My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is 6 months old and he is still not getting the hang of potty training. Anyone have any suggestions?
The bells don’t do the potty training. The bells are just for them to let you know when they need to go out. That is, after he knows he is suppose to go outside to do it. Here is my house training method that absolutely works if you are consistent:
Take them out very often including in the middle of the night. Especially after eating. A full stomach puts pressure on their bladder & colon, which give them the urge to go. When you take them out side and they don’t go within 10-15 minutes then go back inside. But offer to go out again soon.
Look for the signs of them needing to go out. Look for them walking in circles, sniffing the floor and, of course, squatting. If you see the beginning signs hurry to take them out but try not to hurry in a scary way that may make them run from you. You can be very intimidating to a young pup.
Every time they potty outside praise them as soon as they are done going. Don’t praise them during the act as that can distract them and make them stop. But try to time it as well as you can. As soon as their butt lifts praise like crazy. Verbal praise with petting is sufficient but you can give a small treat too. Also say a cue word like "potty" when you see them go outside. In the future they can be trained to potty on command because they know that cue word. Try to avoid saying the cue word inside as that is confusing.
If they have an accident in the house do not punish them. Just clean it up thoroughly and asap. Dogs instinctively avoid defecating in their living quarters. If they are forced to live in it for too long then they will eventually lose that instinct. This can also be ruined by rubbing their nose in it. NEVER rub their nose in it.
If you catch them in the act you can make a startling noise, not too scary, but just to get them to stop in the act while you run to pick them up and put them outside in the right spot. Again, praise like crazy when they go in the correct spot.
Reasons not to punish them for accidents:
If they get in trouble for going potty in the house they don’t necessarily know that you are mad because they went in the house. They just think it is bad to go at all. This causes them to hide it from you, including not going in front of you outside. If they hide it in the house then it is much harder to catch them in the act too.
If you catch the mess after the fact then start punishing they don’t make the connection that you are mad because of the mess. They will think it was what ever they were doing in that moment you found it, say just sleeping. This is just confusing and can cause other behavior problems, including being scared of you in general.
As stated earlier, rubbing their nose in it goes against their natural instinct of going potty away from their living quarters. You could actually be teaching them that this is where it smells like a toilet and this is where they should go.
Bell training: Hang bells from your back door. Every time you open the door ring the bells. Ring the bell every time the door opens, not just to potty. This is so they see the association of the ringing bells to the door opening. If you can get your dog close enough to even accidentally ring it them self then praise them as you open the door. Some people bell train for the dog to paw at the bells (in which case the training is slightly different). But I train them to use their nose to ring them. That way their paws aren’t scratching up the door. Even glass can get scratched up over time.
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