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I'm trying to housetrain my puppy (10wks) without using the crate training method. Everynight he sleeps in my room and he never ever potty's in my room. I think my room is the equivalent to the crate in crate training (but he does chew on things he shouldn't be). Usually he doesn't go potty in the house, because I let him outside alot and don't let him back in until he goes potty. When he potty's I praise him and sometimes give him a treat praise him. I thought we had some process, but today I was outside with him for about 20 minutes. He didn't seem to need to go pee so I let him in the house. Within 5minutes of being inside, he goes and pee's on the floor! I don't think he even is house trained, I think it's just because I let him out all the time he just goes outside. Pointers anyone ?

>>I'm trying to housetrain my puppy (10wks) without using the crate training method. Everynight he sleeps in my room and he never ever potty's in my room. I think my room is the equivalent to the crate in crate training (but he does chew on things he shouldn't be). Usually he doesn't go potty in the house, because I let him outside alot and don't let him back in until he goes potty. When he potty's I praise him and sometimes give him a treat praise him. I thought we had some process, but today I was outside with him for about 20 minutes. He didn't seem to need to go pee so I let him in the house. Within 5minutes of being inside, he goes and pee's on the floor! I don't think he even is house trained, I think it's just because I let him out all the time he just goes outside. Pointers anyone ?

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Crate training is much less stressful and safer for the young puppy than it will ever be again in his life. By crate training I mean teaching the dog to be able to rest calmly in a crate. It doesn't mean he lives in there, but gives him a place to rest and be safe when you cannot watch him.

The chewing right now is nothing compared to what you may see when the permanent teeth come in and have to be set in the jaw by hard chewing, around 7 months of age or so in larger breeds. At that point if your dog has not previously learned to rest calmly in a crate, many dogs lose their homes because they won't stay in a crate and their owners can't afford the damage they do to the house.

One reason for a dog not to potty in front of you is if the dog has ever been punished for pottying in the wrong place. We think we're telling the dog to do it someplace else, but the dog gets the message that pottying in front of us is dangerous!

There are several articles on housetraining on this site:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Housetraining is just a habit--the dog never actually "understands" it. Taking him out over and over so that he succeeds in hitting the target is the key. You can housetrain a dog without a crate. But if you miss the opportunity to train your dog to rest calmly in a crate while he's still at his most teachable, that may later turn out to have been a huge mistake.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

"By crate training I mean teaching the dog to be able to rest calmly in a crate.

But if you miss the opportunity to train your dog to rest calmly in a crate while he's still at his most teachable, that may later turn out to have been a huge mistake."

I thought you said the dog doesn't learn anything in the crate?

I think you should start crate training. To be honest I¡¯m in the same position and I should start crate training too and now I¡¯ve left it so long it¡¯s a bit of a nightmare!

I¡¯m fortunate in that I don¡¯t have the housetraining issue but I do have the serious manic chewing going on and that is where I failed in not crate training. I think I deluded myself in the beginning with Echo because her previous owner had housetrained her so well that when I got her I pretty much gave her free run of my apartment. She peed twice in the first week inside and that was all and I think that was just down to her settling into an unknown environment. There are so many articles out there saying you should do this and then there are so many saying you should do the other it¡¯s sometimes hard to know what exactly is the right thing to do. I think it comes down to personal choice and your own personal circumstances. I personally believe that Echo views my whole apartment as our territory and she won¡¯t mess anywhere in it.

At the end of the day crate training isn¡¯t synonymous with housetraining. The housetraining benefits are just a small part of how a crate trained dog can make yours and theirs lives a lot more relaxed and peaceful and more importantly safer for the dog.

I think with your 10 week old pup you should have no trouble with starting training now. Mine¡¯s 5 and a half months so may take a little longer but I think I read somewhere that it¡¯s never too late to start crate training anyway.

In your case it sounds like it will solve your housetraining issues and believe me you will be so thankful for the crate once the heavy teething sets in!

Good luck!

Hi! How's your pup getting on?