Newbie at Puppy in the House and Need Some Help

Sounds like you're doing a lot of good things. I just got through training my puppy...she's still learning but doing pretty good. I crate trained her as well. The big challenge is for them to learn how to let you know they have to go potty. Mine usually goes to the back door and scratches at it. But if I'm not paying attention and miss it, she has accidents. I take her out first thing in the morning and always after she eats. If I catch her in the act I take her outside to let her know that's where she does her business. Fun stuff isn't it? lol

I have houebroken 4 dogs so I know that they don't really think ahead at this age. However they usually give you some body signals maybe only a few seconds before eliminating. He might sniff around or look into space or get restless. If you observe him you will start to see the signs. My 4 dogs are also pits and we don't have shedding issues b/c we feed high quality food and brush regularly. I do feel that I should point out that pits are highly intelligent and social dogs and the cases of pit attacks have often been outside pits who don't get enough mental and physical stimulation. I feel a a little sorry for a dog who got relegated outside simply b/c of his hair and would like to point out that almost all dogs shed and question whether you thought about the fact that this puppy will probably also shed. The older dog could be a great help in training the puppy if you would allow it back inside. Pits are really not good outside dogs as they tend to overheat in the summer and freeze in the winter. All 4 of our pits live inside with the family, a 2 year old, and a cat and we don't have excessive hair in our house. I am sorry for this unsolicited information but I have studied dog behavior and for a pack animal being outside alone is a little like solitary confinement for a human. They really want and have a need to be with their pack.

We too have a new puppy (12 weeks old) and accident free! (for about 2 weeks). We also had 2 other dogs before.

First you pretty much are doing everything right. Everydog is different. Our first dog was house broken the first week (that is really odd) our second dog still had accidents in the house at 5 months! He would go out side and come back in and do his business and look right at you! His was more of a behavior issue (was mad we left him alone!).

As the previous poster said you need to be looking for the clues. Also, I would recommend crating him while you are gone. Leaving him in a big room will allow him to mess in a corner and sleep/play in opposite corner.

Just make sure he doesn't have too much room in the crate (he should only be able to turn around). If there is extra space they will eliminate in the corner. If you can afford to have someone let him out 1/2 way through that time until he gets another month older that would be even better, it will elimate anxiety and he will be ok with other people taking care of him.

The dog is a little young to be in a crate for that long. However, our first 2 dogs were in there crates for 10 hours a day/5 days a week until about 9 months old and then they had the laundry room. They were ok (ie. no anxiety) but were very active when we came home.

Also, make sure you remove his collar in the crate (so it doesn't get caught in the grate) and only put a safe toy in the crate for chewing (ie kong ball) unless he is an aggressive chewer then don't put anything in there.

Any trainer will tell you the crate is the safest place for the dog and they find it very comforting (close quarters). And it is good to crate train in case you need to board your dog or if they have surgery etc. You just have to make sure it is not viewed by the dog as a punishment. All of our dogs always went to there crate to sleep, even during the day.

Pups are very similar to having a toddler, they have seperation anxiety, potty issues, chewing issues etc! Now if I could just get my pup to quit nipping at my son! (he thinks he's part of the litter!) Good Luck to you!

until he is house trained, those days that you are out you should crate him. He is less likely (although he may) to pee/poop where his mobility away from it is limited. That and giving him a place that is "his" and "safe" is the whole purpose of a crate. (NOT PUNISHMENT) When you are home, have him out with you for an hour or two, being VERY observant, and if he seems to be snooping for a place to "go", pick him up and take him out, then praise him when he does it right

I used to be an obedience instructor with PetsMart and it sounds like you are doing all the right things. Are you taking him out right after he has an accident? You're right he's still young. Repeatition is the key. Good luck and you can always go to your local PetsMart for advice. All employees used to have to have extra training and testing.

I didn't read your answers, but I do know that there are many online resources for training a puppy. Just go to your favorite search engine and type in 'puppy training' (and reword it as you please: 'house train puppy', etc). There's a wealth of free info 4 u!

With my dogs I never actually kept them confined anywhere when I was around during the day (at night they were crated) - it seemed to be a little easier to notcie the signs that they need to go out. Any sniffing and circling around are sure sings that they need to go out. Also, after they have played hard, they usually have to go. I've never had a dog unpotty trained by 6 months, so you shouldn't have to wait that long. Make sure that when you are cleaning up messes (cause there will be, no matter how hard you try), make sure you use a cleaner that breaks down the enzymes in the urine, so your pup can't smell where he had gone befre - I think Nature's Miracle works great (you can get it at Pets Mart, and I think Walmart). You just have to keep an eye on him and watch for the potty signs. Good luck! Enjoy your new puppy!
J.

hes still very young this is common. Make sure you are taking him out side often and if you catch him going potty pick him up and run him out side.I have a dog whos a little over 1 and she will still pee in the house at time just keep working on it!

An 8-week-old puppy is too young to fully housebreak. Puppies this age do not yet have bladder control. It sounds like you are doing everything right, but you're going to have to be patient, because just like little kids, dogs take time to develop the skills to be house-broken.

Be careful using the pads in the utility room. My brain always told me (and then I read it somewhere else) that you are double teaching. First you are teaching to the pad (and that it is okay to "go" inside the house). Then you have to break the Pad training and re-teach them to go outside. I would just forego the pads (you said he doesn't use them anyway except by coincidence) and take him outside each time. The poster who said leave him in the crate rather than the utility room has my vote. The bigger the space, the easier it is for them to use a corner to "go".

8 weeks really is young. We got ours at 10 weeks, and she took a couple of weeks to get the training going really well. She was fine overnight (until about 5 am) really fast... but I had small kids and could have been a little more diligent during the day with watching for cues. The biggest help would have been to have kept her inside her crate a little more often... but the kids were ALWAYS wanting her out to play.. so that was hard. But in her crate, she would NOT go, unless she was just plain left in too long. Each time they are removed from the crate, you should take him outside and give a potty command (pick a word you want to be his signal/command and say it until he begins to urinate/defecate. As soon as he begins... praise praise praise. Quickly, he will begin to associate the command words (we use "hurry up") with going to the bathroom... and it's like Pavlov a lot of the time.... lol.

Anytime they go behind furniture, be careful... they might be sniffing out a spot to go. Other than that... sounds like you are doing great! Good job doing crate training. More people probably should try it. They might be more satisfied with their pet ownership experience.

When we got our puppy we kept him in the crate alot as a puppy. Since I was home it was easy to deal with it all....every 45 minutes to an hour I would put him on the leash....take his paw and ring a bell i hung next to the front door and take him out to go potty. Then he would come back and and we would either play with him for a while or put him back in the crate. We did this until he understood the need to ring the bell to go outside. Once he was able to hold it longer and longer he was able to be out of the crate longer...eventually he was trained and he has been a great dog.

Good luck.

Sounds like you are doing it the right way. If he is 8weeks I'm guessing he is aldo very new and adjusting to everything:) Expect lots of accidents, they cannot hold their bladder long at all at that age and are still learning bladder control and to hold it. Make sure to take him out after every meal, drinking, and playtime. Usually about 5-15 mins after works well.

I love using a word or phrase when they go potty outside. My dog knows "hurry up" means to pee and will squat and go when you tell her. Works well to get her to go before car rides, crating, etc. You can use a bell that gets rung to open to the door. Start out ringing it everything time you take the puppy out and the puppy should catch on. Just means every time you hear that bell then to open the door.

The pee pad is good, but can be confusing, since it means you can go inside here. Sometimes they don't understand, but you can't go here or here also. You can try using more at a time and then when the puppy goes on them praising, and then slowly using fewer to cover the area and hopefully puppy will keep going where they are. Most will learn how to use them correctly.

Sounds like you are doing a good job, good luck with continued potty training and hope it happens soon for you.

When you leave, crate him. The idea of crate training is that the dog believes it to be his den. He will hold it as long as possible so that he will not mess up his den.

I have crate trained three dogs now. The youngest is now two. Occassionally she will leave a doodle by the door, but on these occassions it is usually the fault of my husband who doesn't realize she is sitting by the door to go out.

My German Shepherd is four. He has not had an accident since being a puppy, and this includes while visiting other people. Both dogs sit at the door when they need to go out.

By using your utility room to contain your dog when you are gone, you are giving him too much space. He can do his business and then move away from it so it does not bother him being around it. The crate will not allow him to move away so he learns from his mistakes. It truly is the easiest way.

Once the dog is consistant, you can leaving him out (in your utility room) for short periods of time. I still crate our Yorkie when leaving for more than a few hours because she still likes to chew things.

If you have any questions, message me back :)

Good luck.

C.