Train My Dogs Myself

admin answers:

You can adopt an older dog that has already been trained so that you don’t have to deal with it because it will be difficult to train a puppy. If you do want a puppy I would say crate train it, from what I’ve read it is the easiest and quickest way to potty train a dog and its very helpful for when you’re not home so that your puppy doesn’t tear up your possessions.
Also, be prepared for tons of people on here telling you that you are not ready for a dog if you aren’t prepared to train it.

admin answers:

The best thing you can do to “potty” train your dog is to be consistent. Take him/her out at the same time(s) everyday. If they are a young puppy, this may also mean after mid-night outings. (Our dog associates going out by my saying “Hurry up”) hence the 3am outings.

Usually a puppy can hold it’s bladder approx. 1/2 hour for every month in age until they reach 10 – 12 months. Then their bladder should be fully developed. Ex. If your dog is 3 months old, they maybe able to hold themselves for about 90 minutes.

They will also give signs. They really don’t want to go inside the “cave”, and they will let you know they want out. They may start digging in a spot, prancing around, going towards the door. You need to pay attention and learn their individual behavior.

Other Key times to let your dog out:
After they eat,
After they wake up.
As soon as you come home.
After you play with them.

I would by-pass the whole “paper training first” thing. You will eventually have to train them to go outside anyway. Plus they may associate going to the bathroom in the spot where the paper was even though the paper is gone.

If they do have an “Accident” it is usually not the dogs fault, but yours. You can’t really get mad at them. Rub their nose in it does nothing but confuse them.
If you do catch them midstream get them out the door, and praise them for being outside.

If they do have an accident Natures Miracle is a great product for clean up.

admin answers:

I adopted my dog when she was 1 year old, and she was not house trained. So, I put her on a schedule, like you are doing, which really helped. But I took her out every few hours, not every 20 minutes, because that would be impossible for me. First, you have to catch her going potty inside for anything to be effective. My friend kept her dog on a leash for an entire weekend, so he couldn’t leave her side. Any time he started to squat, or pee, or anything, she said “NO!” and immediately took him outside (don’t hit your dog). If he went potty outside he got HUGE Praise!! Like a little party in the backyard for going potty outside. If your dog goes potty in the house, but you didn’t see her, or catch her in the act, you have to ignore it. If you punish her for it after the fact, she won’t know what you are punishing her for. You have to CATCH her doing it. Any other time she chooses to go potty outside on her own also gets HUGE Praise!!

And if she ever has to be left alone while you leave the house, a crate is a great tool. The crate doesn’t have to be forever, but it is useful for learning. You will have to read up about crate training first, you can’t just throw her in there. Once she gets comfortable, you can leave her in there for a few hours while you get your stuff done, then immediately take her outside when you get home. I hope this helps. My dog was potty trained within less that two weeks this way. Good Luck!!!

If you really feel that the training just isn’t working, she may have a urinary tract infection. This can cause dogs to go potty in the house. You can take a urine sample in to your veterinarian and have them check for a UTI.

admin answers:

Crate Training at any age. We’ve housebroken rescued dogs a lot older than that. Also dogs that were outside dogs. Your Malamute should catch on very quickly.

admin answers:

Of course it does….dogs are going to do what the other dog does…its human nature and doggie nature

but here are some tips for you if your finding yourself having a hard time to potty train your puppy

The first rule is… Never let the puppy out of your site.

The second rule is… The first rule is impossible, so expect mistakes.

The third rule: Your puppy needs a separate small space of its own in which to eat and sleep, and a potty area separate from the designated “puppy space,” so that you can break the first rule when necessary.

The fourth rule: Start out having the puppy sleep, eat and play in his own area. Stay nearby at first until it is used to being in its space alone. Expect a few mistakes at first, but if the mistakes continue that may mean the sleeping and eating area are too large.

The fifth rule: Create a potty schedule so Puppy can get to the area in which you intend it to relieve itself for five to ten minutes at a time, as often as it needs to which at first will be every few hours. As the puppy poops and pees during the day, look for a pattern in the time of day. The length of time between poop or pee breaks will increase with your puppy’s age. At eight weeks old, Puppy may not be able to go more than four hours during the day or six hours at night without a potty break.

The sixth rule: You control your puppy’s playing, eating and drinking habits to help you manage the fifth rule more conveniently. You will notice there is a predictable amount of time between your puppy eating and/or drinking, and its need to poop and/or pee. Additionally, puppies almost always have to go potty after a vigorous play session. Again, the amount of time it takes for digestion to occur will usually increase as the puppy ages.

The seventh rule: Let your puppy know how unhappy you are when it goes in the wrong place. Make sure your reprimand is not over done, thus causing Puppy to be afraid, or underdone, causing pup to continue making mistakes. Most importantly, praise Puppy lavishly when it goes in the designated area. If Puppy still does not quite understand, put a “sample” of what you want him to do in his potty area. Never let him see you clean up his mistakes.

The eighth rule: Consider the location of designated potty area in relation to the distance between where you usually are and where the puppy’s area is located. You should not have to run a marathon between where you are, your puppy’s area, and your puppy’s potty area. The sleeping/eating area, and potty area, should not be so close that it conflict with the puppy’s natural instinct to go as far away as possible from where it sleeps, eats and plays to relieve himself. As much as possible, these two areas should generally be where they will remain for the life of the dog. Try to use the same “potty exit” whenever possible, not just any door.

The ninth rule: Begin to notice what the puppy “does” when it needs to go potty. When trying to teach puppy how to let you know when it needs to go out, it is often easiest to expand on the puppy’s natural signals. If your puppy gives no apparent signals, teach the puppy to run to you and to the door as a signal. You do this by running back and forth with puppy, from where you are at “potty time” to the door used as the “potty exit.” This signal will also serve to stimulate elimination upon arrival at the potty locale.

The tenth rule: As Puppy begins to understand your “bathroom etiquette” requirements, slowly begin to expand its sleeping, eating and playing space until all it has left is sleeping, eating and playing space, i.e. Your entire house and yard, and ITS OWN, SEPARATE, POTTY AREA.

Stick to the rules without variation, except as instructed by a professional trainer. Do not assume that a friend who has raised a dog, or the pet store clerk, knows how to help you with your new puppy, or that you can combine multiple recipes for housebreaking and get the same end result. This method works–if followed exactly. Then you can focus on all the fun stuff–obedience training, agility courses, hikes, etc. Oh, and don’t forget to call the trainer about that garbage raiding habit, or that leash pulling issue. After all, if you follow the 10 EZ steps to the letter, you certainly will not need us for housebreaking.