Please help me to understand how to get my dog not to pee or p**p in the house!?

Question

Okay,I admit it I was doing it wrong and have since learned that the way to train a dog to not relieve themselves in the house was definitely not to rub their nose in their waste(even though I have seen it done and work by old people).But remember our grandparents did it that way because they saw people do it that way long before them.Yes,they were wrong.I haven't had a baby dog since I was 17.I am 37 now.My first dog never had to learn about house breaking because he stayed outside in a very comfortable Californian environment for his whole life in a perfect dog house,baths every few days,manicuring and everything good for him.and when he died I cried just as hard as when my mother died.

My only job ever while living at home and when he moved in with me was just picking p**p up from the yard.Now I have 2 dogs in Thailand.My first is a year old and was a 0 problem in house training.She made a stink,maybe 3 times in the house and like dream dog never did it again and never has since.My new girl is almost impossible to train.Yes,I made the mistake by rubbing her nose in it.I didn't understand.All old people have always said that is what to do.Okay,Okay,Okay!I don't spank my child and I don't fight with my wife.I want to make it understood that I am a nice person.I love my family and that includes my dogs.But I don't know how to stop this puppy from doing its thing in the house.Everyday,10 times a day it poops and pees in the house.I pick her up and take her outside in the middle of doing it.Most of the time I am emotionless,trying just to reinforce the idea of saying"Go do your thing out side." in a nice way.But sometimes I get frustrated when she looks me in the face and starts peeing and I shout "Blah,go pee outside!" She whines and runs when I am not obviously even thinking of touching her and runs out the door like she is doing it on purpose.It is like she thinks peeing in the house is the right thing and peeing outside is the wrong thing.I pet her when she goes outside and reinforce her positively but it seems like doing it inside is what she wants.She can be out all night and pee within 15 minutes when let into the house.She is the funniest little cute girl.I love her but she is not so good on the peeing and pooping the house subject.My sisters dog and my 2nd never had this problem.They learned twice as fast as my new puppy.I know that every life has a different personality as to how they learn, that is why I'm asking.What can I do?I and my wife don't like stepping on p**p right outside our bedroom door(which is her favorite place to go) when going to the bathroom at night and when we keep her outside she does her thing almost instantly when we let her in even after being out all night.Help!

Answer 1

Times when your dog will surely pee: 1. when she is excited(wagging tail excitedly or when scared) 2. after meals and 3.after getting up from sleep. Initially at all these time take the dog out side yourself immediately, in sometime they will understand that they have to go out.

Answer 2

your doggies is giving you daily presents! ? !  

Don't' let the pup see you cleaning up the mess. ALSO MAKE sure you are going out with the dog and that you are outlasting her.  If you give her water when she comes back in that is counterproductive.

I have blog on housebreaking it also has link to great book and other resources  for housebreaking. I don't claim the easiest to read blogs but you will find the info you need!

http://golden-joy.blogspot.com/2008/07/h...

Answer 3

Dogs respond better to praise than scolding.  (I realize you see this) Continue what you are doing, but when she poops and pees outside, praise her a lot, maybe give her a treat or give her a good scratch?  You getting frustrated won't help.  Have your wife help reinforce good behavior too; the more the better.  

Also, don't leave the food and water out all day.  Your pup probably only needs a couple cups or less of food a day.  Schedule times to take her outside in conjunction with her feedings.  Stay consistent.

Answer 4

I use a crate* to potty train with, but only for potty training and then I break it down and store it.  I put blankets and a small food and water dish in the crate.  Dogs don't potty where they eat and sleep.  When they are first little, I only expect them to hold their potty for 4 hours, and then 6 hours, then 8 hours and so on.  So when they are first little, I set a timer or alarm clock to wake myself up at night to take them *out.  I only allow my puppy in the bedroom* or the living room, only one room at a time.  They have to graduate to more space.  If I allow them to have full run of the house, it will overwhelm them.  I take them out the same door each time.  I tie a dinner bell to the door handle.  Do not use a jingle bell as they could get their toe caught in it.  So when they are little, I ring the bell for them, and then open the door to go *outside to potty.  When they get bigger, I take their paw and whack the bell and open the door to go potty.  Eventually getting to the place where the puppy will ring the bell and let me know when they need to go potty.  Dogs want to please you, so it is your job to let them know what behaviors please you and what doesn't.  So when my puppy goes potty, I give her a treat*, and clap, and make a fuss and praise her.  So she learns that going potty outside makes me happy.  If she has an accident, make a disgust sound like “tsst”  and take her out right away.  I never yell* or spank* my puppies.  Take them out when they first wake up, after they eat or drink, before nap, finish romping, when their activities change, or when they are sniffing around. Some puppies go pee right away, but may not go p**p until 10 minutes later, so wait for the p**p.  I have a little play time here, because sometimes I think they are done, and they are not.  Puppies train at their own pace.  While I may have a puppy that hasn't had an accident in several weeks, I don't let my guard down.  I don't expect my puppies to be "fully potty trained" until one-year-old.  If they have a setback, shake it off, and start over.  I only have my puppies in the crate when I am not watching them.  When I am sleeping, cooking, ironing, doing chores, basically when I am not watching her.  All other times, she is out of the crate practicing being a "big girl."  This is the time I train her how to behave in the house.  So we are practicing "no barking", 'no biting", "no jumping", and "don't eat the furniture."  I also have to practice "playing inside" so she doesn't knock over things.  You must keep the puppy in sight when they are little because they don’t know the difference between newspaper and carpet, and you don’t want them sneaking off and getting into trouble.   Some puppies can sleep through the night around 3-months-old, but their bladder is grown around 6-months-old.



REVISIONS:



*I use a crate to train with.  It is the method I prefer, compared to other methods I have tried.  I noticed that if they are in the crate, while I am doing chores, they are o.k., because the crate allows them to see me and be re-assured.  The crate can also be a comfort when stored in the basement for dogs who live in areas where thunderstorms and tornados are an issue. .  However, use the method that works best for you.....a laundry basket, a cardboard box, a woof-woof house, x-pen, child gates, whatever works for you.



*Outside, pee pad, litter box, whichever method you are using.   When the puppy is first little, keep the pee pad, litter box near the food and water dish, so the puppy can eat and drink, and then go potty.  You can move it away as they get older.  The pee pad has a scent that smells and initiates potty.  Sometimes a pee pad makes a sound that scares some puppies, so you might want to use a litter box if that happens.  The pee pad allows a puppy to walk around, but a litter box keeps the puppy in one place.

*Bedrooms, I use the bedroom and living room for training, because it works for me.  Choose rooms that work for you, but watch for rooms that are damp, or drafty.  While my puppies sleep in the bedroom during training, once they are trained, I let them sleep where they want to.  They don't have to sleep in the bedroom forever.

*Treats.  While I use treats for training, you don't have to.  I like Charlee Bears for training (a little cracker for a little mouth,) I use them for training, but once they are trained, I cut back on them.



*Some puppies will go potty in the same spot each time.  Some puppies have to be told to go potty.  A command like "go out" for pee, or "go finish" for p**p, might work for you, keep saying “go finish” until the puppy poops.  This is a good thing to train if you travel with your dogs.  By using commands, the puppy won't get confused when you are visiting someone, on vacation with you, or when you get to a new home.  The command will tell them what you want them to do in an unfamiliar place.  You might also want to use a leash method, so the puppy doesn’t sneak off, or for strange places.

*Yelling.  It is not a good idea to "yell" or "spank" your puppy and then take them outside when they have an accident.  They may get confused and think that going outside is punishment.  While you want to correct them, if you are extreme, they may not want to go outside again.  Shake it off, and resume your schedule.  You have to keep it real.  Puppies train at their own pace,  but a puppy can only hold their potty for a few hours.  A guide would be 1 hour for each month of age, plus 1 hour, so a three-month-old puppy should only be expected to hold their potty for 4 hours at most.  

  

Source:  These tips, tricks, and ideas were contributed from many brilliant minds.  Thanks for your help!