How long did it take to housebreak your dog?

I've had different types of dogs. Each was different when it came to housebreaking.

My Lab was a quick learner. We got her at 9-10 weeks old. The following weekend, we trained her by taking her outside every hour. By Monday, she was housebroken. She had an occasional accident, but that was usually our fault. She never pooped in the house at all.

My Jack Russell was a completely different story. Although she stopping pooping in the house quickly, it took almost a year to fully housebreak her. She had many accidents even though I took her out regularly. I learned at one point that she would drink as much water that I put in the bowl. She was obsessed with the water bowl. Once I started to ration it over the day, things got easier. It did seem like she had the smallest bladder on Earth.

How long did it take to housebreak your dog? Was it easy or difficult?

With my pup it was pretty dang easy, except with puppies you often have the problem of "Oh noes! I'm scared! Big noise! Time to piss everywhere while running away!!"...luckily this only happened like 3 times in his life. (we have oiled hardwood floors, horrible for pet owners)

I had him understanding that he needed to do his business outside within 3 days of leaving his puppy cage forever. In the beginning I had to get up at 5 am every once in a while because his bladder/colon could not hold, but now that he is 9 months/40 kilos, he is able to hold his stuff all night. It was the first time I ever housebroke a pet before in my life, and I was worried that it would be difficult (how do you get them to understand that its bad to pee in the house??) but it just kind of naturally happened with positive reinforcement and staying on top of him at all times, making sure he is well-drained hahaha. Eventually, he got to the point where he thinks "outside is where I pee and poop. If I do it in the house, I'll get punished!"

I believe it was week. Well, shorter, but we didn't have proximity accidents after a week and that's what mattered. I did, however, wait for her to turn 6 months before I was able to declare Peanuts, fully housebroken (meaning the potty shoots in the potty spot not near it or else where). As for Chooey, it also took her a couple of days before she understood that the place to potty is where Peanuts potty.

Ginger on the other hand was a bit smarter. The moment I had her stay indoor, she immediately knew where the potty spot was and she would do her business there.

We have wooden floors too! So what I did was purchase a large thick plastic cover from the bookstore and put it all over the potty area. It covered a 2 x 1 meter area. Now, I no longer worry about proximity accidents.

(06-22-2012 11:20 AM)haopee Wrote:  We have wooden floors too! So what I did was purchase a large thick plastic cover from the bookstore and put it all over the potty area. It covered a 2 x 1 meter area. Now, I no longer worry about proximity accidents.

I did this as well, in his cage. It didn't take long to get him used to what he needed to do, though.

I have heard that if you crate train your puppy from the beginning that housebreaking goes easier. It worked for my Lab. Not so much for my Jack Russell.

I had to make the night time trips to the potty spot until my Jack Russell was about 4-5 months old. After that there were no accidents after she went to bed.

She still has accidents when she gets too excited over a visitor. I'm usually prepared for it and try to usher her outside so she can do it in the proper place.

Are male dogs more difficult to housebreak? My brother has a male Yorkie who still marks in the house. He's 1 1/2 years old. We have to really watch him when he comes over because he will do it multiple times. All the doors are closed when he arrives!

I don't have much problems with my dogs because most of them are either caged or leashed. Only the ones which have been properly trained are allowed to roam free range. Candy is the only one allowed a free run of the whole house but then again she is a very clean and finicky creature so she will suppress her natural urges until I take her outside.

We got our Shih Tzu, who passed away at 16, when she was two months old. When she got to our condominium at the time, we let her walk around a little bit and made sure she knew each room. After that was over, we took her outside for long walk and then she came back in ate, drank water, walked around more and then a few hours later we took her outside.

Eventually it became routine. She didn't really have any accidents when she was younger, but when she got older (I'd say at around 10) she started to have them, which wasn't a big deal to us at the time because we, as well as the vet, understood it happens at older ages.

No matter how many times we took her our, which she hated when she got older, she would piss on the floor when she got back from her walk.

Victor, we had a Collie who was attached to my brother. She followed him around whenever he was home and slept at the side of his bed.

When it rained, she refused to go outside. She would not go outside even if you tried to trick her with food. She would wait until my brother returned from work. Then, he would carry her outside and she would do her business. She'd go a good 10 hours without going outside.

Andrew, my dog doesn't pee in the house anymore. However, when I take her for a walk, she refuses to pee on anyone's lawn. In fact, she starts to race towards our house with me holding the leash tightly. I get the door open and she races to the back door, then flies across the yard to do her business. I guess she is particular about where she does her business.