Hi Elycia,

First of all you need to consider that you are dealing with a very young puppy. Everything on the inside of the dog is very small and just can't hold very much.
* Crate training is essential when trying to house train your pup. If this is an issue, put an old sheet or blanket over the crate. When pup starts to whine or do something you dont approve of, LIGHTLY (you donÂt want to scare pup into next year)tap on the crate and firmly say STOP. This command will also help you when your dog is getting into mischief. ItÂs direct and to the point, it stops the pup and it will associate the command with the crate noise. When pup starts to go indoors, you must get itÂs attention so it will stop. If that means using a loud voice, then so be it. NEVER HIT THE DOG OR RUB ITÂS NOSE IN IT. THIS WILL ONLY DAMAGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR DOG, PLUS, IT DOESNÂT KNOW WHY YOU ARE DOING THIS. Sorry I yelled, but this seems to be a common thing some people do, and it's useless.

MOST dogs wonÂt go in their crate. If pup does, for a few days, do not put any blankets on the floor. This should cure that problem. You need to supervise pup every second it is not crated. Using a leash when it is out is also very important. You can easily grab the pup and take it out when you need to. Crating unless you can watch pup every second will allow you complete control. If you can't catch pup in the act when itÂs doing something wrong, scolding is useless. Pup simply won't know why you are mad.

When crating while you are away, try playing soothing music. All dogs love this, especially pups. It keeps them calm.

* When pup is crated, the instant it comes out, take it outside. Get pup used to the words "go pee and go poop". Praise pup like it is the best dog in the world when it does something. Then give it a treat (boiled chicken liver is best, dogs crave it). Soon, pup will associate doing itÂs thing with a yummy treat. You also need to go very heavy on the praise and treats when pup does anything you approve of (that means, peeing and pooping on regular walks, drinking water, sitting, just laying around, anything that will reinforce positive behavior).

You also need to start taking pup out about once every 15-20 minutes (gradually increased after a few weeks)after the initial trip directly out of the crate. If it doesn't do anything, that's fine, if it does, do the praise and treat thing.

*Ask your vet about a feeding schedule. You need to get pup on a schedule that you can work with. Never free feed unless the vet recommends it.

*Pups drink huge amounts of water. In theory yours should be able to hold it for (one hour for each month). In reality, if pup has been playing, it will gulp down lots of water, and just won't be able to hold it for that long. After pup drinks, keep an eye on it. Take it out in about 5-10 minutes and offer it relief. Soon pup will go to the door when it need to go out.

Consistency is the key to all of this. You need to plan on excessive praise, timing and treats when you are house training so pup will get used to depending on you to take it out and associate yummy treats with doing itÂs thing.

* Daily walks twice a day (about 20-30 minutes each in the same area) are essential for dogs. Walking gets things moving, dogs love it and it gives them something to look forward to. Try and feed pup close to the walks. Never free feed unless your vet says to. Pups have a high metabolism. Soon after it eats or drinks, it will need to go out.

My pup was 4 months when I got her and didn't know anything. After two months of not being able to get the problem under control, my vet dug into her background.

Because she was dropped beside a road with her litter mates, then taken to a pound, then moved to another pound (long story), she was traumatized and completely missed out on any type of house training. I was forced to do what I described and got it under control after about 4 months.

Lastly. Your pup won't be considered house trained unless it has no accidents for at least 6 months! Also, as I learned, there is a HUGE difference in a dog that is 4-6 months old and one that is 9-10 months old. They grow inside and out. Once they reach 9-10 months, their bladders are larger and able to hold it longer.

Good luck! Keep us posted!

SG

Following is a cut and paste that I used for my pup and had success.

Thank you so much SG!! We will try these!!!

Thanks, Elycia

PS> We will keep you posted!

I'm not that knowledgable about puppies but
reliably trained at 9 weeks old is not realistic.
Took my latest puppy til 8 MONTHS. They may be when they get excited make sure he goes completely before letting back inside and try rewarding for going in the right place immediately when they go. I know that's no fun during the winter time but that's how I did it.

I agree - 9 weeks is too little to be potty trained completely. Sounds like he is doing great so far though. I would take him back outside a few minutes after he's come in after the first trip out since he seems to have to go again soon.

Sher

SG, what do you think I should do when I do catch him going potty in the house? How should I show him that's bad?

Thanks, Elycia

I don't know if this is at all of importance. But our boxer (10yrs old) Always poops twice. He's the only dog I know that does this consistently and daily. He goes out, does his business..has a quick run and does it all over again. I don't know if its a boxer thing, or just a coincidence, but perhaps your dog is like this, too?? When you put him out does he just get to go potty, and then come back inside fairly soon after?? Try letting him have a run around the yard for 10 or so minutes, and see if he'll go again. Also like quirky said, he may just get excited mid business, and not be completely finished. Or he may rush it in favor of play time. Our beagle still does that. We have to hide inside while she goes potty, if she sees us she'll quit right in the middle and want in, or want to play. She doesnt finish inside anymore. But it is a bit of a pain letting them out again 5 mins later because she didn't finish.

Also, do you say anything consistently for going outside?? While we were training our beagle, everytime we picked her up we would say "Do you need to go out?" and then we'd ask her everytime, eventually she would get excited when we said it, if she needed out..and then not long after she started showing us that she needed out. The only thing with her, is she'll only show us she needs out. She kinda does laps around the living room from the door to the couch. Well, if we arent sitting on the couch, she'll still do it and theres been a few incidents where we didn't notice she needed out, and she peed ON the glass door. She's good now though, she holds it a little longer now.

Thinking realistically, most people dont even get their puppies til around 8 weeks, so you're ahead of the game. Don't stress too much. It'll happen.

My puppy was going 2 or 3 little poops for like the first 6 months or so I just always let him stay out there until I felt like he was done. I always thought he did that to get more treats LOL.

Hi Shabosbaby,

First of all, you need to catch the pup in the act when it goes inside. If you don't you might as well clean it up. It only takes a few seconds (if that) for the pup to forget what it did.

Having pup under constant supervision will allow you complete control. Have a leash attached at all times when pup is not crated. When it starts to go, yell STOP or make all kinds of noise to get the pups attention, then dash outside, with treats. When pup goes, heap the praise and give it a treat.

If at all possible, boil either beef or chicken liver for a quality treat. When house training, it is essential that you have something that dogs really want. It is some extra work, but well worth it.

As for the post about your dog being to young. My vet told me that puppies the age of yours are prime for house training. They may not be able to hold it very long, their body has to grow inside and out. But, you can work on the basics.

One really important thing I learned with my 4 month old. When something happens like pooping, peeing or chewing in the house. It's not the dogs fault. It's yours for not supervising closely. That is why I made the rule, that if the dog couldn't be supervised every second while out of the crate, it must be crated.

Good luck!

SG

He's just a baby - it will take longer than if you got a 3-month-old.

Do say "No!" if you catch him in the act, and take him outside immediately. No punishment is necessary (nor would it be effective). But if you don't catch him in the act don't bother trying to bring his attention to it or punish him for it. He won't have a clue what you are talking about!

Keep him in a restricted area or in a playpen - don't give him run-of-the-house. He's way too young.

When my dog was a puppy I put him in a crate when I went to work and went in 1 hour early cuz my boss would let me leave at 10, 12 and 2 to go take him out to the bathroom. I would put papers in his crate next to his blanket so it would absorb into the paper and not wet his blanket so much. He is a real good dog and was easy to break. Now that he is big he waits til I get home to go out to the bathroom. He cried some of the time when I would leave him but my landlord said he would stop soon after I left. Some of the time my landlord will take him for a walk while I am at work cuz his doctor told him he needs the exercize.

When my beagle was a pup, she did cry a lot during the day in her crate. Night time wasn't an issue as we had another crate in our bedroom which she slept in so we could get up and put her out in the middle of the night.

Rather than giving her treats to find while she was in the crate, we gave her one good, favorite treat of hers when she'd go in her crate and praise her like crazy. Only when we left the house, never at night time. For a while though she'd run to her crate if we even went by the front foor, thinking if she went in there, we'd give her a cookie and go away! Now I dont know whether that actually helped, by making her think the crate was a good place, and made us happy, or if it just seemed that way by coincidence and she just got adjusted to her crate.

It also helped for us to move the crate to where she couldnt see us if she had to be crated up during the day while we were home. If you need to put him away to cook dinner, or mop the floors, make sure he can't see you. They still know you're home, but he will cry more if he can see you, and the crate becomes more of a place for him to feel ignored rather than relaxed and he'll hate to go in there. Give him something to chew on while he's in there and you're at home, incase something breaks off or he tries to swallow it. If he relates the crate to treats and toys, he'll be happier than if he relates it to being left alone. However, being that puppies are needy and get lonely, he will probably still cry for a while, maybe just not as much.

I'm not entirely sure why you shouldn't let them play outside while they are potty training. Can someone fill me in? It never seemed to affect our dogs. If anything it encouraged them to go out even more, because they knew they got to play outside afterwards. However we never let them play outside alone. They know when they go out alone, its to do business and come back in. My dogs are little houdinis. Also, we have them go in a kennel with a chain link fence to do their business, and then they run around the rest of the yard to play.

Yup, I don't know why you were told not to let him play outside. He needs to burn off some puppy energy. Before you go to work, get up early and go outside and walk him/play with him until he's tired. Then he'll sleep more while you're gone.

Before mine was ready for "prime-time" - that is - going to work with me, I got up early and walked him for half an hour before I went to work. Then I'd come home for lunch and do another walk. Puppies sleep a lot. So this walking wore him out and he was usually still sleeping when I got home.

Later I let him out of his crate and into a baby play pen to stay in while I was gone. I left a radio on a talk station also. I moved it around until I found the right spot. If he could see out the window and see/hear other people, he's sometimes get distressed. (My neighbors told me). So I moved the pen to a quiet back room not near a window.

I did forget to mention the puppy energy thing. They are definitely a force to be reckoned with if they do not use it up. Playing and walking will help out on this one.

If your pup is getting tangled, you can purchase shorter leashes or just cut off an old one. You really need a fast easy to get your pup outside when you need to.

I think you are having success using the shhhhh sound when trying to quiet your pup, but using STOP will probably work better. You will be able to use this command for any time you want to correct the dog.

For crying when crated, you simply must ignore the pup. Having a sheet over the crate will help, if there is to much room for the pup to move around, put something that the pup can't destroy in the crate to take away some space. Pups love the feeling of being in a closed area, it makes them feel secure(they are after all a member of the wolf family that live in caves). A blanket on the floor will also help if pup isn't eating it. Leaving soft music on will also help.

I don't think I would leave the treats in the crate. You need to be in charge of them at all times. They should be used for rewards, especially now when you are trying to get the pup to associate pooping and peeing outside with something good to eat.

Good luck!

SG

I have two boxers brothers should i take both of them for a walk at the same time to train them or should i take one and leave the other one at home? how should i handle training both of them? They do not like to be separated and alone but i feel they are getting confused because one will do it right and the other wont so any advice you can help me out with would be great.

To answer the other statement one of my boxers also poops twice and i feel the same way he wants more treats. now the other one noticed and he will pee and then wait and after treat he goes poop and gets another one. I do think they are too smart and are playing me. First time dog owner and i could not leave one of the brothers behind so i took them both.