Housetraining 101 - Please Read this Thread in its Entirety

[Phyrie]

Oh, jeez! Didn't the "owner of the mom" tell you how young she was?! Of course she's missing her siblings. She was probably still nursing from the bitch, too! Yes, she would have started weaning them, but just because they are capable of licking up soft food doesn't make them ready to leave the mother. If I had the owner of these dogs in front of me, I'd give him a piece of mind like he'd never heard before!! Irresponsible ass.

That said, your pup is 6 weeks old! He is no more capable of potty training than a six month old human infant. I can tell you haven't followed the instructions in the title of this thread. Please take the time to go back and really read the whole thread. It is packed full of virtually any question a new owner can have about housetraining. If, after you have read the whole thing, you still have questions, feel free to post them. In the meantime, about all you can do is get in the habit of taking your pup out at least every 20 minutes, AND after he eats, after exercise, and after a nap. A pup that young I would take into my bed, so I could feel him wake up at night, so I could take him out. He will also gain great comfort sleeping with you, and you get the lovely feeling of nice, warm puppy cuddling up to you!

But off with you, go read!

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Leanna, you posted in early August that you had received a pup knowing it was only 4 weeks old. I believe in that thread you were dispensing advice to another member, on how to be patient with a young pup and all the things to do to help a young pup feel safe.

It's been a month since you've had this puppy. You should know that regardless of how long you've had the pup, he has no possible ability to let you know when he needs to go. His Mum would have played a huge part in this aspect, as she licks her babes which stimulates them to go, at four weeks of age.

You need to do the job of the Mum. Perhaps when the pup is about 10 weeks old, you might see a hint of a connection with going potty outside and good things happen. Until then, you must do the job of its Mum and siblings.

Best of luck to you. It's not easy taking in one so young. Keep the expectations age specific, not how many weeks someone had a pup before it learned something.

[Lana'sMommy]

RenegadeSongbird, I'm so happy to hear that Kaylee is doing well and that you trusted your instincts. Lana has been doing really well too. Of course though, because of my own dumb fault, she had an accident on Sunday. I should just stop baking while potty training because time goes by way to fast when I bake and before I knew it 2 hours had gone by and the poor girl just couldn't hold it (she had been sleeping in the kitchen with me and woke up and I just wasn't on top of it). I was able to stop her soon after she began, rushed her outside, where she finished her business. Apparently she's doing great with the training, but me? Not so much... Oh well, we are learning together.

I also wanted to give more of an update than seek advice, in case any newbies are reading and experiencing the same thing. At first, Lana was great with her crate. She would go right in to get her treat and never really fussed much when she was in there. She still isn't too bad once she's in there, she settles down fairly quickly, but now, at 15 weeks old, she knows that when she goes in there we will be shutting the door. Since she never had any issues with it before, we didn't do a lot of the "crate practice" with just hanging out in there with your favorite toy and just going in to get treats without shutting the door. Well, now we are going back to the basics and doing what we should have done from the very beginning. The moral of my story to anyone reading and starting the crate training process? DO NOT slack on teaching that the crate is fun even if your puppy doesn't seem to mind it at first, because before you know it they will be smart enough to realize whats going on and it's even harder to convince them that you aren't always going to shut them in there. Lesson Learned.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Lana's Mommy - Thank you for the excellent post. You made a very good point!

The pups start to put things together around the 16 week mark, and in your case it's 15 weeks. We know these are averages and not absolutes.

I know you'll be successful as you recognize and understand that the mistakes are yours, and I applaud you for that. You gave very good advice to the newcomers to this thread, and even more encouragement to read it in its entirety and stick to the basics.

Keep us posted as that is how we all learn. You deserve a great deal of credit!

[rhetoric404]

I have a 12 week old chocolate lab pup. I have been potty training him by taking him outside and rewarding him for going, and telling him "no" and relocating him outside when he pees in the house. I have gotten him to where he now goes on command, but he has developed an interesting way of asking to go outside. Instead of scratching at the door or whining, he pees a little, right in front of me so that I will take him out. He has obviously associated peeing inside with getting taken outside, instead of peeing inside as bad, and peeing outside as good. Im at loss as to what to do. I know he is very smart and learns quickly. For a time he would fake pee outside after he had already gone in the hope of getting another treat. Any suggestions are appreciated. I also use a clicker to train. Thanks.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Your puppy is doing very well for being only 12 weeks old. I have to say I did have a bit of a chuckle at him "fake peeing" for a treat. Labs are forever puppies, so expect his sense of humour to stay intact for his entire life.

Obviously he needs to find a better way to ask to go out. I have always talked to my dogs, and asked them "do you need to go out". The buzz phrase obviously being "go out?" I would do this each and every time I took them out, whether they had asked to go or not. In time, well past 12 weeks (and always using the same door), I could say "go out?" and if they did need it, they would start to head towards the door looking back to make sure I was following.

Your puppy is still at the age when you need to take him out at regular intervals. Clearly he is very smart, so I think he will pick up whichever method you select to try or use. I know some of our experts (I'm not one of them) around here will have other, solid suggestions for you.

The puppy is trying to please you but just doesn't know how yet. Remember that dogs are not reliably 100% housetrained until a year of age. Most have a good grasp of if by six months, so you are doing very well. Some people hang bells on the door knob for the dog to rattle when they wish to go out. That is a two sided coin as the dog soon learns that you will jump every time he rings the bell.

Best of luck to you. I look forward to hearing what our other members have to say.

[rhetoric404]

Thanks for the reply Mum. I guess I should add that I always say "Let's go outside" several times whenever I take him out to try and teach him what "outside" is.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Call me Deb (or Deborah) everyone else does! Oh my goodness...your puppy is SO cute! I just noticed your avatar which was blank before. He's a darling. I can see those sharp puppy "teefies". What is his name?

(And thank you for being understanding. It is most refreshing!)

[rhetoric404]

Thanks for the compliments! His name is Titan. That pic is from when he was about 14 lbs, he's almost double that now. He's growing into his name well. The one in the back is our rescue, Dahlia. She's a little over a year and he loves to try and wrestle with her, even though she's still twice his size and much more agile.

[Lil B]

Hi,

We're new here and came in hopes of some advice on our new puppy.

We are the new parents of a 10 week old Yorkie/Maltese. We've had him for two weeks already. We began training on pads as soon as we got him home but by some stroke of luck, our puppy has picked up on going outside right away (for the most part), every now and then he does it in the house and we're still working on that - he doesn't use the pads although we still put them down for him.

Since we live in Chicago, we just realized that once the cold temps arrive and snow and ice come in, the grass will soon not be visible and the puppy won't know where to go or may even refuse to go outside once he feels the cold at the door.

We really rather not take him outside onto snow because he is little and would rather he stayed warm inside in the winter. The kid is only two pounds and his legs are like 3 inches long.

Can someone suggest a method we can try to have him use pads rather than him looking to go out? I know this may sound rather counter-productive to some (from going outside to using pads). Like I mentioned, he never used the pads.

Even when it rains now we dry him up as woon as we bring him in to help warm him up quicker. I can only see this problem becoming bigger for him upon snow's arrival.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[kian]

I have been in Chicago during that horrible weather during one those Ice Storms...Brrrrrr. Have you heard of the "Potty Patch"? It's cleanable, great for small dogs, but you do have to teach him how to use it.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Lil B - while I did read your post in its entirety, your puppy is telling you that he wants to toilet outside, like a normal dog should. I would not be fooled by his size, or the climate. I live in London, Ontario (Great Lakes Basin) and we have the same cold weather you have.

Oliver came home at 8 weeks in February and learned quickly how to go outside and come back inside. Quite frankly, I think the colder weather is helpful as they don't start messing about and think it's playtime, plus the cold induces them to go more quickly.

Your puppy has a coat that nature gave him. I think that although it would be easier on you humans to not have to brave the elements in the Winter, your puppy will do just fine, and be in and out in a matter of minutes.

It is confusing to the pup, especially when he does not like the puppy pads, to make him try to go in a place that feels unnatural. He will learn that the grass in under the snow. I don't think you mentioned if you were in an apartment or not as that does make a difference. Since you did say "house", I am going to presume that you are able to access the outdoors with one door, as opposed to a long elevator wait and ride. By the time it is really cold, your puppy will be able to handle the short time outdoors.

Oliver was very tiny when he came home, (under 5 pounds) with a very thin coat, unlike your pup. He did not become ill, or hurt by going outside to do his business. It was actually easier housetraining him than it was Henry who came home in June to the nice weather.

We made a barrier of sorts out of the snow, which the puppy was unable to climb, nor had the desire, and all we had to do was set him outside the door (same one every time) and he would go instantly. By the time Spring came, he was looking for snow on which to do his business.

Kian suggested those Potty Patches, and other people actually litter train their dogs like a Cat, but I always thought those were mostly for people in highrise buildings who weren't able to quickly put their dog out.

I think it is counter productive to try and turn back the training as that is confusing to your puppy. Just because he is small, he is no less of a dog. JRT's for example have very thin, short coats (for the most part) and they manage in all sorts of weather as puppies. By the time the snow flies, your pup will be well past 4 months of age and should do just fine in the cold weather for the short amount of time it takes to do its business, IMHO. Ultimately it is less work for you.

Good luck

[Nileska]

For X pens or crates in the house I use NEWSPAPERS...No risky potty pads,no expense,works fine on the first floor and the 14th floor..My puppies have the opportunity to go out as soon as they have their first shots

,,,By the time they are ready for a new home they are well on the way with house training..Husky puppies start learning as soon as their little paws hit the ground so one must be ready to teach them....Be prepared to go out with them any hour of the day or night and in any sort of weather (it wont hurt your pup to get wet or snowy). Just towel him off...Its not rocket science kiddys

[nuggetsmom]

Let me start by saying that I have read this entire thread, and am thankful for all of the information in it.

I have a few questions that I did not see addressed anywhere else in this thread, but they are all related to potty training. A little history first - I recently adopted Nugget, an Aussie shepherd puppy. According to the vet, he was probably conceived a week to 10 days after the other puppies in the litter. He was therefore born premature when they were delivered. The people, my neighbor, who own the mother didn't know she was pregnant until they had had for a couple of weeks.

My neighbors had to remove him from the pen with the other puppies for safety and feeding issues. He was still allowed visits from his mother several times a day, for nursing and cuddling. When he was about 3 weeks old, I found out they had been supplementing his feed with a mixture of condensed milk and Karo syrup. I immediately went out and got several cans of puppy formula. He immediately started to thrive on it. He was still nursing some, too.

He is now 12 1/2 weeks old, but developmentally only about 10 weeks. He's seems very bright, and definitely wants to please my husband and me. I am fortunately working from home for the next few months, so I am able to keep close watch on him day and night. He sleeps in a crate at night, and I get up every two hours to take him outside. He WAS doing very well with that schedule, but in the last week or so, I've seen a few changes. So, my questions are:

1) He has started peeing in his sleep. I watched him do this while he was laying on a towel in the livinng room. Sound asleep, but peeing. The other thing he's just started is urinating while he's walking, as if he doesn't even know he's doing it. When he did have accidents in the house before, they were at least single puddles that were a lot easier to clean up. I've never had a male puppy before, only females. Is this normal for a male puppy as they start to develop?

2) He has a vet appointment next Tuesday, and I'd like to take in a urine sample to test for a UTI. Someone posted that they were able to get a sample from their puppy. How exactly does one go about getting a clean urine sample from a puppy? And what do you put it in?

3) Because he has been wetting the bed and having accidents in the house, I've been doing a lot of laundry. Does anyone one know if regular laundry detergent is enough to kill the urine odor enough so that a dog can't smell it? Or should I be including vinegar in the wash?

Thank you for any insight that you can give me with this. He was headed down the right path, and was doing as well as can be expected for his age and development. He does gets very frequent trips outside and lots of praise and treats. But things have just taken a turn for the worse in the past few days. Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to make sure you had all pertinent information.

Robin

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Robin, first of all, let me commend you on going the extra mile to help this lovely wee fellow. I have two male dogs currently, and no, it is not normal for them to urinate while sleeping or walking.

As far as collecting a sample, it is tricky. My suggestion is to buy a disposable pie tin, or since your puppy is so small, some other tiny disposable tin (or washable dish) that you can quickly slide under him while he is going. Transfer the sample to a sterilized jar. (Simply put the container in water and bring to a boil, and let boil for 5 minutes. The dishwasher does not usually become hot enough for true sterilization). Obviously whatever you choose to use to collect the sample must also be sterilized, or at least as clean as possible. As long as you are confident that whatever container(s) you use are as clean as possible, that should suffice.

I know some people have rigged up small urine sample bottles to the end of a handle or pole, to attempt to hold under the pup. Ironically, I just had this conversation with another client at my Vet's office last week.

It sounds more like a health issue than a Behavioural one. I'm glad you are seeing the Vet on Tuesday. Try to bring as fresh a sample as possible. Perhaps give your Vet's office a call on Monday to find out if you need to refrigerate a sample from Monday in case you are unable to obtain one on Tuesday. They may also have pearls of wisdom in terms of urine collection, which they will gladly give you over the telephone.

Your puppy is very cute! I noticed him in the Recently Added Section, but thought the entire litter was premature.

Some of our other members may have other solutions or advice to offer.

Do keep us posted on how he is doing, and by all means, let us know how the visit goes at the Vet's. Best of luck to you. Your puppy is one lucky fellow to have you as his human.