# How long did it take to potty train your pup?



## Luna_baby (Aug 14, 2013)

Hi. 

I was just wondering how long it took some of you to housetrain your puppy?


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## belladonnalily (May 24, 2013)

I was lucky. Our breeder raised him in her home so at 7-1/2 wks when he came home, he was almost completely house trained. It took about 2-3 weeks before we stopped having any accidents (all due to not watching the signs close enough). Now 4 mo., he has never had an accident in his crate and none in the house at all in over a month.

Crate training & supervision is key.

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## belladonnalily (May 24, 2013)

To be fair, he goes to work with me and is never crated during the day for more than 3-4 hours at a time. 

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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Some dogs are easier then others.

Delgado's breeder both crate and house trained the litter starting at a very young age so he had two accident total in his first week home (my fault as I wasn't watching close enough) and hasn't had any since.

Jazzy was almost 6 months before I could trust her completely, she was from a BYB who just let the puppies roam the house and do their business wherever they wanted. She was awful to housetrain, no signs or warning she would just sneak away and pee anywhere she wanted if I wasn't watching closely enough. She didn't get the concept of indicating at the door when she needed out for the longest time.


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## scarmack (Aug 14, 2013)

I've had Gunner for 2 weeks tomorrow, and hes finally showing signs of knowing he has to go outside, whimpering and goes near the door. He actually hasn't had one accident in his crate, which I am very surprised at.


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## DobberDog (Jul 29, 2013)

Angel was raised inside until she was 9 weeks old then outside with the adult dogs until I picked her up at 11 weeks. She has been inside and crate trained since that day. She is 16 weeks now and hasn't had an accident since the week after we brought her home. The ones she did have were due to us not paying close enough attention. Now she sits at the back door patiently when she needs to go outside.


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## Luna_baby (Aug 14, 2013)

Im lucky in that she wont go in her crate but will go in the house and will not go petty in the rain....stood outside for an hour this morning just after breakfast and as soon as we came in she peed. Its very early days but just wondered how quick or slow others experiences were 

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## loveformygermanshepherd (Aug 16, 2013)

Maxx was outside in a large kennel area when we got him so he was used to the feel of grass so to me that seemed to help him a bit. We have only had 3 accidents and that was due to not paying attention. Ha but he has never gone in his crate. Now at 3 months he is potty trained and will whine or go sit by the door. To answer your question It took about a good 3 weeks  


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I truly don't think you can put a time frame on the length of time it takes to potty train. If you are training your pup correctly, you aren't allowing the pup to fail and mess on the floor. 

I think the question would be better phrased as "How long was it till you stopped potty training your pup?"


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I count from the last accident in the house as my official potty training date. For Dena that was about a month, Keefer about 2 months, and Halo about 3 months. We're getting worse at this, not better! :rofl:


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## ODINsFREKI (Jul 30, 2013)

One week. I put his nose in it and then took him outside to where he should go. At times he was in the act and we got puppy pee all over when I picked him up and ran outside. 

Every time he went where he was supposed to, he got a treat and got his neck scratched where the collar was bugging him. 

It helps to clean up their mess inside right away and use a disinfectant that will destroy any scent. I think they make a mine field of scent and like to resupply the odor frequently.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

ODINsFREKI said:


> I put his nose in it.....


This serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever. You could have just done everything else you did and skipped this part and accomplished the same result. 

I thought the old school method of rubbing a puppy's nose in his/her accidents had finally gone away forever, but apparently not.


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## atourya (Mar 23, 2013)

with Cosette, crate training did the trick.. we then had to train her to not pee as soon as she stepped foot in the backyard... peeing right in front of the sliding glass door didn't make for the most pleasant of smells. we did this by going with her in the mornings and calling her to the other side of the yard, then praising her when she did it right... took only a few days. 

I've had a much bigger problem with submissive urination. It seems like she is over it now.


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## battleborn (Jan 23, 2013)

Took me around two weeks. It's a matter of getting to know your pup and seeing the signs that he needs to go before he does. That, coupled with being put outside quickly whenever he went inside, got the message across fast. Now he will come and get me if he needs to go, or just sit by the door with 'that look' on his face.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

we got our pup when he was 9 weeks. it took 11 days
and 10 accidents to house train him. 5 of the accidents
happened on the 11th day under my GF's care.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

1>>>> putting his nose in it. totally wrong and unnecessary.

2>>>> why was his collar bugging him?



ODINsFREKI said:


> One week.
> 
> 1>>>>> I put his nose in it and then took him outside to where he should go.
> 
> ...


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## MadLab (Jan 7, 2013)

It took me months with my female. I think she was a really clean pup but would up and poop in the kitchen floor when she felt like it. I always just accept it and clean it. I never rub a pups nose in it or use any other stressful method. The pup can't rationalize and think it is doing something bad so why get stressed. Funnily when outside she is very discrete and always goes and finds a private place to poop

My male was really good at not going inside but when out side he'll do it in a busy street on front of everyone. 

Generally from 8 weeks to 12 weeks it is hard to have a pup inside due to all the pooping. Better to have an outdoor area for it.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

10 days.......

I have always had them done in less than 2 weeks.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

so, was he house trained in 2 or 3 weeks whic h would
have made him 9 or 10 weeks old or was he 3 months
before he was house broken?



belladonnalily said:


> I was lucky. Our breeder raised him in her home so at 7-1/2 wks when he came home, he was almost completely house trained.
> 
> 1 >>>> It took about 2-3 weeks before we stopped having any
> accidents<<<<
> ...


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I"ve been pretty lucky with all the puppies I've brought home, 2 brought home at 12 weeks, the rest at 8..Usually took me about a week, I am 'on top' of puppies 24/7 the first few weeks

As for rubbing their nose in it, AGREE, old school, serves no purpose, like smacking them with a newspaper, no purpose.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

don't wait for a sign to take him out. if you take him out often
he may never have an accident in his crate.



scarmack said:


> I've had Gunner for 2 weeks tomorrow, and hes finally showing signs of knowing he has to go outside, whimpering and goes near the door. He actually hasn't had one accident in his crate, which I am very surprised at.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

I met a woman who had ended up teaching her pup to eat its stool as a result of rubbing nose in it.....at 5 yrs old her dog continued with this behaviour.


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## ODINsFREKI (Jul 30, 2013)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> This serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever. You could have just done everything else you did and skipped this part and accomplished the same result.
> 
> I thought the old school method of rubbing a puppy's nose in his/her accidents had finally gone away forever, but apparently not.


Nope. I did it to my doberman and he never went inside again. I pick up the dog, dab their nose in it and calmly go outside and tell them to go potty in a specified area. It's my cave and I don't want their scent there. After they are outside for a while with me, I go back in and clean up the area and sterilize the scent. It's an association of their own scent in a territory. It does serve a purpose and is simple psychiatry. You do not put the puppy's nose in poop. That is obvious yet you like to imply that I would by combining it in your opinion.

Freki had his nose in his pee once when he came home with me. He had a few after that and now he lets us know he wants out of his kennel at night and rings the bell hanging on the front door to get outside. 

Thanks for your expert opinion. I'll stick to what works perfectly for me.


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## ODINsFREKI (Jul 30, 2013)

Saphire said:


> I met a woman who had ended up teaching her pup to eat its stool as a result of rubbing nose in it.....at 5 yrs old her dog continued with this behaviour.


That's because the lady was a dumb ass. You don't put their nose in poop. You put their nose on their scent and let them know it's your territory by removing them from the area and giving them some space and praise for pissing in the right spot.


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## ODINsFREKI (Jul 30, 2013)

doggiedad said:


> 1>>>> putting his nose in it. totally wrong and unnecessary.
> 
> 2>>>> why was his collar bugging him?



i beg to differ and have used this method on my doberman and had great success. i used it on freki and it had great success. you dab their nose in it, remove them to their territory and praise them when they go in their area. it's just piss, concentrated scent. I let him know that I acknowledge his scent in my territory and do not approve of it. You only need to do this once. They remember. Put them outside and let them pee out there. Praise them and continue to keep an eye on them.

I guess if it's so wrong and unnecessary, that's why my doberman and gsd were potty trained in one week.

His collar was bugging him because he was just taken away from mom and had a collar on for the first time ever. He got over it in a few days.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

http://www.petsadviser.com/behaviors/rubbing-dogs-nose-in-pee/

I did a search and cannot find ONE site to support such training and logic.


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

I think I got lucky with my GSD, he house broke after one day. Just showed him where to go outside and thats where he wanted to go from then on out. I think it helped though that I have three other dogs so I think he mostly just copied them.  He was never land sharky either so I know I'm in for it with my next GSD pup, no one can be that lucky twice, lol.


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## RiverDan (Mar 22, 2013)

Did crate training, and watched Baron 24/7, almost. No accidents in his crate. A couple in the house. Maybe it took two weeks for zero accidents.
Now Willow was a different story. Took about 1.5 months. She just didn't care.
Both are 100% now.


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## mandiah89 (Jan 18, 2013)

Diesel and Penny were both super easy to train, I think it took Diesel about a week? I got her at 10 weeks and she was already mostly house trained, she had 3 accidents total in the house... Penny took a little longer as she came from a BYB and came home so young (6 weeks) it took her a month to potty train her but she did learn quickly and most accidents were my fault for not getting to her quick enough.


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

1 week and a few days. And I kid you not at that point Roxy was either bringing me her lead OR standing at the patio door scratching...which she still does to this day.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

you're missing the point. you can house train a pup without
putting their nose in their waste.



doggiedad said:


> 1>>>> putting his nose in it. totally wrong and unnecessary.
> 
> 2>>>> why was his collar bugging him?





ODINsFREKI said:


> >>>>> i beg to differ and have used this method on my doberman and had great success.<<<<<
> 
> i used it on freki and it had great success. you dab their nose in it, remove them to their territory and praise them when they go in their area. it's just piss, concentrated scent. I let him know that I acknowledge his scent in my territory and do not approve of it. You only need to do this once. They remember. Put them outside and let them pee out there. Praise them and continue to keep an eye on them.
> 
> ...


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## kjdreyer (Feb 7, 2013)

Can anybody advocating this method please explain what lesson a puppy is supposed to get by having it's nose in or near an accident? How does that translate to "Do this outside only?" Ridiculous. I had a housetrained puppy at 13 weeks using a crate and an exercise pen, and a diligent feeding/going out schedule. No drama.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

doggiedad said:


> you're missing the point. you can house train a pup without
> putting their nose in their waste.


I agree, and I think the OP is making a big assumption about what the puppy is learning when he does it:



ODINsFREKI said:


> I let him know that I acknowledge his scent in my territory and do not approve of it.


You're applying human logic to a baby puppy. How would he know that's what you mean by putting his nose in his pee spot? How would you KNOW he understood what you mean by putting his nose in his pee spot?


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

Maybe the OP really believes this is an effective and reasonable way of training and will hopefully read the posts causing him to rethink and change his house breaking methods.


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## HankyPanky (Aug 17, 2013)

I am currently still potty training Hank, we will take him outside and he will do his business, stay outside for a couple more minutes then go back in. Once we get back in, HE WILL PEE AGAIN!!! Not a lot, like the size of a silver dollar. Is he trying to mark his territory? So it's back outside we go.....and nothing. What do I do?


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## kjdreyer (Feb 7, 2013)

No, he's not trying to mark, he just wasn't finished! Don't be fooled, the quick pee or poop is almost never all that needs to come out! Most of them like to sniff around, pick a place or two, maybe three. Don't lose patience and still reward every time, and give it a good 10 minutes out there, it's kind of a pain, but worth it in the long run. Good luck!


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## HankyPanky (Aug 17, 2013)

Alright haha, thought so. I normally stay out there for a while. But maybe a little longer. So hard to do when it's 3am and half asleep and 7am and im getting ready for work. But I will do it!!


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

Both my dogs took about 2 weeks, it takes management and supervision.


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## vicky2200 (Oct 29, 2010)

Our GSD- 4 months (from 2 months to 6 months) to be completely trained. She was mostly trained at 5 months old.


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## rgrey (Jul 30, 2013)

The Ol Man potty trained the first day-his only issue was when I had to work late and then he'd do it by the door. (Since I knew there were days I'd work 16+ hours I had him in the kitchen with the doorway gated off so he'd have lots of room and wouldn't be stuck in the crate.) Once I had a more normal schedule he never had an accident unless he was sick.

So far Griz has been pretty good-we've had him 10 days and so far no crate accidents and most of the carpet accidents have been because we were slow letting him out after a nap/meal. He's gotten good at asking to go out now and we've had two days of no wrecks, fingers crossed we've reached 100% potty training. (Crimany, I'm still working on the toddler to get her toilet trained. Dogs are so much easier than kids, I swear.)

Also, all these accidents were in places where someone had peed before (either the Ol Man when he got really sick, or my mom's dog the one time she visited). My guess is there was still some scent there, even though I'd soaked and washed the carpets several times. I recently picked up some of that Nature's Miracle cleaner and since using it the amount of accidents has gone way down.


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## Ravena (May 19, 2013)

Aside from a bout of bad diarrhea, our girl took 4 weeks (She's 17weeks old). That was all crate and pen time, no unsupervised play, frequent trips (started with once an hour, and extended as she improved - now about to go 4-5hours (rarely necessary) during the day and 6-7 at night.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

you have to sacrifice when you have a dog. they take you out
of your comfort zone. with consistency in your training and age
things will become easier. i have to get up at 5:00/5:30 am. when
my dog was a pup i got up at 4:00 am so he could go out and i could
train before going to work. getting up at 4:00 am gave me time to
have 3 or 4 short training sessions. each session last 5 to 10 minutes.



HankyPanky said:


> Alright haha, thought so. I normally stay out there for a while. But maybe a little longer. So hard to do when it's 3am and half asleep and 7am and im getting ready for work. But I will do it!!


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## ODINsFREKI (Jul 30, 2013)

hippies! go watch a pack of coyotes. see what happens when a young dog pees in a spot owned by an adult male. you may see them as a baby. they are far from a baby and are born with instincts far more advanced than my kids ever had.

the pee thing establishes dominance, gives a negative association with pissing in my home, does no physical or emotional harm to the puppy and actually works. 

i do not condone the half ass dog owner who would rub the dogs nose in it aggressively and then do nothing but clean it up. anybody who rubs their dog's nose in poop should be beaten.

i won't justify my method any more. you do what works for you and I will continue to do what works for me. do not read into what I post. nice trick associating with the poop and what I posted. association tricks used in the media that I used to train people on. 

anyway, continue to do what works for you. you can train a dog to go outside without it. of course. it will take longer and you will be seen as an equal in the house for a while.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

ODINsFREKI said:


> i do not condone the half ass dog owner who would rub the dogs nose in it aggressively and then do nothing but clean it up. anybody who rubs their dog's nose in poop should be beaten.


Adult wolves mark territory with urine AND feces. So if your logic is to teach them to not mark YOUR territory by sticking their nose in urine....would their stool be different?


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

my little guy was stubborn about potty training. It took a while. Maybe a month or two. He still doesn't ask to go out. We have a doggy door so he always used that to go out, but now he's to large to for through the doggy door, so he;ll try to go out and then pee on the rug by the door. It's summer now so the door is left open quite a bit. Once winter get here we will be putting the chime back up by the door. If he walks near the door the chime will let us know.

Of my three dogs only one will whine to go out. The female will sit by the door until we let her out and the GSD (youngest) does the above.


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## bella~too (Aug 19, 2013)

My pup is 9 weeks old, we've had her for 10 days. She is definitely not housebroken. She is crated at night and we've had no accidents; I take her outside twice during the night. 
During the day, I can crate her for up to 3 hours with success (to drive into town without her) and we've had no accidents. 

If I give her full run of my house, I can try and get her out after she plays, naps, and eats, and she will still manage to pee or poop somewhere. 

I've built her a little room off my kitchen with a baby gate, and she has been in there today and doing well. No accidents. And even goes in her crate to sleep


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## Luna_baby (Aug 14, 2013)

Thought id post an update.....a week later and we have cracked pooping in the house...yipee!!! We are still working on the wee but i think that's down to me not reading the signs enough..she is dry in the crate and even holds it for alot of the night now. 

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## ODINsFREKI (Jul 30, 2013)

Saphire said:


> Adult wolves mark territory with urine AND feces. So if your logic is to teach them to not mark YOUR territory by sticking their nose in urine....would their stool be different?


The adult wolves around here rarely use a defecation marker. The urine marker is used to claim kills, territory and claim rank in the pack. The defecation marker is used to navigate and mark areas already explored. The defecation marker is also used to let other pack member know where they are or the area is currently occupied. My last two dogs maybe found a total of 5 defecation markers in the last ten years while urine markers are very common. 

The urine is dabbed on the nose so they understand that you know they put their rank or territory sign on your property. You don't smear their nose in it. A little urine is a lot of scent. One drop on the nose will do while you say NO or whatever command means you dicked up. You then take the dog outside and show them where to pee. When they go outside, you give them praise and let them know it's acceptable terrain and you outrank them. 

Urine is very sterile and I have even used it in the field to treat wounds, prevent infection and sterilize equipment. Feces, on the other hand can contain undigested bacteria and is mostly made of undigestible material your body does not want. The feces is full of toxins that are removed from the body. Therefore, it is not a wise choice to rub their nose in it and risk infecting the mucous membranes. They weren't marking territory with feces in the first place and it is most likely your fault if they crapped in your house anyway. You can tell when a dog is marking it's territory. You have given them plenty of time outside to go and they decide a strategic area in your home needs to be marked. 

To each is own, you do it your way and it takes you x amount of time and I do it my way and it produces consistent results that are safe and reliable in around one week.


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## ODINsFREKI (Jul 30, 2013)

Luna_baby said:


> Thought id post an update.....a week later and we have cracked pooping in the house...yipee!!! We are still working on the wee but i think that's down to me not reading the signs enough..she is dry in the crate and even holds it for alot of the night now.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That's awesome! Good work! Keep training and you will have her house broken in no time! To me, it's a lot like keeping an eye on your baby to see if they are clean, dry and full.


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## RidgeWalker (Feb 28, 2013)

The two shepherds I've had that I got as pups from the breeder both housebroke themselves. The first took a little while longer because I didn't crate train. With the current dog I crated from the get-go and that made a big difference. Essentially what I've done is keep her crated while inside unless somebody with her, and keep her out in our fenced yard with our older dog when we can't be home (started that at about three months...till then we crated while gone). Now, she holds it all night and hasn't had an accident inside in quite some time.


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