Problems With Housebreaking My Puppy?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
Ok, so here’s the story. She’s 50% Beagle, 25% Papillon, and 25% Pekingese. Her name is Sweet P., and she’s a female dog that is now nine months old. Don’t think we haven’t tried housebreaking her before this — we sure have.
When we first got her, around 7 weeks old, we placed “Puppy Pads” around the house, which apparently have a scent that dogs can smell, and it basically beckons for them to pee on it. It worked at first, and we always rewarded her with small treats — kibble, chunks of cheese, meat, and other things.
Then, after a few weeks, she started going to the bathroom RIGHT next to the pads. We would scold her, put her on the pad, and clean the mess. But she kept inching further and further away from the pad until she felt she could “go” anywhere she wanted to. Of course we kept scolding her. At this time, her brother was already transferring to newspaper.
After a while, people started telling us to let her go to the bathroom outside, being that it was getting warmer. We kept pads and newspapers spread everywhere in the house, hoping she would just not be able to find another place, while we brought her outside. At this time, it was mid-spring, and warm enough for us to be able to sit outside for hours at a time.
We hooked her up to a large pully system, so she can go throughout the backyard, up the small hill in our yard, up to the half-way point of the driveway that no one uses. She was basically aloud to roam all over the property, she was just on a leash. Anyway, we would sit outside with her, and a bowl of water she could access, and play with her a bit. But even if we stayed out there with her for 2 or 3 hours at a time, she didn’t go. She would wait as soon as we got indoors, and then do her business. We scolded her, brought her back outside, and sat for another hour, as she just looked at us. She thinks that the house is her potty, and the yard is her playground. I don’t know how to teach her differently!
We’ve tried lightly pushing her into her squating position, but she’ll just stand back up and walk away. We’ve tried not bringing toys out there, and not interacting with her. We can’t leave her alone, because she has a bit of separation anxiety, and if she’s left alone, she’ll sit at the door and whine. Nothing has worked. Out of all the time we’ve been training with her, she’s probably only “gone” outside 5 times. We praise her then, but it doesn’t connect that she’s meant to do this always.
At this point, I’m exhausted. The weather is turning much colder, and we can’t stay outside for lengthy amounts of time. Just today, I sat outside with her for an hour, and when we got indoors, she promptly squatted. I heard on the TV show “It’s Me Or The Dog”, that some people used a “Pee pole”, which smells like urine, and entices a dog to urinate on the post. Should we try that? I’m at my wits end. I love her to death, the only problem she really has is housebreaking. Should we ask our vet for advice next week when we get her fixed? Will that surgery make any differance in house training? I just need advice on what to do, she takes after me, being hard-headed and all.
If you can help, offer your advice, or similar stories, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks a ton.
Related Papillon Training & Care posts:
This is why using pee pads or newspaper is a bad idea. You taught her that going potty inside was ok, and that outside was for playing. So now, she doesn’t understand why it has changed.
Most dogs have very obvious times they must eliminate. After eating, upon waking up, after playing. When its time to eliminate, take her outside. Keep her in a small area, and only stay outside for 5-10 minutes. You have to teach her that playtime only starts after she goes potty. If she doesn’t go, take her inside and keep her in small area. After another 5-10 minutes take her back outside, same deal. If she starts to go potty inside, clap your hands and make a noise (I used “YIP YIP YIP!”) to startle and interrupt her. Then immediately take her outside and when she finishes going potty, praise her like crazy. She’ll get it eventually.
Also, make sure you are cleaning up after her really well. Use something like “Nature’s Miracle” that not only gets up the stain, but gets out the scent so she doesn’t “remember” where her potty spots inside are.
Its going to be hard work but as long as you are patient and vigilant and pay attention, you should be able to get her to go potty outside.
Good luck!!
The puppy pads were a bad idea unless you would of started only in one spot. And crate training is very good also. Yelling at her won’t work or putting her outside. You have to go with her outside and tell her how good she is when she goes.
okay – you have made several mistakes.. the first being the pads.. which only confuse dogs..
praise instl enough.. soft treats work best..
read this link.. it is totally the RIGHT way to housetrain your dog.. and will help brilliantlyhttp://www.gomestic.com/Pets/How-to-Succ…
She’s a female. There is the problem right off the bat.Males are easier to train. Why do you think they call them bitches? And why does the behavior fit the gender- especially for dogs?
She is fighting you. You confused her with the pads. Now she is mixed up.
You may need to send her to dog obedience school and work with the trainer.
You need to show her who is boss and proceed from there. You are her master. She must obey you and do what you say. It sounds kinky but that is how you train a dog to mind.
I tried it with my wife. She doesn’t listen. She doesn’t pee on the floor but she refuses to do anything I tell her. Unfortunately, there are no wife obedience schools.
ok.. so you need to pick all the pee pads up and just start all over. you basically taught her to pee in the house and now she doesn’t know it any other way.
try taking her outside for 10 minutes and then in for a minute (supervised) and then back out. Just repeat it until she goes outside. PRAISE when she does. If she’s walking around the house and you can’t watch her, put her in a crate.
best thing I ever learned and the hardest part of having a puppy- was the CRATE training. Basic rundown:
Place your pup in the crate and reward him/her
keep them in the crate for up to an hour
bring outside and walk around for 5-10 minutes
if they go- reward crazily, and let them stay out of the crate for a half hour, then bring back outside, repeat
If they don’t go— put back into crate and do not give them attention until its time to go outside again.
I have had a ton experience and great results with this method.
One more thing– do not put anything in the crate with them: no toys, no bedding. the golden rule is that they will not go where they lay down, so if they are forced to lay in one spot, they wont go there. If you are consistent with this, I’m sure you’ll prevail
awh sounds like a really cute dogg.
but for a dog like this it will be a little harder to housebreak a puppy with different backgrounds. but for this type of puppy i would say give him or her lots and lots of attention so he/she warms up to you so that it will be more likely to listen to what you have to say.
if i were you i would get a fenced in back yard and just leave the puppy outside so that it will learn to tell you when it needs to go.