We like to refer to this as house training a puppy. There are many methods available to train your puppy to go potty outside. The one that’s right for you will match your enthusiasm and commitment level and your schedule. All methods must be used consistently in order to help puppy understand that they should go potty outside the house…not in it.
How long should you expect puppy to “hold it”?
Depending on his age, your puppy’s bladder and bowels are still developing and he won’t be able to hold it very long. A good formula is to take puppy’s age in weeks and divide by 3. This gives you the maximum amount of time he can hold it. For example, if your pup is 9 weeks old, divided by 3, gives you a maximum of 3 hours of holding power.
If you are crate training your puppy
Crates are excellent to teach house training but remember that crates are a tool… and should not be used for storage for your pet. We recommend that puppy be brought out of the crate on regular intervals to interact with his family and receive the necessary visual and mental stimulation. The moment puppy comes out of the crate, take him outside. When he goes potty, praise the heck out of him and make a BIG fuss over his achievement. Then it’s back inside to play. Puppy should have another potty outing prior to going back in the crate.
How does crate training work?
Puppies typically won’t go potty where they sleep so the crate removes that temptation. It also prevents puppy from going to the bathroom in the house so you prevent a habit from beginning. Both of these things help puppy understand that going potty outside is good and going inside is not good.
What if puppy is going to the bathroom in his crate?
If your puppy is going to the bathroom in his crate, verify if he’s in there too long. Additionally, is the crate so big for him that he can potty on one side of it and sleep on the other? If this is the case, crate dividers might be a good option. They are temporary and you can adjust and remove them as your puppy grows. Your puppy needs room to stand up and turn around comfortably but if you have a 4 pound puppy in a crate large enough for a full grown Boxer, there’s plenty of room to sneak off for a quick tinkle! The final question is, is the crate free of all traces of urine and feces? Clean up is critical, using special enzymes to breakdown the scents. Soap and water or vinegar is not enough. If puppy can still smell any trace of a prior accident, it will attract him to go back there and do it again.
If space is not an issue and puppy is offered potty breaks at intervals appropriate for his age, we’d recommend a veterinary check up to rule out bladder problems such as a urinary tract infection or other medical reasons.
More tomorrow!
What about using puppy training pads? One of my puppies eats them but the other one actually uses them!
Comment by Tabby — September 12, 2009 @ 4:26 am
We recently rescued a small poodle who’s roughly 2 years old. She is not housebroken so we’ve been using the puppy training pads. We want her to pee there instead of on the carpet but my husband can’t stand it when she poops there. How do we train her to poop outside only?
Comment by No more poop — September 13, 2009 @ 3:32 am
Excellent question Tabby, thanks! Puppy pads are scented to attract the dogs to go to the bathroom on the pad. They are efficient in most cases for puppies and are a Godsend for elderly or incontinent pets.
There’s nothing wrong with using them but we hope you are also working on house training with your puppy. The use of puppy training pads adds one more step to the process. Once puppy has learned to go on the pads, it sets them up to go potty in the house. For older dogs this can be very confusing but for the puppies, you can usually move the pads closer to outdoors until puppy is using it outdoors. Once he has mastered that, use of the pads can be discontinued. Some puppy pad manufacturers have instructions on the carton which give you step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish this.
Here’s to tinkling outdoors soon!
Comment by Paws in Training Editor — September 13, 2009 @ 9:33 am
Oh boy…this is really a good question. First, THANK YOU for rescuing a dog…the world needs more people just like you! It’s not uncommon that rescues aren’t house trained but has your poodle had a full medical check up? It’s always a good idea to rule out physical ailments which may be influencing the dogs ability to “hold it.” If you are providing puppy pads for your pet, you are in essence teaching them that it’s OK to go to the bathroom in the house. Dogs don’t generalize well so it’s going to be really hard, if not impossible, to teach them that they can pee indoors but not poop. You have to decide what you want from your pet. If it’s OK to pee indoors, then you have to accept the other when it occurs. You could also work on house training your poodle so that she learns that both pee and poop are to be done outdoors. Even though she’s not a puppy, she can still be house trained. There are a number of excellent books on the market relative to house training older dogs and the Internet is full of information as well. Give us a call and we’ll send you one of our favorite books or walk you through one of the processes that we use when in this situation.
Here’s to a cleaner house and a clean bill of health from your veterinarian!
Comment by admin — September 13, 2009 @ 9:53 am
CLEANING UP AFTER PUPPY
Is your puppy continually going back to the same spots in your house to go potty? The reason may be that he can still smell a prior accident. Regular house cleaners, including bleach based products, are excellent for cleaning and eliminating bacteria but do not break down the enzymes in pet waste. So, while WE no longer see or smell anything, puppy still can. Dogs are naturally attracted to these scents and will return to them again and again.
There are numerous products on the market which claim to break down these enzymes but buyer beware, not all of them work as well as they claim to. We’ve found a product called Zero Odor (Zeroodor.com) to be effective and would like any additional recommendations our readers can make. If you’ve tried a product and it worked, please let us know. The same would be appreciated for products which didn’t work.
A few tips for success:
Always follow the manufacturers instructions for use. Some products have to be applied twice before they are effective.
Tile absorbs fluids. If you have a tile floor, let the product soak into the tile and pay particular attention to the grout lines.
Carpet is a challenge. If urine has soaked through to the back of the carpet, you may want to call in a professional carpet cleaner who specializes in pet urine. Both sides of the carpet will have to be treated. If the carpet is completely soaked through, results may be iffy.
Comment by Paws in Training Editor — September 19, 2009 @ 9:01 am
This recipe has been passed down the generations in my family and it works on carpet for even the most stubborn stains. The side benefit? No urine smell can stand up to it!
3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
1 Tablespoon Ammonia (clear not sudsy)
Take a clean, white cloth, dab in solution and then dab on carpet. Don’t rub!
Dab with clear water. Don’t rub!
Dab with dry, white cloth.
When it dries, spots are gone and so are lingering smells. This solution even works on old stains.
Good luck!
Comment by Darla — November 1, 2009 @ 8:55 am
oww…thanks for this site.. i now, able to know why my puppy always return to the same spot of my house just to poop… i think i need to clean it very seriously…
Comment by train pups — November 12, 2009 @ 3:37 am
I agree that crate training is the way to go. I used puppy pads in the crate, in case my pet had an accident in the crate it was easy to clean up and she didn’t feel bad about messing in her bed. Puppy pads can make your life cleaner and easier while you train you pet.
Comment by Courtney — November 17, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
My puppy is 7 months old and was doing really good with potty training. Over the last few weeks, he’s been peeing in his crate and all over the house. What the heck is going on? This new behavior is driving us crazy!
Comment by Fed up with pee pee — May 22, 2010 @ 9:47 am
Dear fed up: potty training can indeed be frustrating! It appears your puppy demonstrated to you that he was “house trained” and now you’re wondering how he lost the skill. Two immediate thoughts come to mind:
1. He may have developed a urinary track infection (UTI) or other sudden onset illness which is affecting his ability to hold it. You may want to take puppy to his veterinarian as soon as possible for an exam. Be sure to call your vet first to explain the situation as they may want a urine sample for the appointment.
2. You have a male and marking behavior (peeing in small quantities in various places and on various things) is quite common. Males (and some females) mark to claim a territory as theirs and to leave information for other dogs through the scent of their urine. In a multi-dog household, especially if there are 2 males, marking can be a significant problem as everyone vies for “their space”. Neutering does significantly reduce marking behaviors in most dogs.
Good luck and please let us know what the vet says!
Comment by admin — May 23, 2010 @ 5:54 am