Housetraining 101 - Please Read this Thread in its Entirety

[Nileska]

Amelia is definitely finding the previous dogs mark which translates into"this is the place"in her puppy mind,,,,We have used a number of things as deodourisers or game changers over the years...One thing is pet odor cleaner meant for rug scrubbers as an addative to rug shampoo....Just dilute the concentrate and use a spray bottle to soak the spot...If that dosent work try the old standby,white vinegar,you can control the strength by changeing the dilution..Same drill with the spray bottle.Dogs hate the smell and will avoid THE spot.

Richard

[sarahrizzi]

Thanks! We've tried the rug scrubber stuff, so I guess we're moving on to vinegar.

[ambernicole922]

Hi everyone! I can also appreciate this advice a ton! I just adopted a little 3 month old rat cha (Charlie) whom has had no training experience at all. He is now at the point where he will go potty outside almost immediately when I bring him. My question now is how to teach Charlie to let me know when he needs to go outside. As of now, I just take a guess and bring him out every so often (which leads to a number of accidents, when I don't catch him getting ready to go). My ultimate goal is to have Charlie "let me know" when he needs to go out in order to eliminate most accidents! Thanks again everyone for your great advice!!

-Amber

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Ambernicole, may I respectfully suggest you go back to Page 1 of this thread, as your question is specifically why this thread was created.

After you read this thread, in its entirety, and still have questions, please by all means, let us know and we'll do our best to "tailor" our responses to your broad question.

[ambernicole922]

Actually, I did read Page 1, however there are now 7 pages of this thread covering a wide range of housetraining-related topics. I didn't want to spend so much time reading through all 7 pages of some things that didn't pertain to my question. I was hoping someone with the answer to my question (whom may have already posted it before) wouldn't mind sending it on again to someone who just joined and didn't have much time to read through 7 pages of jargon.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Ambernicole, those 7 pages are not "jargon".

Training a puppy encompasses more than merely one thing, like how to make them go to the bathroom outside. That is just part and parcel of the overall picture of training.

By reading through an entire 7 pages, which quite frankly is nothing if one is truly interested and invested in learning about how to train their dog, and understand the reasons for the methods used, one might actually garner knowledge about something that had not yet even entered their train of thought, thereby making the "reading" not so arduous.

Again, I strongly suggest you read the whole 7 pages of "jargon". I think you'll find that to be a common response to your question as proper housetraining requires some knowledge, along with a lick of common sense. If you gave Page 1 your full attention, you would already realize that your expectations of your puppy are unrealistic and it is YOU that needs to be trained.

I also find it rather petulant of you to ask that others give you a summation of things they have contributed over and over again just so you don't have to waste your valuable time reading the responses already given. It requires a modecom of effort on your behalf, and makes you a better "doggy parent".

Reading is knowledge and knowledge is power.

[sarahrizzi]

Nilieska-
Thanks so much for the tip about the vinegar! I put a 50/50 mixture in a spray bottle and covered the carpet in the hallway, and she hasn't peed there since. It really helped her understanding of "no peeing in the house," I think. Anyway, just wanted to let you know how well it worked out and say thanks.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

YAY Richard! I am always pleased to read when a tip given is taken, used and succeeds!

I know this question will come up time and again, and now we have at least one solid solution. The products sold in Pet Stores to "eradicate" odours are gimmicky. Good old fashioned vinegar seems to be the answer.

[sunnyp43]

My pup is 11 weeks old now. I take him out every couple of hours and he pees instantly. He also poops right after eating. One issue I'm dealing with is him peeing in the room. When he's out playing in the room, he'll play and just pee when he has to go without giving me any signs.

What is the best way to train him to give me a sign that he has to go? Or how should I know to stop playing and take him out?

[kian]

Sunny please read the thread, at least the first 2 pages. At 11 weeks he can't signal to you, that will come with training and at 11 weeks he has no control. He is peeing in the house because he has to go, you need to take him to the door and out more often. My Allie went through a every 15 minute stage, yes it was taxing, but with patience and training she got it. All dogs are different, my Ice could go a lot longer, so it depends on the dog.

Yes during a few minutes of play, take him out.

[Lana'sMommy]

Hi everyone!

I'm so grateful for all this wonderful information. I've read this thread entirely and there is one thing I'm confused on: After your dog goes potty outside, is it okay to play with them outside afterwards or should you just come inside and play? I've read that some people say that playing outside after going potty outside is good, and other say that while potty training, only go potty outside and then come inside to play.

The reason I ask for clarification or further thoughts on this is that my little Lana LOVES our backyard. We keep her on a short leash becuase there are small cracks in the fence that she could possibly escape and we want her to be comfortable with her leash. Normally she is great at going potty outside when we take her (and we promptly throw a mini praise party), but sometimes she seems to just want to sniff around or play. After several minutes of this, we'll bring her straight back inside, and take her out shortly again, just in case she still needs to go. She also will often go to the door to "go out" but then not doing anything but want to play. My husband and I have been going back n forth (we've only had her two weeks) on if we should just restrict playing to inside now, or if she should play outside after she goes potty, since that seems to be the ultimate reward for her. We don't want to confuse her and we really want to make sure she knows that outside is for going potty, not just for playing.

Any clarification on this would be great! If there is another thread that covers this, and I missed it, I'm very sorry and would love to be pointed in the right direction.

Thanks in advance!

[Phyrie]

Great question, and one I don't think has been asked before! You get four gold stars! LOL! Just kidding, but you made me think, and that's always a good thing!

Since back yard play is a reward for Lana, I think you should keep it as a reward. But how to do that? My thoughts are to have two areas, one for potty, and one for play. Since she's on leash anyway, how about designating one area for potty (I would chose somewhere that is easy to keep clean) and once she's pottied, lead her the "play area" and have fun! This could produce two effects: one, you won't have to hunt for poop (EXCELLENT!), and two: Lana gets to play outside as her reward if she chooses.

As I type this, I have a feeling I'm missing something, so I hope one of our "professionals" will chime in and let me know if my idea is valid or not.

[Lana'sMommy]

Haha! Yay! I was so worried I had looked something over!

I like your idea about the two separate spots, but I fear there might be a minor problem with that. She pees in one part of the yard, closest to the door, and poops all the way on the other side, furthest from the door. Our yard isn't huge so we would have to pass through the one small area that is left that separates the two that could be the play area. I'm not sure why she started peeing in one area and pooping in another area, but she's been doing that since we got her. Of course my dog would need to be the difficult one...

I think we could definitely give it a try though. I'll have to talk it over with the hubby and see what he thinks about that.

I'm also totally open to more ideas!

Thank you so much, Phyrie, for responding so quickly with a great suggestion!

[kian]

Lanas mom that is easy to answer, while older dogs can pee and poop in the same area, she simply doesn't have the concept and if she is going out, she will pee, if she poops first then by the time she gets to the door she realizes she has to go. Not a wierd thing at all.

As for potty and play, I actually prefer to have pups in training go back directly to the house usually at a brisk pace. This is to get in the pups mind the difference between the potty area and the house. Then I suggest you go back outside to play, it helps with housetraining and those pups that might go outside and play around instead of getting to business.

[Lana'sMommy]

Kian, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

That is a really great idea, and makes total sense. I think that if we do a combination of that and just play in the area between her potty spots, then this will really work out well.

I'll keep everyone posted. Thank you so much!

(I'll keep reading too, if anyone else has suggestions)