Comments on: How to House-Train a Puppy

on 11/22/2005 Make sure that your puppy is old enough to be housebroken. So many make the mistake of trying to housebreak a puppy at 6-8 weeks old. Puppies are like humans - you wouldn't expect to potty-train a 6 month old. Most puppies aren't able to fully control their functions until they are around 16 weeks old. Be patient! Crate training (starting at around 12 weeks) works great. In the meantime, I put the crate inside a child's playpen. This gives them some room to play, and a quiet place to sleep.

on 11/22/2005 My sister and I both have puppies. I have a chihuahua who immediately took to the "rewards" system and was potty trained quickly. My sister, on the other hand, had tried everything with her pit bull, with no change in behavior. Finally, she moved the feces to the dog crate and forced the dog to sleep by her own mess (she figured it was a dose of her own medicine). While I found this initially cruel, it worked like a charm! Now there are no more messes in our home.

on 11/22/2005 I must strongly disagree with all forms of hitting an animal and rubbing their noses in mistakes. I have never raised my hand (or anything else) to any of my pets and I have never had any trouble housebreaking my pets. I have had a few puppies and older dogs in my time and had to housebreak them. I cannot think of any pet that took longer than a month (he was full grown and we used puppy pads during the day also). The average was a week. Yes, I punish for accidents by giving a "time out" and gentle to moderate scolding, depending on if they know better or not. Time out consists of an open/slotted laundry basket placed upside down so that the puppy is under it with the paper towel that I used to clean the mess in there with her, being careful that she doesn't come in contact with the paper towel. Time out isn't in the same spot the accident was in. The purpose for a different spot was to teach that anywhere in the house was unacceptable. Time out varies according to age (seconds for the very young and up to 5 minutes for the older/grown pets). And afterwards, hugs, love and play outside for all. And I don't send my learning pets out by themselves. We always go together, even in the worst weather. It's always worked for me. I hope this method helps.

on 11/22/2005 I have a Chihuahua and I know that punishment and rewards are keys to housebreaking pets. If you completely ignore your pet's accidents and just clean them up, they think that it's alright. Rewards must always be given when eliminating is where it's supposed to be. I took people's advice and didn't punish my dog for eliminating wherever in the house, but my dog didn't actually get the idea until I tried punishment! Do not go overboard and abuse your pets. There is a fine line between punishment and abuse. Always have patience. Make sure your dog is getting the proper attention because if not, they will purposely do things like eliminate in the house or tear up your couch. Love, patience, rewards, and punishment are all you need.

on 11/22/2005 Avoid over feeding your puppy or dog. Make sure you feed him at the same time everyday. This makes potty time more predictable.

on 12/15/2005 Dogs aim to please, so every time we took our Shih Tzu pup outside we would repeat a key word every time she was doing #1 and another when she did # 2. She learned to associate the key word to the act, so that each time we take her outside and say the keyword she goes, and she knows that as soon as she is inside again she is rewarded with a treat. This method helped us train her in record time (over a long weekend).

on 11/22/2005 Like any animal, even a human, you must see what works for your dog. We have had our dog for 1 1/2 years and he is JUST NOW getting housebroken because of insisten bad advice from a pet behaviorist. Contrary to popular belief, the reward system does not work on all animals. It took us punishing the dog (with a smack on the butt, and some yelling) for him to get the idea that he isn't supposed to eliminate in the house. Although be sure not to train your puppy that going outside is bad either. We praise him when he goes outside and punish when he goes inside. Since starting this he has gone from eliminating in the house 2-3 times a week to once every 1-2 months. Feel your dog out, it is a basic law of psychology that what behavior modification techniques work for one entity may not work for another. Love your pet like your own child.

on 11/22/2005 After our puppy eliminates outside, we gently pull her toward the door (she likes to mess around outside, and we don't want that yet) while happily saying "Good girl!" over and over. Once inside, we give her a small treat. It works like a charm!

on 11/22/2005 I have found that "Puppy Training Pads" work. These pads can be found in any pet store, and they carry a special scent that draws the puppy to them when he needs to eliminate. I've never trained a dog so easily.

on 11/22/2005 Every puppy I know that was house-trained without punishment for eliminating in the house took longer and was not trained as well. A GENTLE rap with a magazine or paper reinforces that they were wrong, but I agree that praise should be the main tactic.

on 11/22/2005 Put bells on your door, and the dog will learn to ring them when it has to go.

on 11/22/2005 Please, when training your dog(housetraining or whatever!) don't think he can learn in a day! And don't think that one way of doing something will be the best for your dog. Try new ideas to see if they might work. Develop your own plan. Use what works!

on 11/22/2005 Tie a bell on the door your pup will be going out. When you take the pup out to go to the bathroom, have him hit the bell. After awhile, the pup will ring the bell when he wants to go out to use the bathroom. I had my lab trained in 3 weeks using this.

on 11/22/2005 Take your puppy out at the same time each day. Reward with a "good dog" and a treat when he eliminates outside. Ignore accidents and don't clean up in front of the puppy. Reinforce good behavior with praise and treats.

on 11/22/2005 When taking puppy outside, elimination should be before any playtime. Play can be used as another form of reward along with praise and treats.