Potty training. Is 9 weeks early, late?

[Vickkers]

Hi All!

 

Still working on getting more updated pics up but I have a question?

 

How old were your puppies before they were potty trained?

 

Zeus and Zena are 9 weeks old and so far they *seem* almost completely potty trained. Now, when they are not in their crates in our bedroom they are kept in the kitchen/living area that is all linoleum and have free access to the back yard. Now, granted when they are let 'loose' I am always with them either in the kitchen or outside. However, I think it's been a whole week or even more since they've even had one single accident. They also are required to get from our bedroom (the back of the second floor) all the way down the upstairs hall, down the stairs, around the corner and through the kitchen to the back door on their own before they are allowed to potty... and they haven't stopped and had an accident doing that either.

 

Is this early?....late?... when should I fully expect them to actually be potty trained or is this a fluke? The couple of times I've had the kitchen back door shut one of the puppies (not sure which) rang the bells to go outside and both puppies went out and pottied. I'm not sure if that was a fluke either or not since the majority of the time I have the door open but i do use my 'paw' to ring the bell before i open the door at the beginning of the day or any other time it's closed before we go outside.

 

Clover was so sick as a puppy I can't judge her timeline and we didn't get Pepper until she was 6 months old and she had a host of problems and wasn't fully potty trained (reliably) until she was about a year old.

[RaisingRiver]

Someone asked this before, so try searching the boards to get more answers.

 

River was about 6 months before she was 100% - but I admit that much of the delay was my fault - as I wasn't as diligent as I should have been. I think a lot depends on the dog too.

 

An important thing to remember is that even if you think your pup is 100%, she probably isn't, so keep it up for another while longer then you think you need to. That was my downfall.

[Bo Peep]

Usher was about 4 months. As soon as I got the doggy door- poof- training was done. I couldn't get him to tell me when he wanted to go out. He wouldn't whine, would sometimes stand by the door, but not always. It was a hit & miss situation. Thank you doggy door makers!!!

[Shetlander]

I consider that very, very early. Quinn was like that at 9 weeks, so maybe it's a BC thing but I was (pleasantly) shocked. None of my other puppies seemed to fully "get" housebreaking until they were around 4 months old. Some of it is developmental -- both mental and physical. I'd say do everything you can to encourage your puppies' early success. At this age, they still need frequent trips outside but with free access to the outside that may not be an issue for you. I've trained some puppies who had a dog door and it did make the process go smoother, but they still had to learn to hold it when they couldn't get outside.

 

I agree with RaisingRiver about not accepting the accident free week as proof they are fully housebroken especially at an age when the average puppy would be barely aware of the concept. I'd say 6 months would be an age where you can relax a little. Free access to the backyard is a huge bonus, for sure.

[Dixie_Girl]

I 2nd the kudos for doggie doors! Jackson and Skip were a snap! And Toby, the wild dog I rescued, that had lived his whole life outside, had only one accident, then discovering the doggie door, had no other accidents. The down side to this is that I have no idea what any of them would do if they were not able to use a doggie door. Like if staying in a hotel, etc.

[shelb'smum]

It took quite awhile for Shelby to catch onto the potty training thing.... but that was mostly my fault as I didn't know really what I was doing.. but I can say that at 8 months I could trust her to NOT go in the house. and even now at 10 months..... but she still eats stuff.... hmmmm.......

[Bo Peep]

The more border collies you have the easier it is. They seem to teach each other. I was always in and out all the time on the farm. Just having one now is a real change. I wonder, too, about the doggy door. When staying in a motel, I either potty him first or crate him if he doesn't go. But what male doesn't want to go where other dogs have been. I think females are easier than males.

[M.L.]

Bailey was so easy to potty train! He was very good at 9 or 10 wks, rarely had an accident in the house. He was crated when I wasn't home, but when I was he would go to the door and whine to go out. He slept on the bed with me and I would wake up once in the middle of the night to take him out until he was old enough to hold it all night. I would say that from 9 wks to now, he has only had about 3 pee accidents in the house.

 

Ginger was trained by 12 wks.

 

I think I was pretty luck with those two though. My golden that passed away took forever to house train!!!

[Macks mum]

Hi i got mack at 11 wks he was supposed to be nearly potty trained but from what i saw he hadn't had any . It took him about a wk to get the general idea and then another 2 wks before he reliesed if the back door was closed he had to let me know he wanted to go i just wish he was a bit more vocal about it he just comes and sits in front of you and shuffles about on his bum lol hubby still doesn't get what this means no matter how much i tell him so good job mack mostly comes to me. If he does get caught short for any reason he always goes near the patio doors and its tiled there so i don't mind to much atleast it means he's tried to get out.

My old staff i got her at 5 wks she was completely potty trained by the time she was 7 wks she just got it straight away i guess alot of it does depend on the dog itself they all learn different things at a different pace to each other.

[Bill Fosher]

I brought Fern home at 8 weeks, and she's had two accidents. One was when she was sick from getting into the guard dog's food, so I don't really count that one. Molly was that way as well. Tweed, on the other hand, was nicknamed "Puddles" and was pretty unreliable until he was about six months old. His problem was that he would get so busy that he wouldn't notice that he had to pee until it was already coming out practically. He would usually run to the door and stand there peeing. He got the connection, but was weak on the execution.

[Beth G]

Often they get the idea before they actually can hold it. So it is just a matter of time of waiting for their bodies, to catch up with their minds...lol.

[Aerie]

Combat and Recon were both "fully" housetrained by about 10 weeks. And by fully, I mean, as long as we listened when they said they had to go out, they were fine. They still have super small bladders at that point so if you hesitate too long - well, puppy can't help it at that point. We didn't have a doggy door, but I was a "stay at home dog-mom" so I was able to be right on top of things.

 

Eilidh, now....she's still having accidents. But with all her early health issues, we're just taking it slow and pulling up the rugs. Having finished cement floors is an -awesome- thing when you have a puppy!

[marm]

In my experience, 9 weeks is REALLY early. Mabel is our first BC, but she and the other 2 dogs ahead of her were not potty trained, RELIABLY, until about 11 months. Perhaps that is because we don't crate. Perhaps that is because we work full time. Don't know for sure. I do know that right around Mabel's first birthday was like a switch went off in her head, and we've only had 2 accidents in the house since then (misreading signs VERY early in the morning- wanting to sleep in rather than tend an agitated puppy).

[Vickkers]

Thanks for the help and advice!

 

Morgan (my DH) called me this afternoon practically jumping up and down because the little ones are ringing the bells to go outside (just like the "big girls"). It was so cute (DH, not the puppies! )