Housebreaking advice from OwyheeStar Puppy Owners

Breeder's Note: The primary comments (black ink) are from Robert PeArt in Portland. He and his fiancee' (Jennifer) live with Bocce (visit Bocce's Web Page). They have worked very hard with Bocce from the moment they decided upon this breed, through the puppy stage, and even now. Cliff and I asked Robert to contribute to our Website because on numerous occasions he and Jennifer have taken time to write in great detail about the responsibilities and joys of being a Weim family. They have even met with people who live in the Portland area so they can better access if they want to truly become a Weim family. We appreciate this couple a great deal. We know you will benefit from their insights and comments. Also Note: Additional comments are added here and there from various contributors. We sincerely appreciate each one of you sharing your insights!!

Weim housebreaking: Weims are notorious for being difficult to housebreak. This being your first Weimaraner how did that process go for you?

We had about 8 #2's and probably 15 #1's total. One day, we put a jingle bell on a lanyard and hung it around the door knob. I made bocce "ring"it with his nose and paw and then immediately let him outside. We brought him right back in and he did it on his own. (weims are REALLY smart...the pick up both good and bad amazingly fast) I showered him with his positive reinforcement words and treats. From that point on, we never really had any problems. Sometimes, he whacks it so hard that we'll find the bell completely destroyed and laying on the other side of the room.

Crate train. This was hard for me to swallow. I hated the thought of keeping him in that little space all day. We are fortunate enough to work very close to our home so we can go home at lunch and let him out. Now, he loves it. He sees us grab our keys or coat etc to leave, and he just voluntarily goes to his crate. In fact, he freaks out a bit when we leave him in the house free to roam. Weims can have separation issues. If I go out to my car for and return 30 seconds later he greets me like I've been gone for a month. Crate train, it will be great in the long haul and it can save their life, your home, and possibly some treasure item.

Cadence is doing great! I bell trained her for the potty-training thing and she learned to ring it in less than a week. She is potty-trained, and only has an accident when it is my fault. She rings the bell in my mom's house too. And, she is so darn smart that she rings it all the time, runs outside and pretends to pee, and then goes and grabs a stick, or whatever else she is obsessed with at the moment. It is pretty funny. Mandy Rockwell (March 14, 2008)

Potty training - we got a little lax when crating him and you know, it only takes a second around a corner and it sure flows freely. Well, we tried the bell on the door yesterday. At first I was concerned he would only play with it or understand that just dinging it would produce a treat, but either he is real bright or we're great trainers because he chewed on it for a few seconds so I took him outside and no "business". About 20 min later he rang the bell with his nose and I took him outside to do his business and receive a treat. He has not had an accident yet since. We still crate him, but are just more watchful with him when he's out, but he just runs to the door, rings the bell with his nose, waits for us to grab a treat, our jackets and shoes and then we go outside, he gets his treat and his praise with his tail wagging after doing his business. Honestly we lucked out. I never showed him to ring the bell. The first time he rang it I took him outside and since then he just uses the bell. He's only rang it twice as false alarms but he still went outside just didn't do any business.

Dan Barnhart 2/29/2008

Breeder's Note: Our final contributor on the topic of housebreaking your Weimaraner hails from Salt Lake City. If you get to Salt Lake City be sure to stop and visit Roger's wonderful boutique -- http://www.bigrockclothing.com/. While visiting the store, there is a good chance you could spot Melvin (Roger's latest family addition--a Blue Weimaraner from OwyheeStar). If Roger's in the store normally his sidekick is closeby.

Roger was phenomenally successful in his housebreaking process. Therefore, we wanted to ask him to share his personal pointers. For quite sometime he managed to have a perfect record. Well read on and learn what Roger has to share with you about successful housebreaking your Weimaraner puppy.

Early-on I did have a perfect record with housebreaking Melvin , however, to set the record straight, my record is not perfect anymore. He has gone to the bathroom four times in the house. Planning for the arrival and laying out areas was a big part of being initially successful. Also, I made sure I had a plan and followed it. This is how I achieved a nearly perfect housebreaking record:

I have crates in each main room loaded with toys.

I have two pens, one at work and one at home to eliminate too much confinement to a crate.

I have a fully fenced and gated back yard.

I know that after feeding I have about 10 to 15 minutes to let the dog out to relieve himself.

Because there is no perfect time measurement ever, the dog is either always with me or I know what he is doing. He will never relieve inside a crate. But, I cannot leave him in a crate all day.

My dog only cries or whines for three reasons: food, water, or to relieve himself (big clues).

To really cover myself, I make sure to leave him in the gated back after eating for 20 minutes. He will run, smell, investigate, relieve himself and hopefully tire out. I actually do this about 4 times at night. In the day, I take him on frequent walks. Overall, I really try not to give the dog a chance to spoil a good routine. I watch him like a hawk.

I hope this information is helpful to others, Roger

April 2nd, 2008

Breeder's Note on Housebreaking: Over the last few years with greater frequency, people has reported great success using a bell hanging on the door. They sell these online. We have never used the bell method simply because we have too many Weims. Smiles Just to put this in perspective at least every litter has someone that writes about their success in housebreaking due to the use of a bell. In addition, the second greatest tip is most truly successful people use a crate. Other tips include tying the pup to you. The bottom line is until they go to the door and let you know they have to go, you must keep an eye on them when they are running free. Failure to succeed early-on could lead to years of soiled and wet floors. Weims are very concrete in their thinking and behavior. Once they learn something, that is the way they think it is from there on out. So changing a bad behavior is more difficult than just being ahead of the curve with your training.

This page was last updated on: April 26, 2008

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