Training a puppy to go outside

This past weekend I got a puppy, she is 11 weeks old. The breeder where I got her was paper training her, something that I am not going to do since she is a big dog!

She hasn't had any accidents inside **knock on wood** but it takes a long time to get her to go to the bathroom outside! I even brought out newspaper and put it on the grass to see if that would help. I don't know if it's because it was cold out or what. She kept squatting on the grass like she had to go, but would cry and then run to go inside.

We would take her out every 15-20 minutes for about 2 hours after she ate, before she finally went, and when she did go outside we praised her and she was happy, she's not a food driven dog, so she doesn't eat treats, or I just haven't found any she likes yet, but I told her she was a good girl, pet her and then we went back inside.

Is there a better way to do this, or just keep walking and praising?

Re: Training a puppy to go outside

This is exactly what we did. It will get better as she gets older. Our dog is now 18 months and she can sleep through the night. sleeping through the night without having to go outside started about a year. I don't know if each dog is different.

What we do to help her speed the process up, is throw a ball in the backyard. she starts to run after it and I don't know if it gets her insides working but then as she approaches the ball, she starts to sniff around and then goes.

Training a puppy to go outside

Sounds like you are doing it right. I'd say with a strict schedule it takes about 2-4 weeks to potty train a large puppy of that age. Typically they can hold it about 2-3 hours during the day and a few extra hours at night (4-5 hours). The easiest way is to deposit her pheromones where you want her to make. So put some of her pee and poop outside where ever you want her to go and leave it there.

I wouldn't wait much longer than that outside with her, going out more often for less time gets the message across faster than sitting out side for long periods of time. The longer you stay out the longer she might hold it in. Same with if you walk her, you only walk her to where you want her to make (or else you get a dog that chooses only to make a miles walk away from the house). So if she doesn't make after 10-15 minutes I would put her back in her crate and try again in 20-30 minutes (throughout the day, especially after meals) Or if you don't put her in the crate you have to really pay attention to her. If she starts sniffing then back out you go.

Message edited 3/18/2013 3:02:15 PM.

Re: Training a puppy to go outside

Thanks for the responses!! I've always had dogs growing up, but never had to train one!! lol.

I reread, when we take her out it's every 15-20 minutes and we stay out for maybe 10-15 minutes, I take her right to where I want her to go, tell her to go potty, I know she doesn't understand that yet, but I want her to associate potty with going outside. We just did it for two hours straight from the time she ate until she went, the in and out.

She is really such a good puppy, and I adore her! I was worried about the lack of going to, she is definitely not a food motivated dog, doesn't really eat the treats I give her or anything!

I finally figured out why she is barely going, the food we had her on was low-residue, just switched to the Blue Buffalo and hope that helps! I just don't want her to have a tummy ache from not going!