# Will this work with potty training?



## Renoto (Feb 28, 2012)

Howdy all, we just got our puppy yesterday night and have started the long process of potty training. Or however long it will take haha.

Yesterday she did have two accidents, but we realized this was our fault. We gave her some time in a pen, not realizing that the whelping box and the pen are almost exactly alike and she was allowed to potty in there. Quickly we took down the pen and are now just using the crate. We had 2 succesful potties last night (well at 2 and 6 am haha!) rewarded and treated, but she did have an accident in her crate today. Again, this was someones fault. My step dad unfortunately has not been himself lately, and slept through her designated potty time today. My boyfriend and I got home at 12 and took her out to play and potty, which she did, and we praised her for it and gave her some tasty cheese. 

Now, at the moment I dont have too much faith in my step dad to help us out. I honestly think he is still too torn up over our late dog who died earlier this year, and so he's being somewhat avoidant. Were trying to talk to him and get him seriously involved, but its up to him. I'm sure eventually he'll come around.

Anyway, when we do take her out (Trying to take her out at 2am, 4am, 6am, 8am, 10am, 12pm, 3pm, and 5pm) we have her drag the leash because she's not used to having one yet. Unfortunately dragging the leash also distracts her from potty, because she's very interested in nibbling it. I'm able to get her to forget about it using a treat or a bone, but we dont have a fenced in yard and sometimes us holding the leash (at least with this being her first day here) does more harm than good. I would rather work on getting her used to the leash in play sessions after she potties. So I was thinking about moving the pen (no bedding or floor, just the pen itself) outside in her potty area, bringing her in there, waiting til she potties, treat/reward, and then taking her out of it for leash and play time. I figured this could work out well since she's still going to be getting used to outside equals potty, and the pen is somewhat similar to her whelping box. If nothing else it will be like a fenced in part of the yard. 

Does this sound like a good idea? Anyone else done something like this before? Thanks in advance for answers!


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

This is an interesting concept Smaller puppies that can't move to well and still stumble over their feet(this is adorable) really don't need a leash when you take them out...so what I did is just carry them out, put them down, they peed, I praised and rewarded, brought them back in..I would add the leash after a week or so, just so they got used to the leash and by the time they become bullets they are okay with the leash Where are the pictures of the new pup? We need pictures


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## Renoto (Feb 28, 2012)

Haha, we've been so wound up getting her schedule in order that pictures completely left my mind, but I'll definitely get some up as soon as possible!

For the leash thing, we put it on and carry her outside because we have SEVERAL steps that have to be traveled to get to the yard. Our yard is very big which is great, and she tends to follow us really well. But like all puppies she'll sometimes see something awesome and start bounding in that direction, which is where the leash comes in handy. We just pick it up to stop her, and take her back to the potty spot. Having the pen out there would also eliminate that problem I think. And we have a broad side to our house where her potty spot is, so if we used the house as an acting part of the pen we can really stretch it out and give her nice potty-walk room.


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## Mac's Mom (Jun 7, 2010)

Renoto said:


> ...
> 
> Anyway, when we do take her out (Trying to take her out at 2am, 4am, 6am, 8am, 10am, 12pm, 3pm, and 5pm) we have her drag the leash because she's not used to having one yet. Unfortunately dragging the leash also distracts her from potty, because she's very interested in nibbling it. I'm able to get her to forget about it using a treat or a bone, but we dont have a fenced in yard and sometimes us holding the leash (at least with this being her first day here) does more harm than good. I would rather work on getting her used to the leash in play sessions after she potties. So I was thinking about moving the pen (no bedding or floor, just the pen itself) outside in her potty area, bringing her in there, waiting til she potties, treat/reward, and then taking her out of it for leash and play time. I figured this could work out well since she's still going to be getting used to outside equals potty, and the pen is somewhat similar to her whelping box. If nothing else it will be like a fenced in part of the yard.
> 
> Does this sound like a good idea? Anyone else done something like this before? Thanks in advance for answers!


I'm impressed by how much thought you've put into this. I've only pottie trained one puppy so I'm not an expert so I can only share my opinion. I think you should have a crate in the house and thats where the puppy should sleep and stay in while you're gone. What we did was watch Mac and when he showed signs that he was about to pee, we picked him up and took him outside to the "pottie area" and when he peed we praised him and gave him a treat. We always had him on a leash. We would not play with him until he peed and or pooped. At night, we would take him out once or twice. He was house broken in less than a week. Hope this helps.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Renoto said:


> Haha, we've been so wound up getting her schedule in order that pictures completely left my mind, but I'll definitely get some up as soon as possible!
> 
> For the leash thing, we put it on and carry her outside because we have SEVERAL steps that have to be traveled to get to the yard. Our yard is very big which is great, and she tends to follow us really well. But like all puppies she'll sometimes see something awesome and start bounding in that direction, which is where the leash comes in handy. We just pick it up to stop her, and take her back to the potty spot. Having the pen out there would also eliminate that problem I think. And we have a broad side to our house where her potty spot is, so if we used the house as an acting part of the pen we can really stretch it out and give her nice potty-walk room.


A schedule is always good and as long as you follow that you'll be fine


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Just my opinion but a dragging leash at pottie time is an unnecessary distraction. One thing at a time. Get him potty trained then start with the leash. If it is necessary to have him leashed in the yard then have someone holding it. I missed the age of the pup but you may be taking him out too often. IMHO the only way for him to learn is for you to catch him at it inside then pick him up and get him outside for a complete lesson. You probably know that punishment is not an option.
You don't want him just to learn that outside is good but also that inside is not good. Just say NO when you catch him and get him outside. I have only housetrained 3 dogs but each one of them only made 1 mistake of each kind before catching on. For the first few weeks you have to be very tuned into his bodily schedule. Try getting into a routine, dogs love routines.


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## Renoto (Feb 28, 2012)

llombardo said:


> A schedule is always good and as long as you follow that you'll be fine


The schedule is both easy and hard to deal with. I've noticed that she seems to be able to hold her bowls for at most 3 hours. I'm trying to take her out every 2 hours right now since she is just under 8 weeks old. 

Were using the crate at all times. She's in it when no one is around, and when she comes out we take her directly outside to potty and play. The only time she is allowed out in the house right now is for a few short moments because my mom is worried about isolating her. I'm honestly fine with that, as long as its only for 3-4 minutes, the puppy is absolutely engaged with her through treats and toys, and she goes directly back into her crate. My mom is a team player, so she's a-ok with that.

Where the schedule gets difficult is where my step dad is involved. As I said before he's being very avoidant right now, and I work full time as well as my mom. Though my job is right down the road and does offer me breaks in 2 hour intervals, they are relatively short and not enough time for her to potty. Ideally my step dad would take her out at 10 and stay out with her, but as I said he slept entirely through her potty time today and she wet the crate. I cant blame her, it was more than 3 hours. Thankfully my boyfriend is being a huge help and will stay there at 3 today, but I also think having the pen outside would make it easier for my step dad. He's good with dogs, but has never handled a puppy, so the leash might be more than he could handle. Using the pen would just require him to stand out there with her and reward her when she pees and bring her back in. I can get her used to the leash on my own and at different times. 

I'm also open to anyones ideas or other tricks of the trade youve all tried :3


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## Renoto (Feb 28, 2012)

Yes! And we just had another sucesfull potty venture for her 3pm 'appointment' hehe. Lots of love and a play session afterwards. I think she's already starting to get bored of the treats because she wasnt that interested in it. I'll have to cook up some hot dogs later and keep the variety coming. But we had a good ol' fashioned romp and that seemed to make her very happy :3.

I also noticed when I went in today she didnt start crying and screaming right away, which is what she normally does the moment she sees us coming. May only be a slight delay, but thats still a start.


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## Renoto (Feb 28, 2012)

Well, due to the influx of crime in our area (a couple neighbors have had things stolen/broken into) we decided not to use the pen outside. It cost us a pretty penny and I'm pretty sure that someone would take it. 

But we started using a long line (its a very thin flat leash, lightweight and 15ft in length) that we keep on the ground and just have our foot lightly over one end. She hardly notices it, and when she does go after it we substitute play or her toy and she's gotten less interested in the lead now. Its much less distracting than her normal lead, the one we were using before, because the line is so much longer and very dark so she hardly notices it. 

So far its been working really well. And yay for no accidents yet today! Hopefully she finishes out the night like that.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i think your idea will work. i use to carry my pup to his area in the yard
before he was step trained but that got old rather quickly for me.
after i stopped carrying him to his spot i would carry him down th steps
to the back door, put him down and open the door. wherever he went
was fine. my backyard is ruined but i didn't have to take my dog
to a certain spot. my neighbors have these House and Garden backyards
but they don't have a GSD, so there.


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## Renoto (Feb 28, 2012)

Haha! Thats how it was with our last dog. We didnt really care where he went, or at least I didnt, but our front yard did become a land mine really quickly. Although I must say I have never seen grass grow so thick and full before. Bruce was a good fertalizer.

We havent started working with steps yet, though I know she's capable of using them. She was one of the first to get out of her whelping box, and did give steps a try once that I saw. We just dont have the time during the week to work on it so its just easier to carry her. Pluss we decided to give her a spot because of the land mine situation. I dont have any preferences hehe.

But anyways, so far no accidents! (except one that was a human error, my mom put her in the pen after I told her not to, and sure enough Xena eliminated in it) Her crate has been dry, she's been holding her piddle really well and her poos too. Since she seems to have potty down well enough I've started caring less about her getting leash distracted during potty, and started usign it to our advantage. It actually turned out pretty well, because she is starting to learn that when the leash gets tight it means she should turn around and come back to us. This girls a fast little learner!
And I believe someone wanted a picture lol? Snapped this with my cell phone this afternoon.


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