[beckalexis]

I have a 6 month old pembroke corgi. He was doing very well with potty training but it seems like he has reverted back to not knowing what to do. A bit of background: I have owned him since he was 12 weeks old. He sleeps in a crate at night and he is in a playpen (on tile) with toys, water, and a pee-pad during the day while I am at work. I realize that puppies are only able to hold their bladder for the # of hours of their age plus one. That is why I got the playpen with pee-pads in case I could not make it home in time to take him out (please no flaming!). He goes out after major events (like eating, hard play, when I get home, before bed, etc).

Now that he is 6 months old, he should be able to hold his bladder for about 7hrs. He learned quickly that the pee-pad was for doing his business when we first got him. For the past month or so he has been doing great; not even going while I was gone at work. But lately he has been totally missing the pee-pad when he pees and poos. The playpen isn't huge but big enough to play and be merry so it is not like he can't miss knowing the pee-pad is there. The only thing I can think of is that he likes to lie down on the pee-pad because he doesn't have anything else but the tile to lie down on. I gave him a blanket in the past to lie down on but he always peed on it so he lost that luxury.

I have rules out medical issues and he will be getting fixed in Jan/Feb. Do you think I should crate him during the day while I am at work? I would hate to crate him for so long but it maybe nessasary for a few weeks till he learns. If anyone has any other theories or suggestions, I would really appreciate it!

[Buddy]

well u should try to put them inthe garageonce or twice and tell them that thy are ganna stay in the garage while ur gone until they learn it worked for my dog he learned in less then a day but he did go to the restroom in the house when he still didnt know what tot do to whine or whatever or he just couldnt hold it in while we wernt home....hope it goes good for u

[Curbside Prophet]

Besides pee pads, what else have you tried? There are numerous housebreaking threads in our forum. Have you had a chance to read through those? Like, do you praise lavishly when your dog eliminates outside? And is your dog on a schedule? Do you practice NILIF? BTW, welcome to our forum!

[beckalexis]

thank you, that is a good idea.... unfortuantly (and I should have mentioned this) I live in a one bed room apartment. It is fairly large, but no where to really reprimend like that.

[beckalexis]

Yes, I praise when he potties outside, I don't make a big deal about accidents inside and he has a schedule that is pretty much clock work. You can see why I am a bit perplexed about the whole situation.

I am not sure what NILIF is... could you please explain?

[cshellenberger]

There is NO ned to reprimand like that. The dog DOESN"T understand what you're saying or WHY you are doing those type things. I would crate, be sure the crate is just big enough for the dog to comfortably turn around and lay down, you can get food and water dishes that fasten to the wire sides. This will encourage the dog to hold it until you get home to let it out for potty time. Make sure you make the crate a positive place, with stuffed kongs and a good study chew toy. For extra insurace against accidents, sprinkle the bottom with parmesean cheese.

[Curbside Prophet]

I think this will explain NILIF Nothing in Life is Free. It's not a remedy for housebreaking, but it will help you strengthen reliability and trust between you and your dog. Let's admit, leaving your pup home alone during the day while you are at work, is not the most ideal way to housetrain your dog. Because I think we both can understand that your dog isn't going to be able to houstrain himself. What you need to do, is find ways to add more opportunities to praise your dog when he does eliminate outside. It may not be possible, but if you could work in a lunch break visit to take your dog outside, that's one more opportunity to praise your dog. If this is not possible, you'll have to mave you'll have to continue what your doing with praise, but go over the top with it. If the neighbors aren't asking you if you're okay, you aren't praising enough! There isn't a magic solution here, unless your situation can be altered to better suit your dog. Otherwise, you'll have to be patient still. It can take up to a year for a dog to be housebroken, and it be perfectly normal. So please don't think for a second that there is something wrong with your dog's intelligence, because I'm sure he's a smart one, and will eventually catch on soon. It just so happens that you can't always be around to speed up the housebreaking effort, and therefore it will take more time. I hope this helps, and good luck!

[Dulce]

Instead of giving him a blanket to sleep on, give him a bed OF HIS OWN.

Keep your crate door open, with the pen around it. put pee pads outside the entire pened area outside the crate.

It's great that you tried this first, rather than crating your poor puppy for 8+ hours a day. Good for you.

Better safe than sorry. Put pee pads in the are just outside the crate, inside the penned area.

[beckalexis]

Yes, I realize its not the best situation but I have to make due. My pup is very intelligent. I just wasn't sure if there was something in my training that I was missing. He was doing so well and I have not changed anything, so I am a bit confused. I know that sometimes animals revert back to prior behaviors (I have learned that lesson with my birds) but I have not had this problem with my other dog or my parent's dog that I trained. So, again, I am a bit confused.

[Dulce]

Just be consistant. Be patient, firm, and consistant. That's the best you can do.

You're on the right track. Keep up the good work.

[beckalexis]

I had the crate in the pen for a while, but he started to distroy it even with tons of chew toys. I can try a doggie bed, but I am afraid he will just pee on that too.

I started to think that maybe I should put another pee pad in the pen so that he has one to lie down on and one to pee on. He pees like a girl (he doesn't life his leg) so he always pees inside the pen.

[beckalexis]

thank you Dulce for the kind words

[Dulce]

Get the dog his OWN bed. If they have a bed of their own, in their own crate (it's like their den) then he won't go on his bed.

Don't give him any room to mess up. Don't set him up for failure.....

Cover the entire floor outside the crate with pee pads, so that that's the ONLY place for him to potty, and eventually he will get the idea.

You are welcome

[Curbside Prophet]

Well then, I'm sure you know that every dog has their own nature. Therefore, they should have their own standards. Maybe you're confused because your expecting similar results as your other dogs? Which I would say is perfectly healthy thought, and no one could fault you for that. But, maybe all you really need is patience and persistence. You may want to have a chat with CHeetah. She has a corgi too, and about the same age. Maybe if you compared notes with her, you'd have a better picture of your training on a whole. Just a suggestion.

[Cheetah]

I also have a pembie puppy... mine is just about 11 months old now. I can tell you that mine also had some problems holding it when he hit 6 months, and I dealt with it for a couple months after that. Basically, I just started taking him out more often during that time. That meant waking up earlier in the mornings, coming home from work during lunch to take him potty more often. I also took up his water as soon as the clock hit 9 each night.

I believe it is normal for most puppies to have a relapse once they hit 6-8 months of age (depending on the dog and breed). You just have to get through it. Keep everything as clean as possible.

Don't shut your dog in the garage. That is a bad idea. There is usually a lot of dangerous things a dog can into in the garage, such as tools, sharp objects, chemicals, ANTIFREEZE, etc. Just be persistant with the pen/crate, AVOID puppy pads and don't put anything in there he can mistake for one. Don't give him a bed if he is in the habit of peeing on things. My corgi was kept on the bare crate floor (sometimes he got a towel, which I ended up bleaching) until he was about 8 months old. He was just fine with that. You might try just putting down a big, thick blanket inside the whole pen.

Is the crate plastic? Is the pup chewing on the crate? (I'm not sure if I read that right) If so, get a wire crate. Do you have a Kong for your puppy?

How long is he left alone to hold it while you are at work? If he is having problems holding it right now, you might have to conform to his schedule right now. The general rule (age in months plus 1) don't always apply, and expecially not if the dog is having a normal relapse. Do you have a friend who can come let your puppy out in the middle of the day, or can you get a pet-sitter to do it temporarily while he is getting back on track?

[beckalexis]

Cheetah - Yes, he chewed on the crate when I first put it in the pen when I first got him. He may not chew it now, but I would rather not find out. A wire crate maybe a good idea; I will have to look into that. He did not have a towel in his crate for a long time and I have only recently given it back to him. I may have to take it away again. He has a Kong but he ignores it (after he has eaten all the treats/food inside). He has plenty of chew toys and rawhides.

I am gone anywhere from 6-8 hrs during the weekday and, unfortunatly, I am unable to go home during lunch (I usually skip lunch so I can be home sooner). I totally realize that during that time he will need to go potty in the house. I have absolutly no problem with that. But I do have a problem that he has forgotten that the pee-pads are right there and goes directly on the tile. I even bought those nautral science pee pads that are supposed to be scented for them to go potty on. Like you said Cheetah, he probably is going through a relaps and we will just have to stick through it.,