[Keeran's Mama]

Hey all, I'd appreciate a tiny bit of help here since I'm so confused.

Keeran's coming up on 8 months now and it seems as if his potty training is not sticking. I've had him since he was 8 wks old and have been crate training him from the start, taking him out frequently(with treats given immediately as his butt lifts off the ground) and keeping a super close eye on him when he's roaming around inside. His last accident inside the house was 4th of July, which my SO and I caught him in the act of. Mind you, we had just brought him back inside where he had peed but refused to take care of his other business(we were out there for 5-10 mins and he just paced), he came back inside where he decided to pop a squat about 5 mins later on my living room carpet! Anyway, he's been just fine since then without an accident. He's slowly been given more and more freedom as he earns our trust but we're still always keeping an eye him and making sure we know where he's at at all times. We live in a medium sized apartment so it's not too difficult to keep track of him!!

So...to the problem. Keeran was laying down with me on my bed the other night and watched TV which we do every now and then. I must have dozed off but was woken up by Keeran moving about on the bed. He moves around the bed sometimes but he seemed to be moving around quite a bit more than usual. I had my SO come and get him so I can actually go to sleep, which he does, I flip over and *WHAM* my foot went into a puddle of wetness on my comforter! WTH?!? I had just brought him out to the bathroom about an hour and a half before and he hadn't had anything to drink when we came back inside for that time. I just don't understand! I was wondering if anyone can give me any thoughts on this. Is it abnormal for a dog to still not be house trained by 8 months? I feel like a bad puppy mama!

[Kuma'sMom]

Some dogs just do take longer to house train. Kuma was a year old before he was housebroken, although that's pretty much par for the course with Pugs, lol. Kuma also used to pee but not poop outside. We just had to wait him out. I bought an excersize pen for him and that's where he went when it was time to potty. That way, if he was being particularly stubborn, I could go inside and get ready while keeping an eye on him. Eventually he figured out that he wasn't going anywhere until he did both pee and poop, and he started doing both as quickly as possible. As for peeing on the bed, he's done that to me a number of times, sigh. Generally only if I waited to long before letting him out, or if we made any drastic changes around the house. It's incredibly annoying though, so I can totally sympathize. Hang in there, he'll get the hang of it eventually.

[briteday]

I've had dogs all of my life. And there will always be a few messes now and again. Two of our dogs are pretty much reliable unless they have the runs or we've left them way too long. The third one was raised in a kennel setting with lots of other dogs for the first 8 years (she was a show dog and then kept to breed a few litters) and we acquired her last year as her retirement home. She is almost 9 now and not reliable beyond a couple of hours.

So I always keep a bottle of enzyme cleaner on hand. And accidents happen every now and again. I just stay prepared for the clean up, whatever it may be. But the average dog will be pretty reliable in most situations at about 12-18 months of age.

Letting you know when he has to go may never happen. I've had dogs that do and dogs that don't.

[aero4ever]

I'm sure you're not a bad 'puppy momma', sometimes these things take time. Each dog is different.

I would check with your vet just to make sure he doesn't have any kidney or bladder issues, just to be sure.

Sounds like you're on the right track. You might start keeping track of his "movements" . Does he seem to need to leave a landmine 10 minutes after eating or 30? That could help on your timing of taking him out to do his business. I'd also take away his water several hours before bed.

[LeRoymydog]

I would try keeping him leashed at your side at all times. Inside and outside. Whenever he does the "sniffing ritual", take him outside and praise him excessively when he does his deed. When you have him in his kennel, take everything out of it and have him lay on the hard bottom. Dogs don't seem to like laying in their own pee. If you think he gets cold, put the blanket over the kennel. It'll be more like a den.

It'll work, just keep up the hard work.

[TooneyDogs]

I take a slightly different appoach to potty training. I've owned and trained 14 dogs in my lifetime. They were all trained to not go in the house within 2 weeks and they all let me know they need to go out by barking or whinning.
I'm 'old school' about this and a firm believer that somehow you have to teach WRONG! This certainly isn't meant to bash the positive training of going in the RIGHT spot with rewards and praise. I think it's great and alot of dogs do catch on with just that training but, some dogs just don't get it....they really need the WRONG! correction.
My approach has always been to devote the entire weekend to potty training...nothing else.....no TV, no phone.
Here's the how....which works better with 2 people so you can do it in shifts:
Literally follow the puppy everywhere.....waiting to catch them in the act. The second they start to squat, interupt them with a loud clap of the hands or a stamp of your foot on the floor and a firm "NO!" Immediately make them walk to the potty area...even if they dribble all the way...that's OK. They must learn the route to the potty area by walking it themselves. Praise and treats for finishing in the right spot.
As they have to go every hour and a half that gives you more than a dozen training sessions in the weekend. That should be enough to teach them the right and the wrong.

[Mac'N'Roe]

Yep, I use a mixture of both of those methods which I think is the magic number. I have three, all under 1 year. I used positive reinforcement with all three of them meaning I praise like crazy (even still) and go out with them in the morning and evening on a schedule and anytime before I leave when I want to make SURE they are going. They KNOW when I'm going out for a potty, and that is the mission.

Accidents will happen, this is where Tooney's approach is so key. You can't teach them NOT to go in the house if you don't catch them in an accident. So I think a combination of Tooney's approach with positive reinforcement is key. Don't fret too much about the accident. Make sure you clean with a good enzyme cleaner and give yourself a slap on the wrist. His "extra" pacing should have been a clue, even if it's out of the norm. The other night Gabi woke up from her sleep and she went to the corner and had a strange look. I KNEW something was different...and as soon as I got up she assumed the position. But I caught her before with an eh-eh, and took her out. Score on the training lesson.

Just keep it up, he'll get it.

[poodleholic]

I'm like Tooney in that I'm a stickler, and the puppy or adult dog is pretty much potty trained within 2 weeks. The puppy is with me 24/7 (even at work, but if I couldn't bring the puppy to work, I'd take vacation time), and I prefer the "umbelical" method of tethering the puppy to me for periods of time while I go about my business. Not only can you immediately tell by body language that the puppy has to go, so you can get him outside in time, it also helps the pup learn to focus on you, and to lay or sit quietly at your feet (a real plus for training). Otherwise, the pup is in the crate.

[BarclaysMom]

I know how you feel! Our pup is 8 months old and he is just finally reliable in the house. We were very dilligent but he kept sneaking messes past us, and for a while I thought he would never get it! But then one day I realized there haven't been any accidents for a while, then a while longer, and suddenly it all seems to have fallen into place. So relax and keep at it, and I'll bet you're almost there - especially if he hadn't had an accident since July. I kept hearing about these people who train their dog in 2 weeks, but apparently I'm not that smart. I was starting to think I was a terrible mom, and was ruining him for life! But it all worked out in the end.

[Ler0y Jenkins]

I feel your pain. I have a seven-month-old Tamaskan puppy and he's a great dog overall but he's just not gotten the potty-training thing down yet. What's frustrating is that he'll go long periods of time without an accident and then all of the sudden go right in front of you.

My brother and sister-in-law were in town for the July 4th weekend and my girlfriend and I were at a wedding. He had gone a couple of weeks with no accidents but I didn't believe he was potty-trained. He apparently had an accident while we were out, which I didn't blame him for because my brother probably just wasn't picking up his signals. Anyway, he went all the way until August 14th before the next accident. My girlfriend and I were going on a vacation and were going to be putting him in the kennel the next morning. He had been behaving really well so I sent my girlfriend an email saying how upset I was about putting him in the kennel since he's been behaving so well, etc. At the end of the email, I jokingly said that I was sure he would act like a PIA that night when I got home so I wouldn't feel so bad.

Don't you know, I get home and sure enough about a minute prior he pooped right on the living room floor. Apparently, about ten minutes after he had just been outside.

We got back from vacation and everything was good. We even removed the tray-tables we were using to blockade him out of the rest of the house and let him sleep outside of his crate in our bedroom.

Well, last night he peed right in the hallway while my girlfriend was standing there watching him. I feel like giving up. I am so disappointed and I feel like he'll never be potty-trained.

He's an incredibly smart dog. I taught him roll-over in less than twenty minutes with only six treats. He picks up on stuff so fast that I really don't understand why he's still peeing in the house. The worst part is, it's not like he knows he's doing something wrong and tries to hide it; he does it right in front of you like there's nothing wrong with it.

I really don't know what else to do... We give him plenty of praise when he goes outside and we yell when we catch him going inside. I guess it's just accidents but it's frustrating when he goes a month and a half with no accidents and then has two within two weeks of each other.

[BarclaysMom]

If he does it right in front of you at least you have an advantage over the pups who sneak off and do it! When you see him starting to go just see it as a training opportunity, and rush him outside and praise him for going outside. I'll bet he's close to getting it, he just hasn't worked out the details yet

[Love's_Sophie]

Perhaps putting him in a crate when you can't watch him...even if you're in the same room; it will save you both frustration if he has an accident. Use the crate at night as well. Just put him next to your bed, and make his 'house' as cozy as you can, so he enjoys his bedtime.

When he is in the house with you, have him on a lead; that way you should never miss his signals...because he will be attached to you at all times; this will also save frustration, because you won't be giving him an opportunity to fail. It may seem like a pain, but I'd rather have to worry about a lead, than the dog getting an op to piddle elsewhere without me knowing, or just out of grasp to rush outdoors with!

Have him on a set schedule of feeding; nothing after 7 pm, even treats. No water after 8 or 9; or atleast 3 hours before bedtime.

[Elana55]

I got all mine done in two weeks as well. The trick was to avoid allowing accident in the house and interrupting and taking the dog out to finish up when a mistake was made. Watching like a HAWK is necessary...

Reward and acting like they just pooped gold or pee'd platinum is in there too.

I also use a crate.

Dog is NEVER allowed on the bed, but I have always had big dogs. I understand some small dogs are harder to train, but I often think it is because the owners pick them UP to go out, instead of making 'em walk there on their own (even if they dribble).

Now, I don't typically yell NO when they start to squat in the house (or arch to poo) but I DO make a ruckus simply because I am running like mad grabbing the dog by collar or leash and commotioning them out the door to the proper location to finish up.

That ruckus is MY reaction to animals crapping or peeing in my house. I am sure the dog is completely surprised and is certain that I have completely lost my mind and am headed for the looney bin. As such, they respond to the ruckus by learning to go outside....

.. after all, if I go to the Looney Bin who the heck is going to buy the Dog Food and feed them????

While the nose rubbing in poop and abuse of that manner does NOT work because dogs do not connect past actions with your present abuse, I am certain dogs and cats (cows and horses too) want to be sure I stay safe because I am the SOURCE of FOOD.....

My older cat (Naughty) actually CHECKS the cat food bag level when I feed the cats. If it is low and I go out and do NOT come home with cat food, he checks all the bags and when there is NO cat food in any of them he sits on the floor and HOWLS at me. He taught all the others. I am the God of Food. The SOURCE.....

and we cannot do anything to have me hauled off to the looney bin. Nope. Not. LOL

[BarclaysMom]

Originally Posted by Elana55

I am certain dogs and cats (cows and horses too) want to be sure I stay safe because I am the SOURCE of FOOD.....

Ha ha, that is great I wish all my animals felt that way!

[jendy]

My Dachshund is now almost 11 months old, and at eight months was still having the occasional mishap. Mostly it had to do with me missing the signals. But to be honest, if he was signalling, it was very, very subtle. I talked to the breeder, and she said she didn't trust any of them until about 10 months! So it made me feel a little better. I found that "NO" and even "SHAME" worked the best if I saw him sneaking somewhere. He understood and THEN would go sit at the top of the stairs to be taken outside. It was a very slow process. I also kept other rooms closed off - and if he went into those rooms when they were open without anyone or a toy or anything I would follow him and tell him to leave. I couldn't for many reasons, keep him leashed with me all day, although that was recommended to me too. Now we can keep rooms open, and he has adopted a routine. It will happen, hang in there!

[Keeran's Mama]

Thank you ALL for the awesome and helpful responses.

I'll try to address some points you've made...


Let's see:

He is crate trained and we do put him in there when we can't watch him closely. He loves it and will often walk in and lay down with the gate open even when my SO and I are walking about the house and allowing him out with us. He doesn't have a problem with trying to go on the floors or anything in the house and like I said, his last accident was on the 4th. It was just odd that he decided to pee on my bed after almost 2 months of pure potty perfection. I forgot to mention in my previous post that he's actually learned to give me signs of when he needs to go outside, so yay on that! His crate is in our computer room, where we hang out most of the time. If he has to go potty, he'll walk to the door, come back to stand up and pat his paws on us as high as he can reach, walk back to the door...repeat. It took us a little bit to catch on to that but he's gotten really good at it. He also gets pretty restless, which I should have paid attention to that one night. But like I said, I had dozed off and I don't know about you guys but I'm like an unthinking zombie when I'm half asleep!! Anyway, I'm pretty vigilant about watching him for signs, if not downright paranoid. I know now that accidents do happen(which are Mama's fault for not watching) and it's not actually as big a setback in potty training as I thought.


For those who got their furbabies trained in two weeks: OH MY GOODNESS! Well done!!!


Thanks again for the sympathy and tips. It's really nice to know that there are others out there who understand how frustrating it is and can tell me their stories so I don't feel so incompetent!


Btw, Keeran just got neutered on Thursday!!! I'm terribly frightened he's going to hurt himself by jumping and being too active. He also keeps trying to lick! Gr...he doesn't have stitches or anything, it looks like that adhesive. We've been calling his name when we catch him and I think he's starting to catch on. My poor baby...I felt a little neuter remorse while he was at the vets! But he seems to be fine and frisky, like normal. He's on pain meds but generally seems fine.


And he's also right back to give me his potty signal.

[BarclaysMom]

Some dogs have to wear a cone for a few days after surgery. Mine did. But he recovered so quickly, I was amazed. Within a couple days he was acting like nothing had happened! I felt bad doing it to him too, but I know it's for the best.

[Elana55]

I felt worse neutering my cats and dogs than I did thinking about doing it to my X BF......

I didn't just say that did I?????