Tips on house training a puppy?

[Teacher03]

Does anyone have any tips on house training a puppy? We just got a Golden Retriever puppy who is the cutest thing ever, but the house training is not going so well. We've only had him 9 days, so maybe I am expecting too much, but he just hasn't made too much progress. I have been taking him out within 15-20 minutes after eating, first thing in the morning, and every hour on the hour. I reward him when he does go outside, but he still has many many accidents in the house. He will often go inside after just having him outside. And I give him plenty of time outside....so I started taking him out within a minute or two of coming inside, but no luck. Our last golden was house trained in 3 days. After a disasterous first night in his crate (which had me cleaning the dog and the crate at 2 in the morning!), he is doing great in his crate and doesn't mess in there. Am I just expecting too much too soon? I would appreciate any advice.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yes you are expecting too much. Also the puppy should not have free roam until he is housebroken.

The fact you are allowing him to go in the house is why he won't train. You are training him to go in the house.

The dog is either on a leash with you or in the crate, no exceptions, until he is house trained.

 

[mjkacmom]

Yes you are expecting too much. Also the puppy should not have free roam until he is housebroken.

The fact you are allowing him to go in the house is why he won't train. You are training him to go in the house.

The dog is either on a leash with you or in the crate, no exceptions, until he is house trained.

You never leave an unhousebroken dog unsupervised inside until he or she is 100% housebroken.

 

[kacaju]

Does anyone have any tips on house training a puppy? We just got a Golden Retriever puppy who is the cutest thing ever, but the house training is not going so well. We've only had him 9 days, so maybe I am expecting too much, but he just hasn't made too much progress. I have been taking him out within 15-20 minutes after eating, first thing in the morning, and every hour on the hour. I reward him when he does go outside, but he still has many many accidents in the house. He will often go inside after just having him outside. And I give him plenty of time outside....so I started taking him out within a minute or two of coming inside, but no luck. Our last golden was house trained in 3 days. After a disasterous first night in his crate (which had me cleaning the dog and the crate at 2 in the morning!), he is doing great in his crate and doesn't mess in there. Am I just expecting too much too soon? I would appreciate any advice.

Yes you are expecting too much too soon.

 

[MichelleVW]

You never leave an unhousebroken dog unsupervised inside until he or she is 100% housebroken.

Exactly. My border collie/corgi mix is two years old now and honestly only had one accident in the house and we brought him home at 6 weeks old. I wasn't working at the time and I had eyes on him for the first month nonstop. Granted I was totally exhausted, but the only time he ever peed in the house was when DH let him out of his crate one morning and didn't take him directly outside.

 

[Teacher03]

Thanks for the advice. I do keep my eye on him all the time, he never has free roam. As soon as he starts to squat, I take him outside. When I can't watch him, he is in the crate. I will try keeping him on the leash when he is with me in the house and see if that helps. I have started charting how soon after eating he usually goes, time, etc., to look for a pattern.


We have always been so successful with puppy training, and this little guy seems to have a mind of his own! But I love him, he has a great personality. I guess I just need to give him some time.

 

[sunnyday123]

Hate to be redundant, but yes, you are.

How old is he? Even a typical 10-12 wk old puppy can't hold it for more than a few hours, and he's probably way confused. Do you take him out when he plays? Are you doing the happy potty dance outside when he goes? I would also use a word for potty, like "go potty!" and repeat it until he goes. Then good potty party should follow immediately. If you catch him during the act, pick him up and run outside. He'll get the hint.


Try tethering him to you with his leash. A puppy will show signs that he's getting ready to go. You just have to really keep an eye on him unti he get's it.


But three days in is way too early to expect miracles.

 

[cassandrap83]

If you're going to crate train, then you need to be consistant. If he is outside of the crate at all, he is outdoors going to the bathroom.

I have always found that unlike children, dogs NEED negative reinforcement to get house trained.

 

[Teacher03]

Hate to be redundant, but yes, you are.

How old is he? Even a typical 10-12 wk old puppy can't hold it for more than a few hours, and he's probably way confused. Do you take him out when he plays? Are you doing the happy potty dance outside when he goes? I would also use a word for potty, like "go potty!" and repeat it until he goes. Then good potty party should follow immediately. If you catch him during the act, pick him up and run outside. He'll get the hint.


Try tethering him to you with his leash. A puppy will show signs that he's getting ready to go. You just have to really keep an eye on him unti he get's it.


But three days in is way too early to expect miracles.

We've had him 9 days (my other golden was trained in three days) but I have done everything you have suggested! Except the leash, I am definitely going to try the leash indoors. And don't worry about being redundant, I kind of knew the answer to my question when I asked, I just wanted to see if anyone had any other suggestions.

 

[Teacher03]

If you're going to crate train, then you need to be consistant. If he is outside of the crate at all, he is outdoors going to the bathroom.

I have always found that unlike children, dogs NEED negative reinforcement to get house trained.

I let him know how displeased I am with him when he goes inside and how excited I am when he goes outside, but I have always heard never to use the crate as a negative. Is this what you mean by negative reinforcement, or just the displeasure in my voice?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thanks for the advice. I do keep my eye on him all the time, he never has free roam. As soon as he starts to squat, I take him outside. When I can't watch him, he is in the crate. I will try keeping him on the leash when he is with me in the house and see if that helps. I have started charting how soon after eating he usually goes, time, etc., to look for a pattern.


We have always been so successful with puppy training, and this little guy seems to have a mind of his own! But I love him, he has a great personality. I guess I just need to give him some time.

This is why the leash works. You can give a NO correction the second before he squats.

You have to catch the dog right before he goes and not after for him to get the message.

It is tricky but it is doable with diligence. I got my girl Border at 4mons from rescue and she had it in her head that carpet was for peeing on.

It took about 2 weeks worth of corrections catching her before she "went" for her to suddenly go...OH, no peeing on carpet.

She is 6 now and never went inside again.

Use the leash, it makes things go so much faster with everything from chewing, to any kind of house or yard training.

Get yourself a 6ft leather leash. Best training tool ever.

 

[crz4mm2]

Yes you are expecting too much. Also the puppy should not have free roam until he is housebroken.

The fact you are allowing him to go in the house is why he won't train. You are training him to go in the house.

The dog is either on a leash with you or in the crate, no exceptions, until he is house trained.

Amen.

 

[Agri]

I think 20 minutes after eating is too soon. When I was training my dog, I'd pretty much take her out every 1-2 hours and tell her 'potty' and 'good potty' when she went outside. (It really is nice having a dog trained on a bathroom word or two - if I need to get her to the vet or elsewhere, I don't want to spend 20 minutes in the backyard while she does it whenever she feels like it!)

I kept her on the leash in the house for almost months because we had people working in the house. It did wonders for her behavior.

 

[Tuffcookie]

OP,

It sounds like you are doing all the right things! Just continue to be patient. I tend to not yell or make a fuss when my newest additon has an ocassional accident. They will eventually "get it" and learn where they're suppose to go.

TC

 

[Pea-n-Me]

How old is he? You do realize he has a bladder about ths size of a small grape, right?

You are on the right track with when you are taking him out. Keep him restricted to areas that are easily cleanable, like the kitchen. If he goes in the house, try to catch him right away (or even better - before) and run him right outside, then praise when he goes outside. Go easy on the corrections, he's still a baby.

It should get better every week.

Whatever you do (in case this comes up!) NO PEE PADS!

 

[sunnyday123]

We've had him 9 days (my other golden was trained in three days) but I have done everything you have suggested! Except the leash, I am definitely going to try the leash indoors. And don't worry about being redundant, I kind of knew the answer to my question when I asked, I just wanted to see if anyone had any other suggestions.

Ahh...sorry, it was early! My lab was potty trained at birth, I believe. She just got it.

My Newf? Well, there was a time when I thought she was never going to get it. I did also train her with a bell on the door, and that helped her a lot. When I took her out, I rang the bell and said, "Let's go potty!" Now she'll ring it, and if I don't immediately come over, she repeats and gives me the stink eye. She's even pulled it off the door and brought it to me.

Go out right after eating, drinking, playing. And don't forget, going potty outside is the most exciting thing ever. LOTS of praise, maybe a treat or two. They're smart dogs, he'll get it. You just want to make it a positive experience for him.

 

[MichelleVW]

My Newf? Well, there was a time when I thought she was never going to get it. I did also train her with a bell on the door, and that helped her a lot. When I took her out, I rang the bell and said, "Let's go potty!" Now she'll ring it, and if I don't immediately come over, she repeats and gives me the stink eye. She's even pulled it off the door and brought it to me.

Lol that is too funny!!! We thought about getting one of those doorbells for our nut job because he drives us crazy scratching at the door, but I am positive we would get even more tired of the constant ringing!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Lol that is too funny!!! We thought about getting one of those doorbells for our nut job because he drives us crazy scratching at the door, but I am positive we would get even more tired of the constant ringing!!

We bell trained our dogs as well. They are 6 now and the bell ringing dog, has figured out how to stand so his tail hits the bells. (Over time we have a lot of bells hanging there, from HS cowbell from dd's football games to a windchime and a couple of Christmas bells.)

So he stands there and wags his tail bashing those bells against the door.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I kept my puppy confined in the kitchen with a baby gate. He was always there, or under constant supervision with one of us, or locked in his cage. He trained quickly and easily. I agree with a pp who said to make a big deal out of it after every successful trip outside. Make a "code" word to associate the act with--we've always told my dog to "be a good boy!"

Even though my dog was potty trained inside of two weeks, I needed to keep him confined for a year and a half. He was quite a teether and would get in trouble chewing things up. Furniture, wall moulding, toys--he'd chew anything when he was little. He's a lab mix who's 9 years old now, far beyond teething, thank goodness. When his jaws need a work-out now, he's happy to chew a cow ear or piggy rope.

 

[Robindianne]

I have always found that unlike children, dogs NEED negative reinforcement to get house trained.

Actually, this is an opinion that is quickly becoming disproved. Clip his leash to you (your beltloop, etc) when he's out of the crate. If he starts to go, say "Outside to potty" in a happy excited voice. Walk him out (even if he's peeing on the way - clean it later). While outside keep sing songy voicing "outside potty, yay, we're going potty outside." If he goes some outside - treat immediately (small soft treat - cheese, dog kibble, peanut butter drop on your finger) this is the key to success.

If you ever don't know he's peed in the house until after, don't say a word to him about it. It doesn't solve anything, he won't know what you are talking about anyway.

Clean all pee with an enzyme designed to eliminate odors so he's not associating that spot with an approved place to pee.

If you let him know you are not happy with him peeing, he knows you are not happy with him peeing, NOT that you are unhappy with him peeing inside. He'll try to hold it in (to please you) until he has another accident, inciting more disapproval from you, and you'll end up with a neurotic dog, unsure how to please you but trying harder and harder to figure it out.

Please please get a good book (or talk to a real dog trainer) on positive discipline and potty training - a current, recently published book. Remember when it was recommended to rub their nose in it? And? We don't do that anymore.