When potty training a puppy, does it help to have them with a dog who is already house broken?

5 Comments

1. itzy says:

   May 23, 2010 at 5:40 pm

   it might be helpful ……. i let my dog stay out as long as he wants to wen he wants to go in he goes to the door
2. High Maintence says:

   May 23, 2010 at 5:55 pm

   of course it does….dogs are going to do what the other dog does…its human nature and doggie nature

   but here are some tips for you if your finding yourself having a hard time to potty train your puppy

   The first rule is… Never let the puppy out of your site.

   The second rule is… The first rule is impossible, so expect mistakes.

   The third rule: Your puppy needs a separate small space of its own in which to eat and sleep, and a potty area separate from the designated “puppy space,” so that you can break the first rule when necessary.

   The fourth rule: Start out having the puppy sleep, eat and play in his own area. Stay nearby at first until it is used to being in its space alone. Expect a few mistakes at first, but if the mistakes continue that may mean the sleeping and eating area are too large.

   The fifth rule: Create a potty schedule so Puppy can get to the area in which you intend it to relieve itself for five to ten minutes at a time, as often as it needs to which at first will be every few hours. As the puppy poops and pees during the day, look for a pattern in the time of day. The length of time between poop or pee breaks will increase with your puppy’s age. At eight weeks old, Puppy may not be able to go more than four hours during the day or six hours at night without a potty break.

   The sixth rule: You control your puppy’s playing, eating and drinking habits to help you manage the fifth rule more conveniently. You will notice there is a predictable amount of time between your puppy eating and/or drinking, and its need to poop and/or pee. Additionally, puppies almost always have to go potty after a vigorous play session. Again, the amount of time it takes for digestion to occur will usually increase as the puppy ages.

   The seventh rule: Let your puppy know how unhappy you are when it goes in the wrong place. Make sure your reprimand is not over done, thus causing Puppy to be afraid, or underdone, causing pup to continue making mistakes. Most importantly, praise Puppy lavishly when it goes in the designated area. If Puppy still does not quite understand, put a “sample” of what you want him to do in his potty area. Never let him see you clean up his mistakes.

   The eighth rule: Consider the location of designated potty area in relation to the distance between where you usually are and where the puppy’s area is located. You should not have to run a marathon between where you are, your puppy’s area, and your puppy’s potty area. The sleeping/eating area, and potty area, should not be so close that it conflict with the puppy’s natural instinct to go as far away as possible from where it sleeps, eats and plays to relieve himself. As much as possible, these two areas should generally be where they will remain for the life of the dog. Try to use the same “potty exit” whenever possible, not just any door.

   The ninth rule: Begin to notice what the puppy “does” when it needs to go potty. When trying to teach puppy how to let you know when it needs to go out, it is often easiest to expand on the puppy’s natural signals. If your puppy gives no apparent signals, teach the puppy to run to you and to the door as a signal. You do this by running back and forth with puppy, from where you are at “potty time” to the door used as the “potty exit.” This signal will also serve to stimulate elimination upon arrival at the potty locale.

   The tenth rule: As Puppy begins to understand your “bathroom etiquette” requirements, slowly begin to expand its sleeping, eating and playing space until all it has left is sleeping, eating and playing space, i.e. your entire house and yard, and ITS OWN, SEPARATE, POTTY AREA.

   Stick to the rules without variation, except as instructed by a professional trainer. Do not assume that a friend who has raised a dog, or the pet store clerk, knows how to help you with your new puppy, or that you can combine multiple recipes for housebreaking and get the same end result. This method works–if followed exactly. Then you can focus on all the fun stuff–obedience training, agility courses, hikes, etc. Oh, and don’t forget to call the trainer about that garbage raiding habit, or that leash pulling issue. After all, if you follow the 10 EZ steps to the letter, you certainly will not need us for housebreaking.
3. LYNN W says:

   May 23, 2010 at 6:09 pm

   I have found that it was much easier when I had a dog already house broken. I also did what you are doing. Once they started playing, it was time to go inside so that potty time was just potty time. I also praised like crazy when they did their business and gave a treat..no potty no treat. I always kept play time separate from potty time so they didn’t get confused and I would always repeat a word while they were out there too like “go potty” so they knew it was potty time. Good Luck!!
4. Jacie says:

   May 23, 2010 at 6:34 pm

   I would just lock her outside for a little after a meal and wait for 20 min. and if she goes in the house yell at her and put her outside i dont think it matters tht much that theres another dog there
5. herebooboo says:

   May 23, 2010 at 6:39 pm

   When you can’t supervise completely but in the house, place them in
   the kitchen. Its better to have a dog who has been bred in the house, cause puppies also imitate what other dogs do. For me I paper trained puppies at birth in the whelping (birth) box in the kitchen. One side is blankets and one side is newspaper. They were
   trained to go potty on newspapers on one side, and the other side to
   sleep on the blankets.) Simply put up baby gates in your kitchen so
   they can’t get out. Plastic gates are better than the wood ones. Place
   down some newspaper, along with toys, a blanket/towel or bed, water
   and food, etc. When the dog pees – soak up with newspaper and place
   on top a pile of newspaper. If you happen to see him pee take him to
   the newspaper and say “go potty”. Then take him outside to go potty.
   Stay away from too much newspaper training. It will make them faster to be potty trained to go outside!