House breaking

peterluquer · 08-13-2009, 07:43 AM

My wife Nora and I picked up our 8 week old puppy Lollypop 3 weeks ago. She will be 11 weeks old Saturday. We are crate training her and get up religiously at 3 every morning to take her out. We pick her up out of the crate and carry her outside. We take her out day and night to the same place through the same doors to poop and piddle. How long will it take before she really understands not to go indoors?? She is the sweetest and friendliest dog I have ever seen, much less a basset.

Soundtrack · 08-13-2009, 09:38 AM

Basically it depends mainly on how vigilant you are at preventing mistakes in the house. Bassets are very much creatures of habit, so if they get into the habit of messing inside, it's hard to convince them not to. Supervision is the key, take the attitude that if she messes inside it's YOUR fault for not watching her closesly enough. Rewarding her for going outside will also help.

That said, Bassets can be notoriously slow to housebreak. While I've heard of those that learn it within a week or two, months seems to be a more common timeframe, with some taking up to a year.

Patience! It will come.

Aruuuu · 08-13-2009, 10:08 AM

Miriam's right -- patience!!!!

My three bassets were all older (7 months, one year, ten months, respectively) when they came home, and all lived in kennels prior to. For the first month, I was taking them out every hour on the hour. Even then, it took them awhile to really get it. Or maybe I should say it took them awhile to do what I wanted them to do

.

Also, Lollypop's bladder is very small so she won't have the ability to go too long between trips outside.

By the way -- we need pix of this puppy!

Mikey T · 08-13-2009, 12:59 PM

Quote:

. While I've heard of those that learn it within a week or two[/b]

IMHO when one investigates those claims they are not true. It was the dog was not having accidents in the house becuse of management rather than the dog understand what to do and control the urge to deficate signal the human etc that are all necesary for a dog to be housetrained. There is a clear and distinct difference betwen a dog that is housetrained and a dog that is not having "accidents"
Preventing accidents is the first step to housetraining but it certainly is not the end all be all. I do not believe that the typical basset has the necessary spincter control to be truely housetrained before 6 months of age and many mature more slowly than that. 1 year not being unusal. I also find that Females tend to mature more quickly than males in this area.

Quote:

bladder is very small so she won't have the ability to go too long between trips outside.[/b]

on of the things that new puppy owners of don't understand is the effect of activity has on the production of urine. when housetraining problems occur a common lement is " the puppy pees in the house not 10 minutes after I let it out" Um Ya that is normal from Housetraining Your Puppy

Quote:

Do not rely on a puppy to tell you when it's time to go out. That is expecting too much responsibility and communication at too early an age. It is up to you, the adult human, to know when he needs to go out. Watch his activity level and the clock.

A 12 wk puppy who is busy playing may need to urinate every 15-20 minutes, whereas a resting puppy might go for an hour, and a sleeping puppy can go 8 hours at night. Activity makes urine! Activity makes urine! Repeat this 10 times, slowly. This is a very important lesson for new puppy owners.[/b]

Note the time frames in this article are for typical dog breeds, bassets are a typical when it comes to house training and a good rule of thumb is to cut the general rule of thumb on how long a puppy can go between potty breaks without having an accident by 1/2-1/3. when comparing a basset to other breeds.

The second big problem area when housetraining a basset is the transition from managing when the puppy goes to the dog telling you when it needs to go out. THe problem is the human things magical the puppy will somehow come up with a signal they will understand. This does not happen regularly. It is not that the puppy does not try and signal it is the human does not understand the signal, it is not clear enough to work when the human is occupied doing something else often in a different room etc. For a truely housetrained dog their needs to be a clear and consives signal that both the dog and human understand and strong and distinct enough the human knows the dogs needs enve if they are in another room or emmersed in an activity. Signals like barking at the door often get blown off if the dog is reactive and barks at the cat across the street or the sound of the mailman etc.
What many have found is instead of having a signal arise out of a dogs natural behavior it is easier to teach the dog a distinct behavior as a signal. By far the most popular of these behavior is to ring a bell. For details on training this behavior see House Training: Ring My Bell!

Often times homeowers would like to train the dog to use only a specific part of the yard to defficate in the technique in the article below is one way to do that although that is not the purpose of the technique in the article. Potty Training Tip

Aruuuu · 08-14-2009, 08:29 AM

Mikey T makes an excellent point about the signals a dog sends when it needs to go out. Charlie rings a bell, Edith woo-woo's, and Eloise -- relies on the other two! If that doesn't work, she paces from the door to me, the door to me, the door to me. Not a great system, but it works.......

peterluquer · 08-14-2009, 12:00 PM

Thanks everyone! She IS starting to let us know by whimpering and most of the time this IS a clear signal. Hard to believe after only 11 weeks, but I think this is so. That said, this is not always true, but the instances are starting to occur with more frequency, so I think she is beginning to catch on. I have completely taken the attitude that it is entirely my fault when she does go inside, and I have missed some clear signals before, so if anything, I am to blame for her slow learning curve. All your info is appreciated. Now, is a link to a short video of Lollypop if anyone is interested. I have never encountered a friendlier dog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr_iCIOmNJA

Yogi's Mom · 08-14-2009, 05:55 PM

Oh, she's just precious! I just love watching puppies play, such enthusiam! Enjoy her puppyhood, it goes so much faster than you ever think possible! Watching your video made me smile, remembering how Yogi used to play like that!

shallhb · 08-14-2009, 06:12 PM

I have never encountered a friendlier dog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr_iCIOmNJA
[/quote]

That's a wonderful, wonderful clip...the section with the leaf is especially precious.

bcc11 · 08-15-2009, 01:14 AM

What a cutie! No wonder you are smitten with her. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy!

AmyB · 08-15-2009, 12:09 PM

She's adorable!

She'll get the houebreaking with patience & persistance. My Sadie was 11 months before she was reliable indoors & Spencer was a bit quicker, at 6 months.

08-13-2009, 07:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
peterluquer Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Worcester, MA Posts: 139	My wife Nora and I picked up our 8 week old puppy Lollypop 3 weeks ago. She will be 11 weeks old Saturday. We are crate training her and get up religiously at 3 every morning to take her out. We pick her up out of the crate and carry her outside. We take her out day and night to the same place through the same doors to poop and piddle. How long will it take before she really understands not to go indoors?? She is the sweetest and friendliest dog I have ever seen, much less a basset. __________________ Peter Luquer peterluquer@gmail.com

08-13-2009, 09:38 AM	#2 (permalink)
Soundtrack Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,581	Basically it depends mainly on how vigilant you are at preventing mistakes in the house. Bassets are very much creatures of habit, so if they get into the habit of messing inside, it's hard to convince them not to. Supervision is the key, take the attitude that if she messes inside it's YOUR fault for not watching her closesly enough. Rewarding her for going outside will also help. That said, Bassets can be notoriously slow to housebreak. While I've heard of those that learn it within a week or two, months seems to be a more common timeframe, with some taking up to a year. Patience! It will come. __________________ Rosie-Ch Soundtrack Cracklin' Rose CGN AGN RA Am RN TT Melody-Ch Soundtrack Unchained Melody TT Sailor-Ch Soundtrack Expedition Sailor RN TT Chili-Ch Soundtrack Spice Up Your Life Curry-Ch Soundtrack Canadian Brass Pepper-Ch Pennieslogon Living La Vida Loca CGN Vina-Ch Soundtrack Grand Illusion Leila-Ch Soundtrack Almost Paradise Deela-Ch Soundtrack Wink Of An Eye Hermione - Soundtrack Spellbound Eowyn - Soundtrack Rain Dance

08-13-2009, 10:08 AM	#3 (permalink)
Aruuuu Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Central MA, USA Posts: 773	Miriam's right -- patience!!!! My three bassets were all older (7 months, one year, ten months, respectively) when they came home, and all lived in kennels prior to. For the first month, I was taking them out every hour on the hour. Even then, it took them awhile to really get it. Or maybe I should say it took them awhile to do what I wanted them to do . Also, Lollypop's bladder is very small so she won't have the ability to go too long between trips outside. By the way -- we need pix of this puppy! __________________ If stress were exercise, I'd be in great shape!

08-14-2009, 08:29 AM	#5 (permalink)
Aruuuu Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Central MA, USA Posts: 773	Mikey T makes an excellent point about the signals a dog sends when it needs to go out. Charlie rings a bell, Edith woo-woo's, and Eloise -- relies on the other two! If that doesn't work, she paces from the door to me, the door to me, the door to me. Not a great system, but it works....... __________________ If stress were exercise, I'd be in great shape!

08-14-2009, 12:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
peterluquer Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Worcester, MA Posts: 139	Thanks everyone! She IS starting to let us know by whimpering and most of the time this IS a clear signal. Hard to believe after only 11 weeks, but I think this is so. That said, this is not always true, but the instances are starting to occur with more frequency, so I think she is beginning to catch on. I have completely taken the attitude that it is entirely my fault when she does go inside, and I have missed some clear signals before, so if anything, I am to blame for her slow learning curve. All your info is appreciated. Now, is a link to a short video of Lollypop if anyone is interested. I have never encountered a friendlier dog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr_iCIOmNJA __________________ Peter Luquer peterluquer@gmail.com

08-14-2009, 05:55 PM	#7 (permalink)
Yogi's Mom Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,109	Oh, she's just precious! I just love watching puppies play, such enthusiam! Enjoy her puppyhood, it goes so much faster than you ever think possible! Watching your video made me smile, remembering how Yogi used to play like that!

08-14-2009, 06:12 PM	#8 (permalink)
shallhb Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: San Francisco, Ca Posts: 1,348	I have never encountered a friendlier dog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr_iCIOmNJA [/quote] That's a wonderful, wonderful clip...the section with the leaf is especially precious. __________________ Sharon Hall Grace (puppy in training) Bella, UD, VER, TD, RE, CGC Pearl,UD, TDX, RE, CGC (Waiting at the Bridge) Samantha, Theodore, CGC, Louella, Zeke and Arty, Bassets All; (All Waiting at the Bridge)

08-15-2009, 01:14 AM	#9 (permalink)
bcc11 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Redmond, WA Posts: 173	What a cutie! No wonder you are smitten with her. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy!

08-15-2009, 12:09 PM	#10 (permalink)
AmyB Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 1,855	She's adorable! She'll get the houebreaking with patience & persistance. My Sadie was 11 months before she was reliable indoors & Spencer was a bit quicker, at 6 months. __________________ Amy, mom to Sadie (ATB, 6/9/06) & Spencer (ATB, 8/19/10) - always in my heart and Clifford (gotcha date 7/2/11).

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