Potty training a dachshund pup in an appartment

[BjStegehuis]

Hi Adrienne,

My girlfriend and I are getting an 8 week old dachshund pup soon (we're very excited 🙂 ), but we are a bit worried about potty training because we live in an appartment and don't have acces to a private/quiet yard. We've got two options;

• Directly across the road from our place, there's a large grass area that's great for taking dogs to go potty, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use it at first because there are other dogs around frequently and our pup will not be fully vaccinated when we get it. It's also next to a busy road, so it might be overwhelming for a young pup.
• Our alternative would be to potty traing our pup on the balcony, using a patch of artificial grass for it. This would also make it a lot easier to quickly go outside when needed, but it could be confusing when he get's a bit older and we don't want him to use the balcony anymore.

Do you have any advice for us? Thanks!

[JMFS]

Congrats on your upcoming bundle of barks, er, joy!  😆  Dachshunds are pretty smart pups so I don't think you'd have an issue when he gets older.  There's a section in the training for putting "potty" on command that would be useful for this.  https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/advanced-potty-training/potty-on-command/

That comes in useful if there's a designated area for him if you ever travel with him.  When nature calls and he's in that field, it will happen even if potty isn't on command, lol.  Having it on command makes it easier so they know it's what they're supposed to do in that area.  I'm not sure if it's the breed or my husband's "training" but his Dachshunds were little devils about going inside so I highly recommend the command route and routine.  Routine is one of the most powerful tools we have with helping dogs live in our world of rules.  :)

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Yup, training your pup to go potty on command will help in the generalization process. If you use it early on, your pup will associate going potty with the cue and that should help with going potty initially in a designated area and then expanding to other places. 

It's always best to check with the vet to determine how safe/unsafe it would be to use the outdoor potty area (infectious diseases are more endemic in some areas) and what's the best protocol based on that. The vet can also inform you on how long you should avoid certain places and also can help provide options so not to miss the critical window of socialization (which closes around 12 to 16 weeks). 

 However, the fact that you'll need to walk across the street and it's next to a busy road makes it rather inconvenient (on top of potentially unsafe since he's so young). At 8 weeks, puppies may need to be taken out as often as every 15 to 30 minutes when active, and by the time you would put on the collar, leash, open the door, then look both ways before crossing would likely be too late and your pup wouldn't make it on time to get to the designated area. 

I like the idea of the grass patch, especially considering that the large grass area across the street is going to be long-term potty area once he's better potty trained. The fact that the surface area looks similar helps a lot. I feel though that, if you could, a patch made out of real grass may be the best option. Grass patches made of real grass require that you purchase a customized tray and then routinely replace the grass every 1 to 4 weeks depending on the frequency the pad is being used. 

While this is likely more costly, the biggest advantage is that dogs are naturally drawn to the smell of natural grass, and on top of this, the real grass does an excellent job in absorbing liquids reducing odors naturally. There is therefore not much need for cleaning or maintenance since the entire unit can be fully disposed of and replaced with a new one on an as-needed basis. Fake grass instead tends to get smelly without daily cleaning, does smell like fresh grass and any waste that is not timely removed can easily stink up a small space.

Other tips that come to mind:

-Learn to recognize the signs your puppy needs to go potty. As a you recognize them, entice your puppy to go to the grass patch and be ready to praise and reward when he does.

-Monitor your puppy carefully, with time, he may start going on the grass pad on their own. Be ready to praise enthusiastically and give several treats in a row when this happens.

-If your dog has accidents around the home, use a paper towel to clean it up and transfer some scent of his urine on the grass pad. 

-Clean all accidents around the home with an odor neutralizer like Nature's Miracle. 

-Make sure the balcony isn't located in an area with scary sights or sounds as a puppy who gets spooked will feel less safe to use the potty. 

-Don't give the full run of the house, you need to keep your puppy in a small area of the home where you can always supervise him and he can readily see and access the patch. 

-Consider that some dogs dislike going potty on the balcony when it's cold out, windy or when it's raining.

Hope this helps, 

Make sure to post pictures of your new Doxie once he joins your family!

Best,

Adrienne 

[FrederykBlot]

Hello,

 

I'm not sure there is a need to add much more but little things : 

- I wouldn't recommend pads : you save your floor, but the training will take longer as they could learn that doing inside is OK

- I would go for the grass box, or even sandbox on the balcony : a special place outside. Having grass of sand can help to recognize the feeling when outside
If he knows to do on the grass on the balcony, the grass outside will feel "familiar"

- signs management is important : we had the chance to had Loki while he was almost clean : most of the accidents were because of us not taking enough attention of the sign. If we would have been more careful, we could avoid most of them if not all

- time : it's the kind of training that will become better with just time, as the bladder will grow bigger, and they would be able to restrain themselves longer

 

and of course, congrats for the pup !

 

[BjStegehuis]

Thanks for all the replies, it's super helpful! I will definitely try to teach him to go on command. We'll also ask the breeder for advice, I think she's already started potty training on some old newspapers. We're looking into the real grass option and will ley you know how it's working!

[JMFS]

Pro tip:  washable pee pads!  Our puppy is incontinent and we ran the grocery store out of pads (I'm sure shortages had something to do with it, but it sure feels like it was us!).  Chewy has these:  Green Lifestyle Reusable Dog Pee Pads and I'm really happy with them.  The girls walk all over them and I'm not very good at claw clipping.  Despite that activity the pads are holding up very well and the size we got holds up to 6 cups of water.  They were out of the 6 pack so I bought 2 of the 4 packs and we have pretty full coverage with that as well as a couple to rotate in when she hits one.

[BjStegehuis]

Update after the first 6 nights;

First of all, little Diego has been amazing, potty training is going very well! We have run into another problem though;

We're trying to get Diego into a routine of eating, going potty, playing/training/socializing etc, sleeping. We're using a crate, which Diego likes, but he really hates being locked up in it (same in a pen). He will whine, scream and bite at the crate when locked up during the day. At night, he doesn't have a problem sleeping in the crate next to our bed. We are feeding him in the crate, playing crate games, using a Kong (which he loves for 10 seconds but loses interest after that), he's got an old T-shirt in it.

The problem we're having because of this, is that the only way we can get him to sleep or at least settle down during the day, is to have him in our lap on the sofa. We've started doing this just to help him settle down a bit after playing, so we could put him in the crate once he was asleep. This worked at first, but now he wakes up and only wants to get back to the sofa. He will just run around, jump up to the couch and bite everything. When he's in the crate, he get's really stressed so that's not helping. When he starts biting, we re-direct to chew toys, but that only works for a short time. 

So for us, it's really hard to tell if this behaviour is because he's not getting enough mental/physical stimulation, or maybe he's getting too much of it. Would love to get your advice on this, and also on other ways to help him settle down a bit when he gets worked up. 

[JMFS]

If he's not chewing them up, our Dachshunds absolutely Love to burrow.  Dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers.  Their little bodies are torpedo shaped and their paws are almost like seal flippers so they can propel themselves into badgers' tunnels.  I don't know if this is specific to Abbi, but she has one super duper fine tuned sniffer. 

Two things we've done is a) blankets - she burrows deep into them, the more blankets the better.  To the point I worry about her suffocating but she pulls them back over her or digs in deeper if I flip them back to give her fresh air.  b) snuffle mat or any other treat hiding game.  There are lots of beds on the market that have cave or tunnel-like qualities that might work for him.  The donut bed is Abbi's absolute favorite.  This is the one we got:  https://www.chewy.com/furhaven-calming-cuddler-long-fur/dp/281286

Here's one another one we have:  https://www.chewy.com/furhaven-microvelvet-snuggery-gel-top/dp/205680
A different version:  https://www.chewy.com/ethical-pet-sleep-zone-cuddle-cave/dp/216013
I wanted to give this a try, but she's so arthritic now she can't get in or out:  https://www.chewy.com/frisco-cave-covered-cat-dog-bed/dp/140613

All our dogs chill with us on the couch, even at dinner time.  They learned, over time, that they weren't getting any food and eventually they start ignoring us eating as we're ignoring them while we're eating.  What you Could do, and Adrienne will correct me if I'm wrong, is put the bed on the couch and put him in that bed with a treat, preferably a long lasting something so he makes a positive association with that bed.  Once he takes to the bed you could move it to the ground and slowly move it to where you'd like him to be when you're having your couch time.  That's how I moved Gertrude off our bed.  Her hair is like needles and there's So much of it - I couldn't take it any more and she had to go to the floor.  Not to mention it doesn't matter if it's an 8-lb or 80-lb dog.  They Will hog the bed.  Abbi is 10 lbs and gets 3/4 of the bed, much to my chagrin!  Gertie leaves her alone, but the husband feels better with her near him; Esther is in her crate because she won't settle down otherwise.

When you rescue him from the crate, how long has it been and are you interacting with him in any way while he's there (even a "shhhh" or poking your head around the corner counts).  Do y'all put him in the crate straight after playing?  He'll get into the Kong eventually.  All three of ours lost interest quickly until they figured out how to work them.  You might try putting easier treats in there to start and if he's not into peanut butter you can totally do plain yogurt, natural apple sauce (no sugar and no xylitol), his kibble moistened (maybe even moistened with beef or chicken broth to make it extra special), pumpkin puree, pureed veggies if he likes any (ours like carrots and sweet potatoes), maybe even a smear or two of baby food (just check the ingredients - they're getting Way too fancy these day and the husband bought some with leeks which are not good for dogs).  Just expect a few more potty trips if you go the veggie or pumpkin routes as they're high in fiber - excellent for if he gets stopped up, though.

[BjStegehuis]

Thanks for replying. We will definitely look into getting a snuffle mat. So far, Diego has only been interested in biting blankets, not in digging in them. I also love the donut bed but as long as he's not been completely potty trained we'd like him to only sleep in the crate, we'll get one of those later. Somehow, todat Diego has been a perfect dog all day, getting into the crate without complaining, playing with the Kong toy for a few minutes (which is a new record:) ). To answer your questions; we've tried completely ignoring him and also talking a bit to him in the crate, but so far ignoring him works a lot better. We don't put him in straight after playing, a typical schedule would go more or less like this;

• 7.00 waking up, going potty
• 7.15 play time
• 7.30 breakfast (maybe a little bit of training/impulse control)
• 7.45 potty again
• 7.50 playing a bit more
• 8.00 calm down with us on the sofa, usually on our lap with a chew toy
• 8.15 When he starts to fall asleep, we put him in the crate and he sleeps for an hour or two.
• etc

Not sure if today was an exception, or maybe he just feels a bit more confident and relaxed now that he's getting used to us and our routines... 

[JMFS]

Routine is a big influence in their lives.  :)  If I break our routine it seems to throw Esther for a loop the rest of the day.

Does he take his meals in his crate?  That could be another way to make it a happy place.

That's good ignoring works better because it will make the training easier.  Talking to him could make him think if he barks or whines Just a little bit longeryou'll cave in.  he gets a gold star for being so well behaved today! 

[BjStegehuis]

Yes, when we walk into the room with his meals, he immediately jumps into his crate. We hand feed part of the meal (in the back of his crate) to teach some impuls control, for the rest of the meal we just put the bowl in his crate. 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

 

 We're using a crate, which Diego likes, but he really hates being locked up in it (same in a pen). He will whine, scream and bite at the crate when locked up during the day. At night, he doesn't have a problem sleeping in the crate next to our bed. We are feeding him in the crate, playing crate games, using a Kong (which he loves for 10 seconds but loses interest after that), he's got an old T-shirt in it.

 

Great to hear that Diego has been doing amazing in potty training! Are you providing some goodies when he's being crated or placed in the pen? Where is the crate located? He is young so he may feel too isolated for now so it may be best if you're nearby.

 

 Here is a general guide on introducing to the crate:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

 

These exercises can be further split in smaller sub-steps. Here is an example on how you can help a young pup learn that the crate is a great place to be.

 

Step 1) A Treasure Chest of Surprises

It all starts by keeping the crate open during the day and letting your puppy randomly find "little treasures" (like treats, kibble, chews, new toys) in it. Place these little treasures in there when your puppy is not around. This should cause your puppy to start visiting the crate more and more in hopes of finding these goodies. If your puppy is reluctant to enter the crate to get these goodies, place them initially nearby the crate rather than directly inside it .

Step 2) The Treat Toss Game

As your puppy visits the crate often and appears more confident entering it, you can start taking a more active role and start tossing treats or kibble (if your puppy loves it) in it so that your puppy enters further and further back in the crate. Once your puppy eats it, and turns to come out, toss another treat in it before he exits just to further prove him how the crate is a wonderful place to be. Once he's out ignore your puppy and don't give anymore treats.

Step 3: Give it Name (Put Going in the Crate on Cue)

Sit nearby the crate and toss a kibble or treat in it and another one before your puppy exits so he stays a bit longer in there. Once he's out, pretend to toss a treat inside.Your puppy should enter the crate looking for it. Once he turns your way, hand feed him a treat while he's inside the crate from your other hand.

Rinse and repeat several times and start gradually morphing your hand toss gesture into a pointing gesture to tell your puppy to go into the crate. Keep on rewarding with a hand-fed treat from your other hand.

At some point, start saying the verbal cue "crate" right before making the hand gesture. Do this several times always rewarding with a hand-fed treat from your other hand before your puppy exits.

Step 4: Open Crate/ Closed Crate Game

The goal of this game is to make your puppy feel like he's closed in a great place, sort of like children being closed in a toy store or candy store where they can feast on toys and candy. Basically, you'll ask your puppy to "crate" and then you'll close the crate door and feed him several treats through it. Once you're done feeding treats, then you'll open the crate door and the feast is over. Rinse and repeat several times.

This exercise makes it clear that great things happen in the crate and all the fun ends once out.

Step 5: Increasing the "Party Time" in the Crate

At some point, you'll start gradually increasing the time your puppy stays in the crate. You can do this by feeding more and more kibble/treats through the crate door or by providing some treats that are longer lasting (like a hollow dog toy like a Kong or Topple filled up with peanut butter or a Lick-Mat smeared with some canned food for dogs or a long-lasting chew that is safe for puppies).

It's important to vary the amount of time the puppy is crated so the puppy doesn't sense an increase in difficulty, with him being crated longer and longer. So a good plan would be for example to do 5 seconds, then 8, then 3, then 10, then 6, then 12, then 4, then 15, then 7, then 9, then 25, then 5, then 15, then 30 seconds etc.

Step 6: Encourage "Independent Parties"

Now, you want to start practicing your puppy staying in the crate alone. Ask your puppy to crate, then provide a treat that takes a few seconds to eat and while your puppy eats it, step away. Come back once your puppy is done. Rinse and repeat several times, always varying the amount of time you are away.

If your puppy ever struggles with this exercise, keep track at the amount of time you were away and take it as a sign you have progressed too quickly. Therefore work more to get him comfy with that time gradually mixing shorter absences and building up to it.

One method I like to use is to place something super tempting in the crate and keeping the crate closed. This should get the puppy's attention. Then once the puppy is pleading to have it ad has built lots of anticipation, you can open the crate door and close it and let him stay there as you step away and come right back when you expect him to have finished.

 

Most puppies learn to accept the crate and the process is minimally stressful, but some others may really struggle with it. In such cases, the puppy may do better with a play pen with the crate always left open inside (latch the door so it doesn't bang against the puppy scaring him) or an indoor tether (always to be used under supervision)

Important is to consider that placing an uncooperative puppy inside a crate leading to lots  of whining, crying pawing and chewing the bars, risks conditioning a negative response toward confinement, leading to crate aversion, which is the opposite of what should be achieved (the goal is obtaining a conditioned positive emotional response to being crated) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

On top of crate aversion, it's important to consider that first impressions are enduring in young pups and they can have everlasting effects.In other words, allowing a young pup to feel frequently anxious and stressed can pave the path for more for fear/anxiety in other areas of their lives.

So if you catch your puppy acting stressed in the crate, it's important to troubleshoot and take smaller steps in the crate conditioning process. It may happen though that sometimes, the puppy still cries in the crate, in such cases, should you open the crate when the puppy is crying?. The problem with this is that the puppy risks learning that crying works to get human attention and being "rescued" out of the crate. It is best therefore to approach and open the crate when the puppy is quiet, but how can the puppy be told to be quiet?

One option is to stop the barking/crying/pawing/chewing bars by using the noise emitted by a squeaky toy to grab your pup's attention and get him to stop barking so that you can then praise him for being quiet and walk towards the crate and open it. If your puppy knows how to sit, you can also train your puppy to always sit before opening the crate door so he's not barking/whining. The ultimate goal though is going back to the drawing board and doing everything possible to make being in the crate a nice place to be. 

Important questions to ask oneself are: are all of the puppy's need met? Can he be thirsty? Hungry? feeling hot or col?  needs to be taken out to potty? Has he received enough exercise/mental stimulation? Is he feeling socially isolated (crates should be nearby with young pups)? Does providing with a shirt that smells like us calm them down? Some young puppies feel reassured with a Snuggle Puppy behavioral aid. Does making the room dark and playing calming music help? Is the puppy cranky from being over tired and needs some help to chill? Giving something to chew can help with that.

Most puppies learn to accept the crate and the process can be minimally stressful, but some others may really struggle with it. In such cases, the puppy may do better with a play pen with a designated potty area in one side and area for sleeping/playing eating on the other and the crate always left open (latch the door so it doesn't bang against the puppy scaring him) or an indoor tether (always to be used under supervision).

[BjStegehuis]

On 9/23/2021 at 7:17 PM, JMFS said:

If he's not chewing them up, our Dachshunds absolutely Love to burrow.  Dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers.  Their little bodies are torpedo shaped and their paws are almost like seal flippers so they can propel themselves into badgers' tunnels.  I don't know if this is specific to Abbi, but she has one super duper fine tuned sniffer. 

Two things we've done is a) blankets - she burrows deep into them, the more blankets the better.  To the point I worry about her suffocating but she pulls them back over her or digs in deeper if I flip them back to give her fresh air.  b) snuffle mat or any other treat hiding game.  There are lots of beds on the market that have cave or tunnel-like qualities that might work for him.  The donut bed is Abbi's absolute favorite.  This is the one we got:  https://www.chewy.com/furhaven-calming-cuddler-long-fur/dp/281286

Here's one another one we have:  https://www.chewy.com/furhaven-microvelvet-snuggery-gel-top/dp/205680
A different version:  https://www.chewy.com/ethical-pet-sleep-zone-cuddle-cave/dp/216013
I wanted to give this a try, but she's so arthritic now she can't get in or out:  https://www.chewy.com/frisco-cave-covered-cat-dog-bed/dp/140613

All our dogs chill with us on the couch, even at dinner time.  They learned, over time, that they weren't getting any food and eventually they start ignoring us eating as we're ignoring them while we're eating.  What you Could do, and Adrienne will correct me if I'm wrong, is put the bed on the couch and put him in that bed with a treat, preferably a long lasting something so he makes a positive association with that bed.  Once he takes to the bed you could move it to the ground and slowly move it to where you'd like him to be when you're having your couch time.  That's how I moved Gertrude off our bed.  Her hair is like needles and there's So much of it - I couldn't take it any more and she had to go to the floor.  Not to mention it doesn't matter if it's an 8-lb or 80-lb dog.  They Will hog the bed.  Abbi is 10 lbs and gets 3/4 of the bed, much to my chagrin!  Gertie leaves her alone, but the husband feels better with her near him; Esther is in her crate because she won't settle down otherwise.

When you rescue him from the crate, how long has it been and are you interacting with him in any way while he's there (even a "shhhh" or poking your head around the corner counts).  Do y'all put him in the crate straight after playing?  He'll get into the Kong eventually.  All three of ours lost interest quickly until they figured out how to work them.  You might try putting easier treats in there to start and if he's not into peanut butter you can totally do plain yogurt, natural apple sauce (no sugar and no xylitol), his kibble moistened (maybe even moistened with beef or chicken broth to make it extra special), pumpkin puree, pureed veggies if he likes any (ours like carrots and sweet potatoes), maybe even a smear or two of baby food (just check the ingredients - they're getting Way too fancy these day and the husband bought some with leeks which are not good for dogs).  Just expect a few more potty trips if you go the veggie or pumpkin routes as they're high in fiber - excellent for if he gets stopped up, though.

Wow, your tips have all been spot on so far! Over the last few days we have bought Diego a snuffle mat and a donut bed (he needed a bit of time to get used to it), and we regularly put some blankets on the ground for him to play with. They have all been a great succes, I'll definitely look into these Kong suggestions next!

[FrederykBlot]

If I may barge in, just to say the steps are spot on, and provide a little self experience although all doggies are

 

Actually the 1/ was one of the most powerful for us. So that he would go by himself to see if another one have spawned.

 

One thing we did much also was complementing with capturing : if he would go in on his own and we see it, he would get an high value treat.

Now, when I get near the crate, he would hop in, sit, and look at me like saying "you see how nice I am ? May I get my treat now ?"

 

And also, you have to give time its due. Even with working daily, he would cry and whine a bit when crated, although less and less. And few months later, you call bedtime, he will go in, sleep without any whining