"My puppy is having accidents in the house. How can I get her to stop?" (NEW! 1/6/04)
If this is a recent problem, you might want to check and make sure that she doesn't have any infections or parasites. You can take urine and stool samples to the vet and have them checked to help rule out a medical problem.
No matter whether she's 2 months or 2 years old, I'd start with the basics and work as if she were a young puppy being house trained for the first time. Watch her constantly or crate her if you can't watch her. Put up a baby gate or tie her leash around your waist so she won't be able to sneak off and leave a mess in another room.
Another thing to remember is if you punish her for going to the bathroom in the house, she's more likely to think, "Mom is mad at me for going to the bathroom, so I'll run in the other room and hide and go there instead." She may get to the point that she won't go for you outside either because she's afraid of a corrections that she's been getting in the house. Don't do any type of harsh corrections if you catch her going in the house, just quickly and quietly pick her up and rush her outside to finish her job. Do give LOTS of praise if she does it correctly outside.
Keep a log or schedule of when you feed your puppy, when she normally goes to the bathroom, when she's most active and plays a lot and when she sleeps or takes naps. You will soon see a pattern emerge and that will greatly aid in predicting when your pup will have to go to the bathroom.
A general rule for puppies is that a puppy can 'hold it' for the number of months of age they are +1. So a 3 month old puppy shouldn't be expected to hold it for more than about 4 hours.
Puppies will usually have to go to the bathroom:
Keep an eye out for any behavior that's even a little bit different than her normal behavior... sniffing the floor, the door or places she's had accidents before, walking in circles, backing up, whining, walking towards or sitting by the door that you use to take her outside for bathroom breaks, looking preoccupied or distracted, wandering off in the middle of a play session, being a bit more argumentative during training sessions, etc...
One thing that MaShiloh told us a long time ago has always stuck with me and I always tell all the folks raising puppies: Take a newspaper and roll it up tightly. Then when the pup has an accident hit yourself in the head with the newspaper and repeat:
Also remember to clean up the area where the puppy had the accident really well. If she smells the residue at the spot, she will go there again. Don't use any ammonia based cleaning products when cleaning up after your puppy. Urine breaks down to ammonia, so the cleaning product will leave a smell similar to the urine spot that was there originally.
- Debbie Knatz
Shepherd's Ridge
If this is a recent problem, you might want to check and make sure that she doesn't have any infections or parasites. You can take urine and stool samples to the vet and have them checked to help rule out a medical problem.
No matter whether she's 2 months or 2 years old, I'd start with the basics and work as if she were a young puppy being house trained for the first time. Watch her constantly or crate her if you can't watch her. Put up a baby gate or tie her leash around your waist so she won't be able to sneak off and leave a mess in another room.
Another thing to remember is if you punish her for going to the bathroom in the house, she's more likely to think, "Mom is mad at me for going to the bathroom, so I'll run in the other room and hide and go there instead." She may get to the point that she won't go for you outside either because she's afraid of a corrections that she's been getting in the house. Don't do any type of harsh corrections if you catch her going in the house, just quickly and quietly pick her up and rush her outside to finish her job. Do give LOTS of praise if she does it correctly outside.
Keep a log or schedule of when you feed your puppy, when she normally goes to the bathroom, when she's most active and plays a lot and when she sleeps or takes naps. You will soon see a pattern emerge and that will greatly aid in predicting when your pup will have to go to the bathroom.
A general rule for puppies is that a puppy can 'hold it' for the number of months of age they are +1. So a 3 month old puppy shouldn't be expected to hold it for more than about 4 hours.
Puppies will usually have to go to the bathroom:
- Within 1/2 to 1 hour after eating her meals.
- Upon waking up from a nap.
- After playing or exercise periods.
Keep an eye out for any behavior that's even a little bit different than her normal behavior... sniffing the floor, the door or places she's had accidents before, walking in circles, backing up, whining, walking towards or sitting by the door that you use to take her outside for bathroom breaks, looking preoccupied or distracted, wandering off in the middle of a play session, being a bit more argumentative during training sessions, etc...
One thing that MaShiloh told us a long time ago has always stuck with me and I always tell all the folks raising puppies: Take a newspaper and roll it up tightly. Then when the pup has an accident hit yourself in the head with the newspaper and repeat:
- "I should have been watching the puppy." <WHACK!>
- "I should have been watching the puppy." <WHACK!>
- "I should have been watching the puppy." <WHACK!> :-)
Also remember to clean up the area where the puppy had the accident really well. If she smells the residue at the spot, she will go there again. Don't use any ammonia based cleaning products when cleaning up after your puppy. Urine breaks down to ammonia, so the cleaning product will leave a smell similar to the urine spot that was there originally.
- Debbie Knatz
Shepherd's Ridge