Puppy Forum and Dog Forums banner

Help with potty training

622 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  cookieface  
#1 ·
We crate train our dogs they are 8month 8month and 5 months . They're crate trained. But when they are let out in the house the potty in the house.
My one hound Addie is afraid of wet grass and hates going outside when the weather is less than ideal. They usually won't potty in their kennel just in the house. I can let them out for a little while then bring them back in and within 10mins the poop in the house. Or they may be in here for maybe an hour and they'll potty In the house. What am I doing wrong?
 
#2 ·
Agh, the dog that waits to come inside. Gotta hate it, huh? To start, don't let them have access to the whole house right away. Let them start with.. the kitchen or entry way. This allows much less room for error. Going from the kennel to the whole house is a huuge leap for a dog. You can also tether them to you with a leash so you can keep an eye on them. Take them outside a lot. And I mean a lot. Every hour if that's what it takes. Put pottying on queue so you can make it easier on yourself and praise them with treats when they go outside. Clean up any messes in the house with a pet-specific cleaner, such as nature's miracle. Other cleaners will NOT work, and if your dog can still smell it's accident, it'll likely go there again.

If your dog is being finicky about the wet grass, you just have to be persistent i'm afraid. Go out for 15 mins, come inside, and then go right back out for another 15 mins, rinse and repeat. If Addie is genuinely afraid of the wet grass, counter condition her by making good things happen on the wet grass (food, play, attention) reward any steps towards the grass until she's comfortable. The potty on queue will help a lot too i'm sure, since she'll understand what you want. Some dogs feel 'exposed' when they have to go outside so try to find a quiet, private area to start in.

Happy housebreaking! =)
 
#3 ·
Zoelynn has good advice.

Do you actually go outside with them? If not, that may be a big part of your problem. You'll need to make sure they actually eliminate outside, and praise and treat them to reinforce eliminating outside since they've had numerous opportunities to go inside. Puppies don't automatically know they should eliminate outside; it's up to you to teach them by reinforcing appropriate elimination and preventing accidents. Also, many dogs get distracted and forget why they went out in the first place.