We just cannot seem to get this guy house trained. We have tried everything. He refuses to go outside. Will play and walk for an hour and not go and instantly come in and go in the house. We need help!
Pet Breed- shih Poo
Pet Age-5 months
The most common error in potty training is allowing too much free roam in the home and an inconsistent potty schedule. (If you do not end free roam, you will not overcome this hurdle) Once the habit is started and their favorite spots in the home have been marked with their smell it is much more difficult to address. Your training requires that you become hypervigilant about the prevention of opportunities to go inside the home and alertness of pre-potty behavior so that you are aware when the need to eliminate arises. Restrict all free roam access immediately and implement crate training and/or very small doggie zone (ex. mudroom, expen,etc)
We would recommend immediately that you end all “free roam” in the house and implement crate training when you are unable to be attentive (while home) or are away from the home. The dog should be within eyesight and ideally (on leash) close by at all times while out of the crate in the home. Create a potty schedule (offering frequent elimination outings outside)and stick to it consistently. Offer frequent potty outings - when the puppy awakes at any time during the day from both long and short rest periods, 10-20 minutes after all meal times, and every hour throughout the day while out of the crate. Inside the crate, the general rule of thumb for puppies greater than 2 months - is that they can begin holding eliminations for each hour of the number of months they are. Example; a 3 month old puppy can hold their eliminations for 3 hours in the crate, 4 month old puppy can hold their eliminations for 4 hours in the crate.
When going outside for the elimination break we recommend not making it a play session, take them outside, pay little to no attention to them and use the cue “potty” or “go potty”. With repetition they will associate the act of eliminating with the cue. All successful eliminations outside should be immediately marked with a marker word ("YES!") and rewarded with praise and/or a small treat.
Comentários