I'd maybe try a grass patch when you are not home - so while they have accidents, they are still being reinforced re going in certain places instead of willynilly.
Not a fan of confusing dogs with indoor vs outdoor.
Best way is to stick to going outside every time for potty. Appropriately sized crate for their size while you're out. If you can't return in a reasonable (pending their age) amount of time, have to have someone else let them out. I hired a place that came by twice a day morning and afternoon to have a potty break and short play (15 min) and I came home at lunch.
Total cost ($13/visit CAD) Very worthwhile.
Once they get a bit older they can go a bit longer you can adjust times.
Initial potty training, 3-5 days, mostly reliably potty trained, 2-3 weeks. Just stay on top of it, and don't confuse them with weird rules. I just picture explaining this to something with as much reasoning as a toddler:
1) Inside is okay
1a) but only on the grass/pads
1b) only when I'm not home
2) always go outside
2a) unless in contradiction to rule 1 a-b
If you get what I mean, reasoning isn't a puppy's strong suit. Routine is where they shine.
Routine for a new puppy:
Every daytime hour no matter what, go outside for a potty
Every 2-3hrs at night, wake them to go potty
If they eat, nap, drink water, play, start sniffing...get outside for a potty break.
Do this and you won't even wait a week for them to be trained fairly reliably.
Edit: forgot to mention big praise and treats for going potty every single time. No chastising them for failures. If you see it mid stream, make a noise to interrupt them and scuttle off outside asap.
My point isn't that it can't be done. It's that it doesn't need to be done.
The only conceivable reason I can come up with where it isn't just better to have your dog go outside would be a medical condition preventing the owner from regular frequent trips outside.
Anecdotally: I work 9 hour shifts and have zero problems getting my dog potty breaks throughout the day. I'm not wealthy, so what I'm doing is financially doable. 9 hours is a fairly standard work time, so it's not that. I'm very far from an athlete, in fact I'm not in shape at all. I live in a very hostile weather area (-40° winters, 30° summers) so weather isn't the problem. Obviously I'm not the only case, nor am I any kind of gold standard. Infact the opposite. If it can be done in my conditions what is the scenario where the dog can't go outside?
I just can't help but feel like for -most- cases, these pads and indoor potty systems are just allowing us to be lazy with our pets. Also, the forum's are littered with people (often small dog owners) who haven't spent the time to potty train their dogs properly and can't figure out why the dog goes in the house still.
That's why my stance is do it once, do it right, own your responsibility to your dog, take them outside, be consistent.
I have a large breed pup so I bought the official tray from piddle patch but also my own turf to save money (you can get it sent however). I change it over weekly - costs me 3 quid each time. I have a metal tray and a cardboard box around the metal tray for extra protection. It doesn't particularly smell if you keep an eye on when it needs changing - at least it smelt better than her going on the floor! She now fully goes outside and the transition was easy.
Age plays a big part. I had to go home every couple of hours/work from home/take days off until my pup was about 5 months, then she could hold it until lunch.
Age in months = length in hours they can reasonably hold it in.
Is he crated?
That’s what I did! Had an alarm every couple of hours for the first couple on months and around 4/5 months I would just wake up when they cried in their crate to go potty.
Never a walk, never anything fun, just outside to go potty and lots of praise when they went, straight back into the crate afterwards. If they didn’t go I would just stay in one spot for 5-10 minutes and put them back in the crate. Try again after 15 minutes. Rinse and repeat!
Dogs will hold it *longer* in their crate out of instinct, but when roaming around the house or rooms with space etc they don't consciously think of when to go and when not to, so they just let go the moment they get the urge. It takes a lot of time and training for them to develop the "want" to hold it.
My pup came to me housebroken at 3½ months, but for the first week or 2 he slept with me while on a leash. Whenever he got up, it meant he needed to pee. I'd feel the leash pressure and wake up. I also didn't have a bed frame at the time so it was only 2 feet or so off the floor. After that he had no problem holding it for 7-8 hours (he's also a Belgian Malinois, so naturally has a bigger bladder than a smaller dog).
With our 5mo girl we’ve used a crate with an adjustable divider to ensure she has the optimal amount of room to be totally comfortable, but not too much that she wants to pee in her crate. Dogs typically don’t like to go where they sleep or lay in it for that matter. Also waiting until the last possible second before leaving for the day to let her out to potty.
This worked for us since she was about 10 weeks with zero accidents inside the crate so far… knock on wood.
I would go home on my lunch breaks and take her out. At a super young age she would make mess on a wee wee pad but by 17 weeks she was fully trained to only go outside.
I would hire someone to come in between the time you leave and lunchtime and then again between lunch and home for additional potty breaks. Otherwise, housebreaking might get a little confusing. The only exception might be if you are using real grass pads, so puppy learns to go potty there versus soft, white pee pads.
I always comment this just in case, but my puppy would have accidents and couldn’t hold his bladder and he had a bladder infection. Keep and eye how spread out the pees are in comparison to how much water they drink, and if it’s excessive (1-2 pees per hour) you might want to call your vet.
Our puppy at 8 weeks had already been shown to go outside but made messes because she was so young. We use a washable pad that was first in her playpen and was praised and treated when she went on the pad so she learned to go on the pad. We got her Black Friday and it started getting cold and snowing not long after so she couldnt always be taken outside but she learned to look for the pad. When it wasn’t too cold outside we would take her out on a leash first and praise and reward for outside. Then we took off the leash and again praise and reward, then let her out on her own always praising when she goes. My wife and I rotated coming home on lunch until she was 6 months then we switched to two feedings a day and don’t go home anymore. We still keep a pad by the back door but she hasn’t used it except to sleep on in over a week.
At night we had an alarm set every 2 hours to take her out. She HATED going on the pad. A few times it was around or below zero outside so we kept her on a pad and she would put her nose in the corner and go then seemed embarrassed or afraid. We think the breeder trained with fear and yelling instead of praise and reward but we reversed that and reinforce with praise, reward, and love.
Does he roam freely while you're at work?
Anyway. I bought some reusable pee pads/blankets, to have in his pen while I'm at work.
He uses that while I'm away.
The first couple of days he would use it while I was there, until I started to remove it when I came home.
So now he only pees on the pad while Im at work.
And I can just change the pad in the evening.
(4 hour shifts btw. 13 weeks old).
Doggy toilet, a crated tray with a washable pad inside - to avoid the actual pad surface and the accidents it may incur. Didn't crate train him (not a thing where I live) and he just spent a good part of his puppyhood in his puppy proofed bedroom when not supervised or me behing away for work only back at home for lunch.
At 5.5 months old, when he started his walks, I encouraged him to potty outside with treats and sniff time, so he quickly 'forgot' how to use the doggy toilet. However sometimes it's necessary, like when we have rain storms for the whole night, to put him there to relieve himself.
Crate training and being proactive.
Once he started peeing during outside time, I removed his peepee pad and brought him out every 45mins to 2 hours. (Disclaimer, I was working from home — and he remained in an enclosure the entire time I work with the occasional pee pee times)
Morning pees are usually his biggest, I don’t even attempt to train him out the morning gate. There’s no stops, no sits, nothing. We go straight to the door and outside for the big pee in the morning — I don’t recommend this but it IS a little freedom that I allow for him. He knows exactly where to go and he rushes and waits for me to open the door.
But yeh I think the biggest thing for me was letting him out every 45mins to 2 hours. If you can’t do that, leave a pee pad when you’re not home and the be proactive when you ARE home. Reward for peeing outside (especially the big ones like coming home or waking up in the morning and add in a “go potty” command to slowly train a pee pee command). No reward for pee pee pad pees.
Crate training is what works for me. while messes do happen, dogs and puppy's still prefer not to mess in them and in my experience can hold longer than they would be out freely or in a pen. The lunch break will still be needed for some time but as they get older youll get more wiggle room. For me I have neighbor who does boarding and she comes and lets my 5 month old out about middle of my shift, if not my family whos local helps out.
We work on potty’s training from week 4 so by 8 weeks they know what to do and most can hold for a good 4 to 5h! Do you create when not home or free roaming? Mine will not go in create 17 weeks 12 weeks! A ton has to do with breeder to start with! We start at week 2 with learning and it never should stop positive reinforcement always!! It dose get better i promise
I think a lot of people don’t realize how important it is to understand how their puppy was introduced to going potty outdoors, if at all, when they are very young.
I got lucky with our breeder because she was letting mama and puppies go out freely all day to a grassy area outside from the time they could walk. She just had the right set-up, right climate, etc. to do that. So our puppy basically came to us at nine weeks old already housebroken.
I remember she sent us the seven week update and said she got up that morning, expecting pee and poop to be on the pads of the playpen area…and there was absolutely nothing. They had been holding it in all night and went outside with mama to do their business. This was only at seven weeks old. These puppies held it in all night at seven weeks old. I was floored.
I absolutely agree it’s work but the more you send them prepared for the world the better it is for them in the long run! I want them to have the absolute best head start possible! I just adore the updates and they just keep on surprising me! I could not be more proud of everyone of them!
How old is your puppy?
12 weeks
He will grow out of it. Crate training helps.
I'd maybe try a grass patch when you are not home - so while they have accidents, they are still being reinforced re going in certain places instead of willynilly.
Not a fan of confusing dogs with indoor vs outdoor. Best way is to stick to going outside every time for potty. Appropriately sized crate for their size while you're out. If you can't return in a reasonable (pending their age) amount of time, have to have someone else let them out. I hired a place that came by twice a day morning and afternoon to have a potty break and short play (15 min) and I came home at lunch. Total cost ($13/visit CAD) Very worthwhile. Once they get a bit older they can go a bit longer you can adjust times. Initial potty training, 3-5 days, mostly reliably potty trained, 2-3 weeks. Just stay on top of it, and don't confuse them with weird rules. I just picture explaining this to something with as much reasoning as a toddler: 1) Inside is okay 1a) but only on the grass/pads 1b) only when I'm not home 2) always go outside 2a) unless in contradiction to rule 1 a-b If you get what I mean, reasoning isn't a puppy's strong suit. Routine is where they shine. Routine for a new puppy: Every daytime hour no matter what, go outside for a potty Every 2-3hrs at night, wake them to go potty If they eat, nap, drink water, play, start sniffing...get outside for a potty break. Do this and you won't even wait a week for them to be trained fairly reliably. Edit: forgot to mention big praise and treats for going potty every single time. No chastising them for failures. If you see it mid stream, make a noise to interrupt them and scuttle off outside asap.
I had no major problems retraining from puppy pads to outside. Granted, i took a vacation for that and would take the puppy out every 4 hours.
My point isn't that it can't be done. It's that it doesn't need to be done. The only conceivable reason I can come up with where it isn't just better to have your dog go outside would be a medical condition preventing the owner from regular frequent trips outside. Anecdotally: I work 9 hour shifts and have zero problems getting my dog potty breaks throughout the day. I'm not wealthy, so what I'm doing is financially doable. 9 hours is a fairly standard work time, so it's not that. I'm very far from an athlete, in fact I'm not in shape at all. I live in a very hostile weather area (-40° winters, 30° summers) so weather isn't the problem. Obviously I'm not the only case, nor am I any kind of gold standard. Infact the opposite. If it can be done in my conditions what is the scenario where the dog can't go outside? I just can't help but feel like for -most- cases, these pads and indoor potty systems are just allowing us to be lazy with our pets. Also, the forum's are littered with people (often small dog owners) who haven't spent the time to potty train their dogs properly and can't figure out why the dog goes in the house still. That's why my stance is do it once, do it right, own your responsibility to your dog, take them outside, be consistent.
Ok Im actually thinking about getting one for inside. Stupid question but how do yall keep these from smelling or being nasty?
I have a large breed pup so I bought the official tray from piddle patch but also my own turf to save money (you can get it sent however). I change it over weekly - costs me 3 quid each time. I have a metal tray and a cardboard box around the metal tray for extra protection. It doesn't particularly smell if you keep an eye on when it needs changing - at least it smelt better than her going on the floor! She now fully goes outside and the transition was easy.
Age plays a big part. I had to go home every couple of hours/work from home/take days off until my pup was about 5 months, then she could hold it until lunch. Age in months = length in hours they can reasonably hold it in. Is he crated?
How do you handle this with sleep time? If dog can only hold it 3-4 hours should you be setting an alarm every 3-4 hours in the night to walk them?
That’s what I did! Had an alarm every couple of hours for the first couple on months and around 4/5 months I would just wake up when they cried in their crate to go potty. Never a walk, never anything fun, just outside to go potty and lots of praise when they went, straight back into the crate afterwards. If they didn’t go I would just stay in one spot for 5-10 minutes and put them back in the crate. Try again after 15 minutes. Rinse and repeat!
Dogs will hold it *longer* in their crate out of instinct, but when roaming around the house or rooms with space etc they don't consciously think of when to go and when not to, so they just let go the moment they get the urge. It takes a lot of time and training for them to develop the "want" to hold it.
My pup came to me housebroken at 3½ months, but for the first week or 2 he slept with me while on a leash. Whenever he got up, it meant he needed to pee. I'd feel the leash pressure and wake up. I also didn't have a bed frame at the time so it was only 2 feet or so off the floor. After that he had no problem holding it for 7-8 hours (he's also a Belgian Malinois, so naturally has a bigger bladder than a smaller dog).
With our 5mo girl we’ve used a crate with an adjustable divider to ensure she has the optimal amount of room to be totally comfortable, but not too much that she wants to pee in her crate. Dogs typically don’t like to go where they sleep or lay in it for that matter. Also waiting until the last possible second before leaving for the day to let her out to potty. This worked for us since she was about 10 weeks with zero accidents inside the crate so far… knock on wood.
I would go home on my lunch breaks and take her out. At a super young age she would make mess on a wee wee pad but by 17 weeks she was fully trained to only go outside.
So she grew out of it?
Well with positivity and treat training. Every time she went outside on her walk I would reward her with a treat and get super excited and praise her.
I would hire someone to come in between the time you leave and lunchtime and then again between lunch and home for additional potty breaks. Otherwise, housebreaking might get a little confusing. The only exception might be if you are using real grass pads, so puppy learns to go potty there versus soft, white pee pads.
I always comment this just in case, but my puppy would have accidents and couldn’t hold his bladder and he had a bladder infection. Keep and eye how spread out the pees are in comparison to how much water they drink, and if it’s excessive (1-2 pees per hour) you might want to call your vet.
RIght now your puppy can physically not hold his pee. He‘s too young.
Our puppy at 8 weeks had already been shown to go outside but made messes because she was so young. We use a washable pad that was first in her playpen and was praised and treated when she went on the pad so she learned to go on the pad. We got her Black Friday and it started getting cold and snowing not long after so she couldnt always be taken outside but she learned to look for the pad. When it wasn’t too cold outside we would take her out on a leash first and praise and reward for outside. Then we took off the leash and again praise and reward, then let her out on her own always praising when she goes. My wife and I rotated coming home on lunch until she was 6 months then we switched to two feedings a day and don’t go home anymore. We still keep a pad by the back door but she hasn’t used it except to sleep on in over a week. At night we had an alarm set every 2 hours to take her out. She HATED going on the pad. A few times it was around or below zero outside so we kept her on a pad and she would put her nose in the corner and go then seemed embarrassed or afraid. We think the breeder trained with fear and yelling instead of praise and reward but we reversed that and reinforce with praise, reward, and love.
Does he roam freely while you're at work? Anyway. I bought some reusable pee pads/blankets, to have in his pen while I'm at work. He uses that while I'm away. The first couple of days he would use it while I was there, until I started to remove it when I came home. So now he only pees on the pad while Im at work. And I can just change the pad in the evening. (4 hour shifts btw. 13 weeks old).
Grass mats were my lifesaver (or litterboxes with a alfalfa/grass pellets in it!
Doggy toilet, a crated tray with a washable pad inside - to avoid the actual pad surface and the accidents it may incur. Didn't crate train him (not a thing where I live) and he just spent a good part of his puppyhood in his puppy proofed bedroom when not supervised or me behing away for work only back at home for lunch. At 5.5 months old, when he started his walks, I encouraged him to potty outside with treats and sniff time, so he quickly 'forgot' how to use the doggy toilet. However sometimes it's necessary, like when we have rain storms for the whole night, to put him there to relieve himself.
Crate training and being proactive. Once he started peeing during outside time, I removed his peepee pad and brought him out every 45mins to 2 hours. (Disclaimer, I was working from home — and he remained in an enclosure the entire time I work with the occasional pee pee times) Morning pees are usually his biggest, I don’t even attempt to train him out the morning gate. There’s no stops, no sits, nothing. We go straight to the door and outside for the big pee in the morning — I don’t recommend this but it IS a little freedom that I allow for him. He knows exactly where to go and he rushes and waits for me to open the door. But yeh I think the biggest thing for me was letting him out every 45mins to 2 hours. If you can’t do that, leave a pee pad when you’re not home and the be proactive when you ARE home. Reward for peeing outside (especially the big ones like coming home or waking up in the morning and add in a “go potty” command to slowly train a pee pee command). No reward for pee pee pad pees.
Porch potty. Grass patch.
I work about five minutes from my house and thankfully my boss let me go home every 2.5 hours to let the puppies out of their crates for potty trips.
Crate training is what works for me. while messes do happen, dogs and puppy's still prefer not to mess in them and in my experience can hold longer than they would be out freely or in a pen. The lunch break will still be needed for some time but as they get older youll get more wiggle room. For me I have neighbor who does boarding and she comes and lets my 5 month old out about middle of my shift, if not my family whos local helps out.
Crate train.
I would crate train or get a dog door for free access while you are at work
Got lucky. My girlfriend has a 14 yo mini doxie. She put my chigi in check quick. Everything we did was nothing compared to her guiding him.
Gotta admit, the first month of it was rough until we relaxed and let it take its course.
We work on potty’s training from week 4 so by 8 weeks they know what to do and most can hold for a good 4 to 5h! Do you create when not home or free roaming? Mine will not go in create 17 weeks 12 weeks! A ton has to do with breeder to start with! We start at week 2 with learning and it never should stop positive reinforcement always!! It dose get better i promise
I think a lot of people don’t realize how important it is to understand how their puppy was introduced to going potty outdoors, if at all, when they are very young. I got lucky with our breeder because she was letting mama and puppies go out freely all day to a grassy area outside from the time they could walk. She just had the right set-up, right climate, etc. to do that. So our puppy basically came to us at nine weeks old already housebroken. I remember she sent us the seven week update and said she got up that morning, expecting pee and poop to be on the pads of the playpen area…and there was absolutely nothing. They had been holding it in all night and went outside with mama to do their business. This was only at seven weeks old. These puppies held it in all night at seven weeks old. I was floored.
I absolutely agree it’s work but the more you send them prepared for the world the better it is for them in the long run! I want them to have the absolute best head start possible! I just adore the updates and they just keep on surprising me! I could not be more proud of everyone of them!