RE: Puppy Potty Training

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
In reply to the following Personal Message I have received:

Hi Jean,
I just started using your website and it's all new to me but I like it.
I have a Min-Pin (miniature pinscher) that is just over 5 months old. She knows her name, she will sit (but not stay) and so far that's it. I live in a small mobile home with my husband, my min-pin and five cats. I am having a little difficulty with my training her because she is distracted by the cats and everything else. Am I expecting too much since she is so young? I can't even take her to a room without anything going on since the home has sliding doors and the cats push the doors open without a problem (even the tiny bathroom).
I also am having problems with her potty training. She stays in a crate at night and has stopped wetting the bed. I take her out immediately in the morning and when I get home from work. I play with her as much as I can and take her out afterwards. When I first got her, she eliminated on a throw rug. I have washed the throw rug over & over but if I'm not looking, she will still go on the throw rug. I have used a carpet cleaner underneath where the throw rug is to try to illiminate any smell so she won't go there but she still does. I watch her constantly and try to teach her to go outside. I couldn't use papers because I had no where to block her off. I love her but I just don't know what to do. I got her in June and figured in the warm weather it would be easy to train her to go outside, but she doesn't go to the door when she needs to go. Any suggestions? Thanks, Cathy
Hi Cathy! Welcome to the website! :)

Honestly, a puppy can be trained very quickly to go outside if your techniques are right. It took less than a month to get my puppies to go outside.

The first thing you need to know is that dogs learn in the moment. There is absolutely nothing you can do if you find a puddle of pee or a pile near your bed. Even if it has just happened 2 minutes earlier! Disciplining your dog after the fact will not give him any information about why he is getting disciplined.

When you catch him in the act, you must let him know that it's not okay to do it inside! I personally yell out an "AHHHHHHH!!!!!" to startle the dog, and I immediately pick up the puppy and bring him outside. The important thing here is that you CATCH him in the act, while he is still squatting.

One step people forget, is that you must reward him for going outside! When you bring him outside, wait patiently without playing with him, then as soon as he is done (I literally mean when he stands up from squatting), praise him and give him a bunch of treats! He just got it right!!!

Puppies give out signs which tells you that they are about to go. When a puppy wakes up, he will need to go do his duties, so bring him outside right away! Whether it is in the morning or just after a nap, after he wakes up bring him outside right away! (Or right when you let him out of the crate). They also have to go after playing with his toys, your cats or you.

When they have to go, they will usually start sniffing around for a few seconds before. Remember, a puppy can't hold themselves as long as a grown dog, so when they gotta go, it means they gotta go! ;)

... And since you crate your dog, you should easily toilet train him. Put him in his crate any time you cannot supervise him, and pay close attention when he is out. Eventually, with time, you want to create situations where you don't bring him outside right away, and see what he does, yell out your 'AHH!' if you catch him inside and bring him outside!

It just takes a little bit of time; you just have to make sure that:

  • 1 - You reinforce him for going outside. (Treats, praise, games.)
  • 2 - You catch him in the act inside, and bring him outside immediately.
  • 3 - The less often he is allowed to do his duties inside, the quicker he will learn to only go outside.
I hope this help, let me know! ;)
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Cathy!

I did read your circumstances, and no matter what is around your dog, whether it's the size of your living arrangements, the distractions of the cats or the smell of the rug, you still have to reinforce your dog for going outside and correct him for going inside. It is the only way he will learn that it's okay outside but not okay inside. You will need to pay better attention so that your dog never gets another chance of going on your rug.

I do want to help you, and I believe I did, but could you be more specific on the issue I did not address?
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
Everything Jean has told you should help you if you follow it correctly. Also, if she seems to be doing fine inside, with the exception of the throw rug....why not get rid of the throw rug? If not permenately, then at least for a while. Hide the rug away somewhere for a week, a month, whatever. You could even make the rug kind of a training spot...when you're working with her, for instance on teaching down, you could take her to the rug, and begin training. This will teach her to see the rug not as a restroom, but as another object in the home that she happens to learn and be rewarded at. Or, depending on the size of the rug, you could place it in her kennel. As Min-Pins are not large dogs, I'm assuming her crate is relatively small. So, placing the rug in the kennel may not be an option. However, if it is, this will help her learn to not want to relieve herself on the rug. Crate-trained dogs see the crate as a place of safety and relaxation, and(if the crate is the proper size for the dog), they will not eliminate in the crate. If the rug seems to be her target, then placing it in her crate will help her see it as a bed where she can rest and relax. This does not have to be permanant, of course. And it should definitely be clean when and if you place it in her kennel. I'm sure you wash it each time it is soiled. You could also place the rug right in front of the door, and teach her to go to it and sit as soon as she is released from the crate. This is the equivalent of perhaps teaching a dog to scratch at the door when they want out, or ring a bell, or whatever. With the rug placed in front of the door, if you teach her to go to the rug and sit, it's like a target. It will help her see it as something positive: when she goes to the rug, she is allowed to relieve herself outside. Make the rug a happy place to be...rather than simply a place to relieve herself. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. =)
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
Of course I realize this is an old message, so I'm not exactly expecting a reply. o-o But for anyone with house-training problems, this should be beneficial. ^^
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
Hey thanks for helping her out tx_cowgirl, however I doubt she will come back. I guess she didn't like my advice. :dogsmile:
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
Guess not. Oh well...if nothing else, perhaps it's good reading material for other people with housebreaking problems. :dogsmile:
 

hockey390

New Member
Just to add on to this... If you are at home, but not able to keep the dog in sight at all times (Ex. The dog goes around the corner and potties on the rug), you can attach a lead to it. If the dog is always in your vision, and within a quick reach, the potty training, or correction process can be improved more quickly.

I have the problem that my house is two stories, and the room I am in most frequently is upstairs.. Of course when I take my puppy out, I leash her upstairs, and lead her down to the back door and outside. So as she progressed she would go downstairs and sit at the door. If I didn't see her go downstairs, and she doesn't make any sound while at the door, she wouldn't be let out quickly enough and she would go on the doormat in front of the door.. I fixed this problem by keeping her on a leash if I couldn't watch her 100%.
 

mariya22

New Member
I remember how difficult it was to find valuable dog training information, how frustrated I was every time I applied the latest techniques to train my dog, without major success. Often I had to retrain her over and over again. It took me a lot of trial and error, but I finally learned all the best dog training techniques, and I applied them to my dog one by one with great success.
 
Top