How to housebreak and calm down a puppy--advice please!

self | July 14 2013 | self

[proud American in Canada]

Hi, everyone. :)

We just bought a black lab who is about six weeks old; a female. I just brought her outside; she had napped next to me and was sound asleep on the couch as I dozed off. I then brought her out and put her in her crate, because she pees and poos all over the house.

How do I train this puppy--and how can I get her to stop crying at night. The last couple of nights, I could not stand the crying, so I brought her up to my husband and my bed.

Even now, she is crying and whimpering, trying to get out of the crate. We slept together just fine on the couch, just now, for a while, but now she wants the attention since I put her in the crate. I did that because our house has apparently become a puppy toilet. :( It is disgusting and I cannot stand it.

Do I bring her upstairs to stop the crying, or do I let her cry it out (which is painful).

I am falling asleep at the computer, however, listening to her cry, I"ll probably get very little sleep.

I will try to answer everyone, but we are all tired and I am at my wits end.

She is a cutie, though. :) She has massive paws--she will be a big girl. :)

Thanks, and I will respond as soon as I can,

Julie

[nonliberal]

Labs know “run” and “chew.” And she will be a puppy for about the first six years. :)

[Malsua]

That’s a very young dog, I doubt you will be able to get it mostly housebroken until it’s at least 9-10 weeks of age at the very earliest. Frankly I wouldn’t expect it to be entirely house broken(I.E. No accidents ever) until 20+ weeks.

The rule we use is that the pup will need to go between 5-30 minutes after consuming water or food.

At night, they can typically hold it about 1 hour per month for the first 4 months, then depending on the breed, they can often go from like 9pm to 5-6am without a problem. They won’t be able to hold it from 6pm to 9am or something like that until they are adults.

Use the cage! Get them used to sleeping in it. You’re going to have to get a small one for them to start with otherwise they will just go on one side.

After they comfortably sleep in the cage, you can expand it. We use a pen around the cage and put a puppy pad on the floor. With the cage open, The pup will typically wake up in the middle of the night if it has to go, go out to the pad, do the business and go back in the cage.

This does not relieve your duty to get up at 2-3am for the next month and let her out to go, but it will keep the puppy from being distressed and you won’t feel guilty.

After enough trips outside the pup will have a strong bias to want to go outside and eventually make the whole night without using the puppy pad.

Every dog is different, I’ve found labs to be fairly easy to train but even 8 weeks is too young to expect it to be entirely house broken.

[MrChips]

(1) The best carpet cleaner is called CAPTURE, a white powder that comes with a pre-spray. Use it liberally, so that it soaks up the urine (or whatever), and you let it dry 24 hours and then vacuum. All gone. It is usually available at Home Depot or Lowes in the carpet section of the store , not with the cleaning products section.

(2) Puppies will be puppies. Crate train for sure. But let them be puppies. They need a lot of play space and things to chew on. You can also buy anti-chew spray for furniture. But, then, you have to forgive. I have a prized cedar chest that my puppy chewed the corner off of, and today I joke that "It's OK; it's symmetrical because she also chewed off the other corner!" :-)

(3) Invest in some sturdy dog gates. You can barricade the puppy in the kitchen, or any room, and later use them to protect a chair or sofa when you leave the house.

(4) Give it 18 months. Puppies mellow as they age. Reward with dog treats appropriately. And buy the good food at the expensive pet food shop. Spend the money.

[Mister Da]

Puppies have a lot of energy. You are gonna have to play HARD with her to wear her out, which will calm her down. Long, brisk walks will burn that energy.

Puppies pee & poop after every meal & after any significant activity, as well as immediately upon awakening, so immediately after any food or activity, take her out to the area you want to become the dog's “toilet”. Grassy areas are preferred. Don't leave until she has done something, then immediately praise her for doing a good job. Get her into the habit of food/poop/praise.

Dogs also like to mark territory, so take her for walks around the yard & neighborhood, on leash, allowing her to sniff, pee, & poop/praise several times. By watching the pup, you will learn her “signs” as to when she needs to go outside. Pick a phrase like “good girl” & say it EVERY time she does good, & say it like you mean it - dogs know your emotions better than you do.

Note that puppies have small, weak bladders & bowels, which must be relieved frequently. She cannot hold it all night yet, so be prepared to take her out at night. Could that whining at night be a cry to go outside? Very likely. That's just how my dog tells me that at 3am, & he's 7 years old.

You're gonna have to scold her when she goes inside, but don't go ballistic, don't scream & shout, & don't rub her face in it; be calm but firm, & calmly take her to her mess & say “NO” several times, then immediately take her to her outside toilet area. She will get the message soon enough.

Your dog will emulate your behavior, so if you act crazy, she will act crazy, too. If you act violently, she will, too, & with a large dog, you do not want that. If calm, cool, & behaved is what you want, you must act that way around the dog. You are the teacher, she is the pupil. You are the pack leader & she will try to act like you.

If you start letting the pup sleep in your bed, you're gonna have a tougher time later breaking the habit. A whining puppy for a few nights is bad, but years of a whining, barking, scratching dog begging to get into the bedroom is a long term nightmare. Warm bedding, maybe a blanket she can crawl under, plus your patience will get her used to sleeping alone.

Lastly, dogs have a very good internal clock. My dog knows when it is 7am & 4:30pm - feeding times. He knows we sit outside a 7pm during the warm months. He knows it is Sunday - going to the park day. He knows if we have stayed up too late, & insists that it is time for bed. This is a good thing, making life easier for both of us. Be consistent, create a routine for both of you!

[MrChips]

Well, I know this sounds crazy, but, consider getting another one! Two will keep each other company. It will not only help with the separation anxiety, but the two will keep each other company all their lives, run together, play together, explore together. They are pack animals, after all. I have two golden retrievers, and I have experienced great pleasure in watching this bond manifest itself over the years.

[overtaxedindc]

Crate training is the way to go. Dogs will not mess where they sleep. The crate is her safety zone. You should also get a raised platform and place train her for when she is not in the crate. Mike Stewart of Wildrose Kennel wrote a great training book for training a retriever. Much of the book deals with hunting but the first part of hunting training is discipline. Check out uklabs.com.

[KGeorge]

I don’t know if this will work for you because I don’t know how big (stride wise) Lab pups are, but “wee pads” could solve your pee problem. Put her water bowl on it. She should drink, take a couple of steps & sprinkle. Our youngest house trained herself this way. Amazon has the best price we found (giant economy size box)

Congratulations on your new fur baby! That’s the last of the Good Ol’ Gal/ Boy sleep for a while, but it is sooo worth it. God made little ones (all of ‘em) so cute for a reason.

[GailA]

no truer words ever said, we have 3 small breed dogs, first 2 were easy, newest addition a female Morkie is the Alpha of the 3, we got her at 6 weeks, and she did cry for 3 days in the crate. Food 3 times a day, water in the bottle all the time, but 1 hr trips out through out the day. She did not take more than 3 months to potty train. And goes into her crate willingly when we go off or for the night. We use the Pee pads too and left a trail of them outside the crate, just in case she could not wait. Having to take her down the stairs took time.

30 minutes is the rule after feeding to take them out, but with smaller breeds it is more like 15 minutes. Now she is eating on schedule with the older dogs, and has brought them some life, they had become couch potatoes due to age.

Ceaser Milano Dog Whisper has some great tips on dogs, we used some on the older ones and broke some bad habits.

Keep a lot of things the dog can chew on like basted rawhide, teething will see your shoes, clothes, furniture and walls chewed up other wise. Don’t forget toys the right size for that breed. Finding small toys for a toy breed was a hard thing as most were cat toys. You should have no problem with the toys size as Labs are much larger breed than my Morkie she is all of 5 lbs. Don’t invest a lot of money in toys until the chew it up stage is finished, then you can buy better toys. I found this great one it comes in several sizes. And Libby has not managed to chew it up yet. http://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Company-Hol-ee-5-Inches/dp/B0002DJX44/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1373807549&sr=8-14&keywords=dog+balls

Do not feed your dog from the table, if you want to give scraps give them in their feeding bowl with their food.

[Apple Pan Dowdy]

Julie, If you do this right you will have a best friend who will love you unconditionally and be ready to defend your life with hers.

May I suggest that you get copies of "How to be Your Dog's Best Friend" and "THE ART OF RAISING A PUPPY" by Monks of New Skete. (link to their books on Amazon) . They are amazing books .... "For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America's most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond."

About 15 years ago I found the first of these books in the library as I was desperately trying to understand how to train (and live with) our first lab puppy, Huck Finn. It was a life saver. I rushed right up to PetSmart and bought a huge lab-sized crate and the wonderful adventure began.

This is Huck Finn (all grown up) and our 2nd Lab puppy, Millie.


When Huck Finn went to Doggie Heaven, we got Morgan to be a companion for the then grown up Millie.

Another lesson, I learned the hard way....... Sometime after Morgan was old enough to be allowed to roam the house out of the crate all day, he would drag something out of my closet and chew it up when I would leave the house. After several shoes, I was so mad and mentioned it that afternoon at PetSmart when buying dogfood. Their trainer heard me and put her arm around my shoulders, comfortingly, and said, "Morgan is not doing this in anger. He is scared when you leave and he comforts himself by chewing on something with your scent on it." She then explained to me that each time I leave the house I need to say, I'll be right back" (same exact words every time, just like you do a command). Then leave for a few minutes and come back in and give a treat with good boy praises. Do this each day for a week with progressively longer periods of time. After that Morgan never chewed up anything again. He knows what "I'll be right back" means now and feels secure in that.

Best of luck to you with your new puppy and FReep mail me to keep me posted on your progress.

[Joe 6-pack]

WOOOF!

The Doggie Ping list is for FReepers who would like to be notified of threads relating to all things canid. If you would like to join the Doggie Ping Pack (or be unleashed from it), FReemail me.

[BerryDingle]

The last little Lab Puppy I had was so sweet that you had to just love her. My parents always put an old alarm clock in the box with a puppy who had just been taken from his Mother.

The ticking seemed to soothe them.

I did that with my GS pup. I also put in a chew toy and his tennis ball. Articles of clothing with your scent on it may help also.

[novemberslady]

Thanks for posting this thread.

I've been waiting for my next best friend to find me since last summer. I never pick the dog, they always pick me :)

It's been awhile since I've had a puppy and the advice here will help if I've become a little rusty.

[rintense]

And what was not so good in what I posted? I'm assuming the person who asked for advice knows how often to let the pup out, what the triggers are, etc.

When a pup is young, bedroom crating is fine. But as the pup ages, its important to begin some separation. For example, when my pup hit around 12 weeks, a second crate was added- in the basement during the day with my other dogs. A dog that is constantly crated near its owner is a candidate for severe separation anxiety.

Clicker training shouldn't be done unless you've done it before, or its part of a class. There's a lot of nuance in clicker training.

[central_va]

[susan_wv]

Feed the puppy three times a day. Crate the puppy for 30 minutes after eating. Then take the puppy outside to do its business. Obviously, crate the puppy at night, and take the puppy out first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Labs are really smart. The puppy will learn. Also, if you see the puppy starting to squat in the house, immediately take the puppy outside. Tune out the whimpering. You have to be the boss, not the dog! (And never use the crate for punishment.)

[Mister Da]

I left something out important: Toys.

Your pup is gonna want to chew. She is teething & its itches & hurts. Chewing helps this. Gets some chew toys & get her interested in them by playing with them together. Tug of war or keep away or throw the ball, or whatever seems to interest her. Being a retriever, she should like retrieving the ball or frisbee. You can burn a lot of energy off her by teaching her to retrieve a frisbee. Buy a dog frisbee that she cannot chew up. A real frisbee will not last 5 minutes, & swallowing plastic is not good - big vet bill or dead dog.

Just beware the chew. Either give her lots of things to chew or she will find something to chew - your furniture, Ipad/Iphone, power cords (very common & obviously dangerous), doors, windows, the refrigerator.

Oh, & stop using the crate as a jail. If you are trying to stop her from messing in the house, then maybe she needs to go outside more frequently. Obviously, you want her to pee/poop EVERY time outside, so YOU are gonna have to make that happen. Until she builds some control, you should take her outside if you even imagine she acts like she may need to go.

[RegulatorCountry]

Labs have a well-earned reputation for being wild puppies, and puppyhood lasts longer for them, two to three years. Exercise, exercise, exercise, get a throw toy or ten, she’ll eventually know them all by name and even color.

The reward is the sweetest dog in the world and a smart one, once she settles into laid-back Lab adulthood.

Housebreaking, I’d suggest keeping her in an area with tile, a bath or laundry, with a “pee pad” when you can’t tend to her and take her out when the need appears to be arising.

Crates, never done it, I understand many have great success but it just seems isolating and distancing to me, I want to bond with my dogs. That’s just me, though.

I wouldn’t dream of keeping my dogs out of the bed at night, myself. They love it so, great company. Hope you have at least a queen sized one though, lol. They root their way around and manage to sprawl over most of it.

[beebuster2000]

try these guys book: the monks of new skete, they are the best

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Raising-Puppy-Revised/dp/0316083275/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373810711&sr=1-1&keywords=monks+of+new+skete+dog

[beebuster2000]

not to worry bout the clock. go this website and put it on loop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eljNEwtJE4

[dangerdoc]

SatinDoll, you are so right about dog socialization.

Proud American, the pup will get used to the crate, it will be miserable for a few weeks but you can get through it and the dog will eventually consider the crate their quiet place. But you really need an older well socialized dog to teach you pup how to be around other dogs and you need to love on the pup to teach him to love people. Socialization, socialization, socialization, do it now and you will have a great partner for the rest of his life.