when and how do u start potty training a puppy?
28 Oct 2009
I have a 5 weeks old male puppy, when should I start potty training him?, I read somewhere to take him out every hour to pee, how about to poo, how many minutes after eating should I take him out? and how bout if he’s already outside, playing by himself, do i just leave him outside to do his business?
his mom died rightaway after giving birth and he is the only survivor and i have no choice except taking care of him without his mom
The key to dog potty training is consistency, persistence and LOTS of patience. Any potty training method will do so long as you keep it consistent. Remember that what goes in the dog must come out. Keep a fixed schedule of your feedings and walk your dog outside after that. Any area will do, doesn’t have to be a grassy patch. Also, try to walk her in the morning to do its business and before sleeping at night. Remember to always pick up after your doggie. Don’t want to mess with the neighbors. House breaking (walking your dog outside) a dog is a better method and will not cost anything except your time and effort. Once he learned the behavior (don’t forget to praise or give treats), he won’t do it unless you get him to that particular spot. Best wishes.
8 Responses
2009 Oct 28
If you have stairs, this is the easiest way. You’ll need a bell. On your way out the back door (take dog out every two hours) ring the bell. Your dog will soon pick up to ring the bell every time it needs to go outside. If they fail to pick this up in two weeks, consider taking them outside every hour and ringing the bell.
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My neighbor’s dogs do this.
2009 Oct 28
first off you have no business with a 5 wk old pup. He should still be with mother and litter mates. He still needs to be learning from them and on the mothers milk. If there are reasonable circumstances to why you have this pup (like mother died) then you need to contact the vet for professional help. The pup shouldn’t be away from mother before 8 wks at earliest. at 8 wks they should start being potty trained and be taken out every hour as well as after they wake up and 10 min after they eat. Dont leave your pup unattended EVER. You need to read a few books about caring for a puppy. Sorry it sounded kind of harsh but I was as honest as could be, for the sake of the pup.
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2009 Oct 28
You should take that puppy back where you got him; he needs to be with his mom and littermates for another month.
If thats not possible, no, you can’t housebreak a pup that young; he can’t "hold it" at all.
You cannot leave him outside alone; a passing hawk could make a meal of him. Besides, puppies can be traumatized for life by being left alone while they should be with their momma.
Feed him as much as he’s willing to eat five times a day, take him outside immediately and at least once every hour, ROUND THE CLOCK. He can’t sleep through the night, yet, either; be prepared to feed him late.
First take him to your vet and have him checked out. Ask about worming him and giving him his immunizations.
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2009 Oct 28
Now is the best time to train your puppy, and crate training is the first step. A crate is an essential tool in the potty training process because it helps your pup learn how to "hold it" and, more importantly, it allows you to predict when your pup will need to go, so you can take her outside and reward her for going in the right spot.
Check this site to read more on dog crate training:
http://dogtime.com/crate-training-0-to-3-months-center.html
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2009 Oct 28
Well you should start now…. and when he poops on the floor or anywhere just show them the poop and then give them a little smack
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2009 Oct 28
The other posters here that are worried about the pup’s young age are full of it, IMO, I got my dog from a friend at 6 weeks and my dog is fine. The vet said two or three meals a day as a puppy, one or two meals as an adult. I’ve always fed mine two from the very beginning to today.
Put the puppy in a crate that’s not hugely bigger than he is when you can’t be with it. The dog won’t use the bathroom in the crate (because it’s where it’s at) unless it really has to go. That’ll train the dog to learn to hold it.
The vet told me that the recommended maximum time that a dog can go without using the bathroom is 8 hours, 12 hours extreme max (i.e. damage to insides after that), but a dog will go when it really needs to regardless.
When you’re with your dog and it’s not in it’s crate, if it looks like it’s about to pee or poop, then say the word "no" in such a way that it surprises the dog without scaring it, so that it’ll stop going to the bathroom long enough for you to get it outside. Don’t yell or get upset with the puppy or "spank" it, they won’t understand what’s going on. Simply show them the correct behavior immediately (which is to take them outside regardless of whether they’ve already finished or not). Praise your puppy every time they finish their business outside. Make happy excited noises and words until their tail wags. Pet them too. Whatever you do, don’t give them treats outside. They’ll think that there’s food to be had outside and will start eating things they shouldn’t out there.
The reason it’s important to keep the pup in the crate when you’re not around is to make sure your dog gets into the right habit from the get go. Once a pet learns that it’s okay to pee or poo inside, it’s practically impossible to get that idea out of their head - ever. Start training immediately.
Also, having a consistent routine is important. The dog will come to expect to be let outside or be fed at certain times. Dogs like routines, even wild dogs in nature.
You can control your pup’s peeing and bm’s by regulating their food. Don’t leave food and water out all the time. Only set it out at feeding time. The dog will learn to eat and drink at those times. If it doesn’t finish it then, don’t worry. It’ll be hungry next time and make up for lost time. Leave the food and water out for about 10 minutes give or take a little. Whenever you feed a dog, they will generally pee about 30 minutes later and poo about 12 hours later from whatever they ingest. So you can figure your schedule out accordingly. This will save you untold numbers of messes to clean up inside and your pup will like the routine.
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Experience with my own dog and advice from my vet
2009 Oct 28
Start now. It is usually 1 hour for each month of age, so a two-month-old puppy can only be alone/hold its potty for two hours at the most. Sometimes puppies seem like they go potty a million times a day when they are first little. You watch the potty habits, each puppy is different, so you will see a pattern. Andy would pee, 10 minutes later he would poop, 2 minutes later he would poop again. Sometimes they just pee and sometimes they pee then poop. I take them to the potty spot, use my commands, sit in a chair, wait for the potty, praise when they go potty, allow a little play time. I allow a little play time after a potty in case the potty isn’t all done, oops, and so the puppy doesn’t think they go potty and right back to the crate. I take them out after eating, sleeping, playing, walking in circles, sniffing around,done playing. If they go potty when you are training or having play time. clap your hands and make a fuss and say "good potty" so they know you want them to potty outside. Puppies should never be unsupervised inside or outside, so he should never be by himself. You have to go with them, tell them what you want them to do, and then make sure they do it. He will probably stop having accidents by 12-weeks-old, but don’t let your guard down that early, the bladder is not grown until 6-months-old and they are not fully potty trained until 1-year-old. I use a crate* to potty train with, but only for potty training and then I break it down and store it. I put blankets and a small food and water dish in the crate. Dogs don’t potty where they eat and sleep. When they are first little, I only expect them to hold their potty for 4 hours, and then 6 hours, then 8 hours and so on. So when they are first little, I set a timer or alarm clock to wake myself up at night to take them *out. I only allow my puppy in the bedroom* or the living room, only one room at a time. They have to graduate to more space. If I allow them to have full run of the house, it will overwhelm them. I take them out the same door each time. I tie a dinner bell to the door handle. Do not use a jingle bell as they could get their toe caught in it. So when they are little, I ring the bell for them, and then open the door to go *outside to potty. When they get bigger, I take their paw and whack the bell and open the door to go potty. Eventually getting to the place where the puppy will ring the bell and let me know when they need to go potty. Dogs want to please you, so it is your job to let them know what behaviors please you and what doesn’t. So when my puppy goes potty, I give her a treat*, and clap, and make a fuss and praise her. So she learns that going potty outside makes me happy. If she has an accident, make a disgust sound like “tsst” and take her out right away. I never yell* or spank* my puppies. Take them out when they first wake up, after they eat or drink, before nap, finish romping, when their activities change, or when they are sniffing around. Some puppies go pee right away, but may not go poop until 10 minutes later, so wait for the poop. I have a little play time here, because sometimes I think they are done, and they are not. Puppies train at their own pace. While I may have a puppy that hasn’t had an accident in several weeks, I don’t let my guard down. I don’t expect my puppies to be "fully potty trained" until one-year-old. If they have a setback, shake it off, and start over. I only have my puppies in the crate when I am not watching them. When I am sleeping, cooking, ironing, doing chores, basically when I am not watching her. All other times, she is out of the crate practicing being a "big girl." This is the time I train her how to behave in the house. So we are practicing "no barking", ‘no biting", "no jumping", and "don’t eat the furniture." I also have to practice "playing inside" so she doesn’t knock over things. You must keep the puppy in sight when they are little because they don’t know the difference between newspaper and carpet, and you don’t want them sneaking off and getting into trouble. Some puppies can sleep through the night around 3-months-old, but their bladder is grown around 6-months-old.
REVISIONS:
*I use a CRATE to train with. It is the method I prefer, compared to other methods I have tried. I noticed that if they are in the crate, while I am doing chores, they are o.k., because the crate allows them to see me and be re-assured. The crate can also be a comfort when stored in the basement for dogs who live in areas where thunderstorms and tornados are an issue. . However, use the method that works best for you…..a laundry basket, a cardboard box, a woof-woof house, x-pen, child gates, whatever works for you.
*OUTSIDE, pee pad, litter box, whichever method you are using. When the puppy is first little, keep the pee pad, litter box near the food and water dish, so the puppy can eat and drink, and then go potty. You can move it away as they get older. The pee pad has a scent that smells and initiates potty. Sometimes a pee pad makes a sound that scares some puppies, so you might want to use a litter box if that happens. The pee pad allows a puppy to walk around, but a litter box keeps the puppy in one place.
*BEDROOMS, I use the bedroom and living room for training, because it works for me. Choose rooms that work for you, but watch for rooms that are damp, or drafty. While my puppies sleep in the bedroom during training, once they are trained, I let them sleep where they want to. They don’t have to sleep in the bedroom forever.
*TREATS. While I use treats for training, you don’t have to. I like Charlee Bears for training (a little cracker for a little mouth,) I use them for training, but once they are trained, I cut back on them.
*SOME PUPPIES will go potty in the same spot each time. Some puppies have to be told to go potty. A command like "go out" for pee, or "go finish" for poop, might work for you, keep saying “go finish” until the puppy poops. This is a good thing to train if you travel with your dogs. By using commands, the puppy won’t get confused when you are visiting someone, on vacation with you, or when you get to a new home. The command will tell them what you want them to do in an unfamiliar place. You might also want to use a leash method, so the puppy doesn’t sneak off, or for strange places.
*YELLING. It is not a good idea to "yell" or "spank" your puppy and then take them outside when they have an accident. They may get confused and think that going outside is punishment. While you want to correct them, if you are extreme, they may not want to go outside again. Shake it off, and resume your schedule. You have to keep it real. Puppies train at their own pace, but a puppy can only hold their potty for a few hours. A guide would be 1 hour for each month of age, plus 1 hour, so a three-month-old puppy should only be expected to hold their potty for 4 hours at most.
SOURCE: These tips, tricks, and ideas were contributed from many brilliant minds. Thanks for your help!
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2009 Oct 28
The key to dog potty training is consistency, persistence and LOTS of patience. Any potty training method will do so long as you keep it consistent. Remember that what goes in the dog must come out. Keep a fixed schedule of your feedings and walk your dog outside after that. Any area will do, doesn’t have to be a grassy patch. Also, try to walk her in the morning to do its business and before sleeping at night. Remember to always pick up after your doggie. Don’t want to mess with the neighbors. House breaking (walking your dog outside) a dog is a better method and will not cost anything except your time and effort. Once he learned the behavior (don’t forget to praise or give treats), he won’t do it unless you get him to that particular spot. Best wishes.
References :
http://k9blogger.blogspot.com/2009/10/dog-training-house-training-of-puppy.html