Admin Note: Would anyone like to add a piece on how YOU toilet train your puppies, to this thread? This thread is not for debating, only to add your ideas

TOILET TRAINING

The speed with which this is accomplished depends entirely upon you! The moment your puppy awakes, and when it finishes eating take, note - take (please note the take - not put) it outside and use the word you are going to use for elimination. The moment it starts say the word firmly and then praise energetically.

Also go outside if you see the puppy looking at the floor or going around in circles - initially once an hour when awake will not be too often.

If the puppy makes a "mistake" indoors IGNORE IT and both of you go outside for a few minutes in case it wishes to go again. NEVER rub the puppies nose it it - this is the equivalent to rubbing a babies nose in its nappy, puppies have to learn bladder and bowel control just like any other young animal and this comes with age.

Always pick up after your dog when you are out, a few plastic bags carried in your pocket are useful. This gives the anti-dog people one less thing to complain about and may eventually keep more parks etc open for us dog owners.
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Many owners say their dogs know that toileting in appropriately is wrong and the reason they know this is because their pup (or dog) acts in a guilty manner when they see it or return home.

Puppies have very short memories and doing what comes naturally - eliminating - probably remains in their memory for the time they are doing it - if that!

There is a reason many dogs act scared/guilty (depending upon the owners perception) when the owners get home after being out for a while and it is NOT guilt. Imagine: owner comes in all happy - spots mess or puddle and prompt turns into nasty person. After a few times of this the poor dog will become wary of owner coming home and will be waiting for the change - thus giving owner impression that dog has done something wrong whereas all that is happening is that the dog is expecting to be shouted at because the owner has come home and is cringing in anticipation.

Edited 8.10.02
Edited 17.1.03 to add   If your pup does urinate on the carpet then cover it with fizzy water - that made in a soda-stream is useful - this seems to prevent staining

Again I do much the same as Christine, but with a few variations. Some pups do not have a very good gastrocolic reflex - in other words they don't toilet after eating. With a pup like this I make a point of taking it out ever hour / hour and an half or so when it is awake, even if it is showing no sign of needing to go. Sometimes I also resort to a form of paper training, transferring some piddled on paper to the desired area outside and taking the pup there. I also leave a fresh bowel motion in the same area, for the same reason.

My breeds usually dislike rain violently, and I find that providing a temporary shelter outside (four poles and a heavy waterproof sheet) helps accelerate house training in wet weather.

Accidents do happen in the house and very careful cleaning is essential - if the smell lingers, the pup will be inclined to use the same spot again.

I find that an older dog, especially a maternal one who has perhaps had a litter (but sometimes a male too), is often much better than I am at noticing when the pup needs to go, and I rely on such dogs heavily, watching the adult(s) as carefully as I watch the pup.

I break the accepted rules on not taking new pups to bed with me - when I have a new puppy it and I sleep in the spare room for 10 days or so, and I set the alarm clock for about 3 - 3.30 am depending on the time of year and take the pup out then.

I do much and such the same. All my dogs sleep in the same room as us and , yes I know a lot of people dissaprove, but it works for us. I find this way, a new puppy can settle so much quicker, and can ask to go out any time. I've done this from day one, and all my dogs, including adults that have never been in a house before (rescues) are housetrained usually within a fortnight. I have the same problem, in that none of my dogs like to "pee" outside in the rain, so I leave the kennel run open, so they can do their business in there. I don't however paper train as having tried this, I found that it would only train them to use the paper. I take them to the "designated area" and wait until they have produced, then give them loads of praise.

bump

When I was first presented with a puppy to housebreak, I asked my colleagues if they knew what to do. One, whose parents bred dogs for a living, told me what to do. I did it, and it worked for that male puppy. Since then, there have been two more puppies, one female, one male, that I've needed to housebreak and again, this method worked. All three puppies never had an accident inside, not once.

Method: After every meal, every nap, first thing in the morning and right before bedtime, immediately take the puppy outside to the spot you want it to go. (Take it out the same door each time too.) Put the puppy down at the spot and tell it to go. Stand there and wait a few minutes. Surprisingly, most of the time the puppy will go. Brag on it profusely after it goes, and play with it awhile. Then if you are going inside, bring the puppy inside too, through the same door. If the puppy does not go, say nothing (don't fuss, don't brag either). If the puppy begins to circle and sniff the floor, take it immediately outside to the spot you want. Do not use newspaper on the floor. Do not crate the puppy. If, by chance, the puppy has an accident, do not scold it, just put the puppy out following the same method and tell it to go, etc.

Anyway, this is what my colleague told me to do. I could hardly believe that this would work, but to my pleasant surprise, it did.

There were never any accidents in the house. I really swear by this method. EC Kostrubala

I read in a book that if you wash the area that has been soiled in washing powder instead of usual disinfectant then this is more likely to mask the sent. Am trying this at present when pup has accient. he now pees in difference places all over if I dont spot him first. Oh well good excuse to get new carpet when he is finally house trained.

Same book also suggested getting up at approx 4am each morning to let dog out. Not done this one - prefer to clean up at 7am if he has had accident. (in kitchen at night so easy to do)

White vinegar mixed with plain water is an excellent, cheap way to clean and mask odour. Four parts water to one part vinegar should do the trick, sniff it and if does not make you nose curl up a bit add some more vinegar. Dogs absolutely hate the smell.

One thing that doesn't seem to have been mentioned here is bringing the pup inside immediately after it eliminates, i.e. take puppy out as suggested above, keep saying your word for it to the pup, as he wees or poos, praise profusely and treat as he finishes, bring immediately inside. This way the pup learns why it is outside, I found Buster in the first six weeks of being home to be quite nervous about going into the garden and stayed within the same square metre every time until he became more adventurous, he was therefore quite anxious to get back inside and realised within a couple of weeks that once he had "done his business" he could go back inside the house. He was completely "dry" by the time he was four months old - very lucky I know! Nicki

Just to add a bit.  One of the thing I do is to hang a bell on the door they have to go through.  When I take them out I get them to nuge the bell with their nose first then I take them out to the little fenced off pen that we have just for the dogs to go potty in.  When they are older they can jump into it or go through the little opening we have built into one side.  This helps to keep the yard clean and they know that as soon as they are put in their what they have to do.  I put them down and give the potty command. As soon as they go I click the clicker I use for training and give a piece of kibble and praise alot.  Then I take them back indoors or let them play outside the pen a little.  If they don't go within 5 minutes I bring them back in and put them in the crate for 15 minutes.  Then we try it all agian till they go.  Since my dogs are trained to be assistance work they have to be able to go at anytime when commanded so this helps to teach them that there is no play time or nothing until they go.  Within a few days they are basically going when ever you give the command or put them in the pen.

Small puppies are incapable of holding and waiting to be let out. Do not expect them to do so. In fact some puppies until around 10-12 weeks are pretty much unaware of the need to go until they are actually going. Generally you can tell if they do or do not know by their actions. Pups that are happily playing then suddenly stop and wee/poo are not aware, pups that stop, go sniff about and find a place to go ARE aware.

The keys to rock solid housetraining are these.

1/know your objective
2/consistency
3/rewarding appropriate behaviours
4/preventing inappropriate behaviours

(this will apply to ALL training really).

1/ Know your objective.
Your objective should be, to have a dog who can hold on whilst you are out, ask to go when you are in, and go on your command when you need them to go (ie before you go to work).

2/Consistency: ALWAYS pay attention to your pup. Let him out after every meal, after every play session and every sleep. And of course, every time he looks like he needs a poo. Even at 3am when its peeing down with rain in the middle of winter and you cant find your slippers.

3/Rewarding appropriate behaviours: Dogs repeat that which they are rewarded for. Which is why you are not recommended to praise and fuss your dog for jumping on you whne he is little -- he will keep doing it when he is bigger because he has found it rewarding.
Reward your pup for going outside and performing. Reward him well and vary it, so he never knows what kinda reward he will get (this pre-empts the 'hmm, pee in rain for a boring biscuit, or pee inside later and keep my paws dry' type scenario)

4/ Do not reward inappropriate behaviours.

If you have taken your dog (and you must TAKE, not just bung outside alone) out for a pee and he would rather play, go back inside. Playing happens AFTER peeing, try again in a few minutes time. Do not reward the playing behaviour.. keep trying until the dog pees, then reward him with play!.

Few more houstraining tips.

Dogs are quite context specific, which is why paper training is often a very slow method. The difference between newspaper and your floor is minimal, the difference between outdoors and in is rather huge. So if you let your pup use the papers, you are effectively teaching him taht going inside is allowed. Changing the rules for anyone is hard but its even harder for a dog. Start as you mean to go on, and prevent toileting indoors completely, reward toiletting outdoors.

Dogs are far far better at learning to 'do' a thing, than learning to 'not do' a thing. Another reason why you are FAR better off rewarding the correct behaviour than you are punishing the wrong one. Its MUCH easier to teach 'you go here and get rewarded' than it is to teach 'you go here, here here, here and here, oh and here and there, and over here and get punished'. Similar to teaching a dog to sit rather than jump up, as opposed to trying to teach a dog not to jump.

Em