potty training

I just brought my puppies home on friday the breeder said they were trained on puppy pads. i placed pads by the door to the balcony most the time they use them but there are quite a bit of accidents. also they are crated at night and when i cant watch thier every move. get up at night every two to three hours for potty breaks but there are still accidents in the crates. any ideas on what i'm doing wrong :confused:

congradulations on your new babies! well, you really shoulden't wake the puppy up every two or three hours to go potty. you should only wake up once in the night to let him go potty. first of all, how old are the puppies? because if they are over 5 months, you really dont need to wake them up at all to go potty at night. if they are very young puppies (like around 8 weeks) they are going to make accidents because they probably not totally pad trained. you need to watch them EVERY second if they are not in their kennel. if you have any more questions, you can pm me.

Good Luck! -Danielle, Molli, and new pup Sammy.

they are seven weeks old. I was under the impression that at that age they needed frequent potty breaks at night because they couldn't hold it that long. I understand accident will happen just wanted to make sure i was training them right. thanks

well the thing is, if you let them out too much during the night they get the impression that they dont have to hold it. so if you only let them out once in the middle of the night, that teaches them that they need to hold it as long as they can, or they have to sleep in their pee. 7 weeks is pretty young, so if you think that they cant hold it half way through the night, you can let them out a second time.

btw, what breed are your new puppies?

they are shih tzu's. thanks for your help

awwww shih tzus are cute. no problem. the puppy i just got is a cocker spaniel. i named him sammy.

If the pups are having accidents in their crates it probably means the crates are too big. They should only be allowed to stand up and turn around and lie down comfortably- if they have excess room they may reserve one end for going potty and the other end for sleeping. I would recommend partitioning off part of the crate so they don't have accidents in there.
Also, I've never used puppy pads, but I think it would probably be a better idea to get the dogs used to going outside right away- that way they know that it's only ok to go potty outdoors and it might be less confusing in the long run for them.
Good luck with your puppies- goodness knows that one is hard enough!

i train my puppies this way- one end of there kennel has a puppy pad, the other is for sleeping. i know ppl say thats like the worst way to do it, but it works for me! but i am not recommending to do that with your puppies.

their crates are blocked off. when they have accidents they are sleeping in it. the good news is only one accident in the last three days. :)

Hi! How do stop a 6 month old pup from continually going on the carpet? Any help would be great. :confused:

i haven't been on here in a while....
My boyfriend and me and Daisy went to Arkansas (actually we are here now because of hurrican wilma) and Daisy is only three months but was doing quite good on her puppy pad...but when we got to arkansas to his mom and dad's it is like she forgot everything....it frustrates me because she was doing so good!......Daisy's crate is big....i feel bad if i put her in a spot that is so tight...i wouldn't want to be there....she likes to poop in her crate (i guess for the privacy) and then she pees on her pad in the dining room

First try limiting water intake right before bedtime. I would say no water 30 minutes before bed time. Take them out right before you go to bed for the night. If they wake you up in the night then take them out, if you wake them up to use the bathroom they will get used to that and never be able to sleep through the night. The puppies are about 9 weeks old now, correct? If so that is good with each passing week they will be able to hold it that much longer. If they continue to potty in the crate, take away the bedding so they have to lay it in, this will help them realize not to soil their sleeping area. It sounds mean but it is really the only way for them to learn not to soil their beds. (most dogs already know this and don't potty in the crate) Do they sleep together in same crate? If so you might need to seperate them until you get the potty in the crate issue under control( no need to punish both if it's just one that is not holding it).
Good luck, potty training is one of the hardest things to do but once they understand it's worth it.
oh, I agree about geting rid of the potty pads, I think it sends mixed messages as well.
Good luck.
Gina

they are in seprate crates. also they will be nine weeks friday. the good news is there has been no accidents for a few days. i just make sure they go before bed. if they whine I let them out for a couple of minutes. their whines are diffrent when it's potty time than when their just bored. now if the one could just get the puppy pad down always pee's there sometimes doesn't get there for number two. thanks for all your help.

I trained Chica this way. Remember she was 2 pounds when I got her. I bought a ramp and put it by my bed. Chica (chihuahua) sleeps in my bed. I trained her to use the ramp to go down to the weewee pad on the floor by the bed.She would go pee and come up the ramp and go back to sleep.She is very smart.She was 11 weeks old when I trained her. ;) I didn't have her in a crate or have to get up to take her outside. I think that was a good idea the way I did it.