Potty Training 8 week old puppy. Is it possible?

[denvercross]

We adopted an eight week old puppy on Wednesday and immediately started working on potty training. So far he hasn’t pooped in the house, but he pees A LOT. We take him outside ever 20-30 minutes, but sometimes we don’t catch it in time. He also doesn’t like to go outside. He looks scared and I have to pretty much drag him into the grass. Then it’s usually a struggle to get him to walk around. We did order a bell off Amazon as a suggestion from a neighbor. But does anyone have any other tips? I know he’s young, but any advice or tips for moving forward would be great!

 

[kris8585]

@denvercross It'll take a few weeks to get them toilet trained, bring lots of treats with you and give loads of praise when he goes outside. Don't scold him for going indoors, just pop him outside when you catch him in the act and clean up whatever he did inside. If you scold for going inside he might get nervous about peeing in front of you entirely. Just use lots of positive encouragement and like go crazy with a happy "good boy" voice when he goes outside. It does take some time. I think ours got the hang at 14 weeks or so. But keep at it with the positive reinforcement

 

[denvercross]

@kris8585 Thanks! We have been positively encouraging so hopefully that helps him understand he needs to go outside.

So, is it the same for crate training? Right now he’s in the crate while we’re at work and then at night since he can’t be trusted. He’s crying and whining a lot. We have put a blanket over his crate and turned a radio on to hopefully soothe him, but last night he just wouldn’t stop. He did well the first night we had him, but last night was rough

 

[kris8585]

@denvercross We didn't crate train our guy so I'd be no help with that one! We just limited ours to rooms and when we could trust him he got a little more space, and then a little more. We like puppy proofed the entire place, everything up high and anti chewing spray on the furniture.

 

[belyse]

@denvercross This sounds like way too much of the day for a small puppy to be in a crate.

 

[savvy41716]

@belyse They do sleep a lot at that age…but yeah.

Also, house training isn't just one thing, it's a 'don't pee in this space' thing. Start with the crate because dogs are unlikely to our there. When they're reliable in a small space, make the space a bit bigger - the more rooms mentioned above. Eventually they figure out YOUR HOUSE then you work on other indoor spaces. I can leave Bennie at home loose for hours but have to watch him closely when we go to pet stores, vets or dog hotels because he may pee there.

 

[denvercross]

@savvy41716 We do plan to let him out at night once he can control his bladder. This is our first young puppy mine or my fiancé have ever trained. I don’t want him to feel neglected or anything. So your suggestion would be to keep him in a bigger area during the day as well?

 

[savvy41716]

@denvercross At night you take him outside from his crate if he's whining, tell him to pee, praise him for peeing then put him back in his crate. If he doesn't pee, give him 10 minutes then back to crate. Until Bennie, we got our dogs in the Fall so we were house training in cold weather, not great for the night breaks

Yes. Give him enough space to play but not enough space that he feels he can pee and be away from it. Then gradually increase the space size after he hadn't peed in it for a week. If the larger space let's him pee, make it smaller again.

Puppies are hard and almost as soon as they're grown up we forget how hard it was to get a good family member. I've found the best way, so the hardest, is to praise lots and give praise and treats if it's really good while saying nothing and doing nothing for undesirable behaviour. Most dogs want to please.

 

[denvercross]

@savvy41716 Thanks so much! It’s reassuring to know what we’re doing is the right thing. I’ve been praising and giving treats every time. Today he’s peed in the house a few times. It’s frustrating since we’ll do so well in the morning and then this evening it’s like we take ten steps back. Patience is key and I know that. I just feel like I’m already failing as a puppy parent.

 

[savvy41716]

@denvercross How big will your dog be? We have a cairn terrier and he's been amazing, I swear his bladder is a black hole as he routinely goes from early evening to after 8 a.m.

 

[denvercross]

@savvy41716 We’re not 100% sure. We adopted him from a local vet clinic and the mom is a tri-color terrier. They’re not sure what the dad was. They THINK he won’t be more than 30 pounds.

 

[savvy41716]

@denvercross Just asked because smaller dogs can take longer to train. Terriers are so cute though

 

[savvy41716]

@denvercross I've crated trained puppies. During the day I put them in a larger space (3 times the size of the crate) so they can have play. Put down pee pads if you can't come home during the day to let them out on schedule. When you are home, keep the crate accessible and throw treats in to encourage them to spend time there. For the night I keep them out until it's my bed time and they've fall asleep then put them in the kennel. When they are crying in the night you need to take them outside to pee. 8 weeks is a baby, their bladder is small yet.

Also for potty training I carry my pup to the pee area, say go pee/poop and give them a treat after. I've found click training helps immensely.

 

[denvercross]

@savvy41716 Thanks! We do have a puppy play pen our friends lent us, but he really doesn’t like it even when we’re sitting outside of it next to him. Maybe I’ll try that and see if it works for the day.
My fiancé can come home on his lunch so he’s usually alone for about 4 hours in the morning and then four in the afternoon. He gets about an hour of play time when he’s home.
We have been getting up at night to take him out! It’s exhausting but we know it won’t be like this forever.