Potty Training

[baileychristine0514]

We are working on potty training our 9, almost 10, week old, Dougie. I understand he is still really young, but it is driving me crazy!  Like this morning: I took him out of his kennel and directly outside, like usual, and usually he goes pee right away. But today, instead of peeing, he stood there and stared at me for ten minutes, trying to engage in play. Well I did not encourage this and kept telling him "Go potty Dougie!".  Eventually he went just a small amount, and then I had to leave for work, so I brought him in and passed him off to my husband for doggy duty. Then just a couple minutes later he peed in our bed! It's just frustrating because I took him out knowing full well he needed to pee, he refused to do so, and instead does it inside. 

 

I guess I am just curious about how long it took you all to completely train your dogs? During the work week it is harder to be consistent because we are gone, so we really only have the evenings and weekends to work on it, so I imagine that is not helping to expedite the situation. Any advice?! FYI, this is my first puppy. 

[Mandy1961]

We limited the areas that our puppy could go into and wasn’t allowed upstairs to our bedroom. I say wasn’t allowed but he didn’t attempt climbing the stairs. I remember we certainly had a few accidents at least up to 14 weeks. You do get the signals that they are looking fir somewhere to go as they sniff the floor and go around in circles. They do like to go on something soft, so unfortunately your bed is ideal. I understand your frustration. I did read that if you put a small amount of food inside, in different areas, they won’t go there.

 

[D'Elle]

Hi and welcome to the BC Boards.

Since this is your first puppy, it is understandable that you would have such questions and feel frustrated because you don't know what to do. My very first suggestion is to stop thinking of the puppy as "refusing" to go potty, or anything else for that matter. He is not being bad or refusing anything. He is only a baby. In the same way that you would not think a human baby a year or two old should understand where to go potty, it is the same with a puppy the age of yours.

Where is the puppy when you are at work, and how long are you leaving him? Is he alone during the day, or do you have someone come in to let him go out?

What did you do when he finally did go potty the morning about which you write? My guess, since you were by then in a hurry, is that you brought him back inside right away. If so, that teaches him that as soon as he goes potty any chance for play is over. This is teaching him not to potty outside - the exact opposite of what you want.

A puppy that age needs to go out a lot. Every time he wakes up, after eating, after sleeping, after play, ....all the time. My suggestion for a scenario like that morning is this: Take the puppy out and have treats in your pocket. PLAY with the puppy. I will bet you money that after a little bit of play your puppy will go potty, because he will really need to! Then, you praise him to the skies and give him treats. Then, you play a little longer. And only then bring him inside, and make that fun as well....give more treats so coming inside isn't the end of all good things.

As for peeing on your bed, a puppy that age who is not house broken needs to be under *constant*  supervision while in the house. He needs to be watched, not just have someone in the same room with him. If he is being watched, you will catch him before he gets a chance to pee and take him outside where he can do the right thing and get rewarded. If he cannot be watched, he needs to be in a crate. Best thing always is to set your dog up for success. Make it easier for him to do what you want than what you don't want, and then reward him when he does something good.

Best of luck. Let us know if you have more questions (I bet you will....) And, by the way, we really love puppy photos here!

 

[baileychristine0514]

1 hour ago, D'Elle said:

Where is the puppy when you are at work, and how long are you leaving him? Is he alone during the day, or do you have someone come in to let him go out?

What did you do when he finally did go potty the morning about which you write? My guess, since you were by then in a hurry, is that you brought him back inside right away. If so, that teaches him that as soon as he goes potty any chance for play is over. This is teaching him not to potty outside - the exact opposite of what you want.

A puppy that age needs to go out a lot. Every time he wakes up, after eating, after sleeping, after play, ....all the time. My suggestion for a scenario like that morning is this: Take the puppy out and have treats in your pocket. PLAY with the puppy. I will bet you money that after a little bit of play your puppy will go potty, because he will really need to! Then, you praise him to the skies and give him treats. Then, you play a little longer. And only then bring him inside, and make that fun as well....give more treats so coming inside isn't the end of all good things.

Thank you for this advice! I will certainly give the play before and after potty time a try. I have limited time in the mornings, like maybe just an extra 10 before I have to leave after getting up and getting ready. So it would most definitely be BRIEF play, but I could certainly see how that approach could work. 

 

As for during the day, he is gated in our kitchen. So he doesn't have run of the house, but certainly has enough space to relieve himself all day. I considered kenneling all day, but we kennel at night and I just felt awful to have him kenneled all but like 8 hours of the day! I do know a lot of people do it while potty training though. I do have a dog walker coming midday each day, for about an hour or so. So he is alone from about 8:15 when my husband leaves (I leave at 5:30am) and then dog walker comes around 12:30. Then alone again from 1:30-5pm, when I get home from work and getting my kiddo. 

 

Also, here is the picture of the sweet little guy! 

[Lawgirl]

What a gorgeous little guy!  Feel free to post puppy pics whenever.

I second what D'Elle says. Sometimes puppies need a bit of movement to get things moving, so to speak.  He is too young to be doing anything deliberately; he just has different priorities.

The suggestion about not making the fun stop when he does something right will also apply when you are training recall, for example.  Call him, reward and praise and then let him go back to play instead of immediately taking him back inside, or he will associate coming to you with the end of fun every time, and start staying away instead.

[KevTheDog]

Eeeee beautiful dog!!! Another suggestion: for a little while, I would suggest only saying "go potty" the instant before he is obviously about to go potty. Do this for a month or even two. This way it will definitely connect the action of going potty with the words "go potty". Once it's ingrained, the cue will have an effect - but right now it's possible that "go potty" means everything to you and zero to Dougie. Once the cue kicked in for Kevin we were like, hallelujah he's a pottying genius! 

 

[D'Elle]

That is an adorable puppy. I am concerned that allowing him to go potty at will in your kitchen will teach him that it is OK to potty in the house and that will slow down the potty training. I would also suggest that you get up 15 minutes earlier in the morning if at all possible and spend more time playing with him. Puppies need a lot of attention, and it's really important that you dedicate yourself to spending that time with him.  He is being left alone an awful long time for a puppy so young. I understand you may have no choice, and it is good that you have someone come in at mid-day. But still that's a lot of alone time. You could ask the mid-day person to play with him and to continue his potty training by praising him and giving him treats when he goes outside.

It is also a very good suggestion to start saying "potty" only when you can see he is just about to squat, and not before.

Is he going potty in his crate at night? I suggest that, if you are not already doing so, you put his crate in your bedroom and get up every 2 to 3 hours and take him outside. First, that is much healthier for him and second it gives you many more chances to potty train. I know that is hard, but it is like having a baby and it is just as necessary for you to get up with the puppy as with a human baby. 

Keep us posted. He is a cute little guy!