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How Do I Properly House Break My Aussie?

I have a 10 week old aussie, and we are having troubles getting her completely house trained. By that, I mean, not potting in the house.

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Comments for How Do I Properly House Break My Aussie?

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house breaking
by: jcrply

Some people think that using a crate (cage) is cruel. I think that NOT using a crate is cruel because without one you will extend the time and create problems of housebreaking. With a crate the housebreaking goes amazingly quickly and easily and stress free for all. Puppy is in the crate a lot of the time for the first couple of weeks. He/she is taken outside VERY frequently... every hour and a half to two hours. Praise him and give a treat when he goes and use a special command (I use "hurry up", some people use "go potty", etc...). Puppy then plays with you in the house for a little while and then goes back into the crate. Puppy is never given a chance to potty on the floor. He always potties outside, preferably at the same spot each time. Also take him out after every meal. This is VERY time-intensive for you, but it is so worth the effort. When I was working full time, I would take two weeks or more of my vacation time to spend full time with a new pup in order to do this. It works like magic and in just a couple or three weeks you will have a pup you can trust to run free in your house. If you let the new pup have an accident in the house, it sets back the process and shame on you not pup.
When I got an adult rescue dog recently, I treated him almost the same way as a puppy for the first two weeks since even a housebroken dog may not transfer the potty training to a new house. (And the foster family had said he was "almost" housebroken. This method worked for him too.)
(The crate should be large enough for puppy to lie down comfortably but NOT so large that he can have a bed area at one end and a potty area at the other.)

Potty training
by: Kathy

Hi there

Your pup is only 10 weeks old, which is very young. At that age many dogs don't have the muscle control to be house trained, and I've read that doesn't develop fully till about 4 months.

Your little girl will get the idea, it just takes patience and time. Make sure she is taken out every couple of hours and watched till she 'goes'. Then give plenty of praise. The most important times to take her out are after eating, napping and of course first thing in the morning.

Good luck - she will catch on soon!

Kathy

House Break Aussie
by: Angie, Conover NC

We have a now 14 week Aussie and it took about a month to house break her. We set a timer for every 20-25 min at first and took her out every time it went off. As she got older, each week, we would increase the time. We would tell her every time we took her out that she was going potty and we took her out the same door every time. She was also crate trained, so she would stay in the crate during the day when we were at work and at night. This also helped her. At night up until 12 weeks we took her out every time she whined/cried, etc. I think there are mixed ideas of what to do at night with them, but our breeder said at 12 weeks she should be able to go all night w/out getting up. Now she whines at the door when she needs to go out and she can sleep a full 8-9 hours with no problems. Hope this helps. Your vet should be able to help you with ideas too.

potty training
by: Anonymous

I had a trainer tell me to get small bits of roast beef (supposed to have calming effect...?) and treat whenever they go potty outside. MOst aussies are pretty treat-motivated and the higher value the treat the better. Lots of praise and give it time. My pup would appeared to be trained for weeks and then have an accident, but he got it (even rang sleighbells hanging on the door to go out). A crate is also a necessity during this phase...

I think it's unrealistic...
by: Anonymous

To expect a puppy that young to be completely house broken. They usually just don't have the motor control needed to do it. It would be like expecting a baby of less than a year old to potty train. Adjust your expectations to between 4 and 6 months to be fully house broken and both of you will be much happier.

Put Bells on the Door
by: Anonymous

I am in the process of potty-training my 13 weeks old Aussie now. I put a string of bells on the door and he picked up on that right away. Anytime he needs to go out he rings the bell. When you first put the bells up, before you open the door, say "Outside" and then ring the bell. Then open the door and let them out to potty. And be sure to praise and treat when they come back in only after they do their business. Don't give a treat for ringing the bells -- They will ring them for treats and that can definitely backfire. He sometimes rings the bells just for attention, but that is ok with me!

Easy potty training
by: Anonymous

My little girl is just over 10 weeks and we have had almost no problem potty training her. The first few days we had her home, we had a few accidents but every time she would start to go in he house, we would tell her no and carry her outside before she finished. I think the key is being very aware of your puppy at all times, and if you see them sniffing around make sure to take them outside. I reward her with small treats and pet her as soon as she goes to the bathroom so she knows what she did was good. She even has starting to ask to go outside when she has to go. My hubby and I are so in love with her, I am so lucky to have an Aussie!

no longer house broken
by: Anonymous

I have recently got a 8month / year old australian shepherd . She was rescued from getting hit by vehicles on a busy highway. But due to lease violations the girl could not keep her.. so i decided to take her she is a loving wonderful dog except shes going to the bathroom all over my house .. As soon as the girl that saved her brought her in her home she would go to the door when she needed to go outside. So why is she not doing this in my house. I have had to start from scratch with create training she refuses to go outside

im at my wits end
by: penne

my problem is that at 11 mos old he still goes inside I take him out several times a day but he will use the pet door to go back inside to potty HELP

brother and sister 10 week old puppies
by: Sharon

My hubby and I just got these little 10 week old brother and sister toy Australian shepherd they are so cute , however the little girl Inky is already on the way to being house broken yet Tucker her brother does not seem to get the connection on going outside.

They both go out after getting up in the morning as well as naps after eating or drinking and after play time . We say potty time when going out and they are highly praised every time they go out side.

With Inky all I need to say is Inky go potty and she does (that blows my mind we just got them Saturday March 1st and the breeder had not started outdoor training she just used paper on the floor, now Tucker I have been lucky that most of the time he has gone outside but he has also had a few inside messes and never lets me know when he has to go where Inky will let me know. I have tried to take him out alone and that just stresses them they do not like to be separated from each other.

Thanks so much if anyone has any help.

Sharon

I NEED HELP
by: Goddess

EVERYTHING you guys are stating is something I have tried. I have 2 7 month old Aussie rescue pups! I monitor food/water, take em out every couple hours - after feeding, playing, sleeping, cage - you name it...there is no reason they should have accidents. My female is great, fewer accidents then my male. My male is always timid like where I got him from hurt him or completely neglected him!
BUT they (or just one I can not pin point it) will pee/poop in the cage and it is always different!
They could sleep in there all night (7-8 hours) and not one accident BUT I let them out about 8-9am and then back in the cage until my fiance lets em out about 11-1pm, and they sometimes pee and/or poop!
I JUST DON'T GET IT

6 month old Aussie
by: Anonymous

Hi. I have a 6 month Australian Shepherd and she is still not house broken. She pees in her crate all the time and I’m constantly giving her baths and cleaning her cage. I let her out every 1-2 hours .. I let her run around for a little outside with my other 2 dogs. I have no clue what else to do. Can someone pls help me

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