How do you house-train a puppy in winter?

[rom90125]

So, we brought home our new addition to the family yesterday; a German Shepherd puppy. Thus far, Ava, as we have named her, is adjusting well to the new environment with one exception. We can not get her to take care of business when we take her outside. It is very cold here (west Michigan) and there is snow on the ground. We have cleared an area of snow in the backyard (next to the house) to make it easier for her, but she has not shown any interest thus far in using the outdoor facilities. On the other hand, she has no problem using the indoor facilities, mainly the carpet in the front room. Thankfully we own a decent carpet cleaning machine and have been right on top of things when these accidents occur.

Does anyone have any experience house-training a puppy in winter? My wife and daughter want to put Ava in a sweater before taking her out, but I see two logistical issues with this idea:
1. Getting the dog in the sweater when she has a full bladder might not be the best idea.
2. If the dog is wearing a sweater, won't that cover up the plumbing that needs to be exposed in order for the puppy to take care of business?

 

[MonkeyDragon]

It wasn't in the winter, but we crate-trained our dog when she was a puppy. You'd want to look up the process in a more in-depth fashion, of course, but the basic reasoning is that dogs have a natural aversion to messing where they eat and sleep, so if she goes from the crate to out the door, she'll do her business there. And if she does have an accident, it's easier to clean up the crate. After the business is done with is when it's time to come out and play.

 

[Piratecat]

I'm sending KidCthulhu over to this thread. She's a dog-training ninja.

Only without the instant death strike.

I hope.

 

[frankthedm]

You make going to the bathroom outside more pleasant than going to the bathroom inside.

Does anyone have any experience house-training a puppy in winter? My wife and daughter want to put Ava in a sweater before taking her out

Looks like you are the one to have to train the dog.

 

[Pbartender]

We had a bit of trouble house training our dog when we first got her. We could never get her to last throught he night without finding a mess on the floor in the morning.

There's one very important thing you have to base all the training on...

In the wild most canine animals make their homes in small, cozy underground dens. Like MonkeyDragon said, they almost NEVER use these dens as a toilet.

What you need to recreate that sort of a den environment, and keep your puppy confined to it during the night. She will quickly learn to keep it in all night long -- if I remember right, most dogs should be able to hold it in for twelve hours or more. In the morning, take her outside and wait until she goes. Praise her when she does.

If you find poop on the floor, don't scold her... It's already too late, and she won't understand what she's in trouble over. Instead, move the poop outside into the yard where you you want her to go, and then clean the carpet with vinegar to remove the smell (that's very important).

The other thing to remember, is that cold temperatures (even those in northern Michigan) won't appreciably bother a dog like a German Shepherd. Let her outside, and give her time. It takes a while for a dog to up that urge, and the find just the right spot where she wants to go.

If she gets too cold or lonely, she'll let you know, and you can let her back in.

 

[rom90125]

Thanks for the great advice everyone. We purchased a small crate to keep her in at night and lined it with paper and then a thick towel over one half to give her a 'den' to sleep in during the night. Tomorrow morning I will get her up with me at 5:00am and see if she will use the outdoor facilities. My wife will try and get her to use the backyard again before she goes to work around 8:00am.

My wife are I are resigned to the fact that accidents will happen inside during the day, since we both work, but we still want to continue to work with little Ava to make use of the backyard. While we are both at work our plan is to keep her in the laundry room with newspaper laid out over half the floor and her crate (with food, water and toys) on the other side of the room.

My biggest concern is that it will be harder to get Ava comfortable with using the backyard if we allow her to use paper inside.

 

[Pbartender]

While we are both at work our plan is to keep her in the laundry room with newspaper laid out over half the floor and her crate (with food, water and toys) on the other side of the room.

That is a good idea.

My biggest concern is that it will be harder to get Ava comfortable with using the backyard if we allow her to use paper inside.

In general, it will be. Dogs go where they're used to going. If she gets trained to go on newspaper, you'll have to later retrain her to go outside. What's more, if you take the newspaper away, she may hold it in and go looking for "newspaper" to go on.

We had a similar problem with our cat... He got so used to having his litter box in one spot, that when we moved it to a more convenient location, he wouldn't use it. He held it in for as long as possible, before simply going where the litter box used to be.

 

[KidCthulhu]

Don't resign yourself to accidents. Make sure they don't happen. Crate her when you're not home. When you are home and she's with you, attach her to your belt with a leash or something, so that she's always with you and you can monitor her behavior. If you don't know where she is or what she's doing, that's when accidents and trouble happen.

Prevention is better than correction, because you want to set her up to succeed, then chance to reward her for being good.

Do not do the newswpaper trick. It doesn't work and will only confuse the pup. I'd actually get a crate that's large enough for her whole life and block a portion off while she's small (you don't want her to have enough room to eliminate in one corner and still feel comfortable). A crate really is your best friend.

Go here www.dogpatch.org and read the articles on crate training and housebreaking. They have lots of good, simple, positive training advice.

Get a good odor neutralizer, like Simple Solution or Nature's Miracle. If accidents do happen, clean the area with those. Vinegar or soap will not remove the scent trace, and dogs will go indoors more if the scent trances say "this is a bathroom" to them.

Finally, ditch the sweater. Take the pup out of the crate, clip on the leash and go right outside. She'll have to go, and she will. If it's too cold for a walk, you can do the sweater for that, but for elimination, she'll go, believe me! GSDs are not so wussy that they can't be outside to do their thing.

 

[Pbartender]

Vinegar or soap will not remove the scent trace, and dogs will go indoors more if the scent trances say "this is a bathroom" to them.

That's good to know... We've been using vinegar, and seems to have worked when we did. But hey, what can I smell?

One thing I will say... if a dog urinates on a rug, getting it with vinegar ASAP usually prevents staining.

 

[KidCthulhu]

Quite true. The two products I mentioned should also do that. They're very mild, I've used them on our antique orientals, with no discoloration or problems.

Remember that consistency is your best friend when it comes to housebreaking. Follow a pattern. There's a biological factor that causes all mammals to have to eliminate within 20 min to 45 min of eating (sometimes sooner), so make sure you take the pup out after eating. Take up water after 9 pm (or 2 hours of bed time, depending on your schedule), and maintain a consistent feeding schedule.