Floor Protection Questions

We got Jake when he was 5 months old and already housebroken. Jesse was housebroken before 4 months as have been all of my dogs except the bloodhound. He was a little later as he was a bit of a slow learner. If it wasn't nose-related he was not interested. Always used the behavior recognition system. This house presents a challenge because he has to go downstairs and out through the basement. Floor is cement down there so accidents won't be a big deal but we'll do our best to keep those to a minimum.

Deb and Ed M wrote:
I train puppies to ring a bell hung from the door leading outside. It only takes a week or so... granted, you have to let them out when they ring the bell to play, too. But once they get in the habit of pottying outside, they are fine (but maybe my ease-in-housebreaking is abetted by having older dogs who "show the way")

Best dog moment ever: 9-week old Jimmy had just tinkled on the floor, and Ike walked over, took a sniff - and then I swear he said "DUDE! We don't do that in the house!" Jimmy never pottied in the house again - until 10 years later; and that's how I knew he had developed diabetes....

You are so right about the older dog training the younger one. Cooper showed Sawyer the ropes before he passed from oral cancer. They only had about 60 days together. Thankfully Sawyer never picked up Coopers counter surfing.

BCSnob wrote:
We too got up when the pups whined; but not on a timed schedule (when their behaviors indicated they needed to go out). The litters we’ve raised were eating only 3xs a day by 8weeks.

I’ve never changed a diaper.

I never got up on a timed schedule either, like I said when the pup whined I would spring up and we would go outside. I didn't have to do this very long before they would go outside on there own when they got a little bigger. I had to keep the dog door closed because they were so small at first they could go between the gate and fence like it wasn't there. It's difficult to even imagine Sawyer was so small. Now he's about 90# and strong as a horse. Sasha is only around 60#.

I train puppies to ring a bell hung from the door leading outside. It only takes a week or so... granted, you have to let them out when they ring the bell to play, too. But once they get in the habit of pottying outside, they are fine (but maybe my ease-in-housebreaking is abetted by having older dogs who "show the way")

Best dog moment ever: 9-week old Jimmy had just tinkled on the floor, and Ike walked over, took a sniff - and then I swear he said "DUDE! We don't do that in the house!" Jimmy never pottied in the house again - until 10 years later; and that's how I knew he had developed diabetes....

doxiemom11 wrote:
First off I wouldn't keep a puppy in a crate for months until it's housetrained. It does take several months for some to be reliably trained. We had hardwood floors and toenails were not a problem except for large heavier dogs. We always rescued and the 1st was a 9 yr old puppy mill dog who had never been in a house. We kept her in the kitchen at night with a bed etc on an easy to clean floor. The rest of the time she was in or out with us and always near us. We took her to the same place outside time after time and told her to go potty. Once we got her to go a couple of times she started understanding what we wanted. Often at first so we could catch her going outside and praise her and give treats. It only took a couple months to reliably train her. She was trained with love , praise and treats and never harshly scolded if there was an accident.

Neil was a rescue Collie stud from a puppy mill that had been shut down. He had never been in a house and was not that fond of humans. His world had consistented of a kennel. When he came home he was uneasy with all the open area and hid under a pine tree. I went out and bought a kennel and dog house for him. He was happy. I started to leave the kennel door open but he always had his safe place. After a while the kennel was no longer needed and sold off. Never being in a house before he was going to pee in the dining room. I clapped my hands to startle him then took him outside. From that point on he went outside. Neil and Lassie (a kennel female) were the only two rescues that had never been indoor dogs I've had. The rest were older and house trained.

We too got up when the pups whined; but not on a timed schedule (when their behaviors indicated they needed to go out). The litters we’ve raised were eating only 3xs a day by 8weeks.

I’ve never changed a diaper.

I got up during the night the first few weeks as well to let them out. I'm a light sleeper so a wimper was all it took to wake me. I was greatful when she was finely able to go through the night without having to go out. Like I said they only had accidents the first day. Did you ever get up in the middle of the night to change a babies diapers? I also fed them small portions several times a day as well. Just like a baby puppies have small tummies and bladders. Puppies just mature faster, thank God.

Does the every 30-60mins potty break apply 24/7? If not, why is the puppy bladder better at holding during the night?

Crowe wrote:
......I've never taken a dog out every 30 minutes to pee. Every couple of hours, yes, but not every 30 minutes. That seems a bit extreme.

Yep, I thought so, too, until I went into training for a pup were picking up in a couple of weeks. Every source I've researched recommends every 30 minutes for 8-12 week old puppies.

First off I wouldn't keep a puppy in a crate for months until it's housetrained. It does take several months for some to be reliably trained. We had hardwood floors and toenails were not a problem except for large heavier dogs. We always rescued and the 1st was a 9 yr old puppy mill dog who had never been in a house. We kept her in the kitchen at night with a bed etc on an easy to clean floor. The rest of the time she was in or out with us and always near us. We took her to the same place outside time after time and told her to go potty. Once we got her to go a couple of times she started understanding what we wanted. Often at first so we could catch her going outside and praise her and give treats. It only took a couple months to reliably train her. She was trained with love , praise and treats and never harshly scolded if there was an accident.