Housebreaking!!

[hectorc]

My puppy (Cooper) is five weeks old, I know he is still a little young. I would like to hear some tips that work to begin housebreaking my puppy. I have started by taking him out side after a catch him in the act. Everytime I take him out I give him a treat, so he learns that going outside is rewarding. I always take him to the same spot everytime. I never hit him, I just say "NO" in a strong voice and I know he gets kind of intimidated. What are some things that have worked and how long should it take before he start going outside??

Thanks,

 

[Taren]

ok this is what we did with maverick he is 12 weeks now. (and house trained). we crate trained him. this is really the best thing to do. everytime he would wake up or after eating we would take him outside and make sure he did his business. when he did have an accident and we caught him in the act we would clap our hands while running over to pick him up and say outside and then immediately take him outside dont worry about the mess in the carpet or if there is someone there besides you make them clean it up while you are taking the puppy outside. dont let him see you cleaning it up. do not rub his nose in it either. if we didnt catch him we wouldnt scold him we would just simply take him outside and reward him for doing a great job. we never scolded him for going in the house unless we caught him in the act. hopefully this helped just hang in there he will be house trained in no time if you just stick to the same routine.

 

[Anna Begins]

The best thing is to- obviously- not let him get "in the act". Try to figure out when your pup needs to go out. Everyone says immediatly after eating- well, I'd take Luka out right after eating, he wouldn't go, we'd come in and 20 minutes later he'd go in the house. After a few days I realized, ok it takes him awhile before he needs to go out.
It's all part of getting to know your puppy and his habits. Write it down if you have to and you will see a pattern. You have to anticapate their needs.
Sometimes a little walk will stimulate the bladder.

 

[hectorc]

Thanks for the tips!! I'll work on getting him out side after his naps and after his meals. I can sometimes tell when he needs to go because I watch him closely. I guess it is just a matter of time and consistency before he knows that he needs to go outside.

 

[Steven Menk]

I guess it is just a matter of time and consistency before he knows that he needs to go outside.

Yep. Get into a routine. Praise him vigorously when he goes outside. Don't punish, but make it clear he shouldn't go inside. It can take a while, especially since he's still very young, but he'll catch on. Consistantcy is the key.

 

[Boxerworld]

HectorC: please post your introduction in the Introduction forum. Thanks.
From the rules:

Introductions: Boxerworld is a friendly community and all new members should introduce themselves in the "introduction" forum upon acceptance of their registration and before participating in other forums.

Moving this thread to the rearing puppy forum.

Olly

 

[Zebbie]

Bells

To housebreak our puppy we crate trained him, took him out frequently, and also used bells to condition him. We hung 6 jingle bells on a ribbon around the door knob and everytime we took him out to potty we rang the bells. Now when he wants to go out he hits the bells with his nose and no more messes! Good luck!

 

[EKR16]

Wow!

Zebbie that is a really cool idea! I had no idea that they would do things like that. How long did it take you to get your pup to do that? (By the way-"Zebbie" is that your name or your puppy? My nephew's name is Zebulon & we call him Zebbie. Very unusual name!)

 

[Zebbie]

It took about a month to get him to use the bells, and meanwhile we just had to make sure that we took him out about every hour. Yes, our boxer's name is Zebulon! I told my fiance, whose last name begins with a "Z", if we ever have a kid I wanted their first name to begin with a "Z" but he thinks the kid will get teased, so I named the dog Zebulon. I love the name!

 

[EKR16]

My brother's initials are RZR, so his wife wanted to find a good Z name for the baby. After climbing Pike's Peak (Zebulon Pike?), they decided on Zebulon as well. I'm sure your puppy has as many nicknames as my nephew...Zebbie, Zebbers, Zebberoni, Zed and the list goes on....Good Choice!