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DanielleK · 08-13-2009, 05:36 AM

There seem to be a lot of us going through potty training right now - hence all of the threads about it, so I thought we could get this thread going with support and updates.
Anyone??

I started Brody out at 11 weeks, when we got him, (after reading on here for advice) with a crate and xpen with just enough room for his potty pads. I crated him, then would let him out onto the pads, ask him to potty and treat and praise him when he did. Then he'd get some free time out to play. It didn't take but a day or two for him to understand that it was time to potty when he came out of his crate. He was also going potty when we went outside to play, too. Overnight we'd leave the crate door open so he could potty when he needed to. During the day we did crate/potty/free time/repeat.

Then after a few weeks we switched to a Rascal dog potty (fake grass), and I made the xpen a little bigger so he had some bare floor. At first he had a few pee accidents on the floor so we went right back to a smaller xpen with no bare floor and then tried again a few days later.

Now he is 16 weeks old. I feed him twice a day on a schedule, he's great about pooping only in his Rascal or outside. He doesn't have accidents inside his xpen (which we made bigger). But he had two pee accidents while playing in the house with us. I attribute this to a) it being hard to tell if he just went pee on the Rascal before letting out for playtime and b) him not having access to or knowing how to go back to his Rascal when he needs to go and he's out in the house.

So I decided to get rid of the xpen and give him run of the kitchen now. This gives him an even larger area to claim as "his den" and gives him more of an idea that he can play all over the kitchen but when he needs to go, he needs to get to his Rascal (which is in the same exact place it was in the xpen. I am going to see how this goes, and monitor to make sure he doesn't have pee accidents on the kitchen floor.

If this goes well then I believe it will just be a matter of allowing him more freedom into the other rooms and seeing if he remembers to go to his Rascal when he needs to go out. I am also considering getting a bell and bell training him at the door to go outside.

08-13-2009, 05:36 AM	#82
DanielleK Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Bavaria, Germany Posts: 56	There seem to be a lot of us going through potty training right now - hence all of the threads about it, so I thought we could get this thread going with support and updates. Anyone?? I started Brody out at 11 weeks, when we got him, (after reading on here for advice) with a crate and xpen with just enough room for his potty pads. I crated him, then would let him out onto the pads, ask him to potty and treat and praise him when he did. Then he'd get some free time out to play. It didn't take but a day or two for him to understand that it was time to potty when he came out of his crate. He was also going potty when we went outside to play, too. Overnight we'd leave the crate door open so he could potty when he needed to. During the day we did crate/potty/free time/repeat. Then after a few weeks we switched to a Rascal dog potty (fake grass), and I made the xpen a little bigger so he had some bare floor. At first he had a few pee accidents on the floor so we went right back to a smaller xpen with no bare floor and then tried again a few days later. Now he is 16 weeks old. I feed him twice a day on a schedule, he's great about pooping only in his Rascal or outside. He doesn't have accidents inside his xpen (which we made bigger). But he had two pee accidents while playing in the house with us. I attribute this to a) it being hard to tell if he just went pee on the Rascal before letting out for playtime and b) him not having access to or knowing how to go back to his Rascal when he needs to go and he's out in the house. So I decided to get rid of the xpen and give him run of the kitchen now. This gives him an even larger area to claim as "his den" and gives him more of an idea that he can play all over the kitchen but when he needs to go, he needs to get to his Rascal (which is in the same exact place it was in the xpen. I am going to see how this goes, and monitor to make sure he doesn't have pee accidents on the kitchen floor. If this goes well then I believe it will just be a matter of allowing him more freedom into the other rooms and seeing if he remembers to go to his Rascal when he needs to go out. I am also considering getting a bell and bell training him at the door to go outside.