i need some serious tips on house breaking my new puppy! first of all... we have a crate but he hates it because his previous owners kept him in there all day and he urinated and pooped in his crate. i also want him to run around freely in my house but i don't want him to have any accidents. He is around 4 months and is a golden retriever.. how long will it take? and how do i see this 7 day housebreaking thing?!.. anyways! thanks for your help, and i'd greatly appreciate if someone could help! thanks again!!

To get your pup happy about his crate try feeding him in there, and putting one or two favourite toys in with him. Try to place the crate where he can see everyday life, so that he doesn't feel lonely and only leave him in there for short periods of time. This seemed to work for my golden. Not sure about the house breaking in 7 days thing - i wish mine would, its been a month and we still get accidents unless we take her out every hour or so.

yes, we have toys in there and we feed him in there! he is also out with me all day.. but at night i put him in..

i also realllllllyyyyy want him to run free in the house but my parents dont want him to.. how long will it take until he is potty trained?!

It's one of those things where the more concentrated effort you all put in, the quicker he'll learn. Every puppy is different. It takes some a fortnight to be reliably clean - others take several months.
:)

Also...It seems like my parents want to go step by step with this dog training thing, that we barely get to acctually PLAY with him....They are pretty strict with it, like they said he needed a bedtime! are you kidding me?! Do dogs need a bed time?! Someone please answer me! I'm confused!

Hi Winky
I am like you going through the housetraining with my 11 week old Bichon, she initially hated the crate at night but with consistant behaviour on my part she now goes in at night quite happily, just try her a little at a time but do not go to her if she cries wait until she stops & then take her out increasing the time little by little throughout the day, its hard I know but its worth it in the end, At night time I put paper at the front & her bed at the back & depending if she has had a poo at night or not we usually get accidents on the paper, I dont mind this because she sleeps through usually until 6-630am & cannot be expected to hold it all night at her age, I guess this will get better as she gets older, also when she can go out & get more exercise. I am restricting her to one room in the house at present, once she is house trained then I dont mind her getting around the whole house. The whole training is confusing & if you are like me you feel it will never happen, enjoy your puppy, I am loving every minute she so cute. Pauline

hey pauline, i appreciate you writing back to me! do dogs need a bed time?!

Hi Winky
Yes I say dogs do need a bedtime just like we do, we take Molly out before we go to bed then settle her in her crate with paper at the front & bed at the back, cover the crate with a large dark coloured towel to help her feel secure, a toy incase she wakes up although at the moment the minute she wakens she starts crying, I hope this will get later & later, close the door, say goodnight & leave her, she used to go mad crying scratching but it only took about a week of ignoring her then she stopped & accepts its bedtime. Hope this helps, Pauline.

Hiya,

Yes, young dogs do need a bedtime. Or, you can have a dog who grows up thinking that he can play wild games whenever he wants.

Back to the original problems though, housetraining is patience, perseverance and prevention. Give the pup as many opportunities as possible to go in the right place, and limit the chance of him doing it in the wrong place. Dogs do not learn that it is 'bad' or 'wrong' to eliminate in the house, what they do learn is that 'outside' is the place for going. The less chance the dog has to go inside, the better, as then he will never have to relearn that he must now go outside. Is this making sense???

With the crate, mmmm, if he spends ALL day with the family, then at night, im not suprised if he doesnt like it. You need to be giving him little sessions in the crate, preferably when he is tired/fed/empty, (so that he doesnt associate it with feeling frustrated, hungry or needing to wee/poo), and leave him, with a chew or toy, for just a few minutes. Just walk out the room, count to ten, walk back in. Dont make a fuss of the pup, let him out and carry on with whatever you were doing.
You should alternate this with putting him in adn staying in the room, but still ignore any whining etc. Gradually increase the time and eventually, he should learn its a nice place to be, and if he does that, you will find he probablly takes toys in there to chew/ escapes to the crate for some peace and quiet.

Also, if your pup has gone into his crate of his own accord, and is asleep, leave him be, he needs to learn the crate is his haven, a nice place of safety, for that reason, NEVER put him in his crate as a punishment.

With regards to other training, make it lots and lots of fun, very rewarding, and do little 5 minute sessions several times a day. Mix that in with socialising him to as many new and wierd situations as possible, and you should find you have a pup that gets pretty tired, an sleeps well at night!

Good luck
Em

don't put her into the crate they don't like sleeping next to poo and wee bin the crate and put puppy pads on the floor reducing the amount you use each time i'im down to two and puppy is only 12 weeks old i highly recommend puppy pads a brilliant invention.

jag

I have another question...my golden retriever puppy bites very badly and i try everything i know to make him stop,but he dosnt! does anybody have any suggestions? it would help sooo much! thankyou!

ANYBODY have any suggestions for my puppys name? He still dosnt know his name yet so I was thinking of changing it..anybody?! He is a golden retriever MALE!!! IT WOULD BE GREAT if u could help me!