[candace0183]

Hey everyone,

I have a 5 month old Maltese mix puppy. I'm trying to housetrain her and it's not working.

When I take her outside, we walk around for like 30 minutes and she doesn't go. She may pee like 60% of the time we go outside within like 5 mins but she NEVER poops. I use "go potty" constantly but that doesn't work either. When I bring her back inside and crate her because she didn't go...she goes in the crate within 5 minutes. This can happen if I walk her for 15 mins, 20 mins, or 30 mins...she always just goes in her crate. I've been reading alot of info and some people say take her outside and stay outside until she goes. Other sites say take her outside and if she doesn't go in 15 minutes bring her in and crate her. I've done both. If I keep her outside she'll just run around and play and not go. If I bring her inside in 15 minutes...she'll go when she gets back. I'm sooo frustrated. Does anybody have any suggestions on what I can do?? Thanks so much!!

 

[Amaryllis]

Dogs don't speak English, so "go potty" at this point means "frolic about the yard!" you say "go potty" as the dog goes to teach them that's what it means.

Lots of dogs won't poop without exercise first, so do some walking. When you go outside to potty, don't let her play. Potty time is not play time. Just keep taking her out every 30-60 minutes and praise every outside potty like she won a Nobel prize. Right now, she's learned to poop in her crate, so you might want to remove the crate from the equation for right now. Keep her tethered to you and clean the crate with an enzymatic cleaner to remove the smell.

Otherwise, it's just patience and persistence.

 

[Kyllobernese]

If she always goes within a few minutes of coming in, it should be fairly easy to prevent it. Keep her on leash and with you. Don't put her in the crate as then you cannot tell when she is going. She will give you some signs, maybe circling, sniffing and immediately take her back outside. It will only take a few times of getting her outside before she goes and rewarding her really well with treats when she goes outside for her to realize that is what you want. It will take time and patience before she realizes what you want.