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Potty training help

122 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  GoldieOwner  
#1 ·
Need help with Potty training 2 pups.

Lucy is a 9 month old Pit mix. We had adopted her almost 4 weeks ago and have been struggling with potty training. We’ve read so much information online but it just doesn’t seem to improving. We had gotten her a dog doorbell that she LOVES to use but only if we are right next to the door or in the same room. It’s like she doesn’t connect the dots and we are not sure how to get her to use the bell to let us know she needs to go out. It’s like she doesn’t fully grasp that she needs to go outside. We’ve done a lot of things we’ve seen online with giving her dehydrated beef bites when she goes potty outside, praising her, and etc. We do not punish her in any way for going inside, we just clean it up with enzyme cleaner and take her outside.

We also adopted Charlie who is 11 weeks old. We got him about a week ago. Potty training is kinda rough because we let him out every half hour 24/7. The dogs are not alone whatsoever. Someone is always watching them.
The dogs have free roam mainly in the living room to the kitchen to go outside and go potty.
I’ve seen people do like crate potty training so I was interested in maybe trying that. Charlie isn’t really used to the crate and will scream his head off. Lucy does just fine in the crate.

Does anyone have any tips on how to go about this difficult situation? Do note that we don’t expect them to be potty trained over night, we just want to make sure we’re doing it properly. Its been quite exhausting as expected..

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#2 ·
I would treat these as two separate issues, since the age and circumstances of the dogs are quite different.

The puppy is too young to be reliably potty trained. At 11 weeks, he simply does not have the physical maturity. He doesn't yet fully recognize & understand the signals from his bladder, nor is he fully able to control what he does about those signals. That maturity tends to come in at around six months, give or take a few weeks. What's important now is to focus on is helping him build good habits; that groundwork will pay off later, when he IS physically mature.

You are doing the right thing to take him out frequently to ensure his tanks are empty. I would use exercise pen panels and baby gates to confine him to easily cleaned surfaces indoors. Prevent him from wandering off and making messes where he shouldn't. If he can't get to the carpet, he can't form the bad habit of peeing on the carpet. Crates can be useful, but they are not a panacea. Part of the reason a crate works is that dogs don't like to mess in their beds. Dogs also produce less urine while sleeping. Sticking the puppy in the crate encourages him to quietly snooze in his bed. However, when the puppy wakes up he will probably need to go potty. If he has no place to go other than the crate, he will learn to pee in the crate Then you'll have two problems.

You can build a stronger incentive to pee outside by taking half a dozen really great treats with you. Start feeding him those treats as soon as he drops a load, before he's taken a single step forward out of his squat. Peeing outside should be like hitting the jackpot on a slot machine. As he gains control of his bladder, he will want to save up his pee to so he can spend it outside winning another treat jackpot.

For the older dog: Is there any chance she has a UTI? Having an irritated urinary tract can make dogs leaky and uncomfortable. Beyond that, in general, I think it's better to separate potty training and bell training. Focus on the potty training right now. If she spent her puppyhood in a kennel or an outdoor run, she might have zero concept of housebreaking. She might be accustomed to just peeing whenever and wherever she felt the urge. As with a younger pup, limit her ability to roam around the house until she is more reliable. Confine her using baby gates or an exercise pen. Preemptively take her out every hour or two, and reward her with treats when she pees or poops. Her reward should come as soon as she takes a dump, not when she has returned to the house. And, again, it should be a jackpot. Multiple treats, one after the other.

Use an enzymatic cleanser to clean up any messes; dogs will be attracted to previous scent marks. Don't punish either dog for peeing inside. Dogs usually won't understand why you are punishing them. They may erroneously conclude you are mad at them for peeing at all (which, obviously, they gotta do sometime) or for peeing when you could see them. This then causes a problem of the dog refusing to pee while on leash and instead skulking off to a hidden corner of your house. They'll figure it out easily enough if they get rewarded for peeing outside and get their toilet spot soaked in cleanser inside.
 
#3 ·
Hi Lucy & Charlie's owner. My puppy was quite difficult to potty train when I got her because she hadn't been well taken care of and had gotten used to just going in her crate and getting it all over herself. It was truly a nightmare to get her potty trained but this is what I did. It wasn't fast and... I had to start over 3 times basically from the beginning but eventually she got the point. First at 11 weeks dogs can't hold their bladder very long as you seem to know. Typically about 2 hours. With my puppy I took her out every 30 minutes 24/7 as you do but I went out with her and only gave her about a 10ft by 10ft area. It's important to go to the same area every time. She wasn't allowed to go explore outside of it until she went pee. I used a timer and stayed out for 10 minutes each time. It's important to always make it the same amount of time. If you break that rule, Charlie will think they can bend the rules and will try to make you wait longer each time. Pretty soon you'll be waiting 30min for Charlie to pee. I also would gently lift my dog up if she sat down and would make sure to immediately give her favorite treat when she went. She only got those treats for going outside, nothing else. Salmon treats worked best for my puppy. Finally... and this is a bit embarrassing but judge me if you want because it worked. I took a small cup of urine and poured it where I wanted her to pee. I only did this once but it got her to go outside for the first time. Eventually once she started to go outside a bit more, I started occasionally not rewarding with a treat and slowly reduced the frequency overtime. For some reason this intermittent reinforcement seems to work better. It was a very frustrating and slow process that took weeks but the consistency paid off and she hasn't had an accident inside for months now, except when she was sick. For Lucy you can consider a trick a lifetime dog trainer taught me. Most dogs hate to go in their crates, unless the crates are too big. This is especially true once they get past the first few months. So the trick is you have to leave Lucy in the crate. It can't be an extra large space where she can go in the corner. Then take her out reasonably frequently. Since you're already taking Charlie out, hopefully that won't be too much trouble. If Lucy goes, then she gets to stay out of her crate for a few hours. If she doesn't go after a few hours, or has an accident, she goes back in the crate. Note the crate isn't supposed to be a punishment so It should be a very comfortable space with available water and possibly food. This is probably more stressful for you than for Lucy as I'm sure you hate putting her in her crate. However it can be a very effective method. Note that Lucy should have no trouble holding her bladder for up to 6 hours, 8 at night if she is sleeping. If she does then there is possible a medical issue that needs to be addressed. Bladder infections are quite common in female dogs at Lucy's age. If she does something like go in her crate, that's a clear indication something is wrong that is making it hard for her to control her bladder. You'll get through it! Good luck.