New puppy and housebreaking help?

Rhea30

I've trained 2 puppies (at different times).. a lab and border collie. I used a crate, started off in my bedroom at night, so they are near you.. they'll whine. Then after a week moved them down the hall and eventually into the mudroom (big entrance) As soon as they come out of the crate you take them to pee ( I used a leash ) and reward with treats , even now my 5 year old border collie can pee on demand and she goes in the same spot in the yard, easier to clean up! You have to be consistent and exercise them.. I would take them for a walk, crate for a nap, then as soon as they woke up, take them outside again to do their business. Crates make them feel safe and they usually will not mess in their beds. Good luck! P.S. IMO Pee pads just confuse them, make sure the dog understands right away outside is where they go.
BTW - Tucker is adorable!

That happened with one of my dogs when we used the pads. She only goes on the pads and doesn't understand to go outside, even when following the directions on how to use them to get them to go outside and if a pad isn't in its normal place she'll just go to the restroom right there on the floor. We're trying to retrain her again with the crate. Other one was done by the crate and we have no issues with her now.

riskiestlavonn

I picked a puppy up off the street about a year ago (she's happy and healthy now). I would say that house training just takes consistency. In the beginning I would use Peepads ONLY if I had to leave her alone for a few hours (she always went to the pad herself... I figured she just found it more comfortable to pee on the pad the on the floor). When I was at home with her I would have to take her downstairs to see if she had to pee every hour or so (puppies seem to have small bladders). Anyway, after a while, even if I left her in with the peepad she refused to go on it, and would wait for me to come back and take her outside.

:-)

countrygirlatheart0717

I know some people are going to say/think "Holy cow you don't have your puppy housebroken yet?!?" I have a pure bred Beagle - they are the MOST STUBBORN breed to house train!!!!! I have been told that by a few people who have Beagles as well as reading that online LOL.

I am currently trying to get my 5 month old puppy housebroken too. I was taking her out every hour because anything past that she would have accidents. I take her outside every time she comes out of her crate, after eating/drinking, after rough play and anytime I saw her pacing and sniffing. I go outside and do not come in until she goes - when she goes potty I reward her with a treat and lots of praise. This was working for a little bit but then it was useless because she was going randomly all the time. I tried the aggressive crate training for about 3 weeks and she was good for a while and then started having accidents again. I was getting very frustrated because she would do SO WELL for a few days (no accidents) and then it was like she did a 180 .

I REFUSE to try the puppy pads ... to me they are a waste of money and only confuse the dog. To me, it teaches them It's okay to go inside but when you eventually take the pad away how are they do know it's no longer okay to go there?!?

I think I have FINALLY FOUND A SOLUTION!

My vet as well as staff members in pet stores have suggested using the training bells for dogs. I thought it was silly because with a dog who is chewing and destroying EVERYTHING in sight how would she NOT chew these?!? Well, since she just turned 5 months and I am tired of cleaning up messes all day (I do not work so it's even more frustrating that she isn't house broken yet) I decided to buy the bells which she doesn't chew! Haha go figure.

I would use treats as rewards (if you don't have treats you can use some of their kibbles/food) and I would take her front paws and make her stand up ... I would take her paws and hit the bells and say "outside". After letting go of her paws I would open the door and we would go outside on the front steps for a few seconds. I'd go back inside and do this over again. After doing this for 2-5 minutes I would show her the bells and say, "Daisy outside" while I hit the bells then I opened the door. I would also gently take her head and hit the bells (they hang from the door and come down almost floor length so no, it's not hurting her in any way LOL) We went outside for a little walk afterwards for a reward. She didn't do it on her own yet but my point was getting her to know what to do when she had to go outside. I had her go to the door each time she needed to go out and wouldn't go outside until she hit the bells when I said, "Daisy outside" and pointed to the bells ... I showed her that afternoon through the night and by the next afternoon she did it on her own. Since then she has hardly any accidents!!!!! After 1 day of training her she rings the bells when she has to go out.

I highly recommend using this method because when you're busy doing something and they have to go out just listen for the bells and you'll know. You don't have to get up and follow them around wondering what they're doing! Also, whenever my husband and I travel to family/friends houses we take the bells with us! Yes, this sounds silly but it works because we hang it on the door and show her so she knows even when she's not home she still has to ring the bells to go out!

Hope this helps anyone who is in the same situation and good luck!

kate_sunflower

I love the bell idea but I work all day so no one is around to hear the bell ring.

countrygirlatheart0717

I love the bell idea but I work all day so no one is around to hear the bell ring.

I wasn't thinking about that haha sorry. Well, maybe you can still train your puppy to ring the bell that way when you are home you'll hear it. When you're at work just either stick to the kennel method or confining the puppy to a room with a baby gate .... sorry that it wasn't helpful haha.