# How do you potty train?



## lani (Sep 14, 2004)

I currently have two girls. I want to get a boy dog but I don't know how to potty train them. Can they use a wee wee pad like girls? Do they lift their legs?


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

The same way you housetrain a girl, with care and consistency. If you do not offer a dog verticle surfaces to urinate on and enforce housetraining, leg lifting in the house should not be an issue. Neutering helps. Myself and many people I know have intact males and we don't have dogs marking all over the house.


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## lani (Sep 14, 2004)

What is the earliest and safest age to neuter?


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Lani_@Dec 30 2004, 07:07 PM
> *I currently have two girls. I want to get a boy dog but I don't know how to potty train them. Can they use a wee wee pad like girls? Do they lift their legs?
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=26434*


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I asked myself those same questions when deciding on a male. In fact, I got so panicked about the leg lifting, I called the breeder at the last minute and tried to switch to a girl, but lucky for me she didn't have one because I love having a male. 

I did not want him to learn to lift his leg because I use potty pads in the house. I never took him where he would see or smell the urination of other male dogs and I had him neutered at just under 6 months. He still sort of squats when he urinates and has never marked or ever lifted his leg. In fact, he has never even humped anything or anyone and he is almost 8 months now. (He has never even showed his little "thingy"







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And he was so easy to potty train... much easier than my female. It took her a full year and he was about 75% trained at a 4 months or so. He is about 95% there now. To train him I put him on his potty pad and said "hurry up"..... the smell of the pad made him "go" and I kept saying "hurry up" while he went (of course you can use any word you want!) and of course, praised him to high heaven for getting it right. So, every time I wanted him to "go" I would say "my" words. Now, if I point to his pad and say "hurry up", he'll go no matter what, even a tiny drop. Almost all of the time now he will seek out his pad and go there.

I love having a male.... he is so affectionate and lovey.... I don't know if I would ever get a female again because of his extremely loving personality.... assuming this is normal for a male!


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## ButterCloudandNoriko (Aug 26, 2004)

Buttercloud isn't around any other boys but he still hiked his leg up to tinkle. He did mark before I neutered him. Afterwards, I still see him lift his leg up, but sometimes, he just doesnt (What's funny is when he lift his front leg up







). He doesn't mark anymore *crossing fingers*. Every dog is different. Just train them the same as you train the girls. Don't be scared







. No biggie.


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## lani (Sep 14, 2004)




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## Mystify79 (Apr 6, 2004)

Tuffy is trained to pee pads and he squats to pee. He marks every now and again when we are out on a walk but he never hikes his leg to pee at home. He was trained to paper by his breeder so he was super easy to train when I got him home. I assume the training for a boy is probably the same as with a girl. The hiking leg thing though is probably learned from other male dogs so he may never do it.


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## Mystify79 (Apr 6, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Kallie/Catcher's Mom_@Dec 30 2004, 06:50 PM
> *I love having a male.... he is so affectionate and lovey.... I don't know if I would ever get a female again because of his extremely loving personality.... assuming this is normal for a male!
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=26444*


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Tuffy likes to buck the trend of the loving male..







he's such a punk sometimes, he hates to cuddle and is always trying to wiggle away. He is affectionate in his own way but he isn't the typical mommy's boy for me. Of course, I've never had a female dog so I can't compare.


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## lani (Sep 14, 2004)

Awwwww


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

My male dog has never been around another male and he was lifting his leg at 5 months. The only time he marks is on my tires after I've been where another dog has marked them. (My bestfriends dog comes running with his leg up and already peeing when I pull into the driveway) He's humped a few times,(mostly on his stuffed toys) but if you let them know that it's inappropriate they'll stop. I use wee wee pads, and he's never had any trouble with it...however I have a cat litter box with a rim around it (that I cut a side off, so he could get in) and he's not tall enough to pee over it and it works just great for me.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Mystify79+Dec 30 2004, 08:39 PM-->
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Tuffy likes to buck the trend of the loving male..







he's such a punk sometimes, he hates to cuddle and is always trying to wiggle away. He is affectionate in his own way but he isn't the typical mommy's boy for me. Of course, I've never had a female dog so I can't compare.








<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=26454
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He's neutered, right?


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Nichole_@Jan 1 2005, 03:39 PM
> *I too was worried about Toby being a male and not being affectionate.  The breeder assured me it had to do with the dog's personality and not the sex--WOW, was she ever right!  I don't think I have ever had a dog so attached to me!  I LOVE IT!
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Yes, I was just noticing just now ..... I have both dogs in the kitchen with me, where my computer is, with the bottom of the "Dutch door" closed. Kallie is lying by the door but Catcher is on the floor right by my desk chair that I'm sitting in, with his head resting on one of its legs.


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## Mystify79 (Apr 6, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Kallie/Catcher's Mom+Dec 31 2004, 04:02 PM-->
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He's neutered, right?
<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=26631
[/B][/QUOTE]
Yep, he's neutered.. but sometimes it's hard to tell! But I will amend my previous statement, this weekend he was the most loving little guy.. We spent some time at my husband's aunt's house and he did not want to be away from me AT ALL. He hasn't left my lap, arms or personal space in the last 29 hours! He was really feeling out of place there so he wanted his mommy to reassure him. Boy is he glad to be home now though! Me too for that matter!


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## lonestar (Dec 21, 2004)

My little Rudy is six months old and completely potty trained on the wee wee pads







.He does not lift his leg as of yet.I really like the wee wee pads for training.It was very easy for me and the puppy learned very fast......Good luck


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

Brinkley is 10 months old and has only hinted at lifting his leg once...and I think that was because he wasn't all the way in the wee-pad box. Sometimes when we are walking he will sniff trees and stuff, and I think..."oh, no...here it comes!" But, he never marks. He also only tried to hump my arm and the cat a few times before he was neutered. He has never done it since.

I don't know about the personality, affection difference in boys/girls. We have two female dogs outside that are the sweetest babies ever...and Brinkley is really affectionate and has become more of a "lap" dog, the more time that goes by since his neutering. He doesn't always have to be on me or or by me, but he definitely has to be in the same room.


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## Laceys mom (Nov 12, 2004)

Lacey is a little girl...when she uses her piddle pad she lifts her right legs - back and front. She doesn't want to get her paws wet. She is so funny to watch her trying to balance, I keep waiting for her to fall over.


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## scottchelf (Sep 25, 2004)

Training Schuster was no big problem and, based on my experiences, has nothing to do with the sex of my baby.

The most important tools is consistency, repetition, patience and LOTS of love.

I taught him slowly- using a pee pad when he was just a puppy, slowly moving the pee pad closer to the door. Then as I started to teach him to walk on the retractable leash, we would pass the pee pad, and he would find him a spot outside and relieve himself. The spot outside eventually became the only spot he'd go too. Rain and snow seems to mask his marking outside because after such weather, he'll slightly move his area of selection, but he is where he needs to be!

Now, what does moving the pee pad closer to the door have to do with anything? Well, I was told by a friend of mine, who has LOTS of experience training puppies, that if you can teach them to "signal" to you that it is time to go outside by going to the door, then it reduces the chance of an accident, especially when they go around in the house sniffing, then become excited and run from you as you go to pick them up and take them outside, and because of the excitement, he has an accident. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I have to admit, it did work PERFECTLY. Sure, he has had his accidents in the house, and I do take the blame for 99% of it because I either play with him and get him excited by chasing and barking at him (my wife does think I'm an idiot when I do this!!! ) LOL









Now... it's time to train Grace. She is pad trained and has been pretty much since we got her, but right now it's too cold to consistently try to work with her. Spring will be here shortly and that I guess is when we'll work with her and break her from the pad and have her go outside.


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