Potty Training - Please Help!

Nancy K.G. wrote:  

Don't know if this consists of a behavioral issue, but here goes....I have a 10 week old Beagle mix puppy. I take her out to go potty then she comes back into the house and a few minutes later, goes again. Why is that and what am I doing wrong? Please, anyone who can help, please do!! Thanks in advance....

Hi Nancy,  

Ohhhh, the delightful and frustrating perils of having a puppy.  A puppy isn't able to reliably control their bladder and bowel until they are about 20 weeks of age, although you should see their control improve from 10-20 weeks of age.  So in other words, it will probably get better with time.

Here are some quick tips regarding housbreaking:

1. Make sure your puppy has had enough time to do their business outdoors before brining her back in as maybe she just wasn’t yet done.
2. When you take her outdoors, make pottying the first order of business and then verbally praise her after she eliminates.
3. Take her on leash to the same spot for her to eliminate as the smell of where she has gone before will stimulate her to eliminate.
4. As she eliminates, name the behavior by saying “potty”, “break”, or another term.
5. When she comes back inside, keep a close watch of her in case she needs to go back outside again.
6. Keep a close watch of her by closing the door of the room you are in with her, attaching her to a leash which then is attached to your waist and by teaching her to rest comfortably on a dog bed, “place” command.
7. “Crate train” her so that when you can’t closely supervise her activities she can rest comfortably in the crate that is only large enough for her to lay down, stand up and turn around.  
8. Take her outdoors often, much more often than you may think one should have to.  This may mean hourly outings and certainly every time after a play session, upon waking up, and after eating or drinking.
9. Feed your puppy a high quality dog food, such as Life Abundance, that doesn’t contain by-products, corn and dyes.
10. Consult with a professional dog trainer for more advice as training questions are a challenge to answer within the confines of an email or blog entry.  A trainer can help you make sure your puppy starts off on the “right paw.”
11. And if the situation doesn’t improve despite the above tips, take your puppy to your veterinarian for a wellness check.

For professional dog training in Michigan, contact Michael Burkey at http://www.MichiganDogTrainer.com, info@MichiganDogTrainer.com, 734-634-4152.

E-Palozza - Continuing Education for Professional Dog Trainers

It's crucial for professional dog trainers to commit and be responsible for their own on-going personal development.  As such, this week I'm attending the annual E-Palozza dog training program at "That's My Dog" training center in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.  

E-Palooza is a gathering place for professional dog trainers who use remote training collars as part of their overall training program.  "That's My Dog's" owner and Training Director, Robin MacFarlane states:  "....As all things, the event (E-Palozza) has evolved over the years and the E in palooza represents much more than just the electronic collar. It is about, education, entertainment, enthusiasm, ethics…all the things that the people that gather here represent. It is about creating a higher standard for professional trainers."  That program kickstarts starts tomorrow with an exciting group of featured speakers representing the medical field, dog training, business building and personal development specialities.

However, for the purpose of today's blog, I want to talk about the awesome opportunity I and two other business owners had by spending the day with MacFarlane.  It was a personable focused introspection of our businesses and the steps we can implement to take our businesses to the next level, whatever that meant for each of us.  Through discussion, questions and challenges; MacFarlane helped each of us develop a business plan that was highly personal and realistic to our individual needs and passions.  

As with any goal setting program, there must be action steps that are developed and implemented in order to accomplish the goal.  MacFarlane recommends limiting the core goals to just three at a time that can receive focused attention.  Otherwise, it is too tempting to become distracted by other events and projects that result in our energy being applied elsewhere rather than on our core goals.  Along with actions steps, she recommended that time frames be established for completion of the goals and action steps.  It is also helpful for them to be shared with a partner or mentor to ensure accountability to the program.  

Having been a social worker in a former career, goal setting comes second nature for me.  And this is what we do with dog training clients every day; help them develop training plans that are effective, realistic, personalized and broken down into doable action steps for the client and their dog.  And yet, today's session was extremely helpful for me.  


With the guidance of a trusted and knowledgable professional, it provided me with clarification of what is important to me and what makes me happy.  This in turn will enable me to become even more effective when servicing my clients and their dogs.  Additionally, MacFarlane was an excellent sounding board to bounce our ideas of from.  Drawn from her vast experience, she provided constructive feedback, imparted new knowledge and suggested ways to keep learning fun.

As I experienced with MacFarlane today, I  recommend that you take some time for yourself and visualize the type of relationship you desire to have with your dog.  With the help of a trusted and professional dog trainer, you can develop a personalized and realistic training plan for your dog (three goals at a time) that includes actions steps to be accomplished within agreed upon time frames.  And, by consulting with an experienced dog trainer, you will learn new skills and build accountability into your program to ensure success of your core training goals.  Now go have some fun training time with your dog! 

For professional dog training in Michigan, contact Michael Burkey at http://www.MichiganDogTrainer.com, info@MichiganDogTrainer.com, 734-634-4152.