (If you cannot watch them, you need to confine them to an area. You can give them free reign of the house once they are trained.)

It took about 3 months to train my dog to be accident free and she was 9 months old when I got her.

Some dogs learn faster, some slower. Just be patient and consistent.

I don't like pad training unless you expect your dog to be inside all the time (maybe for very small dogs). Otherwise, it's like you have to train them all over again to go outside. They get used to a certain routine.

 

[lucigo]

We have 2 puppies that I'm trying to pad train. They are 3 months old and when we brought them home a few weeks ago we were told they were pretty much pad trained. One puppy does pretty good going on the pad or at least having 2 feet on the pad about 90% of the time. The other puppy barely uses the pads just goes where she is standing. Outside training I know how to do...have trained a few puppies to go out no problem. However due to the fact that both puppies are only 6 lbs and barely 8 inches tall going outside where we probably still have 6 inches of snow in our yard and bitter temps it's almost impossible to outside train them. I am at a loss as to how to convince the 1 puppy to use the pads. On the rare occasions when she does use the pad we give her plenty of praise and a few treats. Any advice will be so appreciated!! Thanks

When we have a litter of puppies we train them with a two room pen, with an area for sleep,an area for play and an area for pads. If you don't want to use a crate, which I do understand, this type of system will work well for gradually enlarging their area until you are giving them an entire room, and then two rooms, and eventually they are ready to see the house as their den and the outside as their place to eliminate. We use closet shelving from Home Depot and zip ties to create the pen and xpen systems, you might want to look into also.

 

[hsmamato2]

OP once a puppy is forced into peeing in their crate,it gets very difficult- also, 2 at once is VERY difficult,so 2 strikes right there.
Also the idea that you shouldn't clear a path,and take them outside to learn is absurd, both of my dogs are under 11 pounds full grown,and they have always gone outside.Get them each a sweater, and take them out to pee!
I have never liked those puppy pads, b/c they do teach the dog to go indoors
A common mistake people with small dogs make,is to think they are somehow different in their nature from any dog of any size. They are all dogs,and have the same basic patterns/instincts when it comes to this stuff.
If you start to retrain with those crates a s positive thing,and keep them crated when you can;t be watching them for potty problems, you would have great success.
a pp is right, dogs view a crate as their own home, their 'space'. They would NEVER pee in it, unless forced to (too much time,etc) and once they do, then it confuses them as to where/when to let it go.
my dogs were crate trained,and as adults they still use them for dens (and sometimes I use it when I go out to keep my rescue/pound dog contained while I'm out,she's a prime example of some early life experiences making potty training really hard)
And also, they're tiny,and in a busy house, they seem to need that security space for themselves.
You can google positive crate training,etc for ideas, IMHO if you give the dog the choice, they will happily NOT pee in there,or indoors. Training is all about appealing to what the dog naturally wants to do,then reinforcing that...
i.e., pottying where you DON'T sleep, going outside,sniffing around,walking,etc.

 

[mouselike-harrier]

My two cents, for what it's worth. We never trained our puppies to pee on a pad. All it does is get accustomed to going on a pad inside. We always took them out to go their business. When they went, they got praise and lots of treats. I agree, do not punish them for having accidents elsewhere. Positive training works best. With this approach, it only took a week to train. One was 3 days. Of course, it's a lot easier to do without all this snow........

 

[pigletto]

Good advice so far. Just wanted to add to use a pet spray to clean the areas after the accident to remove the scent so puppy doesn't get accustomed to peeing there. Good luck.

This. My lab puppy had free run of the open concept kitchen/living room/dining room. I rolled up our area rugs, and bought the MEGA pack of paper towels and some Natures Miracle. I was doing outdoor training so set a timer. Every 30 minutes ..no exaggeration. I used the same words ("get busy") every single time, and threw a praise party as soon as he did. I thought it would never end sometimes, but we got him the first week of August and our very last accident was the first week of October. I just realized one day we hadn't had an accident in weeks.
Of course I had conditioned him to associate going to the bathroom with me standing there saying "Get Busy" and for months he wouldn't do it unless I was standing there watching.
You can do all the same things with the pads. Put them on the pad, use your catch phrase, and throw your party. They will get it at some point.

ETA) I agree to confine them to a much smaller space, especially if you have carpets because the accidents will ruin them. We had hardwood that was treated for liquids. Plus I was always right where the puppy was so I had it cleaned up in seconds.

 

[wiigirl]

Gosh, you may want to look at confining them to a smaller space. Everytime they pee somewhere that is not on the pad, that is confusing them because their scent is in that new spot then. It's hard for them to learn that there should only be one potty spot.

x2

 

[lucyem]

I promised myself I would NEVER get a puppy in the winter again. Been there and done that and its no fun!

I would grab a shovel and make a pee spot outside. Stop all the confusion with pee pads etc. Do what you know.

Crates are fabulous. We have always crate trained our dogs. We have never had a dog hate their crate. It was not mentioned before but another benefit of the crate is that it gives them a safe haven away from the kids.

We have a spazzy young dog now and she is home with me all day. I only crate her at night. Otherwise she would spend the night harassing the cat and keeping us all up. That being said she will happily nap in her crate during the day.

 

[lgjjp]

I have started to take her out. She had never been out of the house except when we brought her home. She wouldn't go for me but I will keep trying. I will have my husband plow a spot for the puppies to use. The snow is about 3 ft deep and frozen solid along the drive where we have to walk to get to the yd so I don't think I will be shoveling a spot. I only have the problem puppy today so I'm hoping to make a little progress with her since there are no distractions

 

[TNDisneyNut]

Have you tried the spray that smells like urine? Spray that on the pad and place their nose close to it at a time when they have been dry for a while.