Left Y!A: How can I make my 5-weeks-old Bichon Bolognese not pee in the middle of the room??
please help!
Photo Credit: Grace Courbis/Flickr CC
Answers and Views:
Answer by A P
Your puppy is too young to be able to control its bladder :-)
Take the puppy outside every 20-30 minutes, and praise like heck when she goes. But don't expect her to be housetrained for another few months.
Answer by Weimaraner Mom
Why do you have him if he's 5 weeks?? What is wrong with these breeders????
Anyway, he shouldn't have free run of the house, gate him in the kitchen with piddle pads on the floor for accidents, he should be taken out every hour on the hour to do his business outside, 30 mins after every meal, immediately after waking up and playing.
Do not punish if he has an accident at 5 weeks he has no bladder control and is too young to truly start housebreaking. As he gets older he'll be much better at picking up housebreaking.
Answer by Whiteout Alaskan Malamutes
try this it worked on all my pups.
I have never bothered with training pads. Take your dog into the garden every 30-60 min.
Use a designated toilet area in your garden and let your puppy walk and sniff around the area. Keep it clean to ensure that he will not go somewhere else in the garden that is cleaner. By selecting a specific area, you are helping your puppy understand what you want from him when he is taken to that spot and it will be easier to keep clean.
Every time she goes for a pee say "good girl nice pee (or whatever words you want to use) and give her a tiny tasty treat. Same with poo. These guys obviously don't know that we don't want them to do their busy in the house, therefore we have to teach them. Be prepared they cannot hold their pee/poo for long so will have problems during the night. Their bladders are just so small. (Just like human babies).
You should always try to take your puppy out at the following times:
•Immediately after the puppy wakes up
•First thing in the morning
•Last thing at night
•A few minutes after eating or drinking
•After playing
•After any excitement (e.g. after visitors greet your puppy).
Sometimes dogs (adult dogs too) need to run around a bit to get the "systems" going.
What signs should I look for?
If you see your puppy sniffing around the ground, crouching down about to go to the toilet or actually going to the toilet inside the house, quickly get his attention by clapping, calling him excitedly and running to the door so that he will follow you out. If he is actually going to the toilet you may need to shout something extravagant to get his attention and stop him in his tracks (e.g. something silly like 'sausages!!!' will help as it is not personal or aggressive). Make sure the shout does not scare him as this will make him nervous and more prone to toileting in the wrong place. The purpose of the shout is to alert him. By doing so, he will shut his bowels and hold it whilst you walk him outside. It is best that he makes his own way out the door rather than carrying him out, as this will help him learn that he actually needs to make his own way to the door when he needs to go to the toilet.
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What if my puppy makes mistakes?
You will need to clean the area thoroughly to get rid of smells. Note that household cleaners do not get rid of all the proteins that we cannot smell. Do not use any cleaner with ammonia or bleach, as it will smell similar to the ammonia in urine and the puppy will identify it as a toilet area.
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How long should it take to housetrain my puppy?
Like all young animals, puppies do not have full control of their bodies. Depending on the individual puppy, the breed and how much effort you put in the training, it may take up to 8 months to have a completely housetrained dog. Accidents will probably happen at night since the puppy may not be able to hold it in for many hours at a time initially. However, do not despair; as long as the puppy is consistently going outside during the day he will soon learn that toileting means going outside when he has better control of his body.
You can also have your puppy in his crate in your room initially so that you can listen for the signs. If your puppy cries during the night pay attention to him and take him outside immediately. Do not fuss him or play with him, just go outside with him for a few minutes until he eliminates, praise him and then calmly and quietly take him back to sleep in his crate. This way the puppy doesn't think that three o'clock in the morning is a good time to play. AND FINALLY…..
Remember prevention is the key to successful housetraining. Take things slowly, have consistency and keep a routine. Be fair and kind to the young life endowed into your care. You will soon be enjoying happy, mess-free days with your best friend.
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Erika S says
instead of water put icecubes in his/her dish they still quench theyre thirst without filling theyre bladder as fast and then set a timer for an hour or so then let him out to do his bissness this is effeicent and if it dont work ur dog has a problem
awcl81 says
Ugh…you got the pup way too young away from its mother, but anyways…
Start crate training ASAP. And by this I mean any time the puppy is NOT eating or sleeping or under your direct supervision during playtime, it is to be in its crate. Dogs do not like to soil their sleeping area, so you want to establish the crate as the pup's safety zone/den/bed/security spot.
You will have to work a rather fast-paced schedule since puppies do not have any bladder control whatsoever. So be prepared to run out the door even while the pup is in midstream! Especially with these small breeds, they are harder to housebreak, so have LOTS of patience (and I mean WEEKS…even months).
First thing in the morning, immediately take your puppy outside and give him/her a few minutes to relieve itself. Not longer than a few minutes – you want the pup to learn that outside = business, not exploring. Come back inside, feed and water the pup, and return him/her to the crate. Wait 10-15 minutes, then take puppy outside again for the few minutes to do business. If no business, then take back inside into crate and wait another 5-10 minutes before trying again.
When your pup does do it outside, praise and give treats.
Your puppy will have LOTS of accidents. Be patient and understanding. Stick with the routine and after a couple weeks, s/he'll understand.
Valley of the Danes says
FIVE WEEKS?!!!
GF, that pup should be with its dam and littermates until it's at least 8 weeks.
Reason why you have a pup this young? Did the dam die or reject the pup?
There is no way you could expect a 5 week old pup to potty train w/o accidents.
How long have you had this pup?
I don't know how I feel about the idea of this particular pup being crated already. Seriously, if you didn't know taking the pup from the dam this early in it's development then I would wonder about your approach to crate training and how this could affect such a young pup.