House Training

1 My puppy is 7 months old and is still urinating in the house. During the week when he is on a rigid schedule, he does go to the door to go out...but not during the weekends when there is no routine. I often catch him sniffing and then take him outside, but it is many times a day. How can I get him to constantly go to the door and let someone know he needs to go outside?

2 How long does it take to house train a new puppy?

3 We are trying to house train our 10 week old puppy, but with little success. We take her outside about every 30 minutes and praise her with hugs and a small treat when she goes outside. But she will use our floor 10 min. after being outside. Help!

4 How do you potty train a puppy?

5 I have a boxer that is 11 weeks old. Up until 4 days ago, he could sleep through the night in his carrier without having an accident. The last four nights he has cried to get up around 5:00am I get up to go and let him out only to find that he has already used the bathroom in his carrier and is sitting in it. I thought dogs would not use the bathroom where they had to sleep. Do you have any suggestion on how I can stop this behavior?

6 My dog is about 6 months and I still can't get it to go outside all the time to use the bathroom. She still wants to use it in the house. Why?

7 I just got a Jack Russell Terrier who is only 5 weeks old. I was wondering if it is too early to potty train? I have been taking her out after every nap and each meal or drink of water. She is doing well but I don't want to overwhelm her with the potty thing. She is new to our home and very young. Any tips that might help me out?

8 We adopted a 9 year old Cairn Terrier about 1 year ago. He insists on going to the bathroom in the house. He will come immediately into the house after being outside and lift his leg. It has been getting progressivly worse. I have taken him to the veterinarian and there is nothing physically wrong with him.

9 I have a 6-week old cocker spaniel puppy. How do I get him potty trained?

10 I have a mastiff and she is 2 months old and she goes potty in the house all the time. Do you have any suggestions?

11 I have a 9 week old male Westie who drinks a lot of water and has to urinate about every 15 minutes when he's awake. Is there something wrong with him?

12 I just got a 6 week old German Shepherd. He is crate & paper trained. I was wondering when would be the best time to start taking him outside to go potty?

13 I'm bringing home a new puppy and its a beagle and I never had a beagle before. All of a sudden I became very intersted in them. My question is: How do I housetrain my Beagle?

14 We have a Shih Tzu puppy and we are having a hard time potty training him and he also wants to mount everything. Is this normal?

15 I recently read and article in one of your old magazines about litter training dogs. Can you tell me the name of the pelllets used and where I can get them. Also, how well has this been working.

1 My puppy is 7 months old and is still urinating in the house. During the week when he is on a rigid schedule, he does go to the door to go out...but not during the weekends when there is no routine. I often catch him sniffing and then take him outside, but it is many times a day. How can I get him to constantly go to the door and let someone know he needs to go outside? One of the more difficult tasks for a dog to learn is to signal to someone that they need to go outside. It can take quite some time for them to learn this task. Some dogs only use subtle signs such as staring at you or the door, or acting restless. On the weekends, keep your puppy with you and watch for these signs and then ask him if he needs to go out. If he signals with increased excitement or agitation you know you need to take him outside, so out you go! If you reliably do this, he may learn that the action he was doing just prior to being taken outside lets you know he needs to eliminate. As long as he is learning to control his urine and bowel while you are gone and overnight, you are making progress.
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2 How long does it take to house train a new puppy? The time needed to house train a puppy depends on several factors. Very young puppies have a very small bladder and bowel and therefore will need to go outside frequently. If this need is not met, they may soil in the house. If a puppy is left alone for long periods of time without access to the appropriate elimination location they may learn the incorrect place to eliminate. Then, house training may take longer. On average most puppies are well on their way to being house trained between 4-5 months.
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3 We are trying to house train our 10 week old puppy, but with little success. We take her outside about every 30 minutes and praise her with hugs and a small treat when she goes outside. But she will use our floor 10 min. after being outside. Help! When trying to house train a puppy, supervision is important. The puppy must be supervised both inside and outside. Inside the supervision should be direct and if the puppy looks like they may need to eliminate they should be quickly taken outside. Outside, it is essential that you go outside with her to witness elimination. Resist the temptation to play with her when she is outside, make sure she knows to eliminate. When she does begin to eliminate praise her and offer a small treat. If you are only giving treats when she returns to the house, you are rewarding coming back to the house rather than outdoor elimination. Don't get discouraged, she is young and housetraining takes time.
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4 How do you potty train a puppy? The three most important components to house training a puppy are supervision, confinement, and adequate access to the outdoors. It is essential that you try to keep your puppy with you at all times so that at the first signs of discomfort or need to eliminate you can take her outside. Once she is outside, use a key phrase, like "go potty" until she goes and then praise her. If she will not eliminate at that time, bring her back inside and watch her until you think she needs to go again. If you cannot be watching her, be sure to leave her in a safe, secure, small area that is easy to clean up in case she eliminates. Remember that puppies have small bladders and bowels and need to go out frequently during the day and cannot go 8 hours without access to the outdoors.
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5 I have a boxer that is 11 weeks old. Up until 4 days ago, he could sleep through the night in his carrier without having an accident. The last four nights he has cried to get up around 5:00am I get up to go and let him out only to find that he has already used the bathroom in his carrier and is sitting in it. I thought dogs would not use the bathroom where they had to sleep. Do you have any suggestion on how I can stop this behavior? While a dog would prefer not to sleep where they eliminate, if confined in a small area longer than they can hold their urine or stool, they may be forced to eliminate. This can be especially true for young puppies. Since they have smaller bladders and bowels, there may be times when they have to eliminate and do not have access to the elimination location. This may be what is happening with your puppy. In the evening go outside with him to be sure that he does eliminate prior to bedtime. You also may want to be sure that you feed him early enough in the evening so that he has plenty of time to drink water and eliminate before bed.
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6 My dog is about 6 months and I still can't get it to go outside all the time to use the bathroom. She still wants to use it in the house. Why? There are two very important elements in house training a dog and these are supervision and appropriate confinement. Supervision means that both inside and outside of the house you must be watching your dog. You must watch her inside to see if she needs to eliminate (and then take her out) and to prevent her from going indoors. You must watch her outside to be sure that she has emptied her bladder and bowel when outdoors. Confinement means keeping her in a small area that is easy to clean up if you cannot be watching her. Confinement does not mean leaving your dog unattended for long periods of time so that she is forced to eliminate indoors. If you can work on these two elements she is likely to learn to eliminate only outdoors.
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7 I just got a Jack Russell Terrier who is only 5 weeks old. I was wondering if it is too early to potty train? I have been taking her out after every nap and each meal or drink of water. She is doing well but I don't want to overwhelm her with the potty thing. She is new to our home and very young. Any tips that might help me out? You are going about the house training in the proper way. A puppy will need to eliminate when they wake up from sleeping, after they eat and often after they play. Try to take her out the same door and to the same location in the yard each time. Go outside with her so you can immediately praise her when she eliminates. When she is back indoors she should be supervised or placed in an area easy to clean up so that she does not have accidents in the house. If you must work during the day, you should be aware that she will not be able to go 8 hours without needing to eliminate. Therefore, if you can make arrangements for someone to let her outside after about 4 hours that will help the housetraining program.
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8 We adopted a 9 year old Cairn Terrier about 1 year ago. He insists on going to the bathroom in the house. He will come immediately into the house after being outside and lift his leg. It has been getting progressivly worse. I have taken him to the veterinarian and there is nothing physically wrong with him. When a dog is eliminating indoors, he may not have learned that outside is where he should empty his bladder and bowel. The first step in retraining is good supervision both indoors and out. When he goes outside, someone must go with him to be sure that he has eliminated. If he will not eliminate in the yard, he may need a walk or if he will not eliminate on a walk, he may need time loose in the yard. If he eliminates outside, he should immediately be praised. If he does not eliminate in 10-15 minutes, he should be brought inside and strictly supervised until the next time he goes out. This may mean keeping him close by on a leash. If he begins to become restless, it is time to take him out again. By showing him where to go and taking away his ability to eliminate inside, he should learn the correct behavior.
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9 I have a 6-week old cocker spaniel puppy. How do I get him potty trained? A 6-week old puppy will have a small bladder and will need to go outdoors frequently to eliminate. The key to house training is to supervise the puppy when he is awake and provide plenty of opportunity to eliminate in the correct location. A puppy will need to eliminate after he wakes up, after he eats and after he plays. At those times take your puppy outside to the location he should use and quietly encourage him to eliminate. Once he does, praise him and give him a small treat. If he does not eliminate within 10 minutes, bring him inside and watch him closely. Take him out again in 10-30 minutes. With good supervision and outdoor access, puppies will quickly learn where to eliminate.
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10 I have a mastiff and she is 2 months old and she goes potty in the house all the time. Do you have any suggestions? The key to house training a young dog is supervision indoors and outdoors, plenty of access to the appropriate toileting area and confinement when not supervised. A young 8-week old puppy will need to go outside frequently to eliminate; when she wakes up, after she plays and 20-30 minutes after she eats. Taking her out the same door and to the same outdoor location is helpful. Going outside with the puppy allows you to praise her for eliminating in the right location at the correct time. It may take 2-6 weeks until she becomes more reliable about her outdoor elimination habits.
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11 I have a 9 week old male Westie who drinks a lot of water and has to urinate about every 15 minutes when he's awake. Is there something wrong with him? It might help to actually measure the amount of water that your puppy drinks to get a more accurate assessment if the amount is abnormal. Young puppies have very small urinary bladders and do need to urinate often-after they wake up, after they finish playing and after they eat. Make sure that when you take him outside he does actually empty his bladder. If the problem continues, a veterinary visit to rule out a medical problem would be prudent.
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12 I just got a 6 week old German Shepherd. He is crate & paper trained. I was wondering when would be the best time to start taking him outside to go potty? If weather permits it is best to start to get your puppy used to eliminating outdoors. Be sure to watch him closely inside for signs of discomfort or agitation that might indicate that he needs to eliminate. Then quickly take him outside and go with him so you can praise him for eliminating in the correct location. If you must leave him for longer than 2-3 hours, be sure to give him a place to eliminate since a 6 week old puppy can only wait for a few hours during the day before they need to eliminate.
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13 I'm bringing home a new puppy and its a beagle and I never had a beagle before. All of a sudden I became very intersted in them. My question is: How do I housetrain my Beagle? House training a beagle is not different than housetraining any other dog. It is important to supervise your puppy when he is indoors and to take him out frequently so he has an opportunity to eliminate. By keeping him near you when you are home you will soon learn his habits and house training will go easier. A puppy will need to eliminate after they wake up, shortly after they eat and after they play. Always go outside with your puppy so you know they have eliminated and you can praise them when they do. When you cannot be supervising your puppy confine him in a small, easily cleaned area.
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14 We have a Shih Tzu puppy and we are having a hard time potty training him and he also wants to mount everything. Is this normal? House training a puppy requires good supervision indoors and outdoors and good timing to take the puppy to the appropriate elimination location when he needs to go. When you cannot be supervising your puppy, he should be in a safe area that is easy to clean up should he have an accident. Remember, a puppy can hold his urine during the day for about one more hour than he is old in months. So, a 3 month old puppy cannot go 8 hours without needing to eliminate. As for the mounting behavior, in some puppies this can occur with irritation or infection of the penile sheath which also might impair house training. Perhaps a veterinary visit would rule that out as an issue in this case.
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15 I recently read and article in one of your old magazines about litter training dogs. Can you tell me the name of the pelllets used and where I can get them. Also, how well has this been working. Second Nature is a product that was created to help provide dogs and their owners with an indoor elimination location. This can be very useful in situations where a dog does not have access to the outdoors for long periods of time. The systems works best for dogs under 35 pounds. Some dogs may take longer than others to accept an indoor elimination location.
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