Quote:
Originally Posted by CozyPeanut  I know there are a gazillion threads on crate training but....
Winston has been with us a week, he's now 17 weeks old. He's done great with the "go potty" outside; with just a couple of accidents inside--my fault for getting distracted.
In reading the crate training info, it says not to react to an accident inside after the fact, just clean it up. That's all well and good, but how then can he learn that going potty outside is good, but going potty inside is not? He seems to be getting the connection between us going to the same spot outside and what he's supposed to do there---is making a big fuss about how brilliant he is when he goes outside enough to reinforce that it's NOT okay to go inside?
Also, is it vital to do things at the same time every day, or more important to just do the same thing every time (i.e., getting out of crate means going outside, etc.) even if the clock isn't the same? |
I believe you definitely need to react when they go inside. A puppy can easily learn that going potty outside is good, but sometimes take longer to learn going inside is bad. I have 2 small breed dogs (yorkie and shih-Tzu) and I had both potty trained within 2 weeks. You need to make sure you catch them in the act of going potty inside. If you see it after the fact just quietly clean it up because they will not understand what they did wrong. If you catch them in the act, I would clap my hands loudly to catch their attention (maybe even stop them from finishing) and say "NO" as I grab them and take them outside. Once outside I say, "go potty". If they go again give lots of praise. If not, just go back inside. I actually think it is important for a dog to have accidents in the house because just like people they learn from their mistakes. That is what I did and was very successful.