Housebreaking a Puppy Help?

[Zephyr]

So yea I just got a Pomeranian and she's quite awesome until nature calls... so I'm confused about house breaking. So basically if I catch her in the act I need to of course say "no" and take her outside to a chosen spot until she does her thing or if she doesnt take her back in and repeat cycle again if caught again? What about overnight while everyone is asleep? I don't have a kennel at the moment, just a bed for her which she seems to already know it's hers...today is the first night with her.

I'm confused...any help or tips is greatly appreciated

[GQBalla]

you got the right idea.

i can see you also have those pads.

my pug still uses them!

they will learn give it time

[superboss]

First things first, make a convenient place for the dog to do its business. I have a tiled floor in my bathroom so thats what I used..

Then you need to go to petsmart and buy doggie pads that you put on the floor. These pads have enzimes that attract the puppy to use that as the bathroom.

Be patient with the dog and it will learn, puppies can only hold it for 2-3 hours, they need to go right after every meal aswell. If you go away for long periods of time then expect there to be a mess when you get back.

Dont shout or punish the dog if it makes a mistake.!!! praise it everytime it goes to the bathrom and uses the pads. praising the dog everytime will make it understand thats its doing something right. Thats all that dogs look for PLEASING THEIR OWNERS. evenually things will get easier, good luck..

[Zephyr]

should i confine her to a place overnight since this is the first night, or just let her stay in her bed and pray not too many accidents when i wake up tomorrow?

[Team_Mclaren]

Originally posted by Zephyr
should i confine her to a place overnight since this is the first night, or just let her stay in her bed and pray not too many accidents when i wake up tomorrow?

definitely confine her to a set place, for the first weeks or so they pretty much go whenever till they learn. you dont want to wake up and see accidents everywhere

[turbotrip]

Originally posted by Team_Mclaren


definitely confine her to a set place, for the first weeks or so they pretty much go whenever till they learn. you dont want to wake up and see accidents everywhere

after the first night when i woke up i found shit all over the house lol

[lilmira]

Get a proper-sized kennel for her to sleep in at night and close the door. It's not cruel. Dogs doesn't sleep and shit/piss at the same place. So if she has to do her business at night, she would probably scream to let you know, I know mine did.

You definitely have to catch her in the act and let her know that kind of behaviour in the house is unacceptable. It is also important to eliminate the smell of her piss the best you can if there is an accident since they like to do it at the same spot.

The most important part is to encourage her to do it outside the house. Take her out after nap time, play time and meal. It shouldn't take to long for her to pick up the habit. Mine won't do it in the house now not even if you point a gun to her head.

[Kritafo]

You need to confine her. She is so cute and small, superstore even sells crates that will work for her. For the most part animals won't do their business where they are sleeping. We crate our dog she is 8, she doesn't need over nights, but it is her place. She goes there when she needs time away from the kids or just chill out.

Use the crate when you can't keep an eye on your puppy every single minute. She doesn't have to be locked in. We lock our dog in so she won't get into trouble when we are gone. No stress for the owners, you have no anxiety of what you will come home to. You will come home to a dog happy to see you, and no messes = good dog. Dog running around the house chewing shoes and etc, and doing it's business all over the house = bad dog.

Make sure you have special toys for the crate.

She will bark and complain, as she will have lost 100% freedom. Crates are a wonderful tool for training, just make sure you use it properly. Lots of great websites. Make sure you have a key word for when it's time to go and do her business outside. ours is "get busy" If you can train her to go in one spot in the yard that is always a good thing.

Good luck, very cute puppy! Hope you had a good night with her.

[HyperZell]

Your best friend here is patience. It can take some time for your dog to learn, but she will. Repitition is important, so even if you get frustrated keep up the same behaviour and eventually your dog will understand and learn. Best of luck - they are worth it!

[clem24]

Yes... you need a crate. Don't buy one that fits her now. Buy one that she will comfortably fit in when she's grown (you should know how big she'll get). If it's too big for her now, just put partition in there. Otherwise she'll just go in one part of the crate and sleep in the other. I hope this isn't a "pet store" dog as those are especially hard to train b/c they've been trained to go inside the kennel.

This is how I trained my dogs. Puppies need to go ALL THE TIME. For the first little bit, you need a routine. I take them out every hour on the hour. If they don't go, I put them back in the kennel for about 10-15 mins, then try again. If they fall asleep, then even better. I just leave them inside until they wake up and start whining. And always take them outside right after they've eaten, first thing in the morning, and right before bedtime.

If you catch them in the act, even better. Go up to them, make a loud sharp noise to interrupt, say NO, then immediately throw them outside to their spot. Just make sure you clean the area (don't use ammonia cause it smells a little like pee). You'll also notice signs - the dog starts sniffing and walking in circles if it wants to poop. Peeing is harder to identify, but you'll see it sniffing differently. That's the best time to throw them outside. If in doubt, just take her outside.

If I ever predict they'll need to go, I will actually guide to the door (vs. picking them up) so that the know which door to go to (and eventually they'll start pawing it).

The biggest thing now is to confine them. They'll get freedom to roam but that needs to be earned. Dont' feel bad about confining them b/c a kennel is like a den. The puppy will feel safe there. If it's used properly, you'll notice your dog automatically goes back into the kennel on it's own.

One thing about the kennel is to never ever use it as punishment. So if your dog did something bad, do not send it to the kennel like you'd send a kid to their room. As for those pads, personally I don't like the pads cause the dog can't distinguish between indoors and out.

Anyway, dogs are hard work, especially at the beginning (and why so many new dogs/puppies are given up). I was overstressed with my first puppy, and eventually gave her up (but luckily to the owner that bought her brother). My 2nd and 3rd dog I was way more prepared. Just hang in there. The rewards will come.

My best advice for now and later is, remember she's a dog, not a human. Treat her the way a mom dog would treat her.

[Zephyr]

ugh,it's like having a kid....she slept well over the night just started waking me up very early... i kept her in the crate overnight and she was doing the typical whimping and crying but she saw me and eventually fell asleep. i took her out first thing in the morning. she peed, but it was cold, i was tired so I guess i didn't wait long enough and took her back in. while i went to go wash my hands she took a crap on the wood floor..great.. right now shes wandering around the house following me everywhere and playing wiht my parents... should i just crate her during the day too? she's 6 months right now

[phreezee]

Kennel training is the easiest way to do it. I did it with the bell technique too.

Everytime you take her out of the kennel, make her ring a bell you tie to the door knob (just brush the bell with her nose at first), take her out to pee. Eventually, she'll start ringing the bell to let you know she has to go.
If she rings the bell, and you take her out and she doesn't do her thing, you take her straight to the crate for 30 minutes. Then when you take her out, take her straight to the bell and try again.

[Kritafo]

if someone is not with her all the time I would crate. then she won't have the chance to make any messes in the house.

the loud sharp noise is a good firm no. Put some rocks into a small pop or juice bottle. Make sure everyone is clear on what she is and is not allowed to do. ie...on the furniture or not. what toys she is allowed to have.

Yes dogs are like children and properly trained dogs are a joy to be around. Children aren't so easy...

[syeve]

I'm sure you know this, but rememebr NOT to put the dog in the kennel when its in trouble, the kennel should be a good/safe place...not a place it goes after chewing something, or peeing somewhere. Personally I wouldn't put her food and water dish on a puppy pad, that might confuse him.

I agree with most of the posts here...best thing is a schedule and putting her outside even if it is showing no signs of having to go. When you wake up, dog outside...dog eats, outside...before bed, outside etc. I would try for every hour if you can, if not every couple of hours is good. If she goes outside and takes a dump/piss priase the shit out of her.

I have a chihuahua and he learned so quicky, he holds it all night, as soon as I move in the morning he RACES to the door and I let him out. If he EVER has an accident it is my fault.

[clem24]

Originally posted by Zephyr
ugh,it's like having a kid....she slept well over the night just started waking me up very early...

Bwahaha I assume you have no kids.. I don't, if you think a puppy is bad, then I don't think you want kids. My dogs usually whined at about 6-7am for the first little bit (maybe 1 month). Then it got later. Just think of it this way: the more time you put in now, the less work it will be later. When I got my puppy, I just took the first 2 weeks off work. My 2nd puppy I just told my boss I was working from home. Small price to pay. Plus I got to spend a ton of time bonding with my dogs.

Again don't feel bad about crating. My puppy had a totally fixed schedule. It was something like this:

7:00am: wake up, go pee AND poo (make sure they do both. If not, then see next step)
7:15am: feed breakfast. take outside immediately if not pooed.
7:30am: play for a bit
8:00am: back to the crate, and back to bed for me
10:00am: take outside to pee and/or poo
10:15am: play
10:30am: let them run around for a bit
11:00am: take outside
11:15am: back to the crate
1pm: outside to pee
1:15pm: feed lunch, then outside immediately to poo
1:30: let them run around for a bit
2:00: nap until about 4
etc...

The schedule is about as best as you can do. And remember the rule of thumb: they can hold it in for hours x how old they are, so 2 months = 2 hours, 3 months = 3 hours, etc... When my puppy was about 4-5 months, I'd leave her in a bigger open fold out cage thing you can get from a pet store. And I would go back home at lunch to feed and let her out.

Yup it's a pain. All puppies are.

[jay838]

Yeah pomeranian can hard to train cause we got our when she was only two mths.. They can be a brats. Mine is good with the pad things but when she has to goes she will goes anyway in the house. But they can hold there pee for at least 6 hrs.. They can be annoying to handles..they bark at everyone and heard any noise they will bark. So with ours we just brought a pet pen that u can get at any pet stores and get her sleep in there when she a puppy..After she got older we just let her run around the house and sleep in her bed..

[bignerd]

I wouldn't bother training with paper or those pads, basically you have to train them to go potty on those IN the house then you have to retrain them to go outside.... waste of time.

Just put them outside lots and tell them "potty" or whatever you want to call it, and when they go outside you have to have a party for them, lots of treats, tell them how wonderful they are etc... etc... If they do have an accident in the house just a firm "No" and put them right outside should do-but do praise if they go outside right after.

Like above posters said, get the kennel. It is important.

And just a side not, toy breeds are notoriously hard to housetrain, so good luck.

[aklalani]

first tip is too make sure she understands its unacceptable to do her business anywhere but the mat.

Secondly make sure you clean the spots thouroughly so that she doesnt smell it and do it in the same spot again.

Third, praise her and give her a treat everytime she does it on the chosen location

Fourth, i recommend kennel training her as it will be better for you guys in the future. She will cry and bark and the beginning but she will eventually get used to it and accept it.

I have a bichon shitzu and she is fully house trained. When we are not home she goes on her mat, and when we are home she lets us know she wants to go outside to do her business as she will get a treat if she does it outside.

Good Luck!

[jay42w8]

that's why dogs are stupid, get a cat...dogs are such vile creatures I don't know of any other species in the world besides humans that would constantly be cleaning up another animals shit

[HyperZell]

Originally posted by jay42w8
that's why dogs are stupid, get a cat...dogs are such vile creatures I don't know of any other species in the world besides humans that would constantly be cleaning up another animals shit

Yes, I'm going to have to get me one of those new cats that don't shit. Where are they selling them? Probably the same place you're getting the rest of your post from - Fuckmeimstupidland. I'll take a look later today.