House Training for a new puppy

[chocolab]

We plan to get a 7-week old lab home in this fall. But my wife and I both work. My wife works part-time, but she's usually gone for at least 4-5 hrs in the morning or afternoon. So, how can we trian that puppy to relieve itself?

We've read books saying that we should train a puppy to relieve itself outside when it's young. But, in our case, does the puppy relieve itself on newspaper when we're not home, and train her to go outside when we're home? Wouldn't that really confuse a young puppy?

[Barrett]

It usually does confuse a puppy when you start paper training. Thats why they tell you to sart out with putting paper all over the floor of the confinement area. Then you SLOWLY start reducing the amount of paper so the puppy will only pee on one piece. Then you SLOWLY start moving that one piece of paper towards the back door.
It is a long process and confusing for the puppy so it makes potty training take a lot longer too. It would be better if one of you could come home and let the puppy outside to potty mid way thru the 5 hours it would be alone. Once your puppy is about 4-5 months old it might be able to hold it for 4 hours until you get home.

Since it is summer time, do you have a backyard that is puppy proof where you can leave her outside for a few hours while you are gone? As long as there is lots of water and shade I think she would be fine for a little while. You could leave her lots of chew toys to keep her busy.

[chocolab]

Unfortunatelly, our backyard is not yet puppy/dog proof. Our fence is one of those metal kind that people can see through, and I don't think our neighbours would want to change their side.

another question, is it true that a young puppy needs to socialize with other dogs? The more I read about raising a dog the more I find it isn't that easy to take care of a dog.

[dollface]

Yes early socialisation is a must for a welbehaved and manored puppy...

I paper trained and house trained two of my puppies...I had a dogpen in my living room with a kennel inside with paper layed out at one side of the pen. When I was not home the puppy was in the pen and would sleep in the kennel (door always open) and outside of the kennel was an area for paper and area for food and water, I kept toys in the kennel...When I was home the pen was closed up, all paper picked up and the kennel was brought out. This is when I took the pup outside to the bathroom no more paper. When I was unable to watch my pup (eating supper) I then locked the pup in the kennel with a toy. I also kept the kennel in my room at night...I have heard of people using the bathroom and a baby gate or ktchen with a baby gate. I also used my hallway and shut all bedrooms and bathroom doors and put up a babygate, thats where I kept Tiva (my boston) when I went out cause I never had a puppy play pen yet. It was all lino so it worked great, just had to wash the floor to get the smell out cause they have good noses. Just like if they pee on the paper and some dribble off they will smell it there and thats why they sometimes end up going off the paper, or if they step in it and walk around well they just spread the smell which means they may go there. So very important to get the smell out when you clean up the paper. Its the smell that lures them back, and taking them to the same spot outside all the time is great cause then they only mess in one area of the yard and makes for easier clean up. Some people even use a wet paper and take it outside and put rocks on it so the puppy gets the idea...Also when you clean up the paper in the house keeping a lil damp one and placing it under dry ones when you put down paper the puppy smells that and goes there, it helps to lure them back...I have put a big piece of cardboard (a big box with sides cut down, kinda like a litter box) and paper in that to keep paper in one spot, worked great......Good luck hope this made sense

[Barrett]

Yeah, early socialization is a must. Its, not hard to do, infact is can be lots of fun. Just take your little puppy with you everywhere you go. Take her shopping with you. While one of you goes in the store, the other one walks the puppy around out front and lets everyone come and pet her and play with her. Go to the parks and let children play with her and feed her treats. Once she has had her shots you can let her around other dogs that you know are friendly. Puppy obedience classes are a great way to socialize and can be very fun for you too. The trainer helps teach you to teach your puppy all of her commands and your puppy gets to play with tons of other puppies. Its like a play date you go to each week. These classes usually last around 8 weeks and cost about $100.00 and are well worth it if you have never trained a dog before. You even get a nice certificate to frame and brag about. I went to PetsMart for my classes. They have many levels of classes right up to very advanced commands. They even have agility classes. I had a blast!

Another way to socialize your puppy is to invite friends over and have a party. It gets your pup used to having strangers come over to her house. If your friends have friendly dogs, invite them too. It could be a puppy party.

When you take your pup for a walk try to stop and talk to each person you see and let her smell them. Keep a pocket full of treats and let anyone your puppy meets can give her one.
You want your puppy to see something different every week. This whole socialization thing gives your puppy confidence. She won't be scared when new things happen. She won't feel the need to act aggressive when she meets strange people or dogs and she will learn to listen to you during all types of distractions. It's a good thing.

[Carrie]

I totally recommend the crate training method. There's nothing that works better to get the dog to understand that outdoors is the ONLY place to go for bathroom needs. The dog needs to be let out often enough though. If the dog cannot be watched literally every second, he's in the crate. They don't want to mess up their "den" if they can possibly help it. So, there is no opportunity for the pup to go in the house.

Going on papers, or in one room is totally saying to the dog that it's OK to go inside the house. But I see your dilemma. You'd need someone to let the pup out every couple of hours or so. I found that while in the crate, they seem to be able to hold on just a little longer than when they're playing, eating or whatever. But you don't want the poor thing to think it has to hold it till he's really uncomfortable. Anyway, for the first several weeks, he won't be able to feel much anyhow or won't be able to hold it for long. When you're home and he's loose in the house, you watch for any signs; circling around, sniffing, going behind furniture etc. And you take him out often...every 30 - 45 minutes or so and after eating, drinking, playing for a little while...all these things somehow trigger it. As he ages, he'll be able to go longer and longer inbetween. But that will take a while.

I bet you're excited for your little dumpling to arrive. Congrats.

Carrie

[dogx3]

When we got Judge, our lab, he was just 7 weeks. At that time my sister and I were home around luch time to let him out of his crate. He was alone from 3-4 hours at a time. If you are unable to be home I would recommend a crate, they help a lot with house training. Puppies do not like to soil their sleeping area so a crate will help to train the pup not to mess inside. House training, and all other training should begin on day one. Do not allow your pup to engage in any behaviour that you do not want repeated as an adult. It is much easier to lift a little puppy off the couch than a 70 lb full grown dog. Back to house training, if you decide that paper training is your best option than stick with it. When your pup gets a bit older and is better able to control himself then it will be a little easier to eliminate the paper and work on the outdoor training. For outdoor training it's important to take your pup out the same door evertime. Also, puppies thrive on routines, so once you have found one that works stick with it. This too with help with house training.

[chocolab]

I love the idea of crate training, but if we can't let that pup go outside within 4 hr. I guess the pup may have to dirty the crate, right? Besides that, wouldn't it be too hard for a puppy to get stuck inside the crate for a few hrs?

[dogx3]

We would often times come home to a mess Judge had left in the crate. We then not only had to clean the crate but we had to clean him too because he was laying in it. It is not ideal for puppies to eliminate in their crates because one of the benifits of crates is that puppies do not like to mess where they sleep, although accidents will happen. It is no problem for puppies to be left alone in their crates for a couple of hours. As your pup grows he will be able to control himself better.

[lablover]

I understand where you're coming from. I am getting my 8 week old lab in 2 more weeks. My husband and I have done a lot of research (breeder, internet, here :-), obedience school, labrador clubs, etc.) on the topic because we are gone during the day too. Everyone seems to have a different answer. We have basically determined that we are going to go with our guts and do what we think sounds the best and safest for the dog. At this point, we are planning on putting him in our laundry room during the day. It has windows, air conditioning/heat, and high shelves for the radio. I have been told to give him toys, a blanket, and leave a radio on for noise and he will be fine as long as he gets a lot of attention from when we get home until bed time. At the same time, I was also told by an obedience school to crate him for the day because it is easier to clean up and won't hurt him. I guess what I'm saying is that how ever many people you ask, that is the number of different answers that you will receive. We asked a lot and then looked at the numerous responses and weighed the pros and cons until we came to, what we hope, is the best decision for the dog. Good luck.

[Kbob]

Hi Chocolab....good luck with your new puppy. Yes it is very important to socialize puppies from the beginning. Puppy kindergarden classes are a great way to do this as well as a dog daycare if you have one in your area. We were lucky enough to have a terrific dog daycare near us. It's a great place to bring the dogs a couple of days a week while you are at work so that they aren't cooped up in a crate 5 days a week. Our dogs get quite the benefit of exercise, socialization, play time and just hanging out with their "dog friends". They are so tired out when you pick them up at the end of the day too. Yes and dogs are alot of work but it's also very rewarding too. A Dog's love is unconditional...they love you whether you look terrible or look great....they love you whether you are stressed and grumpy or whether you are happy....they are just the best to have around. :-)

[gracie]

Hi, you have to do what works best for your puppy and yourself. There is no set rules to follow because every pup is different. My little pup is now 3 1/2 months old. She was 8 weeks when we got her. She slept in her crate with the door closed at night and when we went somewhere. In the day when we were home, the door of the crate was always open so she could come and go freely, although we did have a Child gate put up so she could not go into the rooms with carpeted areas.
Even with my attempts to keep a close eye on her and take her out on time, she would average about 2-3 piddle accidents per day. She never had a piddle accident in her cage. (never get a big cage, that way puppy may sleep in one corner and have room to relieve itself in another)
When she was about 10 weeks old, she would only pee in the house once every 3 days or so. Now, that she is 3 1/2 months old, she hasn't had any accidents in the house for the last 6 days, and I'm so proud of her. Yesterday, I fell asleep and she came and woke me up and ran straight to the door, so I would say she is well on her way.
Puppies are alot of work, and training can be frustrating. Puppies have immature bladder muscles so they can't hold it for very long, even when they try. Some are lucky that their puppies are trained sooner, but I think it's more luck then the general rule. Puppies are able to hold their bladders longer at 3-4 months although some take even longer. They're like kids and potty training.
What you should do, first think if you will be ready to cope with the added responsibility of having a new pup in the home, and all the training that goes with it. It's better to think now, then be frustrated later. There are so many dogs at the Pound, who's owners gave up because they just couldn't handle the added responsibility. There's nothing sadder than seeing the eyes of these animals. I don't mean this in a negative way, but wanting you to think long and hard before you make your final descision and if you do decide to get your puppy, prepare well ahead of time, by reading and getting information, just like you're doing now by posting.


A good way to find out, is dog sitting. My neighbour's daughter wanted a puppy of her own. She was asked to look after a friend's dog while they were away on holidays. Well, after coming home to several piddle and poop accidents that she had to clean up, she no longer wants a dog.

[Lil'Paws]

Originally Posted by gracie

(never get a big cage, that way puppy may sleep in one corner and have room to relieve itself in another)
.

If you do buy a crate big enough for the puppy when it is big put a divider in it. This is what I did to keep Mia fom using part of it for her potty and it has worked wonderfully..
Gracie,You posted alot of great info..I hope Mia is house broken as soon as yours was.. I use gates also and I use a crate. Mia goes into her crate all by her self now.. I put a small pillow in it for her and she loves it..I have taken up my rugs til she is house broken.. I have to admit I was a little skeptical about crate training at first...But now I don't know how I'd live with out it. It also prepares them for the road trips that you'll be going on..They'll already be crate trained so he or she will already ready for travel using a crate.. That the only way I travel with Mia long distance.. Now to the store and back I don't use a crate...Since its just down the road..

[suzanne]

We just got a 11wk. old Australian Terrier. She is pooping at least 7 to 8 times a day. Is this normal?

[flyndog]

Hi Suzanne. Welcome to GlobalPaw. This is thread is a year old. You can get a specific answer to your question if you post a new thread in the Puppy Forum.
BTW, sounds like an awful lot of pooping to me.
Kit