Best Potty Training Technique

Posted by 3eteiba
Oct 23, 2011
im planning to get a dog.
i wonder what is the best potty training technique to train it to him as i live in an APPARTMENT.
thank you
Posted by KOPCaroline
Oct 23, 2011
Hey there,

Just a couple questions to help advise you a bit better -

What kind of dog are you thinking of getting - big, little..?

Is it just you in the apartment, or do you live with others?

Are you wanting to train him to go outside (ground floor apartment?) or are you more interested in pee pads or an indoor grass box situation? Or are you planning to take the dog out regularly to use the bathroom?

Just need to think about the specifics of your situation to get a better grip on the best method Thanks!
Posted by 3eteiba
Oct 23, 2011
well look:
im planning on getting a golden retriever.
i live with my mother,father and brother.
i live in the 3rd floor of a building of 4 floors
i wanna teach him to go to ground floor not indoor.ground is way better.
thank you
tibia
Posted by KOPCaroline
Oct 25, 2011
Hey there,

Goldies are such good dogs! And thankfully, they tend to pick up on training easily.

I would start by using the room-by-room method to train him not to toilet in the apartment. When puppy first comes home, keep him confined to a small room in the apartment (laundry rooms usually work well). You'll need to let him out often, but every time you do, immediately go to the ground floor where you want him to pee/poo. Keep this up, and once he's got the idea not to toilet in his little room, expand the area in the apartment he has access to, one room at a time. If you ever let him into a new area, and he has an accident, back up a step and keep him confined to where he was previously. Most dogs gets the routine well, and it only take a couple weeks for them to be well behaved in the entire home!

To train him to let you know when he needs to go as he gets older - most dogs will adopt the technique of sitting/scratching at the door when they want to go out, because they learn that going out that door is where they can go to the bathroom, so your dog will likely pick this behaviour up. You can hang a bell off the door knob or something to use as his signal that he needs to go out. If this sounds like something you might like to do, have him sit at the door, then you ring the bell everytime you take him out, so he learns to associate the bell with going out. He should get it pretty easily.

A baby gate helps a lot when youre confining your dog to certain parts of your house, and remember to keep doors shut to rooms he's not allowed in yet!

Hope this helps you!
Posted by 3eteiba
Nov 8, 2011
but that poochie bell way when i make him ring it, and we go out and he doesn't pee or poo. like that he will associate ringing the bell with going out not going out to poo or pee
got me?
Posted by KOPCaroline
Nov 11, 2011
You dont have to use the bell idea - it works for some, not for others.

If you want to try training it, only ring it when you take him out for a potty break. Don't ring it when you take him for walks or for fun time. It should help

You might just wait to see if your pup picks up on going to the door when he needs to potty - my own dog did it, as well as my flatmates dog - its a pretty natural behaviour