Puppies
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Puppy Bathroom Time: From Bin to Outdoors (Any advice?)
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Puppy Bathroom Time: From Bin to Outdoors (Any advice?)
Hello all!
My wife and I recently brought home an Italian Greyhound puppy. The breeder had them going to the bathroom in a bin using pine pellets and suggested we could do the same for the first week or so at home to avoid accidents on the floor.
The good news is, 99% of the time he’s going in the bin, so clean home. The bad news is, he doesn’t see the outdoors as a place to relieve himself. We’re bringing him out every 2-3 hours and sprinkling a bit of the pine pellets on the ground to entice him to go outdoors. The little guy holds it until we’re back in and goes in the bin.
I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this situation and if there are any tips or tricks you used to help encourage the switch from bin to outdoors? Should we remove the bin entirely? It has been a little over a week since he’s been here and I’m hoping we can get him comfortable with going outside before the snow starts to fly (we’re in the northeast).
Thanks for your time!
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3 Replies
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Try using dirty pellets from the bin that he has already pee’d on. The odor should encourage him to pee on top of them. If he still does not pee, I would put him back in his crate without giving him the chance to pee in the bin. After 10-14 minutes, take him back outside. Good luck!
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Another approach is to do the normal potty training. Crate him in a crate that is small enough that if he pees or poops he will soil himself. Start with very frequent breaks — a couple of hours during the day and 3 to 4 hours tops at night — meaning he has no water for a couple of hours before bed time, has a bathroom break, and goes to bed. Then you only have to wake up once during the night to take him out. If there are no accidents in 4-5 days increase the time by 1/2 hour. Main tool is to go from crate to outdoors and limiting the time outside the crate to minimize accidents. It is a bit harder with #2, pardon the pun, but it is the same idea. The key is that his body will have a rhythm, say 30 mins after he wakes up and 20 mins after dinner the trains will be ready!!! Whenever he has an accident ask yourself what you could have done differently. Lots of patience. It will take quite a while for he to get the idea an be good at it. Good luck!
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Thank you both for the reply. I have enough information here to form a plan now. Appreciate your time and wisdom!
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