# housebreaking morkie puppy



## ktmorkie (Oct 13, 2011)

Hello All,

I'm hoping to get some help. I did a bunch of research/read Ceasar's book (how to raise the perfect dog), watched dog whisperer and am still reading books...

We adopted a 3 mos old Morkie 5 days ago. He was kept part of time by his previous owners on a sunporch with his sibs and a wee-wee pad.

We currently have him contained in our kitchen (unless he is on our lap in the living room or crated in our bedroom at night, or crated during short periods when we are away from home). I am not using wee-wee pads, instead I am having him go in our backyard, near the back door. After he goes, I praise him, tell him "Potty!", pet him and give him a treat immediately. 

He is having accidents on the kitchen floor. 

A friend used a penny in a can to discourage her pup from accidents and then would take him outside to the potty area. 

I am interested in using the bells on a rope so he can tell us when he needs to go, but they sound similar to the penny in the can (which I only started late yesterday).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!


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## libbenstein (Aug 23, 2010)

i am sure there are many more people who have more experiance at this then me but we use the bells on the door, although my boys are on a really good schedule. basically what we did was every time we went out for potty, we started with every time we went outside but that creates a problem, so anyway, every time we went out to potty we would ring the bells have him sit and then open the door, after a few days we were teaching him to nudge the bells, with his nose or paw, and then have him sit and then we would open the door. it works great now. if you are letting them out to play and it is not a "potty break" you can try doing the same but we found that he was ringing the bell anytime he wanted to go out and chase a rabbit or play with the dogs next door or something so we did the bell thing only when it was potty time.

Hope this helps.


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## lisaj1354 (Feb 23, 2008)

Be sure to take him out every 2 hours or so. He's still a baby and will continue to have accidents if he doesn't get outside when he needs to.


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## libbenstein (Aug 23, 2010)

oh, that is the part i forgot, thanks lisaj1354. you make the schedule. right now it should be every couple of hours, you can extend the time as he gets older. I will say that the bell thing does really help but my boys go out on a schedule, bell or not. the bell is for in-between.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I have never used a penny in a can or any other noise factor to house break. I just make sure they go out after each nap, feeding, watering, playing.....and in between. If you make sure they do not have a chance to make a mistake it will go much smoother and a little more quickly for you. When an accident does happen.....which they will, just take the pup outside calmly, use your word of choice, do not make it play time, be quiet, and after they go.....it is a big huge praise party!  And treat if you like!  If you yell at the pup he will just be confused and think no matter where he goes he is in trouble and going to get yelled at......outside included.  It takes time. No two dogs are the same. By the time the pup is a year it should be close to completed if not done. I have potty trained many a dog. I have never used fear as a training tool.-Good luck! 

Also it is a good idea to clean the area where a potty mistake has been made with an enzymatic cleaner to be sure to rid the urine smell. Otherwise the pup will go back to that spot to repeat his mistake.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I would strongly suggest NOT using the can to potty train. The point of the can is to startle the dog, so they stop what they're doing. It is considered an "aversive", something negative. The thing I'd worry about is, if it frightens such a young puppy it may cause him to have issues with potty training and make it even more difficult to potty train him. Imagine, if something loud and scary happened every time he goes to the bathroom, he's going to think going to the bathroom at all is horrible.

Here's some info for you:
- puppies don't gain full physical control of their bladders til 6 months of age, give or take. That's just a physical fact.
- they may understand they should wait til you take them out, but they can't always hold it, because their muscles and bladders just aren't fully developed.

Puppies should go out after eating/drinking/playing/exercising/waking up (even from naps). Aside from that, every 1-2 hours. IMO, I don't think there's such a thing as taking them out TOO often. Even if they don't have to go every time you take him out, you're still laying the foundation of what you want him to do.
Someone here says "when in doubt, take them out".

Abbylynn is so right that really, if you make sure they don't have the chance to have an accident everything goes more smoothly. 

I was never a big fan of confining a puppy either in a room or a crate for potty training purposes. I prefer to have the puppy out and about in the living area, where I can interact, and watch them closely. I think that helps them learn the rules of the house more quickly, AND, if you have them right in your sight, you can prevent accidents, because you'll notice the signs.

So, if I were you, I'd work on supervising him more closely. You can't see the signs that he needs to go out if he's in the kitchen and you're not. If you can't watch him because you're doing chores, or you're not home, then, yes, by all means keep him in the kitchen. 
But, at this point, his potty training success is more about YOU than HIM. It's about you getting him out often, on a schedule, and watching him so you can prevent accidents. As he grows, and develops, some of the responsibility will shift to him....


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## ktmorkie (Oct 13, 2011)

Thank you for the advice! I went back thru this site and reread the potty sticky. I let him out ALOT - after napping, eating, playing. Always take him to the same place (right outside the kitchen door), use the same word, give treat, lots of praise, say our magic word - potty. I have been crating him when we can't watch him or be outside with him and his accidents have reduced. I totally get it that the accidents are a part of having a puppy and he needs to be watched every second. He's doing great - he only had one accident in his crate - I think it was his 2nd night with us. 

I have decided to not use the penny/can. I'm just going to pick him up and place him in his potty spot outside. 

Someone posted that it could take him until he's a year old - really? Holy cow...


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## Sybille (Oct 5, 2011)

ktmorkie said:


> Thank you for the advice! I went back thru this site and reread the potty sticky. I let him out ALOT - after napping, eating, playing. Always take him to the same place (right outside the kitchen door), use the same word, give treat, lots of praise, say our magic word - potty. I have been crating him when we can't watch him or be outside with him and his accidents have reduced. I totally get it that the accidents are a part of having a puppy and he needs to be watched every second. He's doing great - he only had one accident in his crate - I think it was his 2nd night with us.
> 
> I have decided to not use the penny/can. I'm just going to pick him up and place him in his potty spot outside.
> 
> Someone posted that it could take him until he's a year old - really? Holy cow...


Good decision on the penny can, throw Cesar's books /DVDs in the trash also, your dog will be thankful for it. There is some good stuff in his books, but also a lot of dangerous rubbish, so better forget about what Cesar says unless you really, really know how to distinguish the good from the bad, ugly and plainly wrong.
As for a year, don't think so. Potty trained means that your dog goes only where he is allowed to go and tells you when he needs to go. Younger dogs simply can't hold 'it' for a long time but they still can tell you when they need to go. Train him to use the potty bell and don't let him alone for too long and you should be accident free in a very short time.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

It CAN be up to a year, but usually about 8 months or so, give or take. Plus, each dog is an individual. The thing is, even after the 6 month mark when dogs are physically able to control their bladder, they still can experience things that can cause setbacks. Teething (though usually that starts before 6 months), illness, changes in routine and environment can all affect potty training. Also, puppies go through several developmental stages, including fear stages, and this can cause issues in some dogs as well.

The good news is, as the puppy gets older, the accidents decrease! If there are accidents, they usually become fewer and farther in between. But, any accident not related to illness is usually a sign to keep working on it!


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## ktmorkie (Oct 13, 2011)

Sybille said:


> throw Cesar's books /DVDs in the trash also, your dog will be thankful for it. There is some good stuff in his books, but also a lot of dangerous rubbish, so better forget about what Cesar says unless you really, really know how to distinguish the good from the bad, ugly and plainly wrong.
> 
> 
> I'm intrigued about anti-Cesear - may I ask what you don't like about him? And are there any books you would recommend?


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## Sybille (Oct 5, 2011)

ktmorkie said:


> Sybille said:
> 
> 
> > throw Cesar's books /DVDs in the trash also, your dog will be thankful for it. There is some good stuff in his books, but also a lot of dangerous rubbish, so better forget about what Cesar says unless you really, really know how to distinguish the good from the bad, ugly and plainly wrong.
> ...


It is not so much about not liking him, in the end I never met him in person, so how can I like / dislike him personally? It is more about the many false statements about dog behavior and the wrong advice he gives / wrong methods he applies. He seems to be absolutely fixated on the whole pack leader / dominance concept and tries to fix most problems via this route. A real good explanation of the whole thing can be found here:

http://www.4pawsu.com/dogpsychology.htm and 
http://www.4pawsu.com/cesarfans.htm

As for good dog training books, there is a lot of free stuff, including e-books available on the website: http://dogstardaily.com/

Hope that helps!


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

ktmorkie, I think you'll find very few people on this forum that are pro Cesar. As Sybille said, he is very much about dominance. And, actually, that type of training has been found to be quite outdated and ineffective. 
In addition to that, he has no dog training education. He is not a certified dog trainer. All of his methods comes strictly from his own opinions and experience. He does, sometimes, seem to have a way with dogs, but, he also uses very harsh methods that are not necessary in many, many cases.

He is very successful, as an entrepreneur, and as a business person. But, not a lot of his theories and methods are based on science or current training studies.

Ian Dunbar is a great place to start! Also, Patricia McConnell has several books I really loved, including "The Other End of the Leash".


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## herkdog (Jul 2, 2012)

*Up at night*

I got our Morkie a month ago and he is 14 weeks now. After a few nights of barking all night, he settled into a routine of sleeping through the night and waiting for us to take him out in the morning. Now he barks at about 3 or 4 in the morning (sometimes earlier) and won't stop until we take him out to go to the bathroom. Then he barks again a few hours later again. He goes to the bathroom both times, so is it the fact that we give him food at night? What is going on? Any helpful suggestions?


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## KirstenW (Jul 25, 2011)

*Re: Up at night*

What's going on is he has to go out to potty. It is awesome that he is waking you up! At 14 weeks, all night is a stretch. If he managed to hold it sometimes, that was just lucky for you, but I wouldn't expect that from him for a few more months. The joy of puppies! That's why they have to be so cute


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