I have a puppy. He's 5 months old now, and I've had him for 3 weeks. I have been trying to housetrain him the whole time I have had him, but he's not making any progress. I take him on several walks a day, but I dont think he understands why we are going for a walk. If he does go while outside, I praise him and give h im a dog treat, and if he goes inside I tell him no and that its bad. Also, when he's inside, he will go when he gets excited. So if you just approach him, he goes. I've had limited success getting him to go outside by getting him excited while outside, but Im not sure he even knows he's peeing when he gets excited. Any ideas on what I can do? I have to leave him home alone while Im at work, but on weekends I typically spend 3 hours a day outside with him just waiting him out until he goes. Other than that though, he generally does not go while outside.
TK2011-10-09T09:51:54Z
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This is the method I use when a new dog or puppy moves in and it really works. Schedule-Confine-Supervise Schedule- the feeding and potty times. An adult is fed twice a day. A puppy is fed four times a day up to 10 or 12 weeks, then three times a day through adolescence. They need to potty first thing in the morning, last thing at night, within a few minutes of every meal, and every few hours in between. The “in between” hours are calculated by their age in months: 1 month = 1 hour, up to 6 months/hours. So, a three month old puppy should be taken to potty every three hours in between the other scheduled times. When the dog/puppy is taken to potty, wait with him as he ‘does his business’ and then praise like crazy. The neighbors should be able to hear you.
Confine- the puppy or dog whenever it is not being watched. Confinement can be in a crate (especially at night), an exercise pen, or behind a baby gate in a very small and puppy-proofed room.
Supervise- the puppy or dog whenever it is loose in the home. This means having eyes on it, not on the TV. Play with the puppy, do a five minute training session, groom it, or just let it lie at your feet with a safe chew, but have it within sight at all times. If it squats then give a loud “NO” or “ACK” as you scoop and run to the appropriate potty spot.
Do not let the dog return to the accident spot until it has been thoroughly cleaned and wiped with vinegar or a commercial enzyme product to remove all urine odor.
Potty training a puppy can be difficult and takes a lot of time and patience. Start by keeping your dog in an isolated place in your house (don't let him run freely, especially without watching him). Keep him in a bathroom or block off a couple rooms with a baby gate. Keep a good eye on him, and as soon as he acts like he might potty, pick him up and take him outside. If you catch your dog in the act inside the house, say NO very firm and quickly pick him up and take him outside. If you continue to do this he will eventually learn that he is supposed to go outside to pee. However, if you do not catch your dog in the act inside, but find his mess later, do not punish him for it will confuse him. Just clean up the mess and go on. Remember to always reward him when he potties outside, and correct him inside. About his habit of peeing when excited... the first thing you need to do is take him to the vet and make sure he doesn't have a physical problem causing this. If he doesn't, then simply ignore him when you get home. (You should be keeping him in a crate while out of the house and at night, it will help loads with training!) Ignore him at first so he won't get over excited then when he calms down gently put on his leash, take him outside, and reward him when he potties.
You can use the same techniques on older dogs as puppies. Biggest difference is the longer time after eating or drinking before they are ready to relieve themselves. If a dog has been living where it could keep its living space clean, it should quickly catch on. The important part will be teaching it that if it goes to the door, you will let it out. It will be much more difficult if the dog was forced to live in its filth. You will need to learn to read the dog and learn its schedule, and when it needs to go out. Keep it in sight, closing doors and setting up gates. Some people even leash the dog to themselves. I have used a tie down at my computer desk.
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I housetrained my mastiff final 12 months in march she used to be 5 weeks ancient while I began. I used the crate process receive for a couple of alterations. I placed the crate within a little bit pen within the kitchen and had her in there for almost all of the time while she wasn't being held or performed with. I could placed her out each so ordinarily while she sniffed across the flooring within the pen. If she used to be within the crate I had no concerns. I didnt feed her after 6 p.m. and as quickly as she obtained up within the morning I allow her external. Alot of recent house owners make the error of calling the puppy or sporting the puppy in earlier than they've completed. My mastiff is eleven months ancient and has on no account had an coincidence I additionally began a task after wards and so needed to educate her in for this additionally. I could go away her within the pen for brief intervals of time 10 mins a couple of occasions then 20 and many others till she used to be used to me leaving. That method while I used to be definite I would believe her she knew I used to be coming again. Some puppies will intentionally potty as a signal in their being displeased at being left on my own for a bit of. I could instill this of their your puppies head early on so she or he will get used to it.