Daschunds (often referred to as Sausage Dogs) are a really popular breed nowadays, but are gaining a bit of a reputation for being difficult to train – with housetraining being a particularly troublesome time for inexperienced owners. As every dog is different, this is definitely not going to be a step by step guide to getting your Daschund toilet trained, but rather giving you a few pointers to help you make a success of whichever housebreaking method you choose.
Toilet training your new Daschund puppy may be your first foray into dog training, and getting it “wrong” may setback your desire to carry out any further training and even lead to other problem behaviors from your dog. Making a plan for potty training your dog, and sticking to it, is essential if you are to succeed in getting your Daschund to stay clean in the house.
The first thing to take into considering when planning your dog’s feeding and toileting schedule is where you are living. This is a crucial part of how you will go about house training, as the method you ultimately choose will be dependent on your living situation. For example, it would be extremely difficult for your dog to get out to potty if you live in a tenth floor apartment, so you need to consider the type of house training based on this information. If your dog does not have ready access to a garden or yard, then you should think about either paper training or litter box training.
Also, think about how long your Daschund will be expected to be left alone. Remember that small dogs need to eliminate more often than bigger dogs, so cannot be expected to “hold it in” for more than a couple of hours. If you are serious about her only toileting outside, then you either need to be home most of the day to take her on frequent pee breaks or have a friend or paid dog walker visit when you are not going to be around.
Even the smallest apartment can feel massive to a small dog left home alone and this can lead to your Daschund soiling in the house through anxiety or stress. To avoid this, you might want to crate her when you are not around. If she has been introduced to the crate properly and does not see it as a form of punishment, then the crate will be a safe haven that she can feel comfortable and safe in when she is left alone. There will also be less chance of any accidents, as dogs are naturally clean animals and will not usually mess in their dens.
Once you have decided which house training method is best for your dog, you can follow just a few sinple steps to make it a success:
Feed your dog at set times each day, and remove any food not eaten after 20 minutes. Do not leave a bowl of food out for your dog to pick at all day.
Give your dog ample opportunity to relieve herself in the chosen spot after eating. If she does not go straight away, wait 15 minutes and try again until she does.
Limit access to water overnight unless there is a medical reason not to.
By putting some thought into how you will go about toilet training, you will be setting your Daschund up for success, which will greatly speed up getting her housebroken, and be much less stressful for both you, other family members and your dog
Tags: daschund, House Training Your Dog, housebreaking, housetraining, toilet training
You can follow that method, but it is not ideal. There would be a greater risk of the dog ‘having an accident’ indoors, or simply choosing to go on the paper (or where it is normally left)rather than letting you know she wants to go outside. If you have no option than to leave your dog alone for any length of time, you would probably be best just teaching her the paper/pad method.
Alternatively, if you have an enclosed garden or yard, consider installing a doggy door so the dog can get outside to potty during the day.
Is it possible to both paper train and outside train a puppy? Like while we are gone and he can’t hold it he goes on the paper and goes outside when we are home?