Comments for Puppy Potty Training at http://dogclassonline.com , comment 1 to 7 out of 7 comments http://dogclassonline.com Thu, 23 May 2013 20:36:55 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://dogclassonline.com/raising-a-puppy/puppy-potty-training.html#comment-84 My biggest issue right now is potty training. He knows to go outside and he is good about holding it when we are home. Before we leave we take him out and it never fails that even if we are gone for 5 minutes he will also go in the house. I'm not sure how to break this because we don't have a crate for him just yet. Any suggestions? - scouter Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:11:44 +0100 http://dogclassonline.com/raising-a-puppy/puppy-potty-training.html#comment-52 Our little girl is 4 months old now. We started trying to train her in the kitchen as soon as we got her at the age of 9 weeks. We put up a baby gate to keep her in the kitchen for the first month. The first few days we just watched to see what area she would automatically potty in. Then we put the puppy pads down in that spot. She goes on the pad now when we are not home and we don't have to leave her locked in the kitchen to do that. Also, we take her outside every few hours and say, "let's go potty outside Jade" (took her our every hour or two at first). We walk to the same tree outside and she will sniff around it and potty then turn and run back to the front door when she is done. We don't even have to put her on a leash. I give her verbal praise as soon as she starts to potty. Then when we get back inside I give her a little treat and praise her some more. She is very eager to learn! I have noticed the hard way that consistancy is key though. My fiance will allow her to do things that she should not be doing. Especially not at this age while she learning right from wrong. She will quickly revert to bad habits when he is inconsistent with her. Like when he allows her to chew on a certain stuffed animal and then that teaches her that she can chew on any of them. Or when she chews on an old shoe...she things she can chew on any shoe, etc. I can reteach her in 5-10 minutes, but that just shows how quick of learners they are! Don't worry, I DO scold my fiance for confusing her. He is just a guy though and doesn't always see the importance. I guess he will when she finally sinks her (full grown) teeth in a good pair of his shoes. - sextonfamily Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:19:11 +0100 http://dogclassonline.com/raising-a-puppy/puppy-potty-training.html#comment-48 If you set your puppy up on a potty schedule, you should be able to predict when he needs to go potty. A good schedule for a four month old puppy would be every three to four hours during the day unless he has drank a lot of water or has just been sleeping or playing hard. At the times when he/she has just gone, you know that the barking is an attention getting behavior and then you should ignore it. Most likely what is happening is your puppy is bored with whatever is going on inside and thinks it would be more fun to be outside. So, your puppy begins barking and you let him out. Voila, puppy just got what he wanted! You may want to consider changing the behavior he uses to tell you he needs to potty. For example, you could teach him to ring a bell but that too could get annoying if he repetitively rings it. Or better yet, take him out to potty whenever he goes to the door but before he starts barking. This will teach him that he only goes out when he's quiet and not when he barks. Also, make sure you are taking him out on leash to make him potty first before play. If you take him out and he doesn't potty, he doesn't get to get off the leash and must come back inside. If he does potty, he can then be released from the leash to play. This will teach him that he will not be allowed to have fun outside unless he goes potty first and may help with the barking situation because he will only bark when he really needs to go. If you are sure that your puppy just pottied and he is still barking at the door, you could use a squirt bottle with a mixture or water and vinegar and squirt him to correct the barking. Use the command "no bark" as you spray the water but don't use this discipline unless you are sure that he doesn't need to go. Putting him on a schedule will definitely help you discern his barking. Hope this helps. - Carrie Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:04:31 +0100 http://dogclassonline.com/raising-a-puppy/puppy-potty-training.html#comment-47 My 4 month old lab frequently barks at the back door to go out whether he needs to go pottie or not. I cannont discern one from the other and therefore I either have to let him out constantly or guess or wait for him to have an accident in the house; any suggestions???? HELP!! - Jake Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:31:26 +0100 http://dogclassonline.com/raising-a-puppy/puppy-potty-training.html#comment-45 The water in the bottle is what worked on my puppy. It was cold and stuned him. It didn't take but a few days for him to decided he would rather be quiet that be sprayed. Good luck.;D - Patsy Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:01:57 +0100 http://dogclassonline.com/raising-a-puppy/puppy-potty-training.html#comment-43 Are you keeping a close eye on him when he is out? I would recommend reinstituting the crate, possibly investing in a citronella bark collar to correct the barking when you can't be there to correct it yourself. Try feeding him in there, have in sleep in it at night, and put it in your room. If he starts barking at night, especially, you can spray him with a squirt bottle and say "quiet". When you are home and can keep an eye on him, watch him like a hawk and try to anticipate when he needs to go out (watch for circling and sniffing). Also, make sure you are cleaning the spots where he potties with a cleaner that targets the enzymes in urine or feces and completely eliminates the smell. It could be he continues to potty because he can still smell the spot. If you need to do something like vacuum and you can't keep an eye on him, he should be in his crate. Some breeds have a tendency to take a lot longer to potty train so, be patient and be consistent. - Carrie Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:14:22 +0100 http://dogclassonline.com/raising-a-puppy/puppy-potty-training.html#comment-42 Potty Training I've been trying to potty train my puppy for almost five months. I praise him when he goes outside, and I startle him, then take him outside when he starts to go in the house. I take him outside after play, naps, and about 30 min after dinner. But he won't get it. I tried crate training him, but he wouldn't quit barking even though I ignored it, and I live in an apartment so I don't want the complaints. So he stays in the bathroom and goes all in there. - scouter Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:13:06 +0100