Housetraining Problem

[luagolddan]

I am having a problem housetraining my boxer puppy. I just got her on Saturday, and she is twelve weeks old. She stays at my girlfriends house, where we are contantly watching her, but she always manages to pop a squat before we can stop her. The problem is she pees in little spurts, so by the time we even realize she is peeing, she is already done. So after we catch her peeing, we always take her outside to try and encourage her to go there. But she is always done by the time we get her outside. My girlfriend also lives in the second story of an apartment building, and doesnt have a fenced backyard. So when we take her outside after she has just woken up, we can take her downstairs. But if we have to take her outside right after she has peed on the carpet, we just take her to a mat we have designated as her area right outside the front door, to try and get her to pee there. Sometimes when we take her downstairs to pee, even in the morning, we will stay outside with her for ten minutes, and she doesnt go. But she will go as soon as she is back on the carpet inside the apartment.

Another thing: I have been taking her the last couple days into a computer lab with me on campus (i'm still in college), and she never pees in there, only when she is outside. So does she just pee on my girlfriends carpet because she has already done that a lot and she keeps smelling her own pee? Everytime she does go on the carpet we spray it with stain and odor remover, but it doesnt seem like its working. Any suggestions? Will she grow out of this? She seems pretty set on almost exclusively peeing and pooping on my girlfriends carpet. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Soniador]

I'm not a trainer, but we've successfully trained lots of dogs over the years to go outside. First, I don't know if there was another dog that may have had accidents on that carpet. The puppy might be picking up that scent. Most likely, though, it is just going to take LOTS of repetition & patience. I always hated that phase where you stand outside forever until they go, but that really teaches them what outside is for. If she is too young for the "waiting game", take her out often, like every half hour or so. She will learn

I am certain you will get more helpful advice from someone who has had a puppy recently. Without a yard, it is difficult on both of you.

Good luck!

 

[jackdtucker]

Pups at that age have a hard time holding it and need to go often. Like Soniador said, repetition is the best thing you can do. It is frustrating and takes a lot of patience...When she does go outside, applaud her and encourage her to do it again. Boxer's are smart catch on fast.

As far as accidents go, you may have to go a different route...I always found that a couple pages of rolled up newspaper worked well when you want to discipline a dog.. You DONT want to inflict pain, but the noise will scare them and make them realize what they did was wrong... It has worked for every dog I've owned, even for my Bloodhound which is the most stubborn breed God has created...

 

[Caney Creek]

Congrats on your newest addition Sorry you're having trouble with her! You're not alone though, it's one of those things we all have to go through with puppies... the joys of housebreaking :rolleyes:

Firstly, you said she pees in "little spurts," which could indicate a urinary/bladder infection. Have you had her in to the vet for a check-up since getting her? If you haven't, schedule an appt. ASAP for a physical exam, vaccinations (if she's due for any) and a urine test. If you've already been to the vet with her you can probably just take a urine sample to the vet and drop it off, that would save you the cost of another office visit.

Assuming it's not health-related, now for the training part. In the mornings when you take her out, wait an extra 5-10 minutes longer than normal for her to "go." If you have the time, wait as long as you need to wait until she does her business. Try getting her to run around in the grass, that will help. If you simply cannot wait that long, don't let your guard down when you get back in the apartment. You know she has this "routine" of going when she gets right back in, so be ready.

You're doing the right thing by taking her out immediately when you see her start eliminating inside. Maybe you could try tethering her to one of you with her leash just so that you can keep a closer eye on her. Also, if you SEE her start to squat on the other side of the room and you just can't get there in time, feel free to make some noise to try and interrupt her so that you can get over there before she's done. Then of course take her out to finish like you have been.

The mat is a great idea while she's still learning. What is it made of? I'm thinking it might help if you could spread some dirt/grass on top of it so that she gets the message that it's grass she's supposed to be going on, not carpet. It doesn't have to be much grass, the idea is to at least make it smell like the earth instead of some synthetic material (even better if it also feels like grass under her feet).

Do you have a potty command? "Go potty," "go pee," "do your business," anything like that? If not, think of one and start saying it every time she goes to the bathroom, AS she is going (in an appropriate place of course, not when she goes inside ). Repeat it until she has finished, and as soon as she's done give her LOTS of praise. The more excited you get the more excited she will get, and THAT is what will leave an impression in her mind -- "I did something good! This is fun!" -- and over time that will stick with her and she will WANT to go outside to potty because it makes you happy. When Caney was a puppy, I used to joke about having "a little party in the yard" after she eliminated. I'd squeal and clap and jump around and tell her what a good girl she was, she loved it. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but it helped her learn so I didn't care.

As for the "potty command," don't use it when she's just walking around sniffing; wait until she squats to start saying it. She needs to only hear it WHEN she is in the act of going until she learns what it means. It will probably be several weeks before you can start using it as an actual command to tell her to go.

Another thing: I have been taking her the last couple days into a computer lab with me on campus (i'm still in college), and she never pees in there, only when she is outside. So does she just pee on my girlfriends carpet because she has already done that a lot and she keeps smelling her own pee? Everytime she does go on the carpet we spray it with stain and odor remover, but it doesnt seem like its working. Any suggestions? Will she grow out of this? She seems pretty set on almost exclusively peeing and pooping on my girlfriends carpet. Thanks for all the help!

No, unfortunately it's not something she'll grow out of without any training. The more accidents she has in the house, the more she forms a habit of it and thinks that it's okay. She definitely could be smelling it though (and it might not be just hers she's smelling, there could be old pet stains from previous tenants). The type of carpet cleaner makes a big difference. Try Nature's Miracle, which is an enzyme-based carpet/floor cleaner specifically for removing pet stains. I'd also recommend getting a black light from your local pet store (I know PetSmart carries them, they're right next to the carpet stain removers) so that you can locate ALL of the old stains on the carpet and tackle them with Nature's Miracle (urine/feces stains glow yellow under black light). I used this technique to help housebreak a bulldog puppy I used to pet-sit for, and let me tell you it was DISGUSTING to turn on that black light and see all of the old pee stains that we didn't even know were there, I must have gone through a good 6 bottles of Nature's Miracle cleaning that carpet! :p

That's all I can think of for now... Good luck, and keep us updated on her progress!

 

[luagolddan]

Thanks!

Thanks for all the great replies, they are very helpful. Couple Resposes:

Yes, I took her to the vet yesterday for her first checkup, and the vet said she is very healthy. He didnt run any urine tests or anything like that though. How do I collect her urine? I think it will be hard to get her to pee into a cup haha.

We have started clapping our hands and yelling "NO" whenever we see her squatting, so hopefully that will work.

The mat right outside our door is actually a mat from Home Depot that is supposed to look like grass, which is why we got that specific one. We will try sprinkling dirt on it and see if that helps. She has definetely not been too enthusiastic about using the mat though, and usually just sits down next to it.

And one more new question:
I took her out just a few minutes to do after she had eaten. She had her leash on, and was just sitting staring at me and she wouldnt move. So I decided to take the leash off to see if anything would happen. Within less than a minute she pooped and peed, like she had just been waiting for me to take the collar off all along. Is she too young to be using a leash with? We always have her on a leash when we are going on walks with her, and she usually does ok, but we do have to coax her a little every once in a while. If she learns now that going to the bathroom without a leash on is good, will it effect her leash skills later in life? Thanks again.

 

[Cami]

At her age she just isn't physically capable of holding it for long periods of time and her bladder and brain are not quite in sync just yet.....meaning that when she feels the urge....she just goes! No thinking about having to go, she just goes.
In order to hurry the training along you have to do a few things.
First and most important.....
DO NOT scare your pup. DO NOT use rolled up newspapers to get their attention. DO NOT use a loud noise period! Not only are you going to frighten a baby but *if* she is going through a fear imprint stage at that particular time it can do more damage.
What you can do is what you have been doing. Once she is going in the house and you catch her....make a noise that isn't frightening or scary but gets her attention. Assuming she doesn't have a urinary infection this will get her attention enough that she stops mid-stream.
Take her outside (which you said you have been doing). Females tend to empty their bladder in one setting (for lack of a better term) while males like to go a little and then go some more.
Take her out as soon as she wakes up in the morning and after every single nap no matter how short it may be and no matter how long it has been since she went last.
Take her out after she eats her meals. After she drinks water. After she plays. Right before heading to bed. During the middle of the night.
After all of those times have been added into the equation take her out AT LEAST an additional 3 times an hour. It sounds very monotonous but won't last forever.
A biggie with potty training is not giving them a chance to fail (going inside).
The more often she does it in the right place and is praised for doing it in the right place or given a treat for the action the faster she will get it and the less messes you have to clean up AND the less chance she has of going inside where she might still be attracted to it. Empty bladder plus smell equals no potty.
She has been in your care for less than a week! Aside from not knowing what you expect of her (where to potty) she is still learning all about what her new life is going to be like.
When a dog has an accident in the home and they are not having any health issues it is pretty much the owners fault, sorry to say. While WE think we are paying close attention......we just aren't paying ENOUGH. You will learn to see what her signs are. Don't beat yourself up! People have been potty training dogs forever. It can be done. This time next year you will have forgotten all about this!!!

 

[luagolddan]

Thanks Cami for the detailed reply. No offense to anyone, but it is hard to choose who to listen to, when everyone has a different opinion and they all sound logical. Wish there was one right way to do it. What noise can I make at her that will get her attention but not scare her? Even if I yell "NO" at her, I feel like that would scare her...

 

[Althea]

I second Caney and Cami! I have a 15 week pup right now, and it's been a journey. She still likes to pee in my kitchen but FOR THE MOST PART pees outside. We had to constantly take her out -- every half hour -- in the beginning, or crate her if we couldn't watch her (no more than 2-3 hours). Now that we have the crate training down, she's doing 100% better.

Hang in there -- takes several months before she can really hold herself -- before those muscles are even in place for her to be able to. Be patient.

 

[Cami]

No offense to anyone, but it is hard to choose who to listen to, when everyone has a different opinion and they all sound logical.

As with any type of training method you have to pick the one that you are comfortable with and the one that your dog responds to. There really is no "right" answer here. What you can use is a collection of everything you read/hear and then utilize a combination of everything until you hit on something that brings you results.
You will soon start to see a pattern from people that have been there done that.
As far as noise go.....even a squeaky toy has been known to work. Clapping your hands. Whistling. Think outside the box. You want to get their attention not startle them. If someone whistles at me I might look in their direction. If someone bangs pots and pans together my reaction would be to jump! (be startled). Both get my attention but I prefer the whistle!

 

[LILYLARUE]

One thing to add............carpet feels like grass and pups are more apt to go potty on it. Flooring seems to deter some. May be the difference in the GF's carpet and the study labs flooring?

Most of the member's here impress upon using positive reinforcement techniques. No negative training. You can use positive with negative consequences, but it should NEVER inflict pain or induce fear in the dog. The negative consequence should be to take away something that the dog wants during the training. The dog only gets the reward WHEN the behavior is acheived. Based on this methodology, using newspapers to hit the dog is absolutely a NO-NO. The only thing this accomplishes is nervousness in the dog if and when they attempt a task. If they are hit for discepline, then they will avoid that task as not to reap another hit. In housetraining......this will cause the dog to either hold it's elimination when it should be relieved, or the dog will find hidden spots where he won't be found out.

Since dogs love to please us, it just makes logical sense to use rewards for the good instead of making them decide what they did wrong. Tell them what you want instead of having them figure it out and with constant reminder that what they decided is wrong. Do that to a kid and you have a very insecure, indecisive, immature child even as an adult.

You want to build confidence in your pup that the behavior that they learn reaps a pleasent reward. They will continue to master the task if they receive a kudos for doing so.