What should I do when he pees in the house?

RetButler · #1 28th August 2010, 07:53 AM

Hey everyone,

I know I know there are a million and 1 threads on house training a new puppy. I have been looking for about an hour and could not find the answer I was looking for. I have a new puppy, he will be 9 weeks in a few days. I am trying to get on an outside routine with him and the peeing but he seems to just go in the house at random times. i.e. Just after we go outside and he has gone. I am keeping up with the staples in this regard. i.e. after eating, every nap, after play time. My main question is while positive reinforcement is always the best choice, he has to know that peeing in the house is wrong and how do I instill that in him. I'm not gonna hit him but I have put his nose to the accident (not in it),told him no in a deep voice, and then put him in his crate for 10 min. Any suggestions would be awesome. Thanks in advance.

Sansal · #2 28th August 2010, 09:54 AM

Definitely stop putting his nose to the accident. The time out in the crate also won't work. He doesn't know what he is being punished for. And you don't want him to start hiding somewhere from you and peeing secretely in the corner, right? Housetraining takes time, up to 6 month, sometimes longer. What you can do is to never leave him out of your sight so he does not get the chance to pee in the house again. If you catch him in the act carry him outside and always give him lots of praise and maybe a yummie treat when he relieves himself in the appropriate spot. A 9 week old puppy might have to go every 30-45 minutes. If he still tries to go inside I would take him out every 20 minutes. Try to get to know his schedule and over time it will be easier for you to tell when he has to go.

RetButler · #3 28th August 2010, 10:21 AM

Thanks for the tips. I have trained pit bulls in the past and they tend to get the jist of the whole nose to the accident deal. I know all dogs are different. Still new to boxers though and any advice helps. I do take him out pretty much every 30-45 min. He peed in the house this morning 4 times in an hour. He got a clean bill of health a week ago from the vet so I dont think it is anything health related.

whiskers · #4 28th August 2010, 02:27 PM

He doesn't necessarily need to learn that peeing in the house is wrong.... he just needs to learn that peeing outside is much more worth it. Juno's never pooped in the house so I've never had to correct her for doing so, but she's been so reinforced for going outside that that's the option she chooses every time.

What you can do is keep a constant watch on him, and if he starts to pee in the house, quickly pick him up and bring him outside and reward him for finishing the job out there. So you're letting him know you don't want him peeing in the house, but more important, you're showing him where you DO want him to pee.

You'll have rough days in the beginning but as he gets older and has more bladder control, it'll get easier.

Sansal · #5 28th August 2010, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetButler

He peed in the house this morning 4 times in an hour. He got a clean bill of health a week ago from the vet so I dont think it is anything health related.

My puggle Happy was exactly the same way, I know how frustrating it is. It will get better!

RetButler · #6 28th August 2010, 03:18 PM

Thank you guys so much for the input... After the accidents this morning he has been much better. He has yet to poop in the house. He gets praise and a treat for going outside so he has decided that pooping can wait till we go outside. We all have our days at least he is getting sit and leave it!!!! One mountain at a time

BurtsMomma · #7 7th September 2010, 06:41 AM

When I was potty training Burt we used this stuff called no-go. It has a certain scent to it that tells the dog it isn't ok to go to the bathroom in a spot. It is a spray. We would spray it in the places he would tend to go.

We also got a spray to make them go outside. It also has a scent to make them go. Spray it in an area and Burt usually went there. (bought both at petco, wasn't expensive at all)

Burt usually started to sniff around before he had to go. That was our sign to take him out. If yours starts to sniff around maybe he has to go.

Keldal · #8 2nd October 2010, 10:05 PM

Hi! I feel your pain! We are in the midst of training our 12 weeks old pup, STILL!

) You mentioned that your pup peed in the house 4 times in an hour. Question: When you take him out to potty, do you immediately bring him in when he's done taking care of business? If you do bring him in as soon as he's done, he could withhold urinating just to be able to be outside! (I speak from experience on this one!). If this is the case, they will withhold so they can sniff, walk around investigate, etc. Then once they're in the house, they relieve themself. Our trainer advised us to play outside for 10 minutes or longer outside after pottying. Throw a party, give lots of treats, etc!

) And I agree with the others, putting their nose near the accident won't help. Catching them mid-stream & picking them up to run them outside does work! Making sure to spray & clean accident areas so there's no lingering odor. And you don't want to punish a pup by crating. Crates are meant for only good & happy times. You don't want pups to be fearful about the crate. One more thing we do that seems to shorten the training time is to train our pup to ring bells to go outside. We have them hanging at the front door and through repetition he knows to go outside he rings them with his paw. You can find many YouTube videos on how to train this. It works well for us!

Good luck! I'm in the same boat and every day I remind myself to have patience! Some days are better than others!

)

BadAxe · #9 5th October 2010, 06:02 AM

Excellent advice above for helping your situation. The only thing I would like to add has to do with your putting him in the crate as a time out or "punishment". If you want him to like his crate, or have a chance at liking his crate, never ever use it as a punishment place. For most dogs, it takes enough work to make the crate someplace they like. If its used to punish, they will never like it, and might even begin to fear it. That can present other problems when you want to use it because you are leaving, or need to do something when you can not watch him. Try to use other places as your time out place. Good Luck.

Lozzie · #10 11th October 2010, 08:06 PM

We've just started obedience training with our 4 1/2 month old pup, one method they recommend for 'disciplining' is to "bite" them on the shoulder when they have done something wrong.. now obviously they don't mean that you get down on your hands and knees and sink your teeth into them, but that you make a claw with your hand and grip firmly (not too hard) into their shoulder / neck area - this simulates how another dog would react if they didn't like something.

Apparently dogs will respond to this as the 'bite' is how a dog would react, and this is why it should not be classed as negative reinforcement - its simply telling your dog that its wrong, but using a language that a dog would understand.

We've tried it a few times and the look on Bruno's face is one that says "hold on, you're human, you shouldn't be doing that.... but I understand!" It seems to work with our boy...

johann · #11 12th October 2010, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lozzie

We've just started obedience training with our 4 1/2 month old pup, one method they recommend for 'disciplining' is to "bite" them on the shoulder when they have done something wrong.. now obviously they don't mean that you get down on your hands and knees and sink your teeth into them, but that you make a claw with your hand and grip firmly (not too hard) into their shoulder / neck area - this simulates how another dog would react if they didn't like something.

Apparently dogs will respond to this as the 'bite' is how a dog would react, and this is why it should not be classed as negative reinforcement - its simply telling your dog that its wrong, but using a language that a dog would understand.

We've tried it a few times and the look on Bruno's face is one that says "hold on, you're human, you shouldn't be doing that.... but I understand!" It seems to work with our boy...

NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!! I cannot say it enough for this "training" method.

You're going to end up with a dog that flinches and is scared of your hand...or worse case (and very likely), a dog that turns and bites someone who is trying to pet them. Please find a new trainer for your puppy, he is far too impressionable at 4.5 months to be able to deal with any sort of training like this.

Start a new thread with what training issues you are having and what situations you are punishing (which this is definitely a negative reinforcement!) and see what ideas other posters have. I love reading the behavioral threads on here....so much good information and none of the solutions involve causing your dog pain or fear.

Sorry to hijack the thread. Best of luck with the potty training...it seemed like it took Johann forever to realize that he wasn't supposed to pee in the house.

BadAxe · #12 13th October 2010, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johann

no no no no no no!!!! I cannot say it enough for this "training" method.

You're going to end up with a dog that flinches and is scared of your hand...or worse case (and very likely), a dog that turns and bites someone who is trying to pet them. Please find a new trainer for your puppy, he is far too impressionable at 4.5 months to be able to deal with any sort of training like this.

Start a new thread with what training issues you are having and what situations you are punishing (which this is definitely a negative reinforcement!) and see what ideas other posters have. I love reading the behavioral threads on here....so much good information and none of the solutions involve causing your dog pain or fear.

Sorry to hijack the thread. Best of luck with the potty training...it seemed like it took johann forever to realize that he wasn't supposed to pee in the house.

^^^^^ take this advice.