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I need a little advice because my 3 month old, Addie, is not doing very well potty training. I do not crate her, I haven't found it necessary as of yet and I am home all day with her. She sleeps in my bedroom and she goes on Newspaper at night, never missing. The problem is that during the day, she gets too distracted when I bring her out and then sneaks off some place and goes poop in the house. For instance, first thing in the a.m. about 6:30, I take her out. She see's birds, leaves blowing, her toys in the yard, and forgets to go potty. Then I find poop some place in the house after I bring her back in. Some days we are out for hours at a time since I've been gardening and landscaping so she is out quite often. Right now, we just came back in, after a frustrating 30 minutes waiting for her to go (I need my coffee) but watching her do everything else but go potty. I went in to go to the bathroom and find poop next to the toilet. Funny, but this is her favorite place to go, next to the toilet like she almost knows that is what humans use it for. Any advice?

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Don't let her have so much freedom. Tether her to you if you are not going to use a crate. If she doesn't potty outside then she is tethered to you so you can catch her when she may need to go. Block off parts of the house so she doesn't have free reign to the different rooms. If you can't watch her then she needs to be locked up. Personally, I would get her a crate.

 

Also, make sure to use a good cleaner to clean the area when she goes potty there. She may still be able to smell it.

 

Another thought is to also clean up her poop and put it outside and maybe she will smell it there and start to realize that she is to go outside.

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Don't let her have so much freedom. Tether her to you if you are not going to use a crate. If she doesn't potty outside then she is tethered to you so you can catch her when she may need to go. Block off parts of the house so she doesn't have free reign to the different rooms. If you can't watch her then she needs to be locked up. Personally, I would get her a crate.

 

Also, make sure to use a good cleaner to clean the area when she goes potty there. She may still be able to smell it.

 

Another thought is to also clean up her poop and put it outside and maybe she will smell it there and start to realize that she is to go outside.

 

Yes, All of this. ^^^

 

I highly recommend using a crate.

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Don't let her have so much freedom. Tether her to you if you are not going to use a crate. If she doesn't potty outside then she is tethered to you so you can catch her when she may need to go. Block off parts of the house so she doesn't have free reign to the different rooms. If you can't watch her then she needs to be locked up. Personally, I would get her a crate.

 

Also, make sure to use a good cleaner to clean the area when she goes potty there. She may still be able to smell it.

 

Another thought is to also clean up her poop and put it outside and maybe she will smell it there and start to realize that she is to go outside.

 

EXACTLY what I was going to post....each and every point!

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Three months is pretty young. Since she's 'sneaking off', she might be a little shy, or she might be afraid to relieve herself in front of you. Have you gotten angry with her when you find the poop? Stay calm and matter of fact, clean it up, (using the enzyme cleaner mentioned above) take some outside and put it where you want her to go. If the poop is hitting tile, with grout, soak the grout a couple times. Stuff soaks way down into grout, you want to get it all.

 

Put her on leash, take her to her spot, and ignore her. No running around, no playing, potty time is all about the business.

 

If she doesn't potty, and she probably won't the first few times, back inside, pop her into her crate or keep her teathered to you. In half an hour, repeat. You'll do this until she poops.

 

When she pees or poops, time for a quiet celebration. If you use treats, she gets a treat. Only after she's pooped does she get to go off leash and play.

 

Freedom of the house and yard is earned by her learning the rules. It's likely she has no idea you want her to poop in the yard. You can make it clear by following some of the suggestions.

 

Good luck!

 

Ruth

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In the middle of potty training myself (well my puppy not me!;) ).

Faye will let me know with body language and sometimes a little woof at the door. but if I'm not paying attention she will sneak off to go. She knows I don't like her going in the house but she hasn't gotten the part about exactly where I do want her to go. Hence the sneaking off, she's not being bad she's trying to figure it out.

She always goes outside if I'm good enough to get her out there and pay attention to what she's telling me.

 

I wouldn't let her play outside unless she goes potty first. That takes a crate.

If you take her out, (I say "go Potty") and tell her to go and she doesn't then you have to put her back inside, if you're not crating then you have to tether her to you like someone mentioned so she can't sneak off. the minute she looks like she's thinking about it back out you go. Tell her to go again (whatever you have chosen to use as the command) if she doesn't go again, then no playing or exploring till she does go. So back in again and wait her out. It's much easier to do this if you can use a crate. instead of having to pay attention to her every move she's in the crate for 10 to 15 minutes again then back out. She will go eventually then it's time for a potty party!

I celebrate every potty outside with praise and sometimes treats. Faye doesn't need the treats but she loves the party!

She will go on demand/command but there are times I'm not paying close enough attention in the house so she has an accident. Not her fault, mine.

 

Eventually they get it. Never had a puppy that didn't end up potty trained, some take longer than others.

 

It really is a matter of training yourself!

 

Oops, I see Ruth has pretty much said the same thing! So ditto Ruth!

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I emphatically agree with:

 

1) crating

2) tethering

3) partying after elimination

 

Lewie will urinate and defecate on command. In fact, it's one of the first things I train my dogs to do. Give your puppy a command associated with each function. I use potty and two-two but any command words will work. I have a friend who uses giddy-up. :lol: It will take some time for puppy to make the association but, as urge to herd said, when potty/two-two is accomplished, party like puppy just did the greatest thing on earth. Woo-hoo!

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Potty training is not rocket science, but it does require a LOT of effort in the first few months. And typically, as soon as you relax and think, "Okay, my puppy is trained now," you will stop watching and there will be an accident in the house.

 

Bottom line, potty training is more about training the human than the dog. You must learn the signs that the dog has to go and then take the dog outside. If the puppy is distracted outside, puppy stays on a leash. If puppy doesn't eliminate, you either watch puppy like a hawk in the house or you use a crate.

 

Even if the puppy JUST went to the bathroom outside, puppies are notorious for going again rather soon -- so quite honestly you can't ever "relax" while a puppy in training is loose in the house. You must always pay attention, watch for signs (they all have them) and take puppy outside. Reward for potty outside, correct if you catch them in the act inside, hit yourself with a rolled up newspaper if you find it after the fact.

 

You can be as lazy as you wish during potty training, but expect it to take much longer and to invest in a lot of carpet cleaner.

 

My puppy routine: Wake up, go outside. Feed breakfast, go outside. If still awake in 30-60 minutes, go outside again. Hopefully the puppy naps.... Wakes up, go outside. Try to wear the puppy out so it sleeps -- go outside again. Repeat until dinner -- go outside. Hope puppy falls asleep on couch. Inevitably it will wake up; go outside. More couch, then one more trip outside before bed.

 

We go outside A LOT when there is a puppy in the house. Bordering on ridiculous, perhaps, but they learn quickly and we don't have accidents in the house. If I am busy doing something and can't watch the puppy, the dogs are either outside or the puppy is in a crate.

 

Puppies are also crated at night and I get up as needed to let them out.

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PS: Puppies don't wait when they have to go. They don't wait for us to put on our shoes, they don't wait for us to grab a coat or umbrella. With a puppy in the house I keep a pair of slip on shoes by the door and if a coat is needed I grab it with one hand while carrying the puppy with the other and put it on once we get outside. Time is of the essence when you have a puppy that needs to pee. :P

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All above ^^^ great advice.

 

I have also used the same techniques when training an older dog (since I occasionallly have a foster dog) and I have been 100% successful so far - even with a hunting hound I found in the woods that had always been kept in an outside kennel.

 

Definitely look into getting your dog used to a crate, even though you are at home. I am also home, but use a crate when needed. I see you are a recent member (welcome). There have been a few topics dealing with using a crate (you may want to look them up) and the reasons why having a crate-trained dog is important -- mainly, 1)great for potty training, 2)if the dog ever gets sick or injured and needs to stay in a crate, it will be much less stressful for the dog if they are already comfortable in a crate, and 3)certain places you may go may require that your dog stay in a crate (again, less stressful for the dog).

 

Teaching your dog to pee on command: I wait until the dog is peeing before I say the pee command. (I use 'hurry up'.) If you take the dog outside and it is not peeing, maybe just standing around, and you keep saying the pee command, the dog will link the fact that it is standing around with the pee command. Train the pee just like you train any behavior - wait until they are performing the behavior, and say the command when they are doing the behavior. This makes it very clear in the dog's mind what you want.

 

Good Luck,

Jovi

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I wait until the dog is peeing before I say the pee command.

 

But be careful because if the puppy is like my most recent foster, it got to the point where if I said any sort of praise while she pee'd she would immediately stop peeing and run to me for a treat. lol Which is all fine and good until she pees inside 10 minutes later because she didn't empty herself outside. I quickly learned to not make any eye contact with her while she was going and to praise her as soon as she stopped.

 

Girls, I tell ya! :rolleyes: My boys always finish peeing before coming for their treat!

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3 months is still very young to expect 100% perfection out of them with potty training. I agree with what others have said--it sounds like she has entirely too much freedom. A crate is NOT punishment! It's a place where your dog can go to feel safe and it helps immensely with potty training. And I do have to gripe a little about peeing on newspaper inside. Your dog will learn to potty outside MUCH quicker if they never have the opportunity to potty inside. And as far as getting distracted outside, take her out on a leash and stand in the place where you want her to potty and be PATIENT! Sure, she's going to smell around a little, but you're only giving her 4-6 feet to smell and eventually she's going to go. Once she's finished praise!

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hit yourself with a rolled up newspaper if you find it after the fact

 

Love it!!

 

I use a crate cause I don't want to watch my puppy like a hawk 24/7. there are times I just want a puppy break and as someone said if your using a crate you can stop worrying about an accident in the house for the time the puppy is in it's crate! Or like us, I can stop worrying about what Faye has found to get into!

 

I had someone drop by today to pick up sheep poo, it was really puppy happy nappy time. But since there were new people here we all went out to the sheep paddock (sheep are out in the field) to scoop poop. After a few minutes of chasing dogs out of birthing yuckies I decided I was putting Faye up in her crate or we'd never get the scooping done.

 

I call her to me, took her big sis with us (so much easier to teach recall or almost anything with another trained dog hangin with us) opened the slider door and Faye ran into her crate. She knew it was happy nappy time and really was ready to go. Without the use of the crate she seems to wander around like an overtired kid getting into trouble.

 

Crates really can be a puppies best relaxing place and they love the secure feeling they get from them. They aren't evil like humans seem to feel. BTW I crate train all my dogs and after a certain age (the pup lets me know that age) I put them up (the crates that is) but all my dogs can and will go in a crate if need be which surprisingly happens more than you care to think.

 

Good luck and keep working at it, I swear you will both be successful eventually. The harder you work on it the sooner it will get done and blow off the oops after you've hit yourself with the rolled up newspaper. There are worse things!

edited to add...

PS: Puppies don't wait when they have to go. They don't wait for us to put on our shoes, they don't wait for us to grab a coat or umbrella

 

The other night I was out at bedtime in mismatched slippers and my kitchen towel as rain cover...when you gotta go you gotta go!

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You say it's been unnessary to crate him. WRONG!!! That's exactly why potty training is not happining.

 

Would you let a 2yr old toddler run naked unsupervised in your house?

 

Your puppy is not "sneaking" off to poop elsewhere in the house. Dogs have a natural instinst to keep their living area clean...Puppy is going to far corners to relieve himself to keep clean where he hangs out.

 

When you take him out always take him to the same spot..pay him NO ATTENTION..let him realize this is not play time. If nothing happens scoop him up back in crate and try again in 15 minutes. When he goes praise play then house time.

 

You are doing you puppy a big diservice by not crate training. What if he has to spend a day at the vet's. A crate is your puppy;s home away from home.

 

Be aware that looming ahead of you is teething..Again nature will be driving your puppy to chew anything and everything.. a crate will be you and your puppys friend.

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I find that people who don't like crating a dog have never properly crate trained a dog. A crate is not something you shove a dog into when it is bad or force them in. Then yes, it is seen as a negative place for both people and dog. I have not closed the crate door in about a year but my boy happily puts himself in his crate almost every night because he chooses to. He goes in when he is overly tired or stressed (like when we are demolishing our plaster walls downstairs!) You never know when you will need to put your dog in a crate (flying, bed rest after injury, vets, etc). When properly trained a crate is an amazing place for your dog and will speedy up your potty training and help you when chew on everything time comes.

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Let me add that dogs are "den animals"..that's why dogs like to curl up in corners, under end tables etc. A crate is their den.

 

Also when crate training a puppy the owner's feelings really play into it. It they feel guilty the puppys going to pick up on it. I feel that crate training is ensuring that you have a well mannered and adjusted dog. I'm doing my pup a favor.

 

I'm not a fan of tethering a dog to you in the house..I want my dog to be well adjusted and able to seperate from me and other family dogs without "losing it".

 

Just like a big part of my puppys time is spent socilizing with me and other people and dogs. All my puppys take daily naps in a crate away from people and the other dogs to learn how to seperate.

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You say it's been unnessary to crate him. WRONG!!! That's exactly why potty training is not happining.

 

Would you let a 2yr old toddler run naked unsupervised in your house?

 

Your puppy is not "sneaking" off to poop elsewhere in the house. Dogs have a natural instinst to keep their living area clean...Puppy is going to far corners to relieve himself to keep clean where he hangs out.

 

**and**

Let me add that dogs are "den animals"..that's why dogs like to curl up in corners, under end tables etc. A crate is their den.

 

Also when crate training a puppy the owner's feelings really play into it. It they feel guilty the puppys going to pick up on it. I feel that crate training is ensuring that you have a well mannered and adjusted dog. I'm doing my pup a favor.

 

I'm not a fan of tethering a dog to you in the house..I want my dog to be well adjusted and able to seperate from me and other family dogs without "losing it".

^^ Both of these posts bear repeating (so I did). You may not always be home all the time. You are creating the potty issues. Crating is not evil. A dog/pup does need alone time, just as a baby human does. Setting boundaries is never a bad thing.

 

J.

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Great advice above, just wanted to add, this is what happened to our wall when we forgot to actually LATCH the crate when Rudder was about 4 months old, and was left alone for 4 hours (and yes that's his fuzzy butt in the left corner):

 

IMG_3386.jpg

 

 

 

Keep in mind, this was after he had gone on a run with me, played fetch for a half hour, and practiced his down-stay and more. He was certainly not crazy from not getting enough activity. He just decided drywall had a more interesting taste than his chew toys. Still think your dog doesn't need crate training? We're lucky he didn't get into anything more dangerous. Don't fall into the trap of thinking your dog is unique, and by some special ability won't get into things he shouldn't or that might be harmful. Just because he hasn't so far doesn't mean he won't.

 

Crate training is actually very easy- just make the crate a wonderful place to be. Within 2 days Rudder went from being terrified of the crate to begging us to let him in it and having to be coerced to leave it simply because we made the crate this amazing place where he got the best treats and could chill out and do what he wanted. It will help you with housebreaking, keeping him safe, happy, and so much more.

 

Other than the crate, tethering Rudder to me and lots of praise when he went outside helped us a ton. I would take him outside to the same place on a leash and not play with him until he did his business. The other thing that helped us has been using bells attached to the doorknob. Whenever I would take him to do his business, I rang the bells, then after a couple weeks had him ring the bells. As he slowly got more freedom around the house, he would ring the bells to let me know he needed to go out. To keep him from ringing them just to go play, at first I went out with him, didn't play, and if after a couple minutes he didn't go brought him back in. Now at 7 months, he's fully housetrained and will let us know he needs to go out by ringing his bells. Not everyone is a fan of this method, but it works great for us.

 

 

Good luck. Housebreaking is a pain, but if you keep with it it will pass soon enough.

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She sleeps in my bedroom and she goes on Newspaper at night, never missing.

 

I just re-read the original post...I am guilty of scanning sometimes and missing things. I just realized the above line was in there. This is just my opinion, but you have set up a problem by allowing her to go to the bathroom in the house. Dogs can't reason like people do (ok...some border collies can. well, maybe they all can LOL) but seriously, dogs don't reason like us and what you have told her is that it is ok to go to the bathroom in the house. You really need to get a crate and re-do housebreaking properly....IF you don't want her to develop the habit of thinking it is ok to potty in the house.

 

A lot of times, when adopting a dog that was raised outdoors, there is no housebreaking involved because they never developed the habit of going in the house. Pet owners start that problem on their own.

 

Also, by allowing her to go at nighttime in your bedroom on the newspaper, she is not learning to hold it for the whole night. A crate will solve that problem and put her on the right track.

 

I apologize if someone has already covered this...I'm in a hurry and did not thoroughly read all the posts.

 

At one time as a breeder, I sent every puppy home with a brand new crate (unless the owners already had one.) I just tacked on the price of the crate to the price of the dog. However, my contract stated that you must use the crate (with housebreaking instructions) for at least six months. Then, if you wish to return the crate to me, I would refund the ENTIRE price of the crate. Good deal, huh? Know how many crates were returned to me? NONE. ZERO. Although one person wanted a larger crate and bought one...but still kept the one I had sent home! HOUSEBREAKING WITH CRATES WORKS. All these people on this board couldn't be wrong. :)

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