Potty Training! HELP!!!!!!

I have a almost 4 month old jack russlle terrier and she will not learn. I always find someplace in my back room with her mess. My parents have gotton realy tired of her. SHe goes out but when she comes in 20 min later more mess... I have no idea, and 1 min ago she went right next to me on the carpet. She is causing my house to stink, and advise, please help, and fast.

 

What methods are you currently using to house train her?

Basic rules for quick house training:
1) puppy should be taken outside frequently especially after naps, playing and eating and should be praised profusely for "going" in the right spot the second she is finished
2) puppy should be crated or confined when you are not able to watch her every move so that you can prevent accidents from occuring by watching for signals that she may have to go and getting her outside in time
3) puppy should never be scolded or punished for accidents (especially after the fact) as this will only confuse her and/or cause her to fear going in front of you at all even when she is outside

Clean all accidents with a product such as Nature's Miracle so the smell is no longer detectable to you or the puppy. If she seems to go 20 minutes after you bring her inside start taking her out every 20 minutes.

 

this isn'T any help, but it reminded about a 2 yr old JRT of my friends. He (still fully intact) stayed the night with me and everytime I went up or down the steps he had peed on them. then I decided well he is too big for my cat carrier, too little for my dog carrier. So I kept him on a leash and he was really good and sitting with me then suddenly he got down on the floor and peed! I wasn't very happy! (and we had gone outside several times in between)
But crate training works really good, take her out as often as possible. If you can't crate train (ie you don't have a crate at this time) either a get a crate, or make a small confined area.
Maybe if you use the puppy pads on the spots where she has gone, then slowly move them to the door, that would help (I personally don'T like the puppy pads though)

 

What are puppy pads? Its hard to take her out every 20 min. And since she can hop up on chairs nows thats been her spot. lol I will try it with her. But I have birds in the same room with the back door and since it is winter it lets drafts in. I also got her a little pink harness and retractable leash i got her with my birthday money. the harness was $9.50 and the leash was $13.50. out of $39.00 .

 

Puppy pads are potty training pads. You put them in a spot where you want you puppy to go. For instance, in the winter I use them with Rocky in the winter because it can get too cold for him go outside. I put his in the garage because that is where I want him to go when he can't go out.

This is a pad inside a pad holder.



The holder is good to use because I find that some pads slip on the concrete floor in the garage.

 

wow I have never seen the holder before! I used to use them sometimes if I knew I had to work overtime and no one could stop by and an edge or something would be turned over, but that is a good idea!

 

Lil,

I never knew about the holder either. I found out about it when I went to visit my uncle. My uncle uses the pads now because where he lives he pretty much has no backyard and dogs aren't allowed to run off leash (his house is pretty much in the center of a golf course) and he has heart problems so he can't go for walks everyday. He just stumbled across it at a local pet store and thought it was neat so he bought one for his dog and one for Rocky.

It really works wonders. No more turned up edges turned up, or pads flipped over and it's plastic so it's fully washable.

 

Can you get them at your local pet store? And when you said "washable" how would you wash it? And how does it help potty train? They would still be going in the house.

 

Sassy is three now and one thing I have learned about Jack's is you never really house break them 100%. I sometimes get the feeling it is a trait of small dogs. Sassy lets us know when she has to go out but many times she waits to long. We have her on a time schedule that is a big help. We did news paper trining and every hour on the hour. to this day she won't bark to let us know she just runs back and forth to the rear door. As to pads I don't care for them more trouble then there worth to me. I just like the old ways of training. Paper down same spot when soiled paper and pup go out. out after eating ,playing ect..


2pyrs

 

ryokitokiri, ok the thing with the pads (as opposed to normal newspapers) is that they have some scent in them the makes the puppy want to pee there and it is sortof cottonny with a plastic bottom, so unlike newspapers it doesn'T go through(unless you use alot of newspapers!) making it slightly cleaner, but yes the dog still pees in the house. I guess wit the frame you can wash it in the sink or bath tub outside with the hose wipe it down with a paper towel anything. I never actually bought mine someone gave them to me when they still had a bag full but they didn'T need them anymore, but I think you can buy them at Kmart or walmart any store like that or even in the grocery store with the dog food & cat litter.

 

I know that you can get the holders at Petsmart for sure. I guess there are probably other pet stores that would carry them.

The pads you can get a pretty much any pet store.

As far as washable I take mine out and hose it down then wipe it dry.

 

Let me clarify - the HOLDER is washable. You throw the pad away and put a new one down.

Ryokitokiri, I know it is hard to take her out every 20 minutes. And I understand about the birds. But this is life with a puppy or untrained dog. Dogs are HARD and take a LOT of work. The more work and time you put into them in the beginning, the easier things will be later. It is SO important to get off to a good start, which so far you have not. Allowing the dog to pee all over the house has made her accustomed to going on carpet in the nice comfy indoors, and now it is going to take 3x as long to train her as it would have in the beginning.

Now, I know you are thinking, "I didn't ALLOW her to go on the carpet!" But you did. Mistakes are YOUR fault (or your parents) for not watching her. Someone HAS to watch her every move until she is trained. This means months, most likely. I practically lived in our family room for about 4 months after we got our pup (where she was gated in so she couldn't sneak away and pee). The house fell apart because I'm the only one who does anything. But it had to be done and it was worth it.

I would suggest you either move the birds to a different room or take the dog out a different door. If this means you have to put her on leash and stand there with her, so be it. In fact, it's probably a good thing, because you HAVE to go out with her so you can praise her when she goes. I know it's hard when it is cold outside, but again - that's life with a dog.

As for the expense of the leash - you ain't seen nothing yet!! Pets can be very expensive and usually manage to cost the most when you can least afford it.

Who is responsible for the dog? You? Your parents? Is there one person primarily responsible, or do you all share? Did your parents want the dog, or did you convince them to get her?

Let me try to find a previous post on potty training and post it again...

Oh, and four months old is a BABY!! She is a small dog and can't hold it very long, most likely. She *should* be able to hold it for 4-5 hours but all dogs are different and at this point she needs to be taken outside every half hour or so until she starts to get it.

 

Okay, here's some info I posted previously:

First, get a crate that is just big enough for her to turn around and lie down in. No bigger! You can try putting a bed or blankets in there with her, but if she pees on them then take them away.

Is someone home all day? If not, see if someone come home at lunch to let her out, or see if a neighbor can do it. This weekend would be a good time to start so you can take her outside more often and she might get used to holding it for longer periods of time.

Only let her out of her crate when someone is home and can watch her CLOSELY! Some people will use a leash to tether the dog to their belt loops so they can't wander off. Others will use baby gates to block off a room and then STAY IN THAT ROOM with the dog.

You need to watch her ALL THE TIME. The more accidents she has, the slower it will go. Dogs get used to peeing on a certain surface, so the more she uses blankets or carpet, the more she will want to. You need to get her used to going on grass.

Take her out at LEAST once an hour for now (I'd start with every half hour in this case) - plus after eating, sleeping, drinking, or playing. When she wakes up, take her IMMEDIATELY outside!

Watch for extra circling and sniffing in between trips out. If she does this, take her out again. When in doubt, take her out!

If she starts to pee inside, interrupt her by making a loud noise (like clapping your hands) and pick her up and take her outside right away! Praise profusely if she finishes outside.

You MUST go out with her EVERY TIME. You can't just chuck her out the door and wait for her to come back in. Get used to it. Go out with her, take her to the place you want her to go, and stand there with her. When she starts to go, tell her "Go potty!" (or whatever words you want to use) and then praise her (but not too excitedly or she will stop in the middle). Have treats with you and treat her immediately after she is done. If you do this every time, she will start to get the idea that going in the right place is rewarding! And it will also teach her the command "go potty" which can be very helpful when you want her to go, like before going into a friend's house or a store or something.

If she has an accident inside when you weren't watching, it is YOUR fault. Clean it up. Don't punish her in any way. Use an enzyme-based cleaner to clean it up, such as Nature's Miracle. And then WATCH HER more closely. She should never be out of your sight.

Our pup had very few accidents, but then again I LIVED in the family room with her constantly. I watched her every move! I took her out a LOT. But it's worth it in the end. And I still praise both dogs whenever I am outside with them and they go potty - I will always do this, for the life of the dogs.

 

Thanks for all the replies, I will watch her more closly from now on. I will be hard to go out with her every time but I guess I have to do it. My parents are working alot. My dad works during the day and comes home about an hour after I get home from work. My mom works the most, she has two jobs and sometimes works till 10 PM and barley gets to see the pup. My mom and me wanted the puppy and my brother doesn't do anything with the dogs. My dad has to work around the house for his job, so he cannot watch or play very much with the pup.
I hope I get a digital camera then I can post my animals. Thanks again

 

Yes, it IS hard to make yourself go out every time and stand there, but you DO have to do it and it will be worth it. Let us know how it goes!

 

I'll keep you posted, but what is the stuff to get the smell out of the carpet?

 

I thought that my weiner dogs were just spoiled because I HAVE to go out with them or they WON'T go potty! They'll just stare at the back door...

 

Nature's Miracle is one of the products that will get the smell out of the carpet. There are other brands as well - look for something enzyme-based that says it neutralizes the odor rather than covering it up. You can find these products at any pet store. I think the one we initially used was called Get Serious.

Coppersmom, there was a transition between me going out with my dog and her going out by herself. She generally didn't want to. But eventually she did, although she wouldn't stay out long. If I wanted her to play while she was out there, I usually had to stand there. I didn't necessarily DO anything, but my presence made her happy I guess. We got a second dog and now sometimes they stay out for a whole hour. In the morning I let them out and then go take a shower, so they've learned that asking to come in is pointless. They know the difference between then and other times of the day, though.

 

Hi everybody!!!! Haven't been here for quite a while, but it sure seems good to be back.

Just a couple of notes on what really worked well for us.

First, follow exactly what nern said to do. Then, in addition, we also got the following information from our obedience instructor...... When you let the little one out stay out for only 5 minutes at a time. I they DO NOT go, put them back into kennel for 15 minutes and then let them right outside again for 5 minutes. Continue this until they go. (Note: This should be done after you have had some time to determine their somewhat normal schedule. Don't just start doing this from the time they wake until the time they go to bed.) This really helped with the accidents.

The other thing they had us try was - don't ever scold them for accidents; however, IF you CATCH them in the act, guide them IMMEDIATELY to the door saying "No, No, No" steadily (not loud or fast) until they are outside again. This works best if you keep them on a leash while inside and not in their kennel.

Don't know if this would be helpful, but just thought I'd add my 2 cents because it did work GREAT for us. I'm also not always the best at explaining things - so be kind.

 

Note on cleaning the smell out of carpet:
I just learned that you aren't suppossed to use heat to clean the stink out of the carpet. (Like the steam cleaner I bought just for this!) Apparently the heat locks the smell into the fibers of the carpet. Good luck because I've tried EVERYTHING and finally pulled up most of my carpet and replaced it.