Puppy Tips Blog

How long does it take to train a Boxer puppy to let you know he has to go potty.. example.. scratching the door or ringing a bell that's hanging on the door. Sometimes ours does it, sometimes not.. he's 5 months old. What do you think???

I have two Boxers they are my babies. My three year old took about 7-8 months to get it down pat (no mistakes at all). My baby boy who's almost six months barely has the hang of it. He knows not to go in the house, however as the owner you have to stay on top of them. It's your job to read their mind, if you see them sniffing or wondering away from you immediately put them outside. Be sure to have lil' treats to praise them when they do go outside(that is very important) Also remember a puppy does not have control of their bladder until about 5-6 months. Good Luck!! Boxers are soo much fun!!

I am a student so there are just 2 days a week when I am gone all day. My worry is that the work I do to potty train her on the other days will be undone on the days I leave her alone (just got her).
Anyone have advice on potty training when you have to work/go to school?
Thanks
She's about 2 months old and is a French Mastiff (if that helps).

Two words. Crate training.

I crate trained my dog and she grew up to looooove her crate! it got to the point where i didn't need to use it anymore but she would still go in there and hang out because it was her "safe place". Contrary to some people's beliefs it is NOT mean and cruel. Make sure you get the right size for your dog (you may have to get larger ones as she gets bigger) and your local pet store can help you find the perfect one. I would put my dog in the crate at night when I coudn't monitor her potty breaks and when I went to work. Dogs will not go where they sleep and so she will not empty her bladder (or worse) in her crate. The length of time she can be left in there depends on her age so that is something else you would need to ask your vet or pet store employee. It will also help train her to hold her bladder so that she does not need to be taken out every hour. Just make sure the first thing you do when you get home is take her outside to pee! Good luck!

I don't know what to do with this stinker!! I take her outside everymorning and try and get her to go no. 1 and no. 2 but all she does is play with the leash or pull on it like she's taking ME for a walk. When I bring her back inside, then she finds a spot to do her business. I feel like all I do is yell at her and smack her. I have the puppy pads but she doesn't use them she goes NEXT TO them. How do you get them to get it???
She's only 2 months so I don't hit her hard, I like tap her and she knows. She knows the word "NO" and comes when you whistle. She also rips puppy pad apart but only the one time. I praise her when she does go potty outside and give her a treat. I am as consistant as humanly possible. I try and keep her in her kennel at night but she cries and whimpers and keeps us up ALL NIGHT LONG! I tried putting a blanket over but that only worked the first couple nights. So I have confined her to my room at night time. When I'm away I put her in and let her cry all she wants she's not getting out. Although she has figured out how to get out.
She knows she did wrong, like a little kid who does something then looks around to see if mommy saw, she does the SAME thing!! And if she sees, me getting up she runs and hides and conveniently where I need to move furniture to get her.
Most of the time my eyes are on her. I watch her constantly. She's a Labrador/Rotweiler mix. Are these hard breeds to train?

It seems like you've already got the consistency part of it down. Make sure that if, by some chance, she DOES go potty outside when she's supposed to, you give her a small treat and TONS of praise. If she doesn't go, the "punishment" should depend on the rest of her training. If you're trying to crate train her, then don't put her in the kennel as punishment for not going to the bathroom outside. She'll learn that the kennel is a "bad place", not a safe, comforting spot for her.

What we did was put our dog out on a long leash until she went to the bathroom. Luckily it was warm when we were training her so being outside wasn't a problem.

Another thing to try is putting her in her "spot", whether it be a kennel, or a pen, for an hour or 2 at a time. Then, when you're ready to bring her out, take her directly outside because she'll probably have to go to the bathroom. When, or if, she goes, praise PRAISE PRAISE! And treat. :-]

Patience is the real key. It takes a special kind of person to have and train a dog. You obviously care about her, so I have no doubt that it'll all work out for you 2!

There Jack Russel German Shepard mix and they don't listin to well. Thell be 3 months old in a couple weeks. So what would be the fastess and best way to get them potty trained?

Crate training! This is the easiest and most effective way. You use the theory of not letting the dog HAVE an accident by constantly supervising him, but when he can not be supervised crating him. Dogs will not soil their own den, so they will not use the restroom in the crate.

I would also buy an enzyme cleaner for your house. If the dog smells previous accidents, they may also continue to use the same spot

I will be getting a Labrador Retreiver puppy in about 4-5 weeks and have been doing my homework! I've been reading up on potty training, and there's many techniques and tips, however…I have to leave for work at 7:00 am and don't get home until 5-5:30 M-F. Now, ideally, I will be able to have a family member help out until she is older, but…Has anyone else dealt with this (I'm sure there is), and how did you resolve the issues…Thanks!
Thank you so far for your advice - let me clarify - I will be getting the puppy in 4-5 weeks, that's not how old she is.

Also, I will be able to have someone take her out at least once or twice during the day while I'm gone. It's just that all the literature on puppies said to take them out once every hour, and I didn't know how accurate this was - especially if they are being crate trained (which is definitely my intention).

Again, thank you. I haven't had to raise a puppy in 16 years (my last Labrador I just put to sleep after 15 1/2 years of love), and needed a refresher!

YES!! i jsut went through this. I just got a golden retriever puppy and I work from 8:15-5:15. Now this is what I did and it worked great for me. I crate trained her, i think its a must. when I am not able to supervise her, she is in her crate. sleeping, when i am at work. now remember dont give your pup a change to go inside. and mistakes will happen so make sure to soak up the pee with a paper towl an set it outside so when she goes outside she can smell it. same with poo. also. they need to go out at that age about every 3-4 hours. its just not possible to hold it they dont have the muscle built up yet. so this was my routine
when i got up 6am - took puppy outside.
5 minute training session (train before feeing this way their food is their reward but keep sessions to 5 minutes long)
feed food and water..get ready while eating, after 20 minutes what isnt eaten take away. give 15 minutes, take out again.
leave for work but put puppy back in crate. (dont make it a big deal you leaving just put her in a go, same with coming home, helps with excitement peeing) during the day like 12am someone needs to walk her and feed her again at this young age they should eat 3 times a day. take her out, walk her, feed her 15 minutes later walk again. i would train again for 5 minutes before feeding but only one person should train the dog so if you cant go home at lunch, dont have whoever is walking her train her, just skip that session. let her play for about 30 minutes to get rid of some of her energy, she needs to be walked again around 4-5ish. take her out, let her pee, dont forget to praise praise praise for a job well done outside. if you can do another training session(sit stay all that) then feed again around 5pm. 15 minutes after eating take her out, letting her play to get rid of energy. while outside if its fenced in…shower do what you have to do onc eyou get homeand have her running around outside. remember anytime you arent home or are not able to supervise your dog, put her in its crate. like you would a child and its crib. remember this is your child! once you are done bring the dog back inside and play with her, spend lots of time with her. they need the love and affection to bond. then no water an hgour before bedtime so no night time accidents happen, take her out right before bedtime. for the first few weeks she might have to go in th emiddle of the night so i suggest placing the crate in your bedroom so you can hear her whine in the middle of the night.

hope this helps, worked for me

as for the crate, get one that will fit the dog fully grown but get one with a divider panel, check out petsmart.com and look at life stages double door crate. it has the divider panel so it grows with the dog. probably the 42" crate would work for a lab. this is not cruel either. dont let anyone tell you that it is. it will be better for the puppy, remember they are creatures of habbit, they need a schedule and stick to it, make sur whoever is going to walk her while you are at work does it EVERY DAY! they cannot skip out on a day. if they cant be dependable, either dont get a puppy yet or get a puppy walker. they shouldnt be too expensive.

I just got a Shih-tzu puppy, she's now 10 weeks old. I'm about to move into a new house, and I want to have her semi-potty trained before we get into the new place. Is it too early to start teaching her?

all puppies have small bladders so the breed doesn't really matter; if you start by giving conflicting signals , sometimes outside , sometimes inside on the puppy pad , it will make it harder in the long run; you want to train to let the dog know , inside is not the place; will there be accidents , of course, can you reprimand for prior mistakes , no ; you can only try to prevent future ones; the key to good potty training is you. If you pay attention, and learn the signals and take her out immediately, she will get the message; a new house might bring on some setback b/c of the new environment; be patient with her she is a baby; don't leave her unattended; an unattended pup is just an opportunity for her do her business inside if not supervised; praise for good behavior; don't pull, tug, smack, stick her nose in it etc; these are just fear tactics and don't work. You don't want a dog to fear you ; you want a dog that knows whose in charge and sets the limits and respect you for it and abide by house rules. This can be done with patience, time and understanding and all will be happier for it. I have had several litters of pups and no it is not too early; all of our pups were housebroken earlier and with no pup pads. Very fiirst thing out in the morning and last at night; the more that you take her out , even better. Enjoy your new puppy and new home.

We have followed all the advise. We have read all about it, but we take our puppy outside to the potty place, we command she potty, and she potties, we jump up and down and praise and praise, we wait 5 more minutes to make sure she is done, we take her in for "supervised" play. She will be playing with toys and right in the middle of play, pee on the floor. No warning, no sniffing, or the usual signs. There is no lack of supervision, and only 10-15 minutes since she went outside to "do her business". She is in a crate when not supervised. Which is not very often. She know the word "outside" to potty because she does so everytime we ask her to. What are we doing wrong? She is well attended to, she seems to be happy. She potties outside all the time as does our other dog, who is grown and doensn't have accidents or incidents inside the house. She is 9 weeks old.

Scold her gently and firmly as SOON as you see her pee, not afterwards as she may become confused. Take her outside for a few minutes again afterwards. She'll soon settle into family life and learn acceptable behaviour.

I got 2 shit-tzu puppies 3 weeks ago and need some new and proven effective ways to potty train them! If you have ever had success on training your puppy plez let me know!!!!

mazy out!

Ok, well I have two Shih Tzu puppies as well, and this is what we did:
Hang a bell from the door on a string..low enough for them to reach w/ paws…Everytime you take them out (start out like every 1/2 hour or so..), say "ring the bell!" and make their paws touch the bell. Open the door immediately. Give them a treat when they come back in. It took ours about 2-3 weeks, and now they are doing really well…Keep them on a feeding schedule..not free feeding…this will help. Feed them about 1/2 c. in morning and another 1/2 cup at dinner time.
Always take them out the same door, so they get used to going out and associating that door w/ potty breaks.
Good luck!!

~Also, I would suggest kenneling/crating them at night to avoid accidents throughout the house…

My puppy is 10 weeks old. I work at night. Should my puupy have access to food and water all night long? And how should I potty train my puppy. what type of schedule should it be on?

Crate training is excellent for puppies. However, at his age, he can't be expected to hold it for an entire eight hour work shift. While sleeping, at 10 weeks, my dogs were usually only able to hold it 5 hours (and that was pushing it). You need to take your pup out during the day about ten minutes after each meal. Then again every two hours. This avoids accidents in the house. Reward him with treats everytime he goes outside. If he has an accident in the house, clean it up and rinse the floor with Nature's Miracle to get the smell out. Don't hit him. It won't teach him anything. He might simply hide from you to go potty in the future to avoid being hit.

Good luck! If you are consistent, it's really not that hard!

I'm having a really hard time potty training my puppy. I've been trying for about 3 weeks now and she doesnt quite get it. Any tips?? Please!
(she is 2 months old and we live in an apartment so its a lot harder to 'take her outside')

You might consider this method> http://www.kturby.com/litter/litter.htm
Please ignore the part about yelling at the dog, though !!