thread: Question about housetraining puppies?

  1. #1
    Registered User

    Dec 2005
    4,840

    Question about housetraining puppies?

    We've NEVER had an inside dog; but we are getting a new puppy soon and Ive been considering letting her be an occasional inside dog. Dh wont have a bar of it though because he thinks she'll just poo and wee all over the place forever and ever. Obviously thats not the case but I have zero idea of how to go about house training a puppy.

    So any tips or advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated!

  2. #2
    Registered User

    Apr 2008
    4,427

    I have house trained 2 puppies over the last few years and yes at first they will wee and poo everywhere but its how they learn.

    -I shut off a lot of rooms to the house and covered almost my entire floor with newspaper! LOL! I have all floor boards so never had to worry about carpet.
    -Everytime I saw the dog going on the paper I would praise, praise, praise, maybe offer food treat and also say wee wees!
    -Each day I would gradually decrease the amount of newspaper on the floor and continue to praise when I saw them going on the paper and say wee wees.
    -It is also important to not only train them to go on the paper but also outside so about 10 minutes after a meal, I would take the puppy outside to give him a chance to go, if he did more praise and food treat!
    -From memory I think it took 6 weeks to have them fully toilet trained.
    -Also as they get bigger they can hold on for longer and dont need to go as frequently as they did when they are pups with a small pup. My dogs can hold it for abou 12 hours.

    -At first my puppy didnt like the feel of grass under his feet so I put some newspaper out there on the concrete which he was familiar with.

    HTH

  3. #3
    Registered User

    Dec 2009
    605

    The first tihng you do when you get your new puppy is put him in the backyard, and just play with him there first, as soon as he/she does his first pee, really praise him. Say "Wee Wee" whilst he does it. And 'Poo Poo" for poos. With poos, try to make him go in a designated area, take him there (preferably spot with tall bushy grass) and always take him there.
    Take him outside after every meal for poos, and first thing in morning.
    They learn VERY quickly, my dog had one poo in the house and that was it.

  4. #4
    Registered User

    Mar 2008
    North Northcote
    8,065

    we housetrained our puppy from 8 weeks and what the others have said is fantastic advice.

    we got the wee pads from the pet warehouse, but paper should be fine too!

    after each meal, take them outside and encourage them to do a wee and poos. so for example we would say to her 'do a wee' or 'do a poo' etc etc and the moment she started to squat down to do it we would say it again (to get the recognition that what we were saying referred to her doing her business). also a great idea to get them to do it all in the same area as it helps with them recognising why they are out there ITMS (we also had her on a leash so that she wouldnt just run and play...that time was for wees and poos).

    also, if there are accidents off the mat inside, make sure to clean it well as the smell of wee especially lingers and the dog may keep weeing in that spot as it is kinda like a 'toilet' spot lol!

    oh and just before bed time too...take em out for a toilet stop.
    it sounds time consuming, but we didnt find it that bad really and they learn quick.

  5. #5
    Registered User

    Jan 2009
    5,235

    The first tihng you do when you get your new puppy is put him in the backyard, and just play with him there first, as soon as he/she does his first pee, really praise him. Say "Wee Wee" whilst he does it. And 'Poo Poo" for poos. With poos, try to make him go in a designated area, take him there (preferably spot with tall bushy grass) and always take him there.
    Take him outside after every meal for poos, and first thing in morning.
    They learn VERY quickly, my dog had one poo in the house and that was it.
    And I would add when they wake up and after a play, also take them outside for a wee.
    Make sure you take them to the same place each time so they can smell where they've gone before.
    Certain breeds trainer faster/slower than others. My parents Jack Russel took forever, my maltesex was much faster and trained within months.

  6. #6
    Registered User

    Mar 2010
    NSW
    61

    we housetrained our puppy from 8 weeks and what the others have said is fantastic advice.

    we got the wee pads from the pet warehouse, but paper should be fine too!

    after each meal, take them outside and encourage them to do a wee and poos. so for example we would say to her 'do a wee' or 'do a poo' etc etc and the moment she started to squat down to do it we would say it again (to get the recognition that what we were saying referred to her doing her business). also a great idea to get them to do it all in the same area as it helps with them recognising why they are out there ITMS (we also had her on a leash so that she wouldnt just run and play...that time was for wees and poos).

    also, if there are accidents off the mat inside, make sure to clean it well as the smell of wee especially lingers and the dog may keep weeing in that spot as it is kinda like a 'toilet' spot lol!

    oh and just before bed time too...take em out for a toilet stop.
    it sounds time consuming, but we didnt find it that bad really and they learn quick.
    Exactly what we have done with our dogs