I just bought a six month old miniature pinscher. I have read that they are stubborn to housebreak. When I take him outside all he does is sniff around and eat bugs but will eventually pee. When he comes in, he sometimes poops within 5-10 min. I have even cought him squating and picked him up and took him outside for 20 minutes but he still will not go outside. He pooped outside once and never again. I even praised him when he did it. I don't know what else to do.

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Good luck.

What you need to do is to try to pick up on his schedule. Young puppies are easier, it is like 5 minutes after they eat. A little before he usually has a bowel movement, not only take him out, but make him walk around. Let him stop and sniff around when he wants to. Give him lots of leash if he start running in little circles.

It is possible wherever he was the last 6 months, he was punished for bowel movements in the house and is afraid of doing it in front of you. You could try leaving him outside by himself. If you don't have a fenced yard, a simple tether will do for short periods. Watch him from a window, and go out and praise him if you see a bowel movement.

This is meant for younger puppies, but you can pick out some things you need.
Housebreaking starts before you get home with the new puppy. If you don't have
A crate, buy one. I prefer the more enclosed, den like plastic ones. Skip the
Bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking
Hazards. A wire rack in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of
Accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but a piece of closely
Spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. If you
Already have a metal crate, covering it may help. Just make sure you use
Something the puppy can't pull in and chew. Dogs that start in crates as
Little puppies, accept them very well. Never leave an unattended puppy loose
In the house. If nobody can watch it, put it in the crate. I suggest letting
The dog have its crate all its life.

Choose a command and spot you want it to use. The less accessible to strays,
The less chance of serious disease. If it is a female, choosing a
Non grassy spot will avoid brown spots later. When you bring it home, take it
To the spot and give it the command in a firm, but friendly voice. Keep
Repeating the command and let the puppy sniff around. If it does anything,
Praise it. Really let it know what a good dog it is and how much you love it,
And maybe a treat. Note, being out there not only means you can praise it,
But it also keeps it from being snatched by a hawk. If it doesn't go, take it
Inside and give it a drink and any meals scheduled. A young puppy will need to
Go out immediately afterward. Go to the spot and follow the above routine.
Praising it if it goes is extremely important. If it doesn't go, take it back
Inside and put it in its crate and try again soon. Do not let it loose in the
House until it does go.

At first it is your responsibility to know and take the puppy out when it
Needs to go. It needs to go out the first thing in the morning, after eating,
Drinking, and sleeping. If it quits playing, and starts running around
Sniffing, it is looking for a place to go. Take it out quickly. You will just
Have to be what I call puppy broke until it is a little older.

By the time most dogs are about 3 months old, they have figured out that if
They go to the door and stand, you will let them out. The praise slowly shifts
To going to the door. Some people hang a bell there for the dog to paw. If
Your dog doesn't figure this out, try praising it and putting it out if it
Even gets near the door. A stern "Bad dog!" is all the punishment that is
Effective, and only when you catch it in the act and are sure you didn't miss
It going to the door. Clean up accidents promptly. I mostly keep the little
Puppies out of the carpeted rooms. Still I need the can of carpet foam
Sometimes. First blot up all the urine you can with a dry towel. Keep moving
It and stepping on it until a fresh area stays dry. A couple big putty knives
Work well on bowel movements. Just slide one under it while holding it with
The other. This gets it up with a minimum of pushing it down into the carpet.
This works with even relatively soft ones, vomit, dirt from over turned house
Plants, or anything else from solids to thick liquids. Finish up with a good
Shot of carpet foam. Note, do not let the puppy lick up the carpet foam.
Once the dog is reliably housebroken, your carpet may need a good steam cleaning.

Many people strongly strongly push cleaning up all evidence of past accidents. I am slower to suggest that. Dogs will return to the same spot if they can find it. When you see one sniffing the spot, that is your clue to run it out.

I have an almost 5 month old min pin female. She was extremely difficult to housebreak. We have her puppy pad trained during the day when we are at work and she goes outside for us when we are home with her. BUT, it's still a project to get her to poop outside. She will usually poop for us BUT she sometimes will sniff and sniff (and I know she has to go because she's walking like she has a stick up her butt and her butt is puffing out). She also eats the grass, looks for bugs, pretty much eats anything. IT's like she's so nervous and obsessed or something that she has to eat everything. Then sometimes she will run around hysterically like she's on speed. Sometimes it takes a good half hour to get her to poop. I don't know what her deal is. Be patient. Min Pins are very very stubborn!

My dog is the same way. This must be a common situation. My dog is a miniature poodle about 1.5 yrs, 12 lbs and he does not have a consistency in peeing and pooping outside - even on a schedule. He does only what he needs to, then he'll come running inside. So I started going out in the yard with him and made kissy noises and clapped my hands. This helped at first, then he started standing there waiting for me to take him in. He is very inconsistent. He'll poop in the morning while I take my shower, or I'll come home for lunch and he pooped on the carpet. He always pees outside real well. I don't know if it's the breed or the dog's personality. He gets a treat every time he comes in, so I think he learned that. He can also be timid when he goes out, for instance he'll see a weed and jump back, like it came out of nowhere. Luckily he has a good diet so the poop hasn't made a terrible mess. Anyway, I've had him since March and it's August now so this is probably how he's going to be. Oh and he does like to be walked on the leash, but he's inconsistent and sometimes will go right for the car like he's going for a ride. Maybe I just got a silly dog who's easily confused :rolleyes: My last dog - he loved being outside so much, I couldn't bring him in!

MinPins are one of THE most difficult dogs to housetrain. Are you crating her?

Please go to this website specifically for MinPins It has housebreaking steps to make your life easier!! MinPin List at Saluki.org - Helpful Housetraining Hints - by Donna Luzzo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jessicag4

I just bought a six month old miniature pinscher. I have read that they are stubborn to housebreak. When I take him outside all he does is sniff around and eat bugs but will eventually pee. When he comes in, he sometimes poops within 5-10 min. I have even cought him squating and picked him up and took him outside for 20 minutes but he still will not go outside. He pooped outside once and never again. I even praised him when he did it. I don't know what else to do.

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I am having a problem with an almost 4 month old Yorkie puppy I am petsitting. She is crated most of the time when she is alone or simply can't be watched. The owners occasionally leave her in the tiled bathroom because they don't want her in the crate too much. She has only gone poop outside one time since they brought her home 3 weeks ago at 12 weeks old. Yes, it turns out she is from a pet store. But, for example, I took her out of her crate and the first thing we do is go outside to "go potty" and she usually will pee outside. Then I take her for a short walk, take her to her potty area one more time and we go inside. I play with throwing her toys in her playroom and she gets lots of exercise. Then, I saw her sniffing around the baseboards like she was going to poop so I took her outside to "go potty" for ten minutes. I then put her in her crate and did about 3 minutes of paperwork. As soon as I returned to make sure she was okay for me to leave--she had pooped--1 in the middle of her crate area, one on the side and one somehow behind the crate back "wall". This happens often for both the puppy parents I'm working for and for me. We've made the crate area just big enough for her to turn around and lay down. I don't know what else to do. How long should it take to potty train this puppy anyway?

Well, yours is a difficult situation since the puppy was kind of crated at the pet store and had to poop where she was so crate training doesn't usually work for those type of situations. Plus Yorkshire Terriers tend to be a little hard to train, than some other breeds, as a result of their very nature to work without human interaction or assistance of any sort. This independence and free-spirited nature of Yorkshire Terriers make them rather difficult to house-break. However, consistent training will result in your Yorkie learning a great deal. All you really need to do is be patient and invest sufficient time and energy into training your dog.

Housetraining Your Puppy
Housetraining a puppy requires time, vigilance, patience and commitment. By following the procedures outlined below, you can minimize housesoiling incidents, but virtually every puppy will have an accident in the house (more likely several). This is part of raising a puppy and should be expected. The more consistent you are in following the basic housetraining procedures, the faster your puppy will learn acceptable behavior. It may take several weeks to housetrain your puppy and with some of the smaller
Breeds it might take longer. A puppy can usually be considered reliably housetrained when it has not had any accidents for two to three months.

Establish a Routine
Your puppy will do best if he is taken outside on a consistent and frequent schedule. He should have the opportunity to eliminate after waking up from a nap, after playing and after eating. Choose a location not too far from the door to be the bathroom spot. Always take your puppy, on a leash, directly to the bathroom spot. Taking him for a walk or playing with him directly after he has eliminated will help him to associate good things with elimination. If you clean up an accident in the house, take the soiled rags or paper towels and leave them in the bathroom spot. The smell will help your puppy recognize the area as the place he is supposed to eliminate. While your puppy is eliminating, use a word or phrase, like “go potty,” that you can eventually use before he
Eliminates to remind him of what he's supposed to be doing. Praise your puppy lavishly every time he eliminates outdoors. You can even give him a treat. You must praise him or treat him immediately after he's finished eliminating, not after he comes back
Inside the house. This step is vital; because rewarding your dog for eliminating outdoors is the only way he'll know that this is an appropriate behavior. If possible, put your puppy on a regular feeding schedule. Depending on their age, puppies usually
Need to be fed three or four times a day. Feeding your puppy at the same times each day will make it more likely that he'll eliminate at consistent times as well. This makes housetraining easier for both of you.

Supervise, Supervise, Supervise
Don't give your puppy an opportunity to soil in the house. He should be watched at all times when he is indoors. You can tether him to you with a leash or use baby gates to keep him in your view. Watch for signs that he needs to eliminate, like sniffing around or circling. When you see these signs, immediately take him outside, on a leash, to his bathroom spot. If he eliminates, praise him lavishly and reward him with a treat.

Confinement THIS MAY NOT WORK FOR YOUR SPECIFIC PUPPY
When you're unable to watch your puppy closely, he should be confined to an area small enough that he won't want to eliminate there. It should be just big enough for him to comfortably stand, lie down and turn around. This area could be a portion of a bathroom or laundry room, blocked off with boxes or baby gates. Or you may want to crate train your puppy and use the crate to confine him (see our handout: “Crate Training Your Dog”). If your puppy has spent several hours in confinement, make sure to take him
Directly to his bathroom spot before doing anything else.

Oops!
Expect your puppy to have an accident in the house – it's a normal part of housetraining.
When you catch him in the act of eliminating in the house, do something to interrupt him, like make a startling noise (be careful not to scare him). Immediately take him to his bathroom spot, praise him and give him a treat if he finishes eliminating there.
Don't punish your puppy for eliminating in the house. If you find a soiled area, it's too late to administer a correction. Do nothing but clean it up. Rubbing your puppy's nose in it, taking him to the spot and scolding him (or any other punishment or discipline) will only make him afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence. Animals don't understand punishment after the fact, even if it's only seconds later. Punishment will do more harm than good. Cleaning the soiled area is very important because puppies are highly motivated to continue soiling in areas that smell like urine or feces (see our handout: “Successful Cleaning to Remove Pet Odors and Stains”).
It's extremely important that you use the supervision and confinement procedures outlined above to minimize the number of accidents. If you allow your puppy to eliminate frequently in the house, he'll get confused about where he's supposed to eliminate, which will prolong the housetraining process.

Paper Training
A puppy under 6 months of age cannot be expected to control his bladder for more than a few hours at a time. If you have to be away from home for more than four or five hours a day, this may not be the best time for you to get a puppy. If you're already committed to having a puppy and have to be away from home for long periods, you'll need to train your puppy to eliminate in a specific place indoors. Be aware, however, that doing so can prolong the process of teaching him to eliminate outdoors. Teaching your puppy to eliminate on newspaper may create a life-long surface preference, meaning that he may, even in adulthood, eliminate on any newspaper he finds lying around the house. When your puppy must be left alone for long periods, confine him to an area with enough room for a sleeping space, a playing space and a separate place to eliminate. In the area designated as the elimination place, you can either use newspapers, a sod box or litter. To make a sod box, place sod in a
Container, like a child's small, plastic swimming pool. You can also find dog litter products at pet supply stores. If you clean up an accident in the house, take the soiled rags or paper towels, and put them in the designated elimination place. The smell will help your puppy recognize the area as the place where he is supposed to eliminate.
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I have a 2 year old min pin girl. I have had her since she was 5 months old. When I first brought her home we kept her in the crate and she began to be house trained. She was never good at pooping outside. She likes to hold it forever & sniff around & eat bird & rabbit poop, small bugs & grass. Whatever she can get at. You know how bad she has to go because she walks funny & her butt puffs out like anjeleyez13 said. Eventually she will go. Sometimes it can take her up to two hours to go. The problem is lately she refuses to go at all outside. The other night I walked her for an hour and then brought her back in. I got rid of the crate about 6 months ago so what we do now is put her in the bathroom with a children's gate in the doorway. Well she pooped AND peed in the bathroom all over the floor. Then 2 days ago she was walked for over an hour and brought in. She was in the bedroom and as soon as we turned our backs she pooped all over the carpet & peed on my bed! She is getting worse. Any advice would be much appreciated.