QuestionHow do I train our 5 yr. old Bichon to poop outside? I can get her to pee outside but she's still pooping in the house. We just go her a month ago so this is very new to us and we've never had an "inside" dog before. Just a much larger outside dog. Help!!
AnswerToilet training is hard work. Whether you have a young puppy or an older dog who arrives with little or no understanding of the basic toileting rules, it is going to be tiresome.
But, be comforted. It doesn't last for long! A few weeks of kind, consistent training will ensure that you dog/puppy will be reliably house trained for life (give or take the odd regression when ill etc).
Puppies are particularly demanding as they have very small bladders! This means that they wee all the time! The more they are moving about, the more they wee! Older dogs do not need to urinate as often as puppies, however, when they do have an accident, it takes a lot more clearing up!
The first point about toilet training for puppies is the need for a cage. This has already been mentioned in my article on Crate training. When the puppy is small, the cage has a warm, cosy bed at one end and a pad of newspaper at the other. Water should be available at all times and I recommend a bowl that bolts to the cage to save the mess of puppies that like to play in the water or simply knock it over!
When the puppy is left at night (I leave mine in the cage, in the kitchen) I don't go back until morning. They have the other dogs for company and I feel that it is better to ignore crying (unless the puppy is clearly in serious distress). The puppy is not able to be dry all night and people often take the view that when the puppy cries at 5am, it is because he/she wants to go outside to urinate. My view is that, if the puppy is crying at 5am, he/she has woken up, urinated, then wants attention. If you respond to the crying, he/she will quickly learn that you will come when called. I would rather that the pup learnt to urinate on the newspaper,[they will generally avoid soiling their beds] then go back to sleep until a more civilised hour. [The need to urinate in the night will reduce as the pup grows and the bladder capacity increases].
During the day, toilet training is mainly down to vigilance. Most puppies will give some sign that they want to urinate or defecate. They often walk around purposefully, sniffing the ground and turning in circles. They may become more agitated or they may give no signals and simply squat and wee! Through observation, you will note how often your pup needs to eliminate. Obvious times to expect a puppy to need the toilet are, immediately upon waking, soon after eating and often whilst playing.
Ellie was able to go 2 hours or more without eliminating, when she was resting in her cage but, as soon as she was out and playing around, she needed to go out every 10-15 minutes. It is important that the pup is rewarded for eliminating in the right place as often as possible. You should go out with the pup [if you stay inside, the pup will often refuse to perform and ask to come back in - only to immediately have an accident]. You should stand still and wait, perhaps using a word/phrase that will come to mean "do your business". Eventually he or she will perform, at which you reward madly! Titbits are fine, you can even click and treat if you are clicker training.
The more times you are able to reward your pup for eliminating outside, the quicker your house training will be. There will still be accidents inside and you need to be quick to clear them up. Using an "odour-removing" solution is important as dogs will often choose to go where they went before! If you catch the pup in the act, you can say "no" but punishment is not appropriate as he/she is still learning. If you find the evidence some time later, the pup will have forgotten about it and will not learn by being reprimanded at this late stage!
Eventually you will begin to notice that the puppy does not need to go outside so often and may even be "asking" to go out.[you can teach this separately, if it is something you would like your dog to do]. You will start to be able to let the puppy outside without accompanying him/her and he/she may start to eliminate in response to a cue. You will then reap the rewards of a well house-trained pup.
Note: Older dogs that are not fully housetrained can take longer to train as they have to "unlearn" the wrong behaviour at the same time as learning the right behaviour. You should use the same procedure as with puppies but expect the progress to be slower. Fortunately older dogs do not need to eliminate as often as puppies but you should not be complacent. It is better to take the dog out too often rather than too little!
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