Paper Training

C

crested lover

New Member
Hi.

My 14 week old puppy is being paper trained. Everything i have read talks about crate training. I cant do this. So, paper is my only avenue.

My problem is that if i take her to the paper she will wee on command and gets lots of praise. But as soon as i turn my back she goes and poops in the house, she has NEVER pooped on the paper, no matter how often i take her.

IS it possible to paper train only? someone please give me some guidance. I have downloaded a few books but all focus on crate training.

Thanks in advance.
 
hockey390

hockey390

New Member
I've never paper trained, but from what I have heard/read, you must just be persistent. When she starts to sniff around as if she must go, take her to the paper right away. Another thing I've read is you can create a holding area with paper down on one side, and a bed on the other. That way they will relieve themselves on the paper side. Someone else might have better tips, but just make sure you put the dog on the paper when it goes. It will begin to relate potty to the paper, so it will go there to go as opposed to you taking it there.
 
bipa

bipa

New Member
The reason paper training isn't encouraged is because you end up having to train your dog twice - first to go on paper, and then again to go outside. I skipped paper training with my last three dogs, but sometimes when folks are in an apartment it might be necessary.

In that case the easiest way to start is to have the young puppy confined to a smallish room, like a bathroom or the kitchen, and paper practically the whole floor so that the dog has no choice but to go on paper and gets used to the idea. This might sound crazy, but I remember papering most of the kitchen, and then settling down with a good book and just waiting until the puppy went. Then lots of praise and treats and some play so the puppy learns that paper is a great place to go. Then gradually reduced the area that was covered, still keeping the pup confined to the kitchen (for easy clean-up and supervision). At the first sign of a squat anywhere that didn't have paper, I scooped the puppy up and placed on paper, then again praise and treat.

Management is pretty important with puppies, which means not letting them have unsupervised run of the place. If your pup is pooping on the carpet, then just don't let the puppy on carpeted areas unless you are watching really closely. Then as soon as it looks like it is poop time, "grab pup and run for the paper". At that point the pup will be a little shocked and won't want to poop right away, but keep her on or near your papered area until the urge hits again and the business is done. Eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later, your puppy will realise that paper is the proper place and then you can give her a little more freedom around the place.

You probably already know about properly cleaning any soiled areas with special cleaners that will get rid of any traces of doggie pee and poop but I thought I'd also meantion it. Don't use ammonia based cleaners, but stick with ones that have enzymes to break down and get rid of the odour.

Cheers!
 
alix

alix

New Member
I am also paper training my dogs. I agree that it is not the best way, since you do have to train twice. In fact, now that my dogs are perfectly trained on the paper, this weekend the paper will be placed in the garden, and hopefully in the next few weeks they will be totally toilet trained.

Crested lover, in general I find that pee is more difficult to train than Poop. when peeing, the female just squads and does it. For the poop, I suggest that you are very precise in the feeding times, and you will notice that most of the time they will go like clockwork. Also, both my female and male dogs, they start sniffing non stop and go in circles, this is a sure sign that they have to poop. Try this and you might catch him fast enough to bring him on the paper.

This time around, I was determined not to do paper training with my pups, but I saw the benefits of it with my previous dogs the last year of their life, when Duffy who had a stroke couldn't walk properly and was on diuretics, and Pooky who had poor heart and also on diuretics, and I re-introduced the paper outside the bedroom, it was convenient for them and us.
 
bipa

bipa

New Member
Hmm... that's a good point about older dogs. I guess if/when the time comes, I might have to resort to doggie diapers since mine aren't paper trained. :dogsad:
 
L

lagomorphmonster

New Member
Although it's true that you would have to train twice with paper training, my puppy was so young that she had to go every 2-3 hours when I first got her, and I was too lazy to take her outside in the middle of the night.

Truthfully, it wasn't that difficult a transition. I trained my dog to go outside as well as go on the paper (whichever was more convenient at the time, depending on where we were and the time of day). I also trained her to pee on command at the same time. Eventually, she did show a preference of going outside, and started shredding the paper instead of using it, and I quit the paper all together then (I was only using the paper "just in case"). I think she was about 4 months old at the time.

As Bipa said, management is extremely important. Don't ever let your pup walk around unsupervised where he could poop on the floor. When not supervised, your pup should be in a small crate, where hopefully he won't want to soil, and will cry to get your attention so that you can show him where to go do his business.
 
splitz831

splitz831

New Member
We have pee pad trained our dogs. It's like a diaper on the floor in a special holder. Generally what we did was leave it in all the areas that they commonly went and watched them like a hawk, as soon as they even went near it we praised and treated them. But we really didn't have much trouble with it. Our last dog came home and the first thing he did was go straight to the pad to take a pee...we were so excited. As for training them twice, I don't really think we've had to. We still have the pads down but they are for emergencies only now. All three will hold it as long as they possibly can. We found having the pads was good because we sometimes work long hours...and sleep long hours...but they know that as soon as we get home and get up they are going out so they will generally wait, but if you take too long they'll just use the pad. It comes down to routine I think. When it was really cold here and they weren't going out much (short hair dogs don't like -20) they started using the pads a lot, but as soon as it warmed up enough for their routine to get back in place, they were right back in the swing of things. Hope that helps.
 
A

artemis

New Member
Perhaps if paper is not successful it is time to try something else. How about a shallow tray of sand? Sometimes more appealing than paper and also a good start to encourage toileting outside later on. Try to follow your puppies pooping schedule for a few days so you know when he wants to go and them have him with you in close proximity to the sand tray. Be there but don't watch him obviously, as this may put him off,Lots of praise and reward after first few successes.Never tell him off for accidents outside tray or in other location after the event
 
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