Puppy potty training is the bane of many new dog parents. That is why there are so many tutorials on how to housetrain a dog, with promises of how it can be simple and effortless.
The fact though, is that potty training requires time, patience, and consistency. How simple or difficult it is, will depend on our dog’s temperament and our own temperament.
Some dog breeds such as the Shiba Inu, are naturally clean and are relatively easy to housebreak. My Shiba was housebroken when we first got him at 10 weeks old.
Shiba Sephy does not even like to eliminate in our backyard. Instead, he prefers to wait until we go for a walk. In contrast, my second dog (a Siberian Husky), was more difficult to housetrain because she did not mind frolicking close to her own waste products.
It took a few weeks to housetrain her.
Puppy potty training also depends a lot on us. If we are naturally calm, consistent, and patient, housebreaking will seem easier and require less work.
Whatever the case, always remember that we can successfully housetrain a physically healthy dog, at whatever age (after the weaning off process), no matter the history.
And that is a potty training fact!
1. Set Up a Schedule
Puppy potty training begins, by setting up a schedule. Initially, we want to bring our dog out often, and reduce the chances of her making mistakes inside the house.
I observe my puppy closely, and try to identify patterns in her potty behavior. For example, she usually has to go when she wakes up, and after a bit of vigorous play. Therefore, I took her out after nap-time and after every 10-15 minutes of play. Different dogs may have different patterns depending on size, temperament, routine, and more.
I stop giving her water about 2-3 hours before sleep time, and take her out right before I crate her for the night. If I need to reward her during that time, I only use moist dog treats such as boiled chicken, so that she does not get thirsty from them.
Fact – Dogs learn through a process called conditioning. They repeat behaviors that get them good results and stop behaviors that get them bad results.
The more we reward a puppy for eliminating outside, the more she will repeat that behavior. When my puppy does her business in the backyard, I mark that behavior (Yes!). Once she finishes, I treat her with something special that she only gets for potty success, and give her some good affection. Then, I reward her more with play-time and her favorite activities.
Similarly, the more a puppy practices eliminating inside, on her own, the more she will go in the house. After all, it is convenient and nobody is teaching her that it is inappropriate behavior.
Therefore, we want to not only maximize the number of successes, but also minimize the number of mistakes. In this way, our puppy will learn that doing her business outside is extremely rewarding and fun. On the other hand, when she does it inside, she consistently gets interrupted and taken outside.
Myth – My dog cannot be housetrained because she comes from a stubborn breed, she is too stupid, she is too dominant, she doesn’t listen to me, she is too old, etc.
Any physically healthy dog can be housetrained. The key to potty training is patience and consistency. Always be around to supervise our puppy when she is inside. If I do not have the time to supervise, then I crate my puppy or put her in a long-term enclosure with puppy pads.
Myth: Screaming and hitting the dog will show her that I am boss and make her stop pottying inside the house.
Screaming and hitting a dog does not work well, and usually makes things worse. How well do you learn when somebody is screaming at you, or hitting you? It is the same way for a dog, especially a puppy.
The fastest way to housebreak our puppy, is to remain calm, and consistently let her know that going inside is inappropriate (Ack, ack), and going outside is appropriate (Yes).
2. Prevent Potty Mistakes
There are three ways to prevent mistakes inside the house:
a) Be there to supervise.
When our puppy shows signs that she has to go potty, take her outside right away. If I do not catch my puppy in time and she starts to do her business, then I interrupt her with a no-mark (Ack, ack) and take her outside.
Myth – I can potty train my puppy by rubbing her nose in it after the fact. She always looks sheepish and puts her head down when I shout at her. She knows she has done something wrong.
Dogs will only learn when we catch them in the act.
If we are not around and our dog makes a mistake, then we have missed a learning opportunity. All we can do is clean up the mess and move on. It is true that a dog may look sheepish when we shout at her after the fact. This is because she knows that we are upset, so she uses submissive gestures (e.g. putting her head down) to try and appease us.
The dog does not know what particular event has caused our anger, but just that we are angry. Shouting and rubbing a dog’s nose in her own waste does not teach her anything. All it does is confuse our dog, as well as create stress and fear. This can make things worse by causing submissive urination.
b) Crate train our dog.
Dogs do not generally like to soil where they sleep. Keeping our puppy in a crate can discourage her from pottying because she does not want to soil her sleeping area.
When I got my first dog, I was a bit concerned about crating him. Here is what the Humane Society of the United States and the American Dog Trainer’s Network have to say about crate training
Myth – A crate will magically keep my dog from pottying for any period of time.
The crate is not some magical cure. A crate discourages a dog from eliminating, but if a dog absolutely has to go, she has to go.
Keeping a puppy for too long in a crate, will force her to potty in the crate, possibly traumatize her, and greatly set back our potty training program.
The maximum crate time is dependent on the age of our puppy.
| Age | Maximum time in crate |
|---|---|
| 8–10 weeks | 30–60 minutes |
| 11–14 weeks | 1–3 hours |
| 15–16 weeks | 3–4 hours |
| 17+ weeks | 4–5 hours |
Maximum crate time from ASPCA Weekend Crate Training.
Note – this is just a general guideline for the maximum crate time. I usually take my puppy outside more frequently than that. I take her out as soon as she wakes up, and right after any heavy activity.
At night, I crate my dogs in the bedroom. Keeping our dogs with us in the bedroom will help with the bonding process, and show them that they are part of the pack.
When puppies are really young, they may not be able to hold their bladder throughout the night. It may be necessary to make an extra trip outside at night, or really early in the morning. Once they get a bit older though, this will no longer be necessary.
Some puppies, e.g. pet store puppies, may already be conditioned to eliminate in their crate, because they are kept in there for overly long periods of time. In such cases, a crate will no longer be a deterrent to potty behavior.
c) Put our dog in a long-term enclosure.
If I will be away for a long period of time, I put my puppy in a long-term enclosure. This can be a secure puppy pen, or a secure and safe room (e.g. kitchen).
Make sure there is nothing dangerous in the enclosure that our puppy can destroy and swallow. Put bedding, a water bowl, some puppy pads, safe chew toys, and safe food toys, in the enclosure. Put the pads in a corner as far away from the bedding as possible.
Instead of puppy pads, we may also use an indoor grass system.
However, some dogs may not like standing on or eliminating on the indoor grass surface. Just using regular sod or grass did not work well for me because of drainage issues. The sod gets smelly very quickly because there isn’t anywhere for the pee to go.
When I tried using sod, I had to change it every other day, or my puppy refused to go onto it. This ended up being a lot more work than just using puppy pads.
Myth – We cannot train a dog to potty outside as well as on puppy pads. She will get confused and not know what to do.
Yes, it is true that if we can be around most of the time to supervise, it is better not to let a puppy do her business in the house at all.
However, if we will be away for long periods of time, if our dog has separation anxiety issues (which may cause her to need to eliminate when we leave), or if there are other medical issues (surgery) that make frequent trips outside unfeasible, then it is perfectly fine to train a dog to both potty on pads, as well as outside.
Reward a puppy for going on his pads, and reward a puppy a lot more for going outside.
3. Clean Away Mistakes Properly
During the housetraining process, there will be some mistakes. When that happens, I calmly no-mark my puppy (Ack, ack) and take her outside. Once we are outside, I praise and reward her if she continues with her business.
Then, I leave my puppy in our fully enclosed and puppy-safe backyard, come in, and clean up the mess. Cleaning up messes in front of a puppy may sometimes cause her to mimic our behavior, and engage in eating her own poop. In her mind, she is only helping to clean out the den.
Use a cleaner that is made especially for pets. A popular pet odor cleaner is Nature’s Miracle.
Do not use ammonia based cleaners as the ammonia odor, which resembles urine, may attract our dog to urinate in the area.
4. Make Sure the Mistakes Are Potty Mistakes
Not all indoor urination is the result of housetraining mistakes. Other reasons for indoor urination include:
- Submissive or excitement urination.
- Medical issues, e.g. urinary tract infection.
- Marking objects or territory.
- Stress or anxiety, which results from being alone or other psychological issues.
Hiya again,
I’m really sorry if i’m being a pain in the you no what.
Since my last email……well Bear has pooped and urinated inside,even tho i would have just got back in after taking him out for the 100th time(it feels like that at the mo:-(…). Bear is also try to urinate on the cat basket and on his food bag, he has never done this before but he hasn’t had the chance to actually do anything on them as i don’t let him out my sight. Do you know why he doing this? Is he trying to mark his territory?
Diarrhea……I’m having a real problem with this, i thought it had cleared up but it hasn’t, i don’t know whether it could have been the small bit of peanut butter or cheesespread that i put in his Kong(it was a very small amount) it seems everything i try Bear gets diarrhea, is this normal? do you think i should carry on with his treats etc and hope the diarrhea will go once his tummy gets used to the treats etc.
One more thing Bear will not go to the toilet in his usual place, for some reason he wants to go futher up, his spot is grass and it gets cleaned up straight after he done his buisness. Any suggestions as to why he is behaving this way please.
Thankyou for your time and help i appreciate it.
Sarah x
Hi Shibashak,
Mmmmm yes my poor hubby, he not to bad but he getting a bit peaed off now bless him, can’t say i blame him tho, if it were the other way around i would be the same as we have not been apart in 14 years (only when he goes to work….night shift), now we are but i am hoping it will not be for much longer tho, fingers crossed…..Thanks for asking
I am having a bad morning……i really felt like i was going backwards and just sat and cried……….
Bear has been awake 2hrs and he has weeed on the carpet twice even tho i have took him out as soon as he woke up and then about every 20mins as he kept going to back door,……he didn’t always do anything but as soon as we got inside he went to his crate circled inside so i went to grab him to take him out……………TOO LATE……he pooped all in his crate(do you think this could be because it raining hard here today?), i don’t understand why he done this as he has now started going in his crate by himself and has a play so i thought i was getting somewhere……WRONG. Why would he do this in a place he likes and goes into to eat, sleep sometimes and play sometimes? HELP!!!!!!!!!!
Bear went in his crate last night and i gave him a Dentist Teething Bone(don’t know if you have heard of these!), close the door…..Great he was settled…or so i thought, i slept on the settee next to the crate so he could see me and fell asleep…..(i was/am so tiered), he woke me clawring at the crate 20 mins after i’d fell a sleep, i waited as i was not going to let him out but he just went on and on clawring,howling etc so when he quietend down a bit i let him out……(i know big mistake but i am so tiered i needed some sleep) he layed next to me and fell a sleep….. typical. I really don’t know how to sort this!!
As for his food i took your advice and made him work for it…..these kongs are ideal for that and he loved it.
He does the sit command well as i use this when given his treats ect and when putting his harness on.
Picture…….as soon as i have the time to upload the pics on my computor i will email you them as he does look cute bless him.
As for obedience classes i am looking in to some but they cost so much so will have a shop around first to see what comes up.
I really appriciate all your advise, i can’t thankyou enough.
Thanks
Sarah x
Morning Shibashake,
I didn’t have room for his crate in the bedroom so i have been staying downstairs with Bear(my poor hubby). I started feeding him his meals in the crate and folling one of your links about crate training and it seems to be working although he is not sleeping in the crate, he sometimes goes in there for a sit which is a start i suppose but it will take time but he’ll get there.
As for making him work/train…….i got no chance………he just will not play outside, i try taking him for morning and evening walks but he just not interested i have to drag him as he just lies down munching on grass….Bear thinks he a cow ha ha. When we are inside the house he goes crazy running around like he possesed, i have tried treats but it doesn’t work just gives him diarrhea, he is one lazy Husky……. Please what else can i try? I’m worried as he gets bigger Bear running round inside will be a nightmare, knocking everything off shelves etc.
In the day Bear sleeps in kitchen most of the time but he sleeps next to or on his bag of dry food….he can’t get to it as it’s in a heavy nylon sack but i just wondered if this was normal and what should i do?…….I would move the sack but i have nowhere else to put it.
How to i stop Bear from jumping up to his food bowl when i am trying to put it down for him? he nearly knocks it out my hand.
Thanks for your time
look forward to your reply
Sarah
Thanks for dropping by hubberguy. Glad you found the information to be helpful 🙂
Re running out doors – Hmmmm … Siberians are very independent so you can never be 100% sure with them. I know that my girl will bolt out the door if she sees a squirrel or cat – no matter the training.
My breeder trains her dogs not to bolt out of their crate by putting them back in their crate and not allowing them out for a time if they try to bolt. This is similar to the door manners that you are already practicing. One thing you can do is to practice the door manners more frequently. You don’t have to take Bear out for a walk, just bring him out, play with him briefly, and then back inside to practice door manners. In the meantime, you must carefully manage it so that Bear doesn’t get rewarded for bolting – i.e. he successfully gets out. If he gets out sometimes, he will just keep trying because he knows that if he tries hard enough, he will get what he wants.
Again though – you can never be 100% sure of them. Instinct takes over and they are off. I only have the door open when I am right there to supervise.
Hi Sarah,
I am so glad to hear that things are going so well with Bear – YAY! I knew you guys would get there given the enormous amount of effort you were putting into it! 😀
I am no expert on the wet-dog smell, but supposedly it is caused by bacteria that grows in the dog’s fur. It is the wetness that encourages their growth – so the general consensus is to dry your dog with a dryer after baths.
Another possibility is that it could be a result of food or skin allergies. However, since it only happened that one time, that seems less likely.
You may also want to consider cutting down on the number of baths you give Bear. Bathing too often can cause too much of the dog’s natural oils to be washed off resulting in dry skin and a less healthy coat. Once a month should be plenty unless there are smell emergencies 🙂
Brushing is actually a great way to remove regular dirt. Look into getting a Furminator – those brushes are awesome especially for double coated dogs like the Siberian Husky.
http://www.shibashake.com/dog/home-dog-grooming-tips
I don’t give Shania traditional baths – she just soaks in her little wading pool when it is hot outside. Then she just dries naturally in the sun. I haven’t had an issue with the wet-dog smell so I don’t have much experience with this issue. Maybe my nose is just really insensitive 🙂
Great hub, very informative.
Hi Sarah – Sounds like you are doing a really good job with the crate training. The only thing I can think of is that when Bear got hungry, he got anxious, and then became even more stressed when he realized you were not there.
Given the symptoms you describe I would also guess that the pooping inside the crate is from the stress of being away from you.
Is Bear’s crate in your bedroom? Both my dogs like sleeping in the bedroom and it is actually a very good bonding exercise to let them do so. It shows them that they are part of the pack/family.
I have an article on separation anxiety but it is mostly for during the day when you have to leave on errands.
http://www.shibashake.com/dog/separation-anxiety-dog-why-how-reduce-dog-stress
Re training class: What you say sounds very reasonable. In the classes that I went to, the instructor always used one of the class dogs to show the training techniques. In general, if you feel uncomfortable or unhappy with anything in the class, you should look for something else that better fits you and Bear. There are many dog trainers out there that are not all that great – so don’t take everything that they say as truth 🙂 I learned this the hard way when I was starting out.
How is Bear doing with his new food?
Hugs to Bear – he is such a handsome boy!
Hi Sarah, Does Bear only howl when you are not there with him? or does he also howl when you are there with him?
Do you put him in the crate during the day? Does he howl when he is in the crate during the day?
It could be a separation anxiety issue – i.e. Bear wants to be close to you at all times and when you are not there he wants to know where you are.
It could also just be a manipulation technique. If you had previously let Bear out when he was whining, then he may have learned that whining will get him out of the crate. If it doesn’t work he may continue to escalate his behavior to see if he gets any results.
There could also be other reasons – e.g. having to go, having digestives issues, etc., but these are the common ones. How you deal with it will very much depend on the reason for his whining.
If he whines when you are there, here is something you can try –
1. When he starts whining, you non mark him (ack-ack), and move farther away from him. If he continues, you non-mark him again, and move still farther away and so on until you are out of his view.
2. Then just ignore him. No talking, no looking, nothing until he stops whining.
3. As soon as he stops – mark the behavior (Good boy) and start to approach him. If he starts to whine again, move away again. Whenever he whines, make sure you ignore him (no talk, no eye contact).
This way he learns that whining drives you away, but being quiet brings you closer. You may want to try this out during the day first to see how he responds to it. Only do this for short sessions at a time so that you do not overly stress him. I would like to hear how he responds.
Also ask your class instructor what she thinks. She gets to observe Bear in real time, so she may have a better idea of the source of this behavior.
Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.
Glad to hear things are going better with his diet. Once that gets fully resolved it will be easier to deal with the other issues. 🙂
My guess is that the pooping and howling is from the diarrhea. I think once you get that under control – things will improve significantly. You may want to postpone the crating at night until the diarrhea is gone. Sometimes moving around helps them to deal with digestive pain etc.
For now, no treats or anything else either. Just go back to the chicken+rice, wait until the diarrhea goes away, then slowly introduce the Orijen into his diet.
Do 1/4 Orijen and 3/4 chicken and rice for the first few days (3-4 days) and if that is good, then increase it to 1/2 Orijen, 1/2 chicken+rice. Wait another 3-4 days, then do 3/4 Orijen, 1/4 chicken+rice and so on.
Hope this works out. Let me know how it goes. Glad to hear that obedience is working out well. You are almost there 🙂