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Okay, so my husband and I just picked up our 8 week old king charles cavalier this Sunday. I am doing my best to potty train him, positive reinforcement only, keep him in a crate while he is unsupervised, and I come home every hour to two hours to let him outside. He isn't going in his crate at night or during the day. The problem is, we live in a really cold climate (it was a high of 19 degrees today, 5 yesterday). When I take him outside, within minutes he's shaking and refuse to move. I haven't been able to go potty outside yet, not even once. As soon as I bring him back in he goes in the house. When he starts to go in the house I quickly take him outside and then I give him a treat and celebrate for finishing outside. I'm afraid I'm sending mixed messages.
What do I do to get him to go outside? I know it's still very early but I want to do this the right way!
We trained our dogs to the puppy pads for when the weather's too bad to go out. You can buy 100 for $20. We put 2 in the bathroom floor. Wife was home all the time and trained them for outside and on the pads. Both our dogs (we didn't have them both to train at the same time. Older one was 4 yrs old when we got the puppy.) could be left alone all day, or all night if you had an over night trip, before they were a year old and only went on the pads.
I do have a sweater for him but it doesn't seem to help much, I have some puppy socks coming tomorrow and I'm hoping that will help with cold feet. I take him on our patio which is fairly sheltered from wind.
I have heard a lot about using puppy pads but many people say it teaches them bad behaviors and that its ok to go inside, I just really don't want him to get the wrong idea.
Puppies Should Not Be outside in extreme weather! They Cant regulate their body temp! Teach him to go inside in a area You pick on a Pad! Come spring/summer just move the pad out side. Also at his age the world is scary. Betting hes not leashed trained...you can work on that inside also.
I live up in Northern Ontario where it can go as low as -35F in the winter. We also (usually) get many feet of snowfall.
I have never trained any of my dogs on puppy pads. (I've raised 2 labs and 2 toy breeds-yorkie/poodles) All of them were young puppies when we got them and they were born in the fall so they were raised and toilet trained through the winter. The yorkie-poos were only 3 lbs when we got them. They were toilet trained to go outside right from the start.
There is nothing wrong with taking them out for a few minutes in extreme weather. None of my puppies have ever been sick from going outside in the cold. I'll add that unless we're going to be out for longer than a couple of minutes, I don't put a dog coat on them. Our old girl (yorkie-poo) is now 16 and she rarely has an accident in the house. She comes and barks at me to go out even though she hates the cold and snow, BECAUSE she was properly trained.
Of course you have to use common sense for how long you keep them outside!!!! I know taking them outside in cold weather isn't comfortable for them, and it isn't comfortable for us humans who have to get our jackets, hats and boots on.
I have often said that I like potty training puppies in the winter the best because
1, they don't waste time snuffling around because they get cold if they do
2, there aren't interesting tidbits of leaves, grass, twigs, bugs, etc to distract them (snow covers everything up)
The key to training a dog summer or winter is to get them out the door on time. It is a hassle, it is miserable at times, it is time consuming, it is frustrating and you have to watch for signs like a hawk, but it works. You can't be lazy... I gave my brother MAJOR crap when he told me he put his puppy into their bathtub to pee in the night. He was just too lazy to take her outside at 5 am. His dog is now 8 and she still isn't properly house trained. He and his wife also thought that crate training was mean. So frustrating that they wouldn't listen to me!!!
OP, my suggestion to you is to try to keep track of the time between his pees. (write the times down on a notepad)
You should see some kind of pattern, give or take 5-10 minutes. THEN either take him outside at that point, or watch him like a hawk. The minute he starts looking around inside, (pick him up, it's quicker) and get him outside even if it means you don't have time to put on your jacket. Grab it as you run by and put it on outside if you have to, but get him outside. Take him to the same spot every time. Praise the living daylights out of him when he goes! You have to keep doing this over and over and OVER.
Good luck!
A side note: when she was a puppy, our youngest dog (3 years old now)wouldn't whine or bark to ask out. She'd just go to the door which is not in plain sight of our living area. If I didn't see her there, she'd pee inside at the door. My solution was firstly to teach her to speak (bark/whine) on command. (do a Google search for teaching this) After she learned to "speak" I took her to the door and told her to speak. When she woofed, I gave her a treat, and then I'd take her outside. It worked great. Now, no matter where we are in the house, she comes and looks at me and whines, and I know she has to go outside.
Last edited by gouligann; 01-21-2016 at 03:55 AM..
I live up in Northern Ontario where it can go as low as -35F in the winter. We also (usually) get many feet of snowfall.
I have never trained any of my dogs on puppy pads. (I've raised 2 labs and 2 toy breeds-yorkie/poodles) All of them were young puppies when we got them and they were born in the fall so they were raised and toilet trained through the winter. The yorkie-poos were only 3 lbs when we got them. They were toilet trained to go outside right from the start.
There is nothing wrong with taking them out for a few minutes in extreme weather. None of my puppies have ever been sick from going outside in the cold. I'll add that unless we're going to be out for longer than a couple of minutes, I don't put a dog coat on them. Our old girl (yorkie-poo) is now 16 and she rarely has an accident in the house. She comes and barks at me to go out even though she hates the cold and snow, BECAUSE she was properly trained.
Of course you have to use common sense for how long you keep them outside!!!! I know taking them outside in cold weather isn't comfortable for them, and it isn't comfortable for us humans who have to get our jackets, hats and boots on.
I have often said that I like potty training puppies in the winter the best because
1, they don't waste time snuffling around because they get cold if they do
2, there aren't interesting tidbits of leaves, grass, twigs, bugs, etc to distract them (snow covers everything up)
The key to training a dog summer or winter is to get them out the door on time. It is a hassle, it is miserable at times, it is time consuming, it is frustrating and you have to watch for signs like a hawk, but it works. You can't be lazy... I gave my brother MAJOR crap when he told me he put his puppy into their bathtub to pee in the night. He was just too lazy to take her outside at 5 am. His dog is now 8 and she still isn't properly house trained. He and his wife also thought that crate training was mean. So frustrating that they wouldn't listen to me!!!
OP, my suggestion to you is to try to keep track of the time between his pees. (write the times down on a notepad)
You should see some kind of pattern, give or take 5-10 minutes. THEN either take him outside at that point, or watch him like a hawk. The minute he starts looking around inside, (pick him up, it's quicker) and get him outside even if it means you don't have time to put on your jacket. Grab it as you run by and put it on outside if you have to, but get him outside. Take him to the same spot every time. Praise the living daylights out of him when he goes! You have to keep doing this over and over and OVER.
Good luck!
A side note: when she was a puppy, our youngest dog (3 years old now)wouldn't whine or bark to ask out. She'd just go to the door which is not in plain sight of our living area. If I didn't see her there, she'd pee inside at the door. My solution was firstly to teach her to speak (bark/whine) on command. (do a Google search for teaching this) After she learned to "speak" I took her to the door and told her to speak. When she woofed, I gave her a treat, and then I'd take her outside. It worked great. Now, no matter where we are in the house, she comes and looks at me and whines, and I know she has to go outside.
Great post. I've never used pee pads either. My pups have survived cold winter temps and potty trained pretty quickly. I did have warm coats but didn't bother with them much because there often wasn't time to put it on and make it outside in time. I made short times outside all about going pee peeing and/or pooping. lol Complete with songs and clapping...then quickly back inside for a treat.
I live up in Northern Ontario where it can go as low as -35F in the winter. We also (usually) get many feet of snowfall.
I have never trained any of my dogs on puppy pads. (I've raised 2 labs and 2 toy breeds-yorkie/poodles) All of them were young puppies when we got them and they were born in the fall so they were raised and toilet trained through the winter. The yorkie-poos were only 3 lbs when we got them. They were toilet trained to go outside right from the start.
There is nothing wrong with taking them out for a few minutes in extreme weather. None of my puppies have ever been sick from going outside in the cold. I'll add that unless we're going to be out for longer than a couple of minutes, I don't put a dog coat on them. Our old girl (yorkie-poo) is now 16 and she rarely has an accident in the house. She comes and barks at me to go out even though she hates the cold and snow, BECAUSE she was properly trained.
Of course you have to use common sense for how long you keep them outside!!!! I know taking them outside in cold weather isn't comfortable for them, and it isn't comfortable for us humans who have to get our jackets, hats and boots on.
I have often said that I like potty training puppies in the winter the best because
1, they don't waste time snuffling around because they get cold if they do
2, there aren't interesting tidbits of leaves, grass, twigs, bugs, etc to distract them (snow covers everything up)
The key to training a dog summer or winter is to get them out the door on time. It is a hassle, it is miserable at times, it is time consuming, it is frustrating and you have to watch for signs like a hawk, but it works. You can't be lazy... I gave my brother MAJOR crap when he told me he put his puppy into their bathtub to pee in the night. He was just too lazy to take her outside at 5 am. His dog is now 8 and she still isn't properly house trained. He and his wife also thought that crate training was mean. So frustrating that they wouldn't listen to me!!!
OP, my suggestion to you is to try to keep track of the time between his pees. (write the times down on a notepad)
You should see some kind of pattern, give or take 5-10 minutes. THEN either take him outside at that point, or watch him like a hawk. The minute he starts looking around inside, (pick him up, it's quicker) and get him outside even if it means you don't have time to put on your jacket. Grab it as you run by and put it on outside if you have to, but get him outside. Take him to the same spot every time. Praise the living daylights out of him when he goes! You have to keep doing this over and over and OVER.
Good luck!
A side note: when she was a puppy, our youngest dog (3 years old now)wouldn't whine or bark to ask out. She'd just go to the door which is not in plain sight of our living area. If I didn't see her there, she'd pee inside at the door. My solution was firstly to teach her to speak (bark/whine) on command. (do a Google search for teaching this) After she learned to "speak" I took her to the door and told her to speak. When she woofed, I gave her a treat, and then I'd take her outside. It worked great. Now, no matter where we are in the house, she comes and looks at me and whines, and I know she has to go outside.
Excellent Post. I would add one thing for small dogs and snow. Keep an area shoveled for them to go. Doesn't have to be shoveled to the ground, but just so they can walk on packed snow without sinking in. I used to cringe when my little LhasaPoo female squatted in the snow. Brrrrr.
Excellent Post. I would add one thing for small dogs and snow. Keep an area shoveled for them to go. Doesn't have to be shoveled to the ground, but just so they can walk on packed snow without sinking in. I used to cringe when my little LhasaPoo female squatted in the snow. Brrrrr.
Yes, shoveling is an absolute must with short little doggie legs lol. Cold snow on the tush when they squat wouldn't be fun!
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Great post. I've never used pee pads either. My pups have survived cold winter temps and potty trained pretty quickly. I did have warm coats but didn't bother with them much because there often wasn't time to put it on and make it outside in time. I made short times outside all about going pee peeing and/or pooping. lol Complete with songs and clapping...then quickly back inside for a treat. 
