Help on housebreaking my puppy

17 years ago

I am crate training my puppy. At night he whimpers when he wants out. No problem there. During the day he's crated when someone's home. When I take him out he goes outside to do his business and then gets time to play before I put him in the crate again. Usually about 2 hours. I also take him on 2 walks. One in the morning and one when I get home from work and he does his business after each walk (he likes to do it in his yard). He only poops twice a day - in the middle of the night and after his evening walk. Because my DH and DD and I have different schedules he's only left alone for a few hours 3 days a week in the early afternoon. During that time he gets a section of the house (kitchen, kitchen nook and DR)to himself. So far he holds it until we get home. If he can't hold it he uses the piddle pads we leave out. So apparently I have his schedule down. But when will he start letting me know he has to go out? What can I do to teach him to bark or whatever when he needs to go out so I don't have to crate him forever.

Right now I feel like I'm the one who is housebroken, not him. Mind you he's a small mix breed (shih tzu, bichon and poodle, mostly shih tzu) and he's only 4 months old. We've had him for a month now and he hasn't had any accidents since the first week. Which to be honest kind of amazed me. It's been 16 years since I trained a puppy and to be honest I can't remember what we did then or how long it took, plus she was a retriever.

Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thanks

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Comments (5)

zone_8grandma
17 years ago
Wow!!! It sounds like you are doing all the right things. Your pup has a better track record than mine.

We kept wondering how she would let us know when she needed to go out. I called the breeder who said her mom would stand by the door and look. If she didn't see her, the mom dog would walk around until she got someone's eye then walk to the door. That's what our dog does now.

I've heard of people training their dog to hit a bell but when DH tried that our pup just tried to eat the bell.

You might try this: when you know it's about time, don't just take him out - watch him closely to see what he does. If he starts to circle, sniff, etc then take him out. See if he gives you clues.

I'm sure others will have suggestions.
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kelly726
17 years ago
When I was potty training my pup I made sure to always take him out the same door. And it just seemed like eventually he knew that was THE door and so now he just stands by it & stares at you till you realize he needs to go out. :0)
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Vickey__MN
17 years ago
Mine sit and stare at me. They may stare at my back, or stare at me when I'm sleeping, but they stare at me. As you can tell, sometimes it doesn't help!!! Oh yes, and it can only be me they stare at. I'm not sure what they do when I'm not home. When I do get home, they make a mad dash to the door.

Vickey-MN
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labmomma
17 years ago
Yes, my middle child just stares as well. He was the hardest to potty train. Also, the configuration of our house has changed since he was a young puppy and the dogs now use a different door to go out. The other two dogs hit a bell that I hung on the front door one Christmas years ago. I just left it hanging when I put the Christmas stuff away. My first lab (long gone since 2001) started the tradition and my two older dogs continue it. Not Einstein, he just stands there and gives me a look. Thankfully I know the look.

Why do you use a pad for the dog to go in the house? I never understood that. If you have the dog crate trained, keep it in the crate and continue your training that way. I just don't understand why you would teach your pet to go in the house. Not just you but I read it all the time with people who put down some kind of pad in front of the door for the dog to go on???? I really don't mean any offense, but letting the dog have the 3 room freedom vs. a mess on a pad in the house, to me seems wrong. If the dog has done well in the crate, don't feel like the dog has to have more freedom if you are out. Freedom will come in time, i.e. when he is totally house trained.

I think my dogs feel horrible when they have an accident in the house. I can't imagine putting down a paper for them to mess on?

Try hanging some jingle bells on a ribbon at the door the dog uses. Every time you take him out, ring the bells as you are going out the door. Soon enough he may start to use them to let you know when he's needing to go out. Can't hurt to try it.

Best of luck to you. I hope you get one that lets you know when he has to go rather than one that just stares at you:)).
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bluesbarby
Original Author
17 years ago
labmomma
First off I only put the pad out when we aren't going to be home. He's only used it a couple of times when we were gone for more than 5 hours. My DH leaves for work at 12:30 and I get home at 4:30. Usually my DD gets home between 2:30 and 3 but sometimes she gets caught up in traffic and I beat her home. She commutes a long way to school. Sometimes I get stuck. He's only 4 months old and appears to be able to hold it for at least 4 hours. Sometimes longer. Until he's older and can hold it longer I don't feel comfortable leaving him in his crate when we're gone. I'm afraid that if he has an accident in the crate it could really set me back on the training. Am I wrong thinking this?
My last dog would just sit in front of the door. Which was OK if you were in the room with the door, otherwise we had a puddle. However, if he had to poop he would bark. Go figure.
Should I always lead him from the crate to the outdoors with his leash on? He does his business in the backyard (fenced) so I usually don't lead him out, I carry him from the crate to outside.
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