PAGE UPDATED MAY 11, 2000
RELIEVING SCHEDULE FOR PUPPIES AND ADULT DOGS
The best schedule for a taking out a puppy to potty would be before you eat your meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and before you go to bed. I would also feed your pup before you eat your meals and then take him or her out at this time. So, you should feed your pup, take your pup outside to potty and then you can eat. The younger pups need to be fed four times a day. 7 week old to 8 month old pups should be able to hold from 3 to 7 hrs. 9 month pups to 1 year old dogs and up should be able to hold from 8 to 12 hrs unless they have some type of urinary or bowel problem. Some puppies can hold their urine and feces the full 12 hrs as soon as 9 weeks old but not all can do this.
A PUP OR DOG GIVING NO WARNING
For a dog or puppy that doesn't let you know when they
need to go out you'll have to follow the above schedule or figure out the
best schedule for your puppy or adult dog and continue to follow it. Signs
that may indicate that he or she is needing to go out may be starting to
sniff the floor as if they seem to be looking for something. Another sign
might be going up to the door and just standing there. Look for cues when
your dog needs to go. Maybe your dog comes up to you a lot as if they want
something from you, this very well could mean they need outside to go to
the bathroom. They usually do show some type of behavior but every dog
is different. You might even try asking, "Do you want outside?" or "Do
you want out?" as you go to the door or point at the door. Some do actually
understand this. It's probably the word 'out' or 'outside' that they are
really responding to.
CRATES
When people see me use the crate with my dogs, especially those unfamiliar with using crates for dogs. They exclaim, "How could you be so cruel and leave your dog in the crate for many hours?". It's not cruel unless the dog isn't let out to relieve and exercise. For puppies they are kept in a safe place and not running around the house chewing up who knows what and getting into who knows what! The crate saves a vet bill due to a sick dog that ate a foreign object because you left the dog to roam the house. Or, worse, find your dog electrocuted from chewing on an electric cord. Leaving your dog in a crate could save your dog's life! Would you leave your baby to roam the house without supervision? No! So, keep your puppy out of trouble and safe by putting your canine family member in the crate while you are gone from home. Putting the pup or dog in the crate will prevent these situations from happening while you are gone. So, then what about putting your pup or dog in a room or playpen? The extra space with these will likely cause the dog to urinate and mess more unlike with a crate which is smaller size and they are forced to lay down in their mess which teaches them not to go again in their place. This doesn't teach them when and where to go relieve. If you do this you will have to take them out very often or watch when they seem to be looking for a place to potty and get them out quickly. While you are housebreaking your puppy or dog it is best to use a crate until you do fully housebreak him or her. Another words when you can, watch your dog or pup and take him or her outside when he or she needs to or attempts to urinate or defecate. When you can't watch your dog or pup then put he or she in the crate. Don't leave your dog or pup (especially a pup) in the crate for 9 to 11 hours this is way too long. You will more than likely have to follow their relieving schedule which I explain above. I prefer to use the Vari-Kennel brand of crate. Click here to see them at the online R.C. Steele catalog.
CRATE TRAINING
For your dog to like the crate make it so comfortable and inviting by using old towels or sheets that he or she won't even dare pee or mess in it. Provide chew toys like nylabone or gumabone products, which are great for chewers and the regular nylon ones are easy to clean if they get peed or messed on.
For a pup or dog that you have been following my schedule with but it isn't working for the crate both night and daytime or if you only crate at night, you will need to crate your dog during the day so you can stop your dog from going to the bathroom in the crate. Since you can't watch your dog at night while you're sleeping, this is the only way to get him or her to stop. Put the crate somewhere where you could watch your dog closely and stop him or her when he or she attempts to or does go to the bathroom in the crate and get your dog outside immediately. As you take him or her out of the crate, whether you catch your dog or not, command, "No!" and take him or her outside fast. Tell your dog to potty (or whatever phrase or term you use) and if he or she does potty, lavishly praise him or her when your dog is done going the the bathroom, to let your dog know this is where he or she is to go and not in the crate.
Since food and going to the bathroom are related. :-)
I better say some things relating to this. Young puppies and some older
pups and adult dogs that get fed a different diet than they are used from
the breeder or just that you decided to try another brand of dog food may
cause them to have diarrhea or loose stool. A dog or pup with diarrhea
will more than likely to mess their crate. When they do mess in their crate
don't punish them because more than likely they are very aware that they
aren't to do this in their crate. They just couldn't help it, just like
we can't help it when we have diarrhea. While they wait for you to come
rescue them from their messy crate they'll have to stand up to avoid lying
down or sitting in their mess or urine after they have done it. This is
another reason for them to avoid doing a mess or to urinate in their crate
again. They will want to avoid having to go through that situation again.
Once the dog or pup is over their diarrhea, they will not likely continue
to mess in their crate. After you have given the dog a chance to relieve
more outside, then clean up the dog crate without a fuss. However, if the
dog does continue to defecate in their crate, then you will need to punish
him or her with a "No!", and pointing at the mess or urine while they watch
you point at it. While you clean their crate, act mad not really at them
but at the crate cleaning situation. This may work on some dogs, while
others may not stop their defecating in their crate. If this is happens,
then e-mail me and I can help you further.
RELIEVING ON CARPET AND TWO HOUSEBREAKING METHODS
Once a dog or pup urinates or messes on the rug or carpet
it's very hard to completely get rid of the smell. It's the left over smell
that causes dogs to repeat their defecation on the rug or carpet. Why does
this happen? Well, when you teach your dog or puppy to go outside; how
many books say to take a piece of stool that the dog does or a paper towel
with urine on it. Then to put it at the place where you want your dog to
do their duty or to defecate? The same scenario happens with the carpet
in your house. It is instinctive behavior. However, through a my first
housebreaking training method which I explain below, it is possible to
train puppies and dogs not to do any duty at all in the house. My second
is a typical type of housebreaking method but it doesn't always work completely.
To effectively do any housebreaking method you have to have a lot of time
to spend with the pup or dog.
MY FIRST HOUSEBREAKING METHOD
- 1. NEWSPAPER ON SLICK CLEANABLE FLOOR- Spread newspaper
completely in the area where the pup or dog will be tied, penned, confined
so you can easily clean up it's duty or defecation. However, the newspaper
is only there encase you don't get the puppy outside on time. Don't encourage
him or her to do it in the house on the newspaper. Press here
to go read my opinion on paper training. Once you see the pup about to
do it's duty immediately command, "No!", and then get the pup outside while
you say, "You do it outside!", or "You do your duty outside!". If you catch
your pup doing or even after he or she has defecate, then you point at
what he or she did while command, "No! You do it outside! Outside!". As
you take your pup outside and tell him or her to do their duty or whatever
term you wish to use to teach when your pup or dog to defecate. Don't say
these commands in a mean voice or too soft either. It's important that
you sound very serious when you say this command. Stay outside with your
pup until he does do or goes through the motions of doing his or her duty.
When the pup does do it, praise him or her both vocally and with petting.
Then you can take him or her back inside. When your dog has not done his
or her duty on the newspaper at all anymore, then you are ready for the
next step.
2. ONLY SLICK FLOOR (NO NEWSPAPER)- Now, it's time to introduce the slick floor and break your pup from going on this type of flooring. Do the same procedure as for the newspaper to stop the pup or dog from doing it's duty on the slick floor. When no more duty has been done on this floor then you can do the next step.
3. ADD AN EASY CLEANABLE PIECE OF CARPET- Now add a piece of carpet and introduce this type of flooring. If possible, it would be a good idea to use different textured carpeting, which you can find some scraps of at carpeting stores or use left over carpeting that was used on the house you live in. Different rugs may work also. The idea is to break the dog from going on the carpet in the place you live and it needs to be the same texture as he or she is going to be exposed to in your home. Exposing and housebreaking your pup or dog to as many textures that he or she may come into contact in it's life will be helpful to prevent any defecation. This would be especially helpful if you take your dog on trips and stay in hotels with the dog loose in the room. Use the same procedure as above to break your pup or dog from defecating on the piece of carpet. Once he has not done any on the pieces of carpeting or the different rugs, then the next step is to take a piece of carpet that does have the smell of defecation on it. You need to do this to break the pup or dog from not going where a dog has defecated before on the carpet. If the pup or dog has not done it on the pieces of carpeting already then you'll need to put some feces and urination on it and really rub it in. With the urine you can take a piece of paper towel and stick it into the urine puddle which was just done by the pup or dog outside. I know you guys are going, "Oh, I can't believe she is asking us to do this!" Just do it! It works. Once you have gotten feces and urine rubbed on it, now clean it off as if the dog had just done it on the carpet or rug in your house. Then take it and put it with the pup or dog. Follow the same procedure as for the other steps to stop the pup or dog from defecating on this type of carpet. Once your pup has not done any duty on this type of carpet or rug, then you are done with housebreaking.
I realize some of you don't want to or can't spend this much time doing the above method. So, here is another more reasonable method which may or may not work as well.
As far as teaching your pup or dog to not go to the bathroom in the house this means watching him or her as much as you can and getting your dog outside when you find he or she is doing it or has done it. When you do find that your dog has done it inside, show it to him or her and command "NO". Then quickly get your dog outside to where you do want him or her to go and if you have a phrase that you use like "Go potty!", "Relieve!" or I use "Do your duty!", then say this to let him or her know where he or she really is to go no matter what. It's best to use a word or phrase which isn't going to be used much by someone else or for another purpose. "Do your duty!" works well for my dogs and it's rarely used for anything else. But, "Go potty!" is also use for children so be careful. After your dog does relieve praise him or her vocally and with petting to teach him or her this is where they are to go. You'll just have to repeat this process over and over. Hopefully your dog will learn to not do this at all in the house. Meanwhile, really do your best to clean those areas where your dog has gone because the least little smell (which is hard to get it all out) will cause a dog to have the urge to go there too. But, in my training procedure when you catch your dog either doing it or the minute you find later, you get him or her out as soon as possible. You must keep this up to show and tell your dog, "No bathroom in the house even if you do smell some urine or poop there a tiny bit. It's still, NO!." Try putting some whole poop and urine on paper towel held by rocks outside for your dog to smell to promote him or her to go potty outside. Also coax your dog to smell them because this may trigger him or her to potty. Put it where you want your dog or pup to continue to potty outside.
PAPER AND LITTER BOX TRAINING
I don't like training them to go inside but if you do prefer to train your dog for indoor potty training due to living situation such as apartments or other living places above ground level. Or, if you have done the above outside procedure for over a month and the dog still just isn't getting it. Then probably the only option is training him or her to relieve inside. Follow the below method:
I suggest you try leaving a bit of smell of either his or her poop or pee on a paper towel which you then place on top of newspaper or puppypads or whatever you wish to use because it's the smell of other mess or pee that causes dogs to go again. Have your dog or pup smell the paper towel to hopefully entice him or her to potty.
For litter box for only small breeds, if you want to go this way, put some of both types of smell in it using paper towel again.
Press here to go read my opinion on paper training.
MALE DOGS MARKING INDOORS
I suggest you watch your male dog every minute and/or have him on a leash all the time so you can stop him when he tries to mark your furniture. Push down his leg and get him outside immediately. Basically follow what I say above for my second housebreaking method. Look for body language which indicates that he is getting ready to pee. For example: going over and sniffing the chair before he turns or gets closer to the chair to lift his leg. Neutering a male dog will not stop him from lifting his leg to pee. He'll continue to do it. He just needs to learn where he should go and not go. But, it would be wise to neuter your male dog anyway, to prevent the chances of him mating a female by accident, if you have no plans to show him at a dog show.
NOTE: IF YOUR DOG MOSTLY URINATES AND MESSES WHILE
YOU ARE GONE FROM YOUR HOME THEN YOUR DOG MAY HAVE SEPARATION ANXIETY.
GO HERE
TO READ MY SEPARATION ANXIETY PAGE.
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