We have had our lab for three weeks. Every time I take him downstairs and goes to the bathroom I praise him or give him a small treat. He still does not know to go to the door. He prefers to pee and poop upstairs on our deck On our area rug. Sometimes I will catch him sniffing around and take him back downstairs. When he is in the house I have him on a leash with me. Any help on how to potty train would be greatly appreciated.
Welcome to the site @Tedar. I am a little confused. I don't really understand what downstairs means? The dog is not meant to toilet in an area in the garden? You have to wash the rug and deck area with an enzyme cleaner so that there is no trace of the urine. Otherwise the dog thinks that is the spot. And take the dog beyond that area each time you expect elimination. So take the dog on lead to a specific area in the garden and just wait, don't play, until urination and/or defecation happens. Reward the dog with a treat for urinating/defecating in that area.
By downstairs I meant to the backyard in a certain area. I do give him a treat and praise him and I have scrubbed the area with carpet cleaner. We are going to take the carpet up for the summer. Can you recommend any pet spray as I use nature’s Miracle
Good Morning I take him every 25 minutes or so and will sit there until he goes to the bathroom. After about 10 minutes with nothing I go back to the house and try again in another 30 minute
Any bio laundry detergent will do. Just read the instructions. Does it break down human urine or faeces? If so, should work for dogs too.
I have had some people recommend the bell training and every time you take him outside ring the bell and say let’s go potty but we are outside a lot so not sure if that would work
Meg is 5 and has never asked to go outside. She was house trained at 14 weeks. I was a helicopter dog owner, never left my eyes off her. We went out frequently and treated always when she was young. Now she pops in and out as we do. I think expecting them to ask is a bit of a myth, it’s up to you to train them that outside is the only acceptable place to go. I have had one dog that pawed the door and another that used to bark at it, but I guess I am trying to say...not all will give you a clue
We have a dog door to the back yard so the dogs can go out any time they want. Both Cooper and Tilly were pretty much potty trained by 3 or 4 months. Initially they were crated at night, and in a puppy pen when we weren't actively watching or playing with them, and we took them out quite often. By 5 months they had the run of the house if we were home and sort of watching them. They were very reliable as far as potty training was concerned and would go out on their own. It has been 12 years since Tilly was a pup and 4 years for Cooper, so my memory may be off a bit, but we had to leave Cooper alone in the house with a part time dog sitter for about 4 days when she was only 4-1/2 months old. She and Tilly were on their own for 8 hrs at at time, and there were few if any accidents.
Thanks. He is five months but we rescued him from a home with his brother and sister and heard the living conditions were not that great. So not sure where he was going to the bathroom at
Hi there, congratulations on your new pup. He may have built up some bad habits before you got him so you'll need to be persistent for a while in avoiding accidents, so that new 'good' habits can be formed. If he doesn't empty himself in the place you have designated you can crate him or attach him to you for 15 minutes and then try again. Keep trying and don't leave him unsupervised until he is empty . You will win! Here is an article that might help you: Potty Training Problems Solved. Let us know how you get on
