Potty Training puppy

[bauchtanz]

It is a long story, but I now have a puppy. SHe is a small dauchshound and is very sweet. She is already crate trained, and does fairly well while confined to the kitchen when we are home, but I don't want her to have to live her whole life in the kitchen. Not only is it a logistical nightmare, it is difficult to do much in there with the kids attached all the time to the dog.

WHen we let her out into the main house, it is as if she has no idea she is isn't outside. We know that the less than ideal place she was rescued from crated her while indoors the whole time, and otherwise let her and the littermates run wild outside ALL DAY.

Currently we walk her at 5 am, then feed and let her roam the kitchen, let her out again before I go to work at 7:30 then I let her out at 11, and then hubby lets her out at 3:30 when he gets home. She is crated when we are not home and at night. We normally are with her in the kitchen or outdoors the entire evening.

She is 5.5 months old, and, for the most part has done well with being loose in the kitchen when we have here there, although, lately, I will admit she has had what seems like quite a few accidents (like she pooped twice on the kitchen floor yesterday, peed once today, and pooped once as well, which is not like her.)

We have had her a little over a month.

Any advice?

I was told by the vet that she won't be potty trained until she is about 1 year. Seriously - is this true? I understand it taking a while, but 1/2 a year?

Also - we were told by other owners of dauchhounds that they pretty much are impossible to potty train. Not only are the bladders small due to the body shape, they are very stubborn.

Advice?
I don't feel it is humane or practical to have her live in my kitchen (although nice) for ever and ever.

[gingerstar]

My understanding is that the main problem with small dogs is the fact that the house seems big to them. When we housetrain, we use the fact that dogs do not like to soil their den, and teach them that the house is the den, and they must go outside. But to a little dog, the house seems much too big to be the den - so they have no problem going in the house. So the main thing is to show her that it is her den - which is hard, when she doesn't spend much time in many parts of it.
I would continue to work on it while she is confined to the kitchen. The best way to show her that it is den is to feed her and train her in different areas - like within the kitchen, where did she go potty? Near her food, or in a different area? Try feeding her in a different area, spending time training there too, then moving it around the kitchen, then around the house.

The other advice I have heard about housetraining is to keep her leashed with you as you go through your day, then you can catch her as she begins to go. Say NO! - scoop her up and take her outside, and praise her and give her treats when she completes outside.

I would also work on training her to go on command - when you take her out, as soon as she squats say "Go Potty" or "Hurry Up" or whatever command you want, then give her a treat and tons of praise as soon as she is done. Pretty soon she will learn to go when you tell her, which is nice when you need to take her in the car or are going to crate her.
Smart dogs quickly make the link between the rewarded potty outside, and the NO! and rushing out the door when they go inside.

Good luck!

Oh, you might want to check out My Smart Puppy and Family Friendly Dog Training - they are great books for raising a puppy. Also, look into puppy kindergarten classes in your area - your vet can recommend a good one. Training will really help you have a good dog!

[GearGirl]

I don't have much to offer except to say that my 6 month old puppy seems potty trained to me, i really have not found an accident in about a month, and since I see him all the time and have a pretty small house I don't think I'm missing anything. At first I felt like it would NEVER happen, but it does! I didn't crate train, so what worked for me was putting him outside constantly, at first every 15-30 minutes, and every time he was outside I said "go pee pee outside" over and over, and when he did I said "good job go pee pee outside" and gave affection. When I caught a mistake I said firmly "No, we go pee pee outside" and brought him outside. I was never mean or intimidating, but the no was firm enough for him to understand that I didn't want him to do that. It clicked in after about 3-4 weeks of having him, and I can pretty much make him pee on command now by saying "go pee pee". I hope that helps!