House or paper training?

Question

My puppy keeps having accidents daily. Would it be easier/better to paper train him? He's a thirteen week old Beagle.

Answer 1

He probably isn't scared to go into his crate, he just doesn't want to be in there with the pee.  Haven't you heard the old saw about dogs not fouling rheir own nests?  If it's a  matter of not being used to the crate, try padding a spot with a friendly smelling towel--rub said chosen towel all over him, so it takes on his smell--and some of his favored toys.  You want this to be a haven for him, not a penalty pen.

See, you cannot expect a pup this age to hold it while you're at work.  He just doesn't have the bladder capacity.  Another possibility is to put his crate in a room with an easily cleaned floor, like the kitchen or bath, and leave the crate open, so he can go elsewhere if he needs to.  Just have to make sure the room is closed off from the rest of the house.  And be sure to clean his oopsies promptly with Nature's Miracle or something of the kind, so you aren't encouraging him to repeat the offense.

Never penalize or scold him for his errors, but do encourage and praise him extravagantly for his successes.  You just have to be consistent and have patience.  Mine took awhile, but he's perfect now.

You can also train  him to a particular area in your yard, by making sure that's the only place you ever take him to do his business.  And,.when he gets a little more practiced, you might consider giving him a little 'bingle' to let you know he needs to go.  Take one of those cat toys they call bizzy balls--a jingle bell inside a plastic ball--and tie it to a string he can reach with his nose, then twitch it before you take himself outdoors, using his command word, or just the interrogative word 'Outside?'  Ours now lets us know with a melodic rather than a baying noise.

Answer 2

The dilema with paper training is that the puppy doesn't know the difference between paper, and carpet.  Your puppy is too young to be potty trained, the bladder isn't grown until 6-months-old, so hang in there.

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

Answer 3

No I do not recommend paper training. You are giving the dog permission to wee in the house when you use the paper. That kind of defeats the purpose. Have you tried crate training yet? If not I would recommend that. Make sure he is on a eating schedule so you will learn his bathroom schedule also take away water at 7:00pm. Do not leave out the food for the dog to eat when he wants. Good luck