Potty Training a Boxer Puppy

Begin With Boxer Crate Training

Potty training a boxer is one of the first things you'll need to do once the boxer pup joins your family, beginning with boxer crate training.

Credit: boxercab/Flickr

House training your dog is essential for your cleanliness. You don't want your dog pooping and peeing all over the house, do you? But it's not always an easy accomplishment with a dog as high-spirited and stubborn as a boxer dog can be.

However, most animals that are born in a nest have an instinctive desire to move away from the nest to relieve themselves. They will do so without being taught as soon as they are able. Dogs are no exception, and at the age of about three weeks, they will begin to leave the sleeping area to urinate. We just have to teach them that houses are our nests, and that they have to move outside when they want to relieve themselves.

Tips for Potty Training a Boxer Puppy

Of course, you'll not really training your boxer pup to use a "potty" per se, as you would with a child. What you're really doing is house training or housebreaking him.

OK, so how to start? Well... you'll need to get your puppy into a routine. Take him or her outside to the same spot in your yard or garden at the following times:

• Shortly after each feeding, playing, exercise, and any excitement.
• Immediately upon waking
• First thing in the morning
• Last thing at night
• Once every hour

Make sure you do all of the above at regular times every day as this makes bathroom breaks regular as well. When you take your pup outside to toilet, speak the words "go potty" or "go in the grass" or "do your business" (or whatever you'll remember) before and while he is eliminating. Be sure to praise him when he is done. What you are doing is building word associations with the dog that will allow you to encourage his potty activity on command.

This comes in handy when you and your boxer are at unusual locations and at pit stops during long haul travel. It also saves you from cleaning unwanted fecal material off the carpet at home.

It is important to stay outside with him. Be patient and wait. As soon as he begins, say a chosen phrase to him such as "Be clean!". When he has finished,praise enthusiastically and play a game with him. Keep the area clean by picking up any mess and flushing it down the toilet.

Puppies are easily distracted when outside, so having the patience to stay with him until he has settled down is essential. If you leave him to it, he will probably run to the back door and spend the rest of the time trying to get back in with you. Once you let him in, the stress of the separation, together with the increased excitement and exercise, will make him want to go, and you will be left with a mess inside and an uneducated puppy.

However, there is no need to stay outdoors for hours, waiting for him to go. Wait for a few minutes only, and if nothing happens, take him inside and try again a little later. If at any time of the day you notice him sniffing the floor and circling or getting ready to squat, immediately interrupt him and take him outside. Let him walk. Do not pick him up, or he will not learn the vital link in the process, which is: "When I need to go, I need to get to the back door and into the garden."

If, at any time, you catch him in the act of going in the house, shout! What you shout is immaterial, but it needs to be loud enough to capture his undivided attention and to stop him mid-flow, but not so loud that he runs for cover. Do not punish or get angry; the distress this causes your puppy will inhibit the learning process. He will also begin to avoid going to the toilet in front of you because he knows it makes you angry and will sneak away to do it, making it harder for you to teach him the correct behavior.

As soon as you have shouted, run away from him, toward the back door, calling him happily and enthusiastically to encourage him to follow. Go outside to your chosen spot and wait until he has relaxed and finished what he started earlier. Say your chosen phrase as he goes, praise him, and play with him as usual. Take him back into the house and put him in another room while you clean up any mess.

Boxer Crate Training

Credit: deanna/Flickr

At home, a dog crate for your boxer puppy can be his safe haven, a place where he retreats to for rest. Don't think of it—or treat it—as a prison, and hopefully your boxer dog won't think of it that way either. Place it in a warm corner, away from the draft, cold or summer heat, as boxers are sensitive to extremes in temperature. Leave the crate door open and your puppy will usually enter when he wants to rest.

The crate is particularly useful when you are going out and leaving him alone for a while. Then you don't have to worry so much about your boxer chewing up the furniture or electrical cords in the house. The dog crate is also an excellent house training aid, as most puppies don't like to soil their crates.

As long as the crate is the right size for your boxer (big enough to move around in, but not so big he feels he has room to go to the bathroom without soiling his sleeping area) and you've taken him outside shortly before crate confinement, this can be an effective way to teach an older puppy or adult dog control.

Be aware, though, that boxer puppies under the age of 4 months may not have sufficient bladder control to be successful for long periods in the crate.

In Summary...

Make potty training a boxer a priority as your boxer puppy begins to mature and grow with you. Whether you use boxer crate training or not, accomplishing house training of a dog will make everyone in the family much happier!

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