Puppy toilet training?
08 Sep 2009
We have a 14 week puppy and he is pretty much trained to go toilet on paper in the laundry, how do we go from here to the next stage of getting him to go outside?? Whats worked for people and what kind of discipline would you recommend?
Just for some background, I am a former AKC kennel owner (until I got a divorce 
), professional obedience, tracking, and area/personal protection trainer. I have also been a show handler with multiple AKC obedience titles to my dogs’ credit. I am a founding member, former Chairman of the National Association of Professional Canine Trainers and Handlers (NAPCaTH) and certified Canine Behaviorist. I have also trained Search and Rescue dogs which have worked around the world. I’m not just spouting something I heard from Uncle Jake, saw posted in a forum on the internet, or saw on "The Dog Whisperer". (shudder)
A puppy can be successfully housebroken starting at the age of 6 weeks, but it is a serious responsibility and requires constant attention. The time it takes to housebreak a puppy in my home is 2-5 days. If it’s taking longer than that then YOU are doing something wrong.
I’m going to use the term "poo" to cover both urine and feces.
Here is the recipe for successful housebreaking:
#1 Get on a schedule. – Bring him outside often (about every 2-4 hours) for the first week or so. Stay outside until he does his business. If you can’t dedicate yourself to going outside with your puppy for 15 minutes every 4 hours for a few days then please take the puppy to a shelter and get a cat. Also, he should make a potty run every time he wakes up from a nap and about 5-15 minutes after he eats. NEVER withhold water from any animal without specific directions to do so from a veterinarian. Dehydration can happen _very_ quickly in a puppy and it’s known in most states as “animal abuse”, “cruelty to animals”, or “criminal neglect” (usually a FELONY) if an animal suffers because its owner is too lazy to get off their butt and take them outside.
#2 Praise early, praise often. – Make a BIG pleasant deal about what a wonderful thing it is that he has done his business outside **as soon** as he has done so. If you wait until a puppy wanders up to you to praise him, then he thinks you are praising him for coming to you and has forgotten all about the big stinky load he dropped a few minutes before. Your praise to correction ratio should be about 20:1. That means that you should be telling him that he is good for doing all kinds of little things about 20 times more often than you are scolding him for doing something wrong. This will teach him very quickly the boundaries of what acceptable behavior is and what is not.
#3 DO NOT RUB THE DOG’S NOSE IN POO! A dog has no way of getting the poo off of his nose except by licking it off. If he does this then before you know it, you have a poo eating dog on your hands b/c he has developed a taste for it! Instead, remember that a dog’s nose is at least 150 times more powerful than your own (depending upon the breed) and use that to your advantage. Make the dog down-stay (lay down and stay there) in position for 1 minute per month of age very near but not in the poo. If your dog is 3 months old, then he stays with his nose next to the poo for 3 minutes while you clean it up. He will very soon associate pooing in the house with having to lay still for (what seems like to a puppy) a VERY long time and will instead wait for his next regularly scheduled potty break.
#4 Be consistent. The pup needs to know that if he poos in the house that there are consequences and, more importantly, that if he does it outside that there will be praise.
#5 NEVER call a dog to you for punishment. When you find the dog has dropped a load, go get him, pull him carefully but firmly to the site of the poo, and then scold him. If you call a dog to you for punishment then you are, in the dog’s mind, punishing him for coming to you when you call him b/c that’s the last thing he did before you lit into him with your loud, scolding mommy (or daddy) voice. If the dog’s nose is filled with the aroma of his own poo, then it’s pretty clear to him what you are bent out of shape about. If I had a dollar for every time someone has called me up and can’t figure out why their dog doesn’t come when he’s called but yet they call the dog before they punish him, I’d be a VERY rich man. 
The most important thing to remember with canine behavior:
Dogs LOVE praise. They LIVE for praise. If your pup knows that he will be praised for good behavior then he will do absolutely ANYTHING that will earn him "good luvins".
Good luck and please feel free to email me if you have any further questions.
Torin
Related Small Dog Training posts:
6 Responses
2009 Sep 08
start taking him for walks, every hour if possible, as he gets older then every 2 hours and so on, be sure to go out FIRST thing in the morning and walk him real good just before bedtime, also
walk him about 15-20 minutes after he eats, just remember it’s all a matter of timing, yours not his!
References :
2009 Sep 08
I cannot say enough about crate training! Some people anthropomophise and think it is mean, but it is much meaner to have your pet misbehave and turn neurotic because they cannot reconcile their instincts and your requirements.
References :
http://www.dogmanners.com/toilet.htm
2009 Sep 08
keep putting him outside at regular intervals and also as soon as hes eaten, with regular walks in between. You could also play with him/her in the garedn as well then they get used to being outside.
References :
2009 Sep 08
Just for some background, I am a former AKC kennel owner (until I got a divorce
), professional obedience, tracking, and area/personal protection trainer. I have also been a show handler with multiple AKC obedience titles to my dogs’ credit. I am a founding member, former Chairman of the National Association of Professional Canine Trainers and Handlers (NAPCaTH) and certified Canine Behaviorist. I have also trained Search and Rescue dogs which have worked around the world. I’m not just spouting something I heard from Uncle Jake, saw posted in a forum on the internet, or saw on "The Dog Whisperer". (shudder)
A puppy can be successfully housebroken starting at the age of 6 weeks, but it is a serious responsibility and requires constant attention. The time it takes to housebreak a puppy in my home is 2-5 days. If it’s taking longer than that then YOU are doing something wrong.
I’m going to use the term "poo" to cover both urine and feces.
Here is the recipe for successful housebreaking:
#1 Get on a schedule. – Bring him outside often (about every 2-4 hours) for the first week or so. Stay outside until he does his business. If you can’t dedicate yourself to going outside with your puppy for 15 minutes every 4 hours for a few days then please take the puppy to a shelter and get a cat. Also, he should make a potty run every time he wakes up from a nap and about 5-15 minutes after he eats. NEVER withhold water from any animal without specific directions to do so from a veterinarian. Dehydration can happen _very_ quickly in a puppy and it’s known in most states as “animal abuse”, “cruelty to animals”, or “criminal neglect” (usually a FELONY) if an animal suffers because its owner is too lazy to get off their butt and take them outside.
#2 Praise early, praise often. – Make a BIG pleasant deal about what a wonderful thing it is that he has done his business outside **as soon** as he has done so. If you wait until a puppy wanders up to you to praise him, then he thinks you are praising him for coming to you and has forgotten all about the big stinky load he dropped a few minutes before. Your praise to correction ratio should be about 20:1. That means that you should be telling him that he is good for doing all kinds of little things about 20 times more often than you are scolding him for doing something wrong. This will teach him very quickly the boundaries of what acceptable behavior is and what is not.
#3 DO NOT RUB THE DOG’S NOSE IN POO! A dog has no way of getting the poo off of his nose except by licking it off. If he does this then before you know it, you have a poo eating dog on your hands b/c he has developed a taste for it! Instead, remember that a dog’s nose is at least 150 times more powerful than your own (depending upon the breed) and use that to your advantage. Make the dog down-stay (lay down and stay there) in position for 1 minute per month of age very near but not in the poo. If your dog is 3 months old, then he stays with his nose next to the poo for 3 minutes while you clean it up. He will very soon associate pooing in the house with having to lay still for (what seems like to a puppy) a VERY long time and will instead wait for his next regularly scheduled potty break.
#4 Be consistent. The pup needs to know that if he poos in the house that there are consequences and, more importantly, that if he does it outside that there will be praise.
#5 NEVER call a dog to you for punishment. When you find the dog has dropped a load, go get him, pull him carefully but firmly to the site of the poo, and then scold him. If you call a dog to you for punishment then you are, in the dog’s mind, punishing him for coming to you when you call him b/c that’s the last thing he did before you lit into him with your loud, scolding mommy (or daddy) voice. If the dog’s nose is filled with the aroma of his own poo, then it’s pretty clear to him what you are bent out of shape about. If I had a dollar for every time someone has called me up and can’t figure out why their dog doesn’t come when he’s called but yet they call the dog before they punish him, I’d be a VERY rich man.
The most important thing to remember with canine behavior:
Dogs LOVE praise. They LIVE for praise. If your pup knows that he will be praised for good behavior then he will do absolutely ANYTHING that will earn him "good luvins".
Good luck and please feel free to email me if you have any further questions.
Torin
References :
2009 Sep 08
There is no need for a long and rambling answer to this question. I trained my labrador by using very large toilet training pads on the floor. I would keep my eye on him, if he went to pee on the floor i would grab him and put him on the pad, so that he would associate weeing and the pad, i would also praise him at the same time. Eventually i would move the pad to the back door, so that this would encourage him to go to the door if he needed to go to the loo. It took no time at all for him to learn to do his "jobs" outside and i always made sure i praised him, in fact i still do and he is now 4 yrs old! in no circumstance hit him for making a mess in the house!
References :
2009 Sep 08
Training your puppy to use the toilet is a very slow and frustrating task, but it’s really worth the effort. It took Fluffy almost 6 months to learn to wipe correctly. Don’t use scented toilet paper and make sure it’s nice and soft– dogs like the quilted kinds best.
References :
"Potty Training Your Pup." Ceries, James W. Dalton Books, New York, NY. 1999.