[Talltimbo]

I just got a 8 week old shorthair pointer. I need ay tips for housetraining. I keep her in a crate while I am at work and she it out while i am at home. If she goes to bath room outside the or inside the crate, whats a good way to scold he puppy?.... I praise her when she goes outside with treats and petting. During the night I wake up to her crying but she always has already gone to the bathroom in her crate, i just leave it there to let her lay in it to know if she goes in it then she will have to lay in it. She goes around the house sometmes alot, sometimes not at all in a day. how do you punish the puppy when they go in the house.... I NEED HELP... Does anyone have any tips on what i could do? Thank you

[melmayray]

I don't think that making your dogs sleep in there pee is a good idea! youi will just have to be patient. I have trained three totally different dogs in kennels and sometimes they have accidents.. If you are going to be gone long hours maybe use the puppy pads in the batheroom or allow them to run around in the batheroom or ablocked off room where it's okay to pee because no matter what they are learning and they will have accidents when they become 1 year old and are still having accidents then you have a problem...

[Rune]

Hi

I just wanted to write and lett you know about a site "page" that addresses your problem "issues" spot-on. Go To: Housetraining Your Dog

And you will learn some great tips on how to potty-train your dog... :-)


Good luck...


Mvh
Rune S.

[DogTrainer33]

I am going to copy and paste what I have written to another post because it is almost the same advice but before I do I just want to let you know that your puppy is very young I wouldn't start scolding yet. Give it until you feel the dog is somewhat getting the idea but just doesn't care. Pointers can be very stubborn so be patient. Lets start with every dog is different, so don't expect yours to get it right away just because "most" do. Think of it like this, your dog is 8 weeks? a dog can only physically hold going to the bathroom for 1 hour per month.(3 months = 3 hours) That means you better get that dog out of the crate before that or he/she cannot physically hold it. Again this does vary though as some can hold it longer than others. How big is your crate? if it is too big the dog will not try to hold it because she figures she can just go to the bathroom in one side and sleep in the other but usually end up in it somehow anyway. I will be honest when I got my shepherd she was barely 8 weeks and she did the same thing, by the time I woke up to let her out of the crate she had already messed. I didn't want to continue waking up every hour at that point so I put her in the bathroom with a wee wee pad and she ended up using that. I think I was just lucky on that part but you can also put a wee wee pad on one side of the crate if it is big enough and let her sleep in the other side if you don't want to have to wake up. However only use the pad for bedtime or when you are out because she will get used to it and it will be harder to break her of the wee wee pad. Once she shows signs of holding it better you can take the pad away or make the crate smaller so she will try to force herself to hold it. It also depends on where you got your dog from as to how willing they will be to be in their own mess. If you got your dog from a petstore I am sorry to tell you that you will probably have a little more difficulty than if you got it from a breeder because petstore dogs are usually brought up very close to being with their own mess all the time so eventually they do not mind it. Here is another tip, puppies have to go to the bathroom after they eat, drink, wake up from a nap not matter how short it was, played, ran around, or even chewed on something for a while. Then the 1 hour per month rule does not apply, I have a 14 week old german shepherd right now and I did housebreak her in about a week. However she had to pee every 20 minutes in the beginning sometimes even more. Constant supervision and constant in and outside is your best bet. Always after those things I just listed and also at least every hour. After consistantly doing this for almost a week , also take your dog out the same door. Any sign of going near the door, sitting near it etc, take them out no matter what. They will learn that when the go near the door the door will open. Now here is how to correct the proper way without being too harsh or too easy. Whether you caught your dog making a mess or not, if it is still there you CAN correct for it. Heres what you have to do within 3 minutes from when you begin. When you see the mess stay calm, go get the leash, put it on the dog, bring a papertowel with you. Bring the dog over to the mess, sit them in front of it, as soon as they look at it, say NO NO NO sternly, now take your paper towel, dab it in the urine or pick up the poop , walk your dog out the door drop the paper towel with the stuff on it outside in front of your dog and praise, good potty or good business etc. You now corrected for going to the bathroom in the crate and show them the appropriate place to go. Follow this procedure and you should be there in no time. If you need anymore help I serve the new york and some parts of new jersey area, otherwise I also offer online or over the phone help. Visit my website at Dog training, positive reinforcement training, online dog training
Good luck! - Julie Cattabiani

[N2H2O]

When i trained my last dog, i would feed her and wait about 30-40 minutes and then take her outside, tell her to go potty,, she would not because i said it but it was time. i would praise her and everything was fine.
after she drank water,, i would watch her for awhile.. if she would sniff and start to squat,,, i would pick her up and set her on the grass.. and say go potty, she obviously would already have to go,, she would resniff and squat,, id praise her. If she would go in the house and i didnt have time to prevent it,, i would call her over to the area and let her sniff the area,,, and say no,, take her outside and say go potty,,,
i know this sounds a little funny,, but it works,, she almost "goes potty" on command now,, havent had and accident in the house in a 3.5 years,, she 4 now,,, patience and a little preventive action goes along way.

[suebgone]

dog trainer is a littel confused there. 8 weeks = 2 months, not 3. so it would be evey 2 hours the puppy would need to go out if you subscribe to that theory. personally I don't - I think you need to do every hour for awhile to set good habits & prevent accidents.

you need to take this puppy out at least twice during the night - set your alarm. she should be getting 4 meals a day too, equeally spaced

there is absolutely no way you should let this puppy sit in it's own waste. it has no choice but to go in the crate if you aren't taking it out. now it has leaned that that is ok

you also should not "scold" or "punish", just clean it up however lots of praise when she does it right.

it is beyond me completely why people get puppies that need all kinds of care when there is no one home to provide it for them.

[petwebdesigner]

I recently wrote an article on the topic that should help you. You can see it published here: The Secrets Behind Potty Training Your New Puppy

[LadyA]

Originally Posted by DogTrainer33

I am going to copy and paste what I have written to another post because it is almost the same advice but before I do I just want to let you know that your puppy is very young I wouldn't start scolding yet. Give it until you feel the dog is somewhat getting the idea but just doesn't care. Pointers can be very stubborn so be patient. Lets start with every dog is different, so don't expect yours to get it right away just because "most" do. Think of it like this, your dog is 8 weeks? a dog can only physically hold going to the bathroom for 1 hour per month.(3 months = 3 hours) That means you better get that dog out of the crate before that or he/she cannot physically hold it. Again this does vary though as some can hold it longer than others. How big is your crate? if it is too big the dog will not try to hold it because she figures she can just go to the bathroom in one side and sleep in the other but usually end up in it somehow anyway. I will be honest when I got my shepherd she was barely 8 weeks and she did the same thing, by the time I woke up to let her out of the crate she had already messed. I didn't want to continue waking up every hour at that point so I put her in the bathroom with a wee wee pad and she ended up using that. I think I was just lucky on that part but you can also put a wee wee pad on one side of the crate if it is big enough and let her sleep in the other side if you don't want to have to wake up. However only use the pad for bedtime or when you are out because she will get used to it and it will be harder to break her of the wee wee pad. Once she shows signs of holding it better you can take the pad away or make the crate smaller so she will try to force herself to hold it. It also depends on where you got your dog from as to how willing they will be to be in their own mess. If you got your dog from a petstore I am sorry to tell you that you will probably have a little more difficulty than if you got it from a breeder because petstore dogs are usually brought up very close to being with their own mess all the time so eventually they do not mind it. Here is another tip, puppies have to go to the bathroom after they eat, drink, wake up from a nap not matter how short it was, played, ran around, or even chewed on something for a while. Then the 1 hour per month rule does not apply, I have a 14 week old german shepherd right now and I did housebreak her in about a week. However she had to pee every 20 minutes in the beginning sometimes even more. Constant supervision and constant in and outside is your best bet. Always after those things I just listed and also at least every hour. After consistantly doing this for almost a week , also take your dog out the same door. Any sign of going near the door, sitting near it etc, take them out no matter what. They will learn that when the go near the door the door will open. Now here is how to correct the proper way without being too harsh or too easy. Whether you caught your dog making a mess or not, if it is still there you CAN correct for it. Heres what you have to do within 3 minutes from when you begin. When you see the mess stay calm, go get the leash, put it on the dog, bring a papertowel with you. Bring the dog over to the mess, sit them in front of it, as soon as they look at it, say NO NO NO sternly, now take your paper towel, dab it in the urine or pick up the poop , walk your dog out the door drop the paper towel with the stuff on it outside in front of your dog and praise, good potty or good business etc. You now corrected for going to the bathroom in the crate and show them the appropriate place to go. Follow this procedure and you should be there in no time. If you need anymore help I serve the new york and some parts of new jersey area, otherwise I also offer online or over the phone help. Visit my website at Dog training, positive reinforcement training, online dog training
Good luck! - Julie Cattabiani

I agree with dogtrainor....give it time and the pup will get it. Patience and love is the best way to house train a puppy, not punishment.