house training

[muddymama]

Hi, I am a new dog owner and I was wondering, how often should I take my 6 month old puppy out side, she does't give any signs that she has to go. I have heard so many diferent opinions from every 1-3 hours but someone also told me if I take her out too many times I will confuse her, is this true? and am I realistic by hopeing she will go in the same spot all the time? if not do you have any sugestions?

[Lucky Rescue]

The key to housetraining success is to prevent accidents! This means keeping the puppy confined when you cannot watch her (crate) or keeping her literally tied to you so you can see signs of her needing to "go" - circling, sniffing, looking anxious..

You cannot take her out too many times, but in general she will need to go out after eating, sleeping, playing or drinking. Feed her at regular times, so you can better anticipate her needs.

You can teach her to go in one spot, but the downside to that is that she may not want to go anywhere else when you want her to.

Take her to the spot you want her to go, on a leash. Choose a phrase to use - "Go potty", "Get busy" , "Hurry up" or whatever. Take her to the spot when you know she needs to go. When she performs, praise like crazy and even give a treat.

If she has an accident in the house, never scold her, because it just means you are not watching her closely enough. Just clean it up and roll up a newspaper and hit yourself with it.

Very small breeds like yours are sometimes a little slower to housetrain, but with persistance, patience and consistancy, she should get the message pretty soon.

[muddymama]

Originally Posted by LuckyRescue

.

If she has an accident in the house, never scold her, because it just means you are not watching her closely enough.

Thank you. What do you do if she goes pee in the house right in front of you?

[moontamara]

I've read that if you see it happen you can make a big noise (not like scolding just a noise to startle) and then move her to the right spot. But I'm having my own "potty" training woes right now so I'm not sure how well that works!!

[Lucky Rescue]

Don't give her a chance to go pee right in front of you. You must confine her in a crate when you can't watch her. This dog came from a bad situation where she never learned any housetraining at all, so it's going to take time.

Does she soil her crate? Does she only pee in the house, or poop too?

moontamara is right. If she does happen to be loose for a minute and starts to pee, startle her with a "AH AH!!!" or handclap then rush her outside to her spot anyway.

[muddymama]

She has pooped in the house once (I think) I caught her taking it into her bed (why, I don't know) where she started to eat it so if she has pooped more than that she has eaten the evidence. Other than making sure her poop is always cleaned up I am not sure what to do about that. She has went pee and poop in her crate but only once (that I know of), Other than that it is just peeing in the house I am concerned about.

[Lucky Rescue]

Here is a good article on housetraining. If your puppy is peeing in the house, it means you are not watching her or confining her when you can't watch her.

Housetraining puppies

[muddymama]

Thank you, that was very helpful.

[TalonsMa]

Yes, that was very helpful, thank you.