Posted on 10/24/2010 2:12:46 AM PDT by sushiman
Our 8 week old male Boston arrived from Gunma , Japan ( I'm in Kumamoto ) last Sunday . We bought a Puppy Potty tray and have been dilligently training him . # 2 is no problem , and he'll usually do # 1 is one carries him to the potty , otherwise he'll pee on the living room carpet or near it ( we have him confined to two rooms at the moment ) or in his bed other times . I realize it takes time , but thought I'd ask for advice . Until now he has been free in the rooms to which he is confined . We have purchased a " circle " ( rectangular wood/metal pen ) to put him in when nobody is home , which is rare . Anyway , any help would be appreciated .
The only way "to go". (pun intended)
:-)))
You’re actually close to the optimal situation. The only problem is you don’t have a crate inside the circular area. He should be crated at all times, and only be allowed to play in his pen when you are certain he’s gone to the bathroom. At his age he should only be in the circular area, not wandering in any room at all.
Put the puppy potty inside the circular area. You should praise him when you see him using the puppy potty. Also, I assume you’re using substrate that breaks down to a sawdust-like product when urine hits it. Take some of the used substrate outside where you want your puppy to eliminate. He will associate the smell with “going”.
Get some Kong toys and Kong stuffing, or small treats, to use ONLY in the crate. Your puppy will very quickly become adusted to staying in his crate.
Trust me. I’ve had many dogs from puppy age that I didn’t crate, and they were never completely housebroken. I now have two 1-year Labradoodles that I crated from day one (separate crates). Housebroken within one week. Crates are wonderful!
Agreed, there’s no better training method than habitually taking them outside lots. In fack its a good habit for me because I work at the computer and need to get up and move around as much as possible.
My dogs can get in and out by themselves but hardly an hour goes by without me out in the yard with them for a few minutes.
otherwise he'll pee on the living room carpet or near it... or in his bed other times
He is peeing in his bed? That is an indication of either poor training already initiated at the breeder or a possible urinary infection. If he came from a breeder or shelter...I'd tend to suspect it was how he was housed. So, he has been set-up to fail. You need to start over as if he was 6 weeks old. Your question now is how do we set-up to succeed. First if the pen is too big, downsize it. How is this too big? If there is room for pads, bed, and play it is too big. Smaller is going to be better. As contrary as it may sound, once you are downsized or into an appropriate size crate...remove all pads and bedding. The puppy may still pee in the crate for several days, but it will stop. You can start with bedding in the crate if you like, but if he soils it...remove it and keep it out. The minute you open the crate...take the puppy out. Allow 15-20 minutes for him to do his business. All the other suggestions I made still apply too. Since you are slightly behind the curve on this ...it will likely take up to 4 months of CONSISTENT training. Hint: A puppy should be able to hold his water an hour for every month of age. Good Luck!
dittos
You don’t mention walks, but surely you’re taking him for a lot of them. Outdoors? Right?
Works real well on small dogs. The crate becomes a surrogate “dog cave” if used correctly. Just don't put him in it for punishment or leave him in it for hours on end.
Put his “dog cave” near the door, after he goes out and does his thang, only give him treats in his “dog cave”. Eventually when he goes to the door, you'll get the clue to put him outside and then give him a treat.
This also works on small children who resist potty training -
just kidding.
I have been breeding and training dogs for a little over 20 years (just so you don’t think I’m a know it all novice). The most effective method for housebreaking is to confine the puppy to a very small area (crates work best, but you can also tether the puppy if you want, or use a combination of the 2—I have done that myself, that is use the puppy tethered to me with a leash when I am doing other things so the puppy cannot wander away and I will notice when he/she starts to do things that indicate a need to potty).
If you allow the dog to make very many mistakes inside that you don’t immediately catch and stop and correct, you will likely create a problem that will be much more difficult to fix than to properly housebreak initially. Also, do bear in mind that young puppies cannot always hold it very long.
Also, if the dog is not going to be neutered, marking may be a problem, but for the most part marking is either really just a housebreaking problem, or a problem in which the dog does not understand his place in the family. I don’t think Bostons as breed have those sorts of issues (altho any breed has their atypical personalities). However, many of the smaller breeds are notriously hard to housetrain, and I admit I am not really familiar with Boston Terriers (altho the ones I have met have been pretty friendly and fun, so I get the impression they are not your typical small dogs.
Good luck. :) Oh, btw, I used a litter box with my most recent golden retriever litter, and believe it or not, they were pretty good about using it. Not perfect, but it made clean up a little easier. They did like to eat the litter tho, so I made sure to buy the non-toxic stuff.
I agree. Even every thirty minutes in the beginning. They learn very quickly the outdoors is where they need to do their thing.
haha, ‘drift around like a liberal dog’ — or kid.
Praise good behavior and scold bad behavior.
The hardest part of training a new pupppy is to be able to catch the bad behavior and scold, then immediately take the dog outside and praise it and give it a treat while outside.
My Chihuahua circles too wide an area to find just the right spot so I couldn’t get her to go accurately on a pad but she learned to go outside almost immediately. She’d try to go on the pad but often missed her target while circling. I think I had only two accidents inside when she was a puppy and it was when I wasn’t watching her closely enough. It’s a full time job for the first few days but they’ll learn quickly to seek the praise and treat vs. scolding.
Aw, how cute is that??? :*)
My first dog was a BT, when I was a kid—we named her “Sugar” because she sure was a slurpy thing :-) (in the south, sugar/s is another word for ‘kisses’).
One of the worst things my parents ever did was give her away to my aunt who was visiting who ‘loved her’—WHILE WE WERE ALL AT SCHOOL. :*( Never got to say goodbye or anything. Parents told us she ran away—only found out about the aunt thing years later as an adult, my late mother said that Sugar was getting too aggressive around our other 2 dogs (she had gotten into a few fights over alpha-ness with them) and that they were worried about us kids. Also found out later on after that explanation that my aunt who “loved” her so much ended up selling her for a profit (we’d been given Sugar as a gift from a breeder friend of my mom’s)—*sigh* I still miss that dog, but take comfort that someday we’ll be reunited in heaven, along with all our other pets/friends who have already ‘gone home’ to God’s Kingdom. :*)
Parents, don’t do your kids this way! It’s very traumatic! :*(
As we don’t have a “ yard “ per se , we were hoping to “ house train “ him using a potty tray ( 2 ft by 3 ft plastic with mesh bottom ) . He will do # 2 in it all by himself but when he has to pee we have to guide him to it , so when we are not prepared he does it in the living room on the carpet now and then . We now have a crate ( wood/wire open top ) . My wife set it up in the living room with a diaper pad at one side and his bed at the other . We opened the door and he promptly walked in and peed ! And just now , after a sleep he did it again , with no prompting from us . I’m thinking this is the set up the breeder must have had .
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Of course once he is cool in the house and older I’ll be walking him every day .
Only 8 weeks old now .
When last I housetrained, we found a chemical at the pet store which could be used to mark an area that you want the dog to use (I imagine it contained urine pheromones or something like that). We used it outside, but I bet you could use it on the potty just as well. It seemed to work well, as long as we regularly took the pup to that spot and let him sniff around.
I think it’s like how your dog can’t resist going on a tree that he smells another dog has already marked :)
First, be patient. Puppies don't have great bladder control until they are older...so even when they know they where they are supposed to go, they will not always make it to the spot. When the puppy is out of his crate, watch him for the signs he needs to go and get him to the spot.
Second, when your puppy is not in the crate...which should be most of the time when you are home...keep him on a lease and attach the lease to your ankle. That helps you and the pup to bond, and also makes sure he doesn't vanish into a corner to do his business while you are not watching.
Most of all, enjoy your puppy. Spend time with him. Laugh at his antics. Make his training a fun time for both of you.
OH...one last thing...if their are multiple family members responsible for the puppy, try to get everyone to use the same commands. It makes it easier for the puppy if all the humans in the house are consistent.
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