Sunday, August 2, 2009

Has anyone trained their puppy to 'go potty' inside the apartment?

I live in a large unit, i want to train the puppy using pads to go in a specific spot, that way i don't have to keep running the dog out all hours, especially when i'm not home.
Who does it this way and is the smell bad? Does the dog mind cos i thought it was natural for a dog to go outside? thanks
Answers:
Use puppy pads from a pet store, not news paper. 2 reasons why: 1- the pads are lined with plastic, so theres no leaking through. 2- the puppy pads have an additive that attracts pups to it. If your puppy has chosen a favored spot to potty, use this location to start your training at first. when puppy has an accident, use the puppy pad to soak it up before you clean the area with vinegar (vinegar neutralizes the odor). place the "dirty" puppy pad where it belongs and show puppy . Let puppy smell that his/her potty is on that pad. Puppies like to go in the same place... they're creatures of habit. Also, you need to be in complete control of your puppy's potties. Set your kitchen timer for 10 or 15 minutes immediately after puppy drinks water. Then, when the timer goes off, take puppy to the pad and encourage a potty. If it doesn't happen, then just be aware that it WILL happen very soon, so watch puppy like a hawk. Don't fill puppy's water bowl with more than he/she will drink in one sitting... and don't refill it until a potty has happened... This will make it a million times easier to train puppy because you're in control of the situation. Expect puppy to catch on in increments. My pup caught on after only a couple of lessons... but... it went like this... first, he would pee next to his pad... then play with the pad... then he would put his front feet on the pad and pee... this makes a huge mess, so do your training on hard floors that are easy to clean, since the pee will go half on the pad and the rest goes all under the pad... then finally... by what seemed like a miracle, he placed all fours on the pad... good luck,and remember... PRAISE for even the most minute attempts at learning!!!
My dad did this with his two Maltese. In fact, they don't go outside for their potty at all and don't seem to mind it one bit. They have the run of the house and like it just fine. (They're spoiled rotten.) I should think they'd prefer this to being crated all day while he's at work. The smell isn't an issue because he cleans up the newspapers as soon as he sees a doodle.
You should have thought of your living arrangement before you took on the responsibility of dog ownership. What would be best for you and your four legged friend would be to part company. Even if you could train it what would you do when you move into a home where you are able to put him out in the yard , un train him ?. If you want a pet , get a cat or a fish :))
You may be able to cat box train your dog, but you do have to get the dog outside for twenty minutes a day (a long walk or two short ones). Dogs communicate by odor, and if you don't let them rub on and pee on things outside, they'll do it inside. Besides, getting some exercise with your dog is great, though I understand the wish to not have to do that at 11:00 before bed.

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