# Master Potty Plan!



## Fashiongal21 (Apr 23, 2012)

Hola!

Me and my DH are trying to figure out our master potty training plan and are feeling super overwhelmed!... These are our thoughts: for those that have done the same or similar or think we are not on the right track feel free to chime in!.. We work opposite hours, And there will be days when DH is off all day ( so thankful for that) In between the time he leaves and I come home is about 5 hours. We would like to have a plan where we don’t HAVE to rely on someone to come in and take him out, if there was some incident where no1 could come, we want to have all bases covered. (We will be having someone come in during that 5 hour span though just as an FYI)

Our goal is have our puppy go OUTSIDE only.
A – Is it possible to only take your puppy outside and leave no pee pad down as a puppy? 8-12 weeks
If not, our thought was X-PEN, open door crate and pee pad on other end of x-pen.
We just don’t want to confuse our little boy and if dogs can learn to do both then we are on board for whatever is most comfortable for him, but just not sure?..

B- Do we crate train for that duration of 5 hours? 
C- What about at night? They say don’t wake a sleeping puppy, but will he let us know to take him out so he can go? Will he get in the habit then of thinking 3am is potty time forever?

Soo many thoughts! I Feel like I have over-read! If thats even possible?!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Fashiongal21 said:


> Hola!
> 
> Me and my DH are trying to figure out our master potty training plan and are feeling super overwhelmed!... These are our thoughts: for those that have done the same or similar or think we are not on the right track feel free to chime in!.. We work opposite hours, And there will be days when DH is off all day ( so thankful for that) In between the time he leaves and I come home is about 5 hours. We would like to have a plan where we don't HAVE to rely on someone to come in and take him out, if there was some incident where no1 could come, we want to have all bases covered. (We will be having someone come in during that 5 hour span though just as an FYI)
> 
> ...


 ......


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

you live in New York, right?? I would think you MOST def. would want to train your pup to an indoor option... we live in Northern California and I WISH Tillie had been trained to an indoor option...


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## narci (Sep 6, 2011)

This is what happened to us to give you some insight as every dog will be different.

We pulled out our hairs on worrying about potty accidents and training. Leaving Oreo in a x-pen and a pad was not ideal. He would pee and poop on the pad but step in it and leave poopie and pee pee paw marks all over the place. I use to joke with my wife saying..is it going to be world war 3 when we get home?

I would do what some of us have (including myself). Get an Ugodog (large one, small one gets small..fast). His pee will fall into the grate and onto the pad so he won't have to step in his own pee. Oreo pooped on the Ugodog as well making it wasy to clean. Just put some pee on the pad and insert it into the Ugodog. When doggie looks like he's going to poop or pee, move him onto the Ugodog and praise and reward. You need to keep an eye on him/her though. If you see him/her goto the Ugodog themselves, praise and reward immediately after they finish. Oreo learned to use the Ugodog that way.

Oreo was also one smart cookie. He would jump on the crate and then jump out of the ex-pen so we have to abandon the ex-pen and let him roam the kitchen with the ex-pen blocking the doorways. Not long after that he learned to jump over the ex-pen.

Remember the rule of thumb when a puppy. 1 month (age) = 1 hour of holding pee. I was told by my breeder not to give Oreo water after 8pm when he was a puppy.

Generally dogs won't pee or poop in thier crate (den). We took Oreo out to pee just before we goto bed and he sleeps in his crate. I think he's only peed once in his crate. Other then sleeping, and travelling, Oreo is never locked in his crate.

Now at little over 1 year, Oreo only goes outside. We feed him on a schedule so we know when he needs to poop. He eats at 7:45am and 5:30pm. His poop times are 9:30am and 7:30pm. He pees 3 times a day.

I think what you need to do is establish a schedule in feeding and pooping.


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

i trained to be outside only, no pee pads (I tried but she shredded them)

As a young pup when I wasnt home she was only allowed in the kitchen and someone was usually with her (minus an hour long trip to the grocery store etc). As they get older they can hold it longer. Even when I was home I limited the amount of time she played in the living room (like right after going outside). There will be accidents, but if you keep up and take them out regularly (before they have an accident) it wont be bad.. I can count on one hand the number of times she's had an accident. When i introduced the Poochie Bells (at about 6-7 months) it was fantastic (wish I had done it a bit earlier) -- they worked great for her, as a way to tell me when she had to go.

I never woke her from her sleep (she has always and will always sleep in a crate - she loves it, it's like her den). We had 2 nights when we first got her that she cried (really loud) to go out at 3am. Then she could make it until about 6 or 6:30am and then as she aged that time got longer (now at just over a year she sleeps longer than me! and still doesnt need to go out right away)


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## apololaceymom (Aug 27, 2011)

I am currently training my 3rd Hav. I think how you do it is very individual, just as long as you are consistent. I am not a fan of my dogs going to the bathroom in the house, so I prefer outside. We start with an ex pen and a ugodog, and very quickly transition to a crate and outside. I also do not give my puppy free reign of the house, we use gates to keep him where we can watch him. If he is not being watched, he is in his crate. All my puppies were trained to sleep in a crate at night when I got them, thanks to some wonderful breeders. Blaze (my 5 month old puppy) has been the biggest challenge for house breaking, but he is starting to get it. He NEVER soils his crate, and has been sleeping through the night since I got him. He sleeps next to my bed. House training can be VERY frustrating, but you just have to keep at it, and be consistent. They will get it eventually!!! Be sure if you have other family members caring for the puppy that they are ALL doing the same thing. Small dogs pee frequently, so plan to take them out a lot, and lots of praise. I don't use treats for potty, then they expect a treat all the time, and can develop a weight problem. 
There have been times, (bad weather, hotels, etc) that I wish I used an indoor potty, but those times would be so infrequent that they would forget what to do with it.... Good luck!!

I believe the rule of thumb for hours in a crate is 1 hour for every month of age plus one hour... 3 months, 4 hours tops!!! That does not hold true for night time! I make crate time lots of fun and happy for them, they love it!! Blaze can't wait to get in and get his small treat and a kiss. He can't wait to go to bed at night!!! Jumps in and lays down!!


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## BennyBoy (Apr 25, 2012)

We got Benny at 8 weeks and my goal was the same as yours... only go outside!

We had two crates for him - one in the kitchen and one in our bedroom. The kitchen was fenced off so he could not get into too much trouble, but even then, if we could not watch him, he was in his crate. 

When they are so young, they don't have great bladder control, so up until 12 weeks, we spent a lot of time outside. He still had accidents here and there, but once 12 weeks hit, it was like someone flipped a switch, and he was able to hold it and the accidents all but stopped.

He learned very young to sit by the door to go out - we always bring him out the same door, so maybe that helped. Most of his accidents can be blamed on us not realizing he was sitting there, so now he barks! Smart boy!

Benny NEVER EVER had one accident in his crate - not even when he was tiny tiny. We followed the "one hour for each month of age" rule and it worked great. However, over night, he was able to go from 11 pm to 6 pm by 12 weeks - no problem.

Puppies sleep so much and mine loved his crate. In fact, I just looked over and he is in his crate right now - he goes in all on his own. When I go out, he goes in his crate willingly and when I come home he takes his sweet time waking up and coming out - it's very cute.

Benny is 7 months now and has trained beautifully!


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## BennyBoy (Apr 25, 2012)

TilliesMom said:


> you live in New York, right?? I would think you MOST def. would want to train your pup to an indoor option... we live in Northern California and I WISH Tillie had been trained to an indoor option...


 Would you feel the same way if her dog was 60lbs?

Although small, Havanese are dogs and should not be peeing and pooping in the house.. or apartment.


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## BennyBoy (Apr 25, 2012)

narci said:


> Now at little over 1 year, Oreo only goes outside. We feed him on a schedule so we know when he needs to poop. He eats at 7:45am and 5:30pm. His poop times are 9:30am and 7:30pm. He pees 3 times a day.


Bravo! A schedule is key!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

BennyBoy said:


> Would you feel the same way if her dog was 60lbs?
> 
> Although small, Havanese are dogs and should not be peeing and pooping in the house.. or apartment.


You are welcome to your opinion. I don't have. Large dog and I don't want a large dog. Although Kodi mostly goes outside, I very much appreciate that he has and will use an indoor option on those snow mornings before the plow has come.


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## Fashiongal21 (Apr 23, 2012)

Thanks for everyone's feedback so far! I think you have eased my feelings that YES, a dog can be trained to go inside and outside and we wont confuse him by starting with a peepad/ugodog and then working to outside only.


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## apololaceymom (Aug 27, 2011)

krandall said:


> You are welcome to your opinion. I don't have. Large dog and I don't want a large dog. Although Kodi mostly goes outside, I very much appreciate that he has and will use an indoor option on those snow mornings before the plow has come.


I hear you Karen, many a morning I have to drag my butt out with the shovel to make a big enough spot for them to at least do their morning potty!!!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Fashiongal21 said:


> Thanks for everyone's feedback so far! I think you have eased my feelings that YES, a dog can be trained to go inside and outside and we wont confuse him by starting with a peepad/ugodog and then working to outside only.


My experience (which has been ehoed by many on this forum) has been that they tarnsition very naturally to going outdoors. In most cases, you have to workHARD to reinforce use of the indoor potty if you want to maintain that as an option later in life!

He won't be confused.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

apololaceymom said:


> I hear you Karen, many a morning I have to drag my butt out with the shovel to make a big enough spot for them to at least do their morning potty!!!!


It is also MUCH more convenient when you are on the 7th floor of a hotel while attending a trial. He can easily wait unil after breakfast to poop, but it's no fun getting completely dressed to take him out for that urgent early morning pee, BEFORE taking a shower!:biggrin1:


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