Housebreaking is so much work!!

My husband and I walk our 4 month old toy poodle religiously! He pees as soon as he gets out. Then he tries to dig holes, eat sicks/ pine cones/ grass & jump all around. He takes about 15 min to finally poop. It's been freezing and I get so mad that he won't just poop right away Also, he does not ask us to go out. Is he just going to start asking? We just take him at set times, he's never asks. If we don't take him he will just pee on our kitchen floor with no warning. If I catch him I say "NO" but usually I don't see him do it and it's a lost cause.
We haven't had him 2 weeks yet so I think we're expecting way to much. He sleeps in his crate when we are sleeping & at work (my husband comes home for a 1hr- 45 min dinner break and walks him/ plays with him). He never messes his crate.
We love him so much, I hate crating him when we are at work. If he would just house-train quickly then he can have the whole kitchen to play in!

Re: Housebreaking is so much work!!

This is what we were told to do:

Everytime he poo's say a phrase like "hurry up" or something so that he associates that phrase with pooing.

So, take him out and say hurry up (or whatever phrase you choose). If he does not go right away take him back in the house and crate him for 10 or 15 minutes. Then take him right out again. If he does not poo quickly, crate him again and repeat the whole process. Once he finally goes then you can reward him with a long walk or play time.

It sounds like a lot, but poodles are smart, so he should pick it up in a day or two.

As for the peeing in the house...make loud noise to make him stop and take him outside to finish peeing.


Don't feel bad about crating, dogs like the crate. Our dog goes in it on her own alot of the time.

Message edited 12/13/2009 3:41:11 PM.

Re: Housebreaking is so much work!!

If you have only had him 2 weeks, you def have some high expetations. It will take a long time for hte dog to adjust and you to learn about the dog.

Some dogs barely ever give signals. My male dog never did/does...my female dog has always been clear to see when she needs to go. My female dog I used to take out 8-12 times a day b /c she had a hard time with control, until she was one year old. My male dog was trained and going out 3 times a day at 5 mths.

Puppies eat all kinds of things and will for a long time! THey are babies, they are teething....so prepare for this to last many many mths. Sad to say my dogs STILL eat stuff in my yard (at 4 years old, 3 years old). Very annoying. Some dogs can NEVER be trusted alone....like mine...in a yard.

When your dog goes inside, which can be completely expected based on his age and that you only have him for 2 weeks...just run him right out so he gets the idea. You can say NO! But then run him out. Dont say bad boy or anything like that though...just do it matter of factly,

Sounds like you both are doing a great job. The main importance is that you keep a schedule/routine and that yoru dog does mess the crate. Thats a great sign he has a clue and will eventually train with your persistence.

Our dogs were crated until they were 1, when alone. But they were barely alone. However, I did follow them and never let them out of my sight when puppies so I could catch accidents. If you dont crate the dog they could ruin your thing sb/c they are teething...bored, etc. So as long as your DH can come to let him out and play with him...you are doing the best you can and I think it sounds good.

just keep in mind, puppies and dogs have the mentality of babies/children...
so please remain patient and keep this in mind...training COULD take a long time, you can only do your best to speed it along.

Re: Housebreaking is so much work!!

In addition to what's been said, you can do a few other things...

Take him outside on a schedule and understand that a walk will go a long way toward getting him to pee AND poop since they love spreading their scent around. Whenever he pees, say a one or two syllable phrase in a singsong voice. We say "Pee Pee!" and then praise him. A lot. Same with poop, we say "Poop" (go figure) and praise.

As the weather gets crummier, collar and leash him, bring him to a special spot in your yard and say your phrases so he knows what you want.

If you are clear with him, he will reward you. If you take him out on a schedule and feed him when you come inside, he will know he gets what he wants by doing what you want.

About telling you when he needs to go out - once you both learn the right schedule, he won't need to tell you. Ours is 6am walk, then breakfast... 11:30am walk... 5pm dinner... 6:30pm walk. However, if you would like to teach him how to tell you, you can do this (this is how we taught it):

-Wipe a treat on the palm of your hand
-Open your palm to him and when he sniffs it, say "touch!" and praise him, treat him
-Shift to the other palm so he knows no matter what position it's in, you want him to touch it
-Gradually work your way into just saying "touch!" and if he sniffs, praise the heck out of him
-Then go out and buy yourself some big jingle bells. The kind you can tie or hook onto something. Hold them in your hand and tell him to touch. He might not get it the first time, you might need to touch the bells to his nose to get them to jingle.
-Then hang those bells by the door and whenever you go out with him, put your hand by the bells and tell him to touch
-After that, if he EVER touches those bells by himself, collar and leash him and go right outside, even if he doesn't pee or poop. Gradually decrease this if you know he doesn't need to go.

I hope this helps, and you may have a few months ahead of you of training and consistency. He doesn't have his mom to teach him what to do so you'll have to be patient and speak his language in order for him to understand you. Good luck!

Re: Housebreaking is so much work!!

Thank you so much for all you advice!! Very helpful & reassuring. We do have bells on our door and this morning he rang them on his own and peed outside. We have never been prouder!