Potty training, please help

by **WillieELk78GSP** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 6:37 pm

I have a 11 week old GSP and I am having trouble potty training, she most of the time goes out side but some times she goes out and and looks like she is peeing but than comes in to the house and ends up going in the house, not sure how to stop this? I wait outside for a while but she still comes in and goes in the house! Tired of this crap happening, I take her out about every hour or two. I figure I take her out alot so please help me its starting to ruin my carpet, and any suggestions on what to use to take this out of my carpet?
Thanks you guys are saving me some money in the long run!!!

by **AzDoggin** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 6:54 pm

Adopt this motto: "You didn't pee it until I see it!"

Put the pup on a leash and keep her moving. Motion stimulates urination. She's simply not allowed to go back in the house until she's emptied. She'll get it.

This is a human problem, not a dog problem. She's an infant - eats, plays, pees, poops and sleeps. She has no idea what you want, so you have to manage the situation so there is no alternative but to pee outside. Keep track of times so you know about when and about how much she'll go.

Next, rather than allowing her the run of the house, you might use a crate, or an ex-pen in the house. She doesn't earn freedom in the house until she can be counted on to not pee.

This time will pass quickly. Have fun!

Cleaning ideas: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/re ... odors.html

by **Sharon** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:17 pm

As Doggin said and also use a cue word. I use "hurry up". When they hear that they know they'd better do something fast.

by **jwnissen** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:39 pm

AzDoggin wrote:Adopt this motto: "You didn't pee it until I see it!"

Put the pup on a leash and keep her moving. Motion stimulates urination. She's simply not allowed to go back in the house until she's emptied. She'll get it.

This is a human problem, not a dog problem. She's an infant - eats, plays, pees, poops and sleeps. She has no idea what you want, so you have to manage the situation so there is no alternative but to pee outside. Keep track of times so you know about when and about how much she'll go.

Next, rather than allowing her the run of the house, you might use a crate, or an ex-pen in the house. She doesn't earn freedom in the house until she can be counted on to not pee.

This time will pass quickly. Have fun!

Cleaning ideas: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/re ... odors.html

+1 patience is key

by **ezzy333** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 10:10 pm

Crate,crate, crate, I have found it is hard for them to pee on the rug when they are in their crate. Everytime the pup is taken out of the crate it goes outside and is walked on a leash till it goes. Then and only then does it go back inside to play with you. Once you are through playing with the pup it goes directly into the crate for nap time and then the routine starts over.

Ezzy

by **Cajun Casey** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:08 pm

Nature's Miracle in the red bottle for clean-up.

by **Ghosted3** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:16 am

Word association also, make sure when you go outside for the dog to relieve itself say lets go potty (or whatever term you want to use), then praise the pup for doing it. Add this with what Ezzy said.

Corry

by **Deuce** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:56 am

All of the above and more patience. Pay attention to timing and make it routine. Natures Miracle or a mixture of vinegar and water. You need to get the smell out, otherwise the pup will think that's one of their potty spots.

by **JIM K** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 7:16 am

hard to add too much. :wink:

all good info.
when i let whiskers out of crate i say,OUTSIDE,grab him and out he goes.
HE ONLY GOES IN HIS FAVORITE SPOT. :roll:

take him eleswhere, he will not go.

i mean i can walk him 1 mile and he will hold his no.2 until he gets to his SPOT. :roll:

SO, START A spot. :wink:

in home, I DO NOT PLAY AT ALL WITH WHISKERS. i leave all playing to outside.
inside home, he is in my lap or in crate.
if you let him on floor, baby gate him and sit right there in small area. if he makes circle ,grab him and say, OUTSIDE while you run to door, leave door so you can just push it to get out. :roll:

whiskers still takes pee in his crate at TIMES.

THIS IS WHY I USE VERY SOFT TOWELS.EASY TO THROW IN WASH AND USUALLY HAS HIS worms ON TOWELS.
THROW TOWELS IN DRYER TO COOK THE EGGS.

by **JIM K** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 7:18 am

Deuce wrote:All of the above and more patience. Pay attention to timing and make it routine. Natures Miracle or a mixture of vinegar and water. You need to get the smell out, otherwise the pup will think that's one of their potty spots.

very good. thats my recipe too. also wash out crate with vinegar/water too because he will pee again if smell is there.

by **millerms06** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:42 am

Ezzy nailed it and your previous post's comments about crate training your dog is relevant here as well.

by **Stoneface** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:46 pm

I put my dogs on a routine, a circulation. They spend the night in the crate, so in the morning they come out having to use the bathroom. I usually get up all through the night, letting them out several times when I get up to use the bathroom or even if I just wake up to turn over. After they go outside and use the bathroom (always praise them early when they use the bathroom outside) they come in, get fed and get a drink then go back in the crate. Puppies use the bathroom after sleeping, after expending energy and after eating/drinking. When they've spent an hour in the crate I take them out and let them go back outside. If they use the bathroom I praise them then let them loose in the house for awhile, but if they don't go then they're back in the crate for another hour. If I ever take them out of the crate and they don't use the bathroom, then they go back in the crate. After they have used the bathroom they are allowed in the house, but confined to whichever room I'm in by the gates you can put up in walkways. This way they can't slip around the corner and pee or "other" out of site. After about an hour of being in the house I put them back in the crate for an hour then back outside. If they use the bathroom they are petted and let into the house again, if not then they are back in the crate for another hour.

As they grow they begin to associate inside and crate as not being a place to use the bathroom and the outside of a place to use the bathroom. I know that sounds simple, but it's just conditioning that behavior. If you do catch them in the act go ahead and correct, but don't forget to praise when they go outside. They want to associate "that" negatively with respect to indoors and "that" positively with respect to outdoors.

So, the routine is crate > outdoor > indoor > crate > outdoor > indoor. As they develop physically and can hold it longer you can start to let them in the house for longer periods. For a puppy's undeveloped body, holding it can really be a chore.

by **RockLobster707** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:07 am

I am working with my 9 week old lab pup on this right now. At night do you guys stop giving water so they don't pee as much?

by **Sharon** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 12:56 pm

Some do but many vets say "never with hold water".

As you know dogs learn from repeated habits.
If you can be consistent that first week or two in getting pup to pee outside only , that will be his habit.

by **LaTexCLB** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:34 pm

To the question on with-holding water, when initially potty training a young pup, we do often pup the water up about 8:30 or 9 p.m. Of course take them outside before going to bed (say 10 p.m. or so). This can help prevent some of the mid-night whining (from the crate). If you know they've emptied their bladder, then you can more easily ignore their whining. If they need to pee, then you need to get up and let them out (as very young pups with small bladders). This part passes as they get older.

Getting back to the original post (I believe a 10 or 11 week old pup). A big part of potty training is disciplining ourselves as the human care-giver / leader. At that age, if the pup is urinating in the house - then it is not getting outside frequently enough. She said she took the pup out every 1 or 2 hours. I've had pups that needed to go out every 20 to 30 minutes. You've got to break the cycle of urinating in the house. Many others gave good advice. If you take the pup out at 30 minute intervals, and it doesn't pee after you are ready to come in the house, then the pup simply does not have the privilege of being loose in the house. You either have to hold the pup, or put it in its crate to prevent the accidents and start the positive training (association) of urinating is for outside - - - not inside. This part is work - not fun. The good news is that it gets better pretty quickly.

by **ultracarry** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:44 pm

RockLobster707 wrote:I am working with my 9 week old lab pup on this right now. At night do you guys stop giving water so they don't pee as much?

At 9 weeks I wouldn't withhold water and I would be waking up.every hour, tired, put flip flops on, go outside with the dog on a leash, watch it pee, go to sleep, repeat every hour. It will suck but I also add 30 minutes every week until they get the point. Mine didn't pee in the house unless the wife was "watching" her and she ran in a different room.

Have fun! It goes by fast.

by **PrairieGoat** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:52 pm

ezzy333 wrote:Crate,crate, crate, I have found it is hard for them to pee on the rug when they are in their crate. Everytime the pup is taken out of the crate it goes outside and is walked on a leash till it goes. Then and only then does it go back inside to play with you. Once you are through playing with the pup it goes directly into the crate for nap time and then the routine starts over.

Ezzy

+1 on this one....not the method I have used, but I've probably had to clean up more dog pee off the carpet. By definition, Ezzy's method won't let the dog fail and if you are getting short on patience, which sounds like the case, then this would be the Easy....errr...Ezzy Way! :grin:

by **Mike50** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:22 am

What goes in must come out.
I cut them off water 2 hours before bedtime and plenty of chances to empty out before.

by **JIM K** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:44 pm

whiskers is 14 weeks. i was so happy he was going outside to pee.then tonight in front of me he takes no.1 on carpet :roll:

my lab used to let me know when he had to go, this pup does not,so far.