Training our puppy

by Anne Tabor
(Crown Point, NY)

Trying to train our little 11 week old silky terrier to go outside to pee.

No matter how many times he goes outside, he does it in the house too just as much! Even wet on my bed today.

And is it true that males are harder to train than females?

Please help!!!




Hi Anne
House training a puppy is the first hurdle new owners face, and it takes a lot of time, consistency and patience to get the job done!

What your pup is doing is actually very normal, and so far he simply hasn't understood that he needs to 'go' outside ONLY. Puppies are creatures of habit, and he needs to only have the opportunity to eliminate outdoors, that way he will learn the correct habit.

I would strongly suggest that you get a crate and crate-train your little guy. This is the best and simplest method of housebreaking. Done properly, it basically eliminates the opportunity for your pup to have an 'accident' indoors, and teaches the correct habits.

It takes time and patience to crate train any pup, and in my own personal experience I haven't found any real difference in the degree of difficulty in house training either males or females.

Smaller dogs can be a bit more challenging in general because they have tiny bladders and therefore need to 'go' very often. The plus side to this is that they do mature faster than the larger/giant breeds, so their bladder/bowel control matures proportionally faster.

I would recommend that you have your pup neutered before he's 6 months old, as an adolescent un-neutered male will have a tendency to 'spray' or 'mark' his territory with urine. This isn't the same issue as housetraining, but is definitely undesirable in a dog who is sharing your home, and once the behavior starts it's difficult to stop.

Hang in there, best of luck with your pup.