How to potty train?

[Heathermommytobe]

I have a 5 month old puppy is having trouble being potty trained and I don't use kennels because I had a wire fox terrier I put her in a kennel and she became mean so i would like to do it without a kennel aslo I have used puppy pads and he goes outside when he feels like it but at night he goes in house. So what is there that I can do to stop it from happeninng?

[peekawho]

I don't think crate training makes a dog mean unless the dog was put in there all the time, or it was otherwise used improperly as a punishment.

I don't crate train, either.  I do whats called tether training.  In fact, I have an almost 4 month old puppy tethered to me right now!

I put the snap part of the leash through my belt loop on my jeans, then through the loop part of the leash, and then attach it to the puppy.  Now you have a constant companion.
The advantage of doing this is that the puppy can't wander off into the living room while you are in the kitchen, for example.  A puppy can wander out of your line of sight in an instant, do its business, and return--and you never know until you find the puddle or pile.  By then, its too late to do anything.

If the dog is tethered to you, you will instantly see the signs of needing to "go", circling and sniffing the ground being the primary ones.  When you see this, you can scoop the puppy up right away, take him to his designated place, and when he does his business, lots of praise!  If he starts to piddle or poop while tethered to you, you can clap your hands loudly, say NO in a firm voice, and take him right out to his designated place to do his business.  If he finishes in his outside place, then you can praise lavishly.  

Of course, doing this requires that you are home during the day.  Luckily, I am.  

The other thing that helps is knowing the right times to take the puppy outside or to its place to do business.  A puppy will poop and pee shortly after eating, drinking, playing hard, or sleeping.   If you leave food out and the puppy is constantly nibbling and drinking, it will be much harder to predict the potty times.  Feed on a schedule and you will be that much farther ahead of the game!

After my puppy has pottied and I'm sure he is empty, I let him run around in the house with the big dogs for a good while, so we both can have free time.  

I do crate all the dogs, puppy included, when we are gone.  Putting a Kong with a treat (like wet dog food) rubbed around the inside will keep a dog interested for a while, while in the crate.

Hope this helps you!  I've trained all of our dogs this way.  

[Heathermommytobe]

Thank you for the advice and i was wondering if this would work since my dog is 5 months and weighs close to 60 pounds. I really want to get him potty trained but i some times think I waited to long to work harder with him since he is so big.

[HudsonTR]

Try hanging bells from a door knob and whenever you bring the puppy out have the puppy hit the bells with his paw. I had to do this with my shitzue as she was very hard to potty train as well. It made it easy and she cought on fast. Whenever she has to go out she now rings the bells. She now has our cat and other dogs ringing the bells as well when they need to go outside.

[peekawho]

I did it even with our Great Dane!  I had to wear an actual belt, though..because he was big enough to rip off  my belt loops!

We never had to try the bells.  I offer outside times often enough, the dogs know what to do when I let them out several times a day.