potty training and play biting

[daisygirl]

So we just got a new 12 week old lab named daisy. Anyone know the best way to potty train? I take her out at least every hour to two hours. Sometimes she goes and sometimes she just wants to sit and stare at me. Sometimes I will take her out and she won't go but then as soon as I bring her in a few minutes later she goes inside. Everyone she goes outside we praise hee and is always at the same place so she will soon understand that's where she goes to potty.

She's a good dog it's just frustrating on day 1 of training. She is also well crate trained.

Also she playfully bites. We try to push her away from things she wants to chew but I think she thinks it's a game and she has even gone after our child. Anyone have any ideas for potty training that is very fast and effective? Do pee pads help?

[Halcyon]

In regards to puppy biting, have you given Puppy biting! a read? I highly recommend sitting down and reading it. Remember, she's teething and chewing helps relieve the pain. Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately (depending on the way you look at it), puppy biting just comes with the package. Provide lots of chew toys. Ice cubes and frozen, wet wound up rags are also good. A frozen Kong gives you a welcome break.

When it comes to potty training, it's really a matter of patience, praise and consistency. When Bobby was a puppy, I took him out every five minutes to begin with because he never gave any warning signs. He would just pee. When he peed outside, I would praise as if I had just won the lottery and whilst doing so, I would say "Good pee! Good pee!" You'll sound like an absolute lunatic to your neighbours but hey, it works! As he got older, I would extend the time between breaks. Eventually, he got the idea that when he needed to pee/poop, all he had to do was head to the backyard door and I'd open the door for him.

Puppies have the attention span of a gnat. It's hard to believe but sometimes they forget they need to pee! The outside world is an exciting place and sometimes, even now on walks, Bobby would pee and walk to something that caught his interest. He was a walking pee-er. Once they come inside, they "remember" that they need to pee and since they can't hold it, they just go. When they pee inside, you can interrupt them with a loud noise and quickly take them out. Don't make a big fuss out of it, don't rub their nose in it.

Another good idea, if you haven't already done so, is to tether her. Keep her on a leash so you know where she is and what she is up to at all times. If she gets rowdy with your kid, take her away. If she's chewing something inappropriate, redirect her.

[daisygirl]

Thank you so much. I'm a little relectant with icecubes for its more water and I think it will make her pee more but I will take her out every hour or even half hour if you think it will work.

[Halcyon]

If I recall correctly, at 3 months, I was taking him out every ten to fifteen minutes. He didn't necessarily need to go all the time but it did eliminate accidents. Well, except for that one time he peed from excitement but we quickly got over that.

[daisygirl]

I'm happy to know other people have been there and can share there experience. I hope to have many fellow lab owner friends.

[daisygirl]

Sometimes I notice when I take her out that she acts like she doesn't want to be outside. Not sure what this is about

[daisygirl]

She just did it again. Had her out for 20 minutes trying to get her too pee and as soon as I take her in she pees...

[Snowshoe]

So we just got a new 12 week old lab named daisy. Anyone know the best way to potty train? I take her out at least every hour to two hours. Sometimes she goes and sometimes she just wants to sit and stare at me. Sometimes I will take her out and she won't go but then as soon as I bring her in a few minutes later she goes inside. Everyone she goes outside we praise hee and is always at the same place so she will soon understand that's where she goes to potty.

She's a good dog it's just frustrating on day 1 of training. She is also well crate trained.

Also she playfully bites. We try to push her away from things she wants to chew but I think she thinks it's a game and she has even gone after our child. Anyone have any ideas for potty training that is very fast and effective? Do pee pads help?

LOL, I see a couple of things that make me think the magical ingredient you are missing is PATIENCE. We used to have an emoticon that sprinkled patience dust, if I knew where it was I'd put it here for you.

She's still pretty young and you've had her one day, it looks like. Lots of changes to upset a little puppy system, let her settle in and take her out more often. At the beginning, 8 weeks, we were out sometimes every 10 minutes. Newness with you and your house sets the training back a bit, be patient and give her more opportunities to perform outside. More than just drinking and eating prompts potty needs. As well puppies need to potty when they wake up, when you come home, when you get up, when they play, after they play, before they go to sleep, when you have company over even if they don't get to join in. Sounds to me like you are doing everything right, you just need to do it more often and perhaps for longer than you expected.

Fast and potty training are words that may not go together. She will set the speed, you just need to be willing to go along and help her.

No, pee pads probably won't help. They might even make it worse, after all, they teach her it's ok to potty in the house and I don't think that's what you want.

Pushing her away, you said it yourself, she thinks it's a game. Pushing just makes lots of them try harder and come back for more. Try substituting a toy she can bite BEFORE she bites. You will learn to recognize the signs she's about to launch into biting play (and you'll begin to identify her need to potty signs too) get ready to pre-empt them. It will help if you can avoid giving her biting opportunites. That might mean no cuddling down on the floor with her, bummer. I know for sure the only cuddles I got were with a sleeping puppy.

P a t i e n c e. Give her time. Are you going to puppy classes? Signed up for some? They will help you.

[daisygirl]

I think out of all the info I have read patience is the key thing to potty training. I will continue to be patient. It's just frustrating to go from outside where she has plenty of time to potty to inside and she just let's loose. We have puppy training soon at a local pet smart. I have her in her crate for now because we just need a break from having to always watch her. That way she won't pee in her crate ans maybe she will when we take her out in the next hour. Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on her and making it uncomfortable. She at times doesn't want to move when I tale her outside. She looks not amused. Then she just plays with leaves or sits or lies down.

[Woodrow_Woodchuck]

Howdy and Welcome!!!

Snowshoe had some great advice. Patience is the big one, time and patience. You will learn what her signs are soon enough if you watch her like a hawk and try to find them out.

She is new to your world and is still a very young pup. She does not know what words are or what to associate them to. First step is to get them to associate a word to the act. Spend a lot of time outside with her so she can pee whenever she has to. When she is going, use the word over and over and over and over. HUGE praise party afterwards too!! If the neighbors think you have lost your mind and you feel like a fool, you are doing it right. You can't just bring her to a spot and keep repeating go pee, go pee... It will lose any meaning to her. Same with any command, like "Come!" If you keep calling her and she just runs around ignoring the command, it has no meaning or has lost its meaning to her. And it WILL happen at least once in her first year. You will feel like an absolute failure because she has forgotten EVERYTHING you taught her!!!

After a few days YOU will know when she has to pee or poop, really you will. It might not happen the second you get her outside or go to 'the spot' either. Sunshine used to need to run a few laps to work up a poop. I would go out with her and she would RUN around like a demented nut! When she started to slow down and sniff around I would CALL her over to the spot! "HEY SUNSHINE! Come Check THIS Out!!!" When she came RUNNING over I'd point at the ground or something for a few seconds then suggest she go poop. And sure enough.. She had to go poop!!!