[Francl27]

He joined our family 2 weeks ago now and has had an accident every 3 days or so (I'm not counting the diarrhea from eating 2 lbs of treats).


I'm a bit baffled. He was returned at 6 months because he wasn't housebroken, the breeder kept him mostly crated at home and he never had an accident for another 6 months (but again... crated 8 hours a day and at night). Now he's still adjusting obviously, we don't crate him, I take him out every hour or less, praise when he pees or poops... but he still has random accidents (and always when we're home. We can be gone for 4 hours and he's fine).


Any idea? I've had 3 puppies before and never an issue like this. We have 2 other dogs too and clearly he knows to go outside, he'll go and pee as soon as we open the door. He's not neutered either (not for another year).



I'm going to go back to 'puppy training' with treats outside every time he goes (I have to go out with him anyway or he won't go), we clean the rug he pooped/peed on with nature's miracle, I just hope it's going to be enough... just wondering if it's just much harder for some dogs? He's a newfie.

 

[Canyx]

For most dogs, "house trained" means 'don't eliminate in my living space'. I know a lot of dogs who virtually never had accidents in the home but mark in pet stores, regressed when they moved to a new house, etc. My friend's dog is very well house trained but peed and pooped in the basement when they moved to a house that had a basement.

It's only been 2 weeks so I think your new dog is still figuring out the routine. If it's marking, I would recommend using a belly band. And continue to reward him profusely any time he goes outside. Another suggestion is you could do a tethering kind of situation where he is with you, with reasonable space to move around or settle down, but unable to go anywhere he wants in the house. This can help him learn to 'exist' in all the different spaces of the house without eliminating in them.