Need advice on housetraining..

[Shayne]

Hey, if anyone could give me some advice for housetraining my pups, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I have 2 inside dogs, one is a female pug that's probably around a year old now, and the other is a male yorkie that is probably about 1 1/2 years old. I adopted the yorkie from a rescue group, and was told he was already potty trained. When I brought him home, I made sure to reinforce it, so he knew where it was ok to go and where it wasn't. He does ok when i take him out, but the problem I'm having is knowing when he needs to go out. I take him out usually about every 30 mins to an hour when I'm not at work, and I'm always watching him for subtle signs that he may have to go outside, but he doesn't seem to give any warning signs. when he needs to go, he just leaves a mess on the floor. Is there any way I can teach him to let me know when he needs to go outside?

my pug is having the same problems. i was told she was potty trained as well, but she messes in the house even more than my yorkie. and she doesn't care where she goes...the floor, furniture, wherever she feels like it. Is there anything I can do to stop this issue asap?

thanks,
Shayne

[crazycrayonmom]

When they're older it takes longer to house train, sorry. First thing is you have to catch them in the act, make a loud noise of some sort to shock them into stopping, scoot them outside and use your "go potty" words. When they do, praise them like crazy.

One way to teach them to let you know if they have to potty is to hang a bell on a string off of your door knob and before you take them out to potty ring the bell. Eventually they should realize if they need to potty they should ring the bell and you'll take them out.

Praise, praise, praise is really important. Good luck!

[kjd]

One addition to the bell -- if one of the dogs just accidentally rings it, praise and take him out. That will help teach him that ringing the bell means going into the yard.

[LetsPlay]

Hi there,
any improvements yet?
One thing you might want to get is a spray that neutralizes smells.
Dogs usually like to go to the same spot, so if you can remove the smell it might help.
Make sure you get a spray from a pet store that doesn't contain ammonium, as this smells like urin for dogs and therefore they will think it is okay to go on the carpet.

Some dogs have trouble understanding/learning to ring the bell, but if yours do than that might make it a lot easier.

Make sure you praise them whenever they go outside and give them treats. Even if it is during a walk or at the dog park.

Dogs often have a preference for certain materials (carpets, clothes, grass, concrete, etc) so once they are used to weeing on carpet they might not want to change easily.

If you treat them whenever they go on grass and say "no" whenever they go inside they will learn it eventually. It might just take a while.

Don't tell them off if you don't catch them in the act. It's the 2 second rule.
If it has been longer than 2 seconds the dog won't remember why you are telling him off and get confused.

All the best
John

[maggie116]

I have found, by mixing 3 parts water to one part white
vinegar, put in a spray bottle, works wonderfully, in neutralizing urine odor. After cleaning urine on a carpet, with an enzyme cleaner, I spray the water/vinegar mixture
on the spot. I then use extra heavy duty aluminum foil
and poke holes in it, using an ice pick. Place the foil over the spot and set a small custard dish on top of the foil and
until the carpet is dry. The dog will not return to that place,
as the urine odor is gone. This is much cheaper than buying a neutralizing spray at a pet store, and works like a
charm!

Hope this helps!

[kjd]

Maggie,

I am curious: what are the aluminum foil and custard dish for? I assume the holes are to let air get in so the carpet dries.

It is always good to find cheaper ways of solving problems.

Thanks,
kjd