Hi Gwen,
You have a great site full of wonderful tips but after reading it I still need some advice about housetraining a puppy. He is a dalmation mixed with pit bull. I have had him since he was about 8 weeks old and he will be 6 months at the end of this month. Because I work full time and away from home during the day, I thought crate training would be a good way to housetrain him. However, it hasn't turned out that way. I take him out first thing in the morning, when I return home and before going to bed. I realize being outside is exciting for him since he is crated for the majority of the day, but all he does is run around the yard and find things to chew on (wood chips, rocks, whatever) I tried using the leash to walk him to his "spot" but once there he would either just sit down or try to break free from the leash. Some times he will do his business but most times he will hold it until he is back in the crate. I use newspapers to line the crate and friends have told me to use old towels or clothes instead. I tried that too but I eventually ran out of my supply of old towels and clothes. So I'm back to newspapers. Others have told me that because of my schedule (being gone all day) that he will never be properly house trained because I don't have the time required to train him. Do you think this is a hopeless situation? Any advice would be welcome.
 

i don't think it will be impossible to housetrain him, but it certainly will be more difficult. Any chance you can hire a dog walker or neighbor to stop in during the day to take him out for a walk? That's an awfully long time to be confined to a crate. And it sounds like he's already developed a habit of going in there. Once the habit is formed, it's really difficult to break. So, the first order of business is to give him incentive to want to pee outside. Under no circumstance should you let him back into the crate if he hasn't emptied out. And be prepared to wait a very long time. Sooner or later he'll have to "go." And when he does, let him think he just won the doggy equivalent of the lottery! Jump for joy, praise the daylights out of him and give him a handful of treats like he's never seen before in his life. I'm talking steak leftovers, hamburger, bacon, something he normally does not get so it will be a HUGE reward and surprise. You want him to think, "hey, if all i have to do is pee out here and this happens, i can do that again!" It may take a few repetitions before he makes the connection but he will. It just requires a tremendous amount of dedication and patience on your part. It's also absolutely essential that you do not bring his outing to an abrupt end after he has done his business. Some dogs will "hold it" for as long as possible because they know that as soon as they empty out, then it's back in the house, or back home from the walk. Be sure to extend his fun time outdoors after he's gone.
But all this will backfire if he's kept in his crate too long and is forced to "go" in there. So you must try to find someway to let him out during the day. Any chance you or another family member or friend can stop by at lunch?? Is there another place you can confine him so he can soil the papers or towels or whatever and get far enough away from them that it doesn't erode his instinct not to soil himself or his den?
 

Hi Gwen,
I need some advice as I don't feel like I'm on track with regard to potty training. I feel like I'm following the basic rules however: taking the puppy out every hour (which doesn't seem enough based on accidents - but he is 4 months old) taking him to the same spot, etc. etc. I'm not using a leash, but I go with him and stand close by and he has no desire to stray and usually does his biz no problem (although I don't exactly have his BM schedule down just yet - he seems to vary it!). The problem is, if I'm not there, say for instance I hook him to a long lead with the metal thing in the ground, he plays and plays, but will notoriously come in an hour later and go inside the house. He has yet to go to the door to give me a signal that he has to go on his own (and we go out the same door every time). So far it is all up to me and if I misjudge the timing, I'm cleaning up pee or poo. The kicker is: he can go all night (8 hours) without making a peep or soiling the laundry room so I know he can hold it; he just won't during the day. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?? Thanks!
 

I think just a few minor adjustments should speed up his house training. But first let me tell you that most puppies are not housetrained until they are 6 months old. So it appears that you are right on schedule and not off track at all. People may tell you that their dog was house trained when it was 3 months old. Either they have a poor memory or they were incredibly fortunate. None of my dogs have been thoroughly and reliably housetrained before the age of 6 months. Maybe their definition of being house trained is different than mine. Ok, so if this were my puppy, here's what i would do: When i take my dog outside to his designated toilet area, we're there for one purpose and one purpose only - too pee or poo. No dilly dallying, no playing. After his "business" is completed, then he has permission to play and have free run and access either to the rest of the yard or in the house. If he does not "produce" within lets say 2 minutes because i'm not waiting any longer than that, then back into the laundry room he goes. I'll wait another 30 minutes or even an hour and then try again. If he 'goes' then he is rewarded with a treat, praise and gets free play time. If he does not "go", then, it's back into the laundry room. When he does earn his freedom, he only gets about 30 minutes to an hour or however long i think i can trust him and i supervise very closely. If i can't supervise because i'm busy cleaning, cooking or whatever, then back into the laundry room he goes. Some times instead of putting him in the laundry room, i'll keep him on leash and attach it to my belt so he can go from room to room with me and explore the house without the freedom to wander out of sight to pee. Write down what time he eats and what time he poops and eventually you'll see a trend. All of my dogs have pooped within a few minutes after eating so i knew to take them out first thing in the morning to pee, then i would feed them, then take them out again immediately to poop. Going to the door is usually not an issue, it just sort of happens on it's own and it was rare that any of my dogs had to "go" at a time other than the times they were scheduled to go. Let me know how it works out. Be patient, you have 2 more months of potty training at least. And it sounds like you're doing fine so far.
 

I have had my dog now for about 10 months and she was doing really good with house training and the she stopped she won't go when she is outside. we use to live in the country and now we live in lown she is old enough that she shouldn't be having this problem. I ask my friend and she says it is the breed their stuborn. She is half jck russel and half blue healer. I don't know what to do with her please help! She i take her to the vet? Danielle
Yella_4life@hotmail.com
 

Hi Danielle. My guess is that it's more a matter of habit and preference than stubborness. Jack Russels and Heelers are extremely intelligent dogs. I think she got into a certain habit when you lived in the country and this town life is upsetting her routine and pattern. Try to replicate her old way of doing things as much as possible. If a dog is used to going on dirt or grass and all of the sudden they are told they have to go on concrete or gravel, they usually won't do it. Then a housetraining problem results, we think something is wrong with the dog, but let's look at it from the perspective of habit, or what we're used to. We as humans are accustomed to going in private in western style toilet accomodations. That would be similar to the dog, let's just say, going on grass. Then if all of the sudden someone told us we could only "go" in phone booths in the big city, we'd say, NO WAY!!! So when we tell our dog that she has to go on leash in a park or on gravel or anything that is different from what they're used to, they're gonna likewise say NO WAY!!
So go back to housetraining basics as if she didn't know a thing and start again. Check out www.perfectpaws.com/htra.html
 

Hi Gwen,
I could really use some of your advice. I have a Newfoundland, Dancer, who about a month ago turned 1 year old. She has never gone to the bathroom outside. I have never had a problem housebreaking a dog before. I always picked them up and took them outside when I saw they were about to go, and they got the idea very quickly. I have another Newfoundland, Eva, who is only 3 weeks older and she is mostly housebroken. She does occasionally go in the house, but I think it's only because she sees Dancer doing it. I take Dancer outside and she holds it until she gets back in. She picked a spot, the corner of the living room and that is the only place she will go. I tried blocking the room off, and she holds it for hours. The longest I left it blocked was about 20 hours and then I let her in because I was afraid she would damage her kidneys. Dancer goes out with Eva and also my other 2 Newfs and sees them go outside but she just doesn't understand. When she was about 5 months I started putting weewee pads in her spot. She went on the pads right away. After a week I moved the pad a liitle closer to the door. She just went to her spot and didn't care about the pad. I tried taking a pad she had gone on outside so she would smell her sent out there. My vet had suggested putting a shower curtain over the rug, he said dogs don't like to walk on them. My other dogs all stayed off it, Dancer didn't even seem to notice it was there. I started saying make peepee when I see her go and then while she's outside I say make peepee to her, but that's not working either. I just don't know what to do with her. Any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much, Karen
 

Karen,
egads!!! yes you do have a huge problem in the sense that a newfie can leave a very huge puddle! If this were my dog, i would resort to either crate training or leash training if i didn't want to leave her in the crate. You could also find a small confinement area that is more roomy than a crate as well, but will deter her from peeing; and you can also let her stay outside as well as long as you watch her so that you see her when she eventually does pee outside. and of course you know to make her feel like she's won the lottery if you do see her going outside. Dogs have amazing bladder control. One dog of mine held it over 48 hours because he didn't want to go out in the rain. When there was finally a break in the weather, he went out and it was like Niagra Falls!
At all costs and effort you have to keep her away from that spot. Keep her on leash and don't even allow her to walk over there. Take her out every couple of hours and eventually she'll go. You can walk her near the spot to stimulate her to perhaps need to go, but then immediately take her outside. Long ago one of my dogs suddenly started peeing in the garage, so i began feeding her in the spot she would pee. I didn't just put the food bowl down there, but i fed her dry food and i spread the kibble on the floor all around the area. It took about a week for her to break that habit. Dogs do not like to dine and eliminate in the same place. So if you make that spot her regular feeding area, it might also help break the habit. But don't be surprised if she tries to pee on her food. Her habit is so ingrained that it will supercede what we think is normal, at least for awhile. This task requires a tremendous amount of patience and waiting on your part. Hang in there.
 

Hi, i have a new puppy that's 9 weeks old and have had him for almost 2 weeks now. We are crating him all of the time and I don't want to do this but he can't be trusted to stay out of the crate more than 6 minutes then he is sniffing around to find a place in the kitchen (which is where we keep him) to pee. He did great with his schedule the first week holding it overnite and not peeing in his crate, but we see he is now regressing by peeing in his crate when I go to take him out at our scheduled time in the morning. He does great when we take him outside but it seems like he can't hold it over night anymore. Or can't stay out of his crate for more than 6 minutes before he tries to go on the kitchen floor. When we have him out of the crate he doesn't bark or anything to let us know he is about to go. We have to watch him carefully and when he starts to sniff, we quickly wisk him outside. Also, we have stopped giving him water after 6pm to try and help the situation. Not sure what else to do??
 

None of my pups have been able to hold it overnite at 9 weeks, even if i took the water away at 6pm and put them to "bed" in the crate at 11pm. Somewhere between when they emptied at 11pm and when i got up at 6am, i would have to set an alarm and take them out during the night/morning. So in that respect, i'm not concerned about your puppy. When you say he can't hold himself for more than 6 minutes outside the crate, does that mean he can't hold it for 6 minutes after he's already gone outside (because you've whisked him out) or does it mean he can't hold it for that long after he's out of the crate and he's been in it for a couple hours? Most pups like to go as soon as you let them out. If he's in the crate for a couple hours and then you take him out and he pees, he should now be empty and therefore able to hold himself for at least 30 minutes outside the crate but confined to the kitchen. I take my pups out every 30-45 minutes and they only get free run outside the crate after i've literally eye-witnessed them empty out. I never assume my pup is empty, i need to know for sure. If he is truly having to pee every 6 minutes, then he needs to see a vet to rule out a urinary tract infection. Please read the other posts that other puppy owners have written and you'll see how they schedule their housetraining. And also please read www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html if you haven't already.
 

me and my boyfriend just bought a 2 mnth australian shepherd mix from the animal shelter a week ago. She is an amazing dog and very bright! Our only problem is we both work from 8-5(my boyfriend comes home at 4). Our dog,Mya,seems to understand going to the bathroom outside already. When we are home we never have problems with her,however, because she is home alone for so long she always elimates in her crate while we are gone. We don't punish her, and immediately clean it up when we get home. we know it is a long time to be alone, and we don't really give her another option. When my roommate returns from vacation the dog will only be alone from 11-4. I feel like we've already started a schedule with her, will it be easy to change when my roommate gets home?
I've been reading about crate-training/house-traning, and every site gives a different way do to this. I like you're site and would like your advice on the best way to take care of our new puppy.
Advice on the best way to crate train her and house train her would be much appreciated!!
GREAT SITE
Chelsea
 

Chelsea,
8-5 is way too long to leave her in her crate. 11-4 is also too long. It is essential that she is not forced to soil herself and her crate or you will erode her natural instinct to keep herself and her den clean. Dogs who are raised in this condition often never become housetrained. Can you possibly use the paper training method described in my housetraining article during the day? Even a small utility room or kitchen or pen will be much better than a crate. If that is impossible, then i would highly recommend you find someone who can stop by at least once during the day to let her out to pee.
 

I have had my Border Terrier puppy for about 10 weeks and she is 17 weeks old. She has mostly learn't to toilet outside but night time is a bit of a problem. She is confined at night to a corner of the kitchen, which has a tiled floor with newspaper put down. I screen off with a sheet because we have to pass through the kitchen on the way to the bathroom in the night and try to tiptoe without disturbing her. At first she didn't make a fuss when left at night and is not reluctant to go into her bed because of rewarding but now whimpers for a few minutes when left at night. After about 7-8 hours when we come in to her she has always had a pee and poo,as well as pulling out her beddding. Her last meal and water is about 7 in the evening. The mess is always cleaned up in the morning and an enzyme liquid used to remove the smell. Should I start taking her out in the night? I feel that she should be making some improvement by now, Please help
 

Yes, i would take her out in the middle of the night. When i start expecting my puppy to hold it all night long, we go about it gradually. At first i get up about 3-4 hours after i've put her to "bed." then the next night it's 3 hours and 15 minutes after bedtime. She learns to hold it just a little bit longer knowing i'll be there any minute to let her out. Usually by 5 months, she can hold it for 6 hours. I don't think i'd ask for 7-8 hours until she was over 6 months old. Since your pup already thinks no one will let her out so if she needs to go, she'll just go in the kitchen at will, then it may take you a little bit more effort to find out when she's going and work from there. If this were my puppy and things were as you described, i think i'd get up and take her out at the half-way point in the night. If she doesn't "produce" anything, then i'd set an alarm and take her out in another hour. If she's already gone, then the following night i know that i have to take her out before that time. In other words, you need to find out how long she'll hold it on her own. Let's say she empties out at 4 hours after bedtime, then that's where i'd start. I'd take her out every night/morning at that time for at least a week to set a habit. Let's just say it's 3am. Then set an alarm every morning for 3am. Once she's used to that, then set it for 3:15 and so on. But if you get up and 3am and she's already done her business. Then the next night set the alarm for 2:30 am. I hope this makes sense. if not, write back and we can discuss it further. This method speeds up the housetraining process, but even if you just carried on as you have been, she'll eventually be able to hold it longer and longer. I'd just rather put in the little extra effort and speed things up rather than have to get up every morning and clean up the papers and sometimes the puppy when she steps in it! Like all "parents," we lose some sleep in the early stages.
 

I am at my wits end with a new puppy in our home. He is an Italian Greyhound that is 4 months old. We have only had him a couple of weeks, but I am almost ready to surrender him.
We are working on crate training. Unfortunately we are busy and he has to be alone during the day with no one to help us out. Due to the fact that we are gone during the day, we bought a large crate that would provide him a place to eliminate and reside on the other side. THis did not work. Even though we work hard to clean his pads as soon as he has soiled them, he regularly eliminates on his bedding.
So we decided we would get a smaller crate to train him with when we are home, and place him in the larger crate when we are gone. But he immediately began soiling the small crate within 20 minutes of being in it. He will defacate in his bedding and walk and lie in it as if it was no problem at all.
Any suggestion is appreciated.
Joe
 

Joe,
It appears that your puppy may have already developed a substrate preference of bedding to use as his toilet. (see www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html) Sometimes confining a puppy too long in a crate (even a very large one) will erode their instinct to keep themselves clean. However, the fact that he has no problem walking and sleeping in his own waste at this young age does not worry me. If this were my puppy, i would find an area in the house such as the bathroom or utility room or i would set up an area using baby gates and pens and puppy proof the area. Then i would put down some puppy pads at one end of the area and his bedding in another area and some papers in another area and maybe a large beach towel in another area and see what he prefers to sleep on what he prefers to eliminate on. This is sort of an experiment and discovery process. Then go from there. It just may be that he prefers to "go" on soft absorbent material like bedding. He's still very young and the fact he isn't housetrained yet is perfectly normal. Italian greyhounds are very active little dogs and his walking and lying on his soiled bedding is not that unusual. Several of my puppies have done this and eventually stopped when they were able to hold themselves longer. Don't give up on him yet!
 

I may have double trouble here. We brought two 8 week old Yorkies, both males into our home one week ago. I know how to train one puppy but two at one time is much harder. Is there anything I should do differently when training two?? They are confined in a small area in kitchen with access to paper in pantry area. Also we are trying to separate and play with each one individually to keep them from just bonding with each other. Should we be separating them at night also? They do play a lot with each other.
 

Double trouble, yes, but triple fun. And no matter what you do, they will bond more closely with each other because they are the same species. I would be more concerned about their fighting when they get to be doggy teenagers. One because they are boys and 2 because they are yorkies.
Do everything the same with them as far as the training goes, but watch them closely and determine as soon as possible who the dominant one is of the two. It may be very subtle at this age. Then please read everything you can (starting of course with my books, actually this subject is addressed in the Help! book and not in the Manners book) about reinforcing the social hierarchy. This will go miles in favor of them not fighting in the future. I would let them sleep together at night, but do separate them often so they will bond with you individually and it will also help them not become too overly dependent on each other. I've seen one dog so upset when the other one was absent that it would not sleep or even interact with the owners. They each need to feel safe and secure with you and without the other pup just for those occasions when they have to be separated for whatever reason may come up.
 

We are having some trouble with our 1 1/2 year old Havanese. He has started urinating wherever and whenever he gets nervous. If we take him in the car, he will urinate if we call him out of the vehicle. If we leave without him, he will run and urinate in one of our rooms. He is housetrained, but I believe he gets anxious and cannot control his bladder. He has been neutered and we did get him from a rescue. What can we do to stop this behavior?
 

You didn't mention how long you've had him, so I don't know if this behavior came with him when you adopted him or if he was fine for months and this just started. In any case, if this were my dog, i think the first thing i would do is make a trip to the vet. If he is indeed a very nervous, anxious dog, he may need a mild relaxant during the adjustment period. Then you can wean him off it as he becomes more secure in his new home. I'd also be concerned that he possibly has a urinary tract infection and that is why he has lost bladder control. Your vet should be able to tell you the answer to both those questions.
 

Hi, I am having a house training problem. I have two yorkies (one is a year old female and a 10 month old male). Up to about two months ago they were both really good and using the puppy pads and we had no accidents. Now all of a sudden the female (1 yo) goes to the bathroom on the rugs and carpets and not on her pads. I can't understand what the problem is and any help will be appreciated. They are both fixed and get along well.
 

Depending on how much padding you have available, she may be getting a little finicky and not wanting to share the pad with the male. If he has used it, she may be repelled from using it too. The solution may be as simple as you putting out an additional pad.
It appears that she would like to use the pad because she's going on rugs/carpets that are absorbant like the pads. You don't say if the rugs and carpets are in the same room as the pads. If they are, then simply put them away for now and place more pads down where the rug/carpet used to be. You may have to have several padded areas available until you find out where her preferred place is to go. Then you only need to leave a pad there. If she is seeking out the rug and carpet (ie the pads are in a different room), then i suggest you go back to confining her to the area where the pads are located and don't allow her access to the rooms where the rugs are until she is more reliable in her habits. Sometimes when there's a lapse in housetraining we have to go back to whatever we did to housetrain her in the first place and start again. But it should only take a week or so to remind her rather than the more lengthy initial process.
 

I just recently retired and we have a new mini-dachsund. His name is Sammie. Since my husband is still working, I am the main person in charge of training Sammie. We got him at 8 weeks old and have had him for two weeks now. He seems to be doing fine, so far. He sleeps in his crate at night in my husband's bedroom (my husband snores so we sleep in separate bedrooms) and has slept for about 7 hours at night. Daddy takes him out in the morning and then mommy takes over. I usually feed him when I get up and then we go back out. He doesn't always poop then, so I let him back in and play for a little while. I watch him very closely and he's made a couple of bo0-boos but for the most part, I think he's doing fine. He usually will play for about 45 minutes and then gets sleepy. I put him back in his crate to sleep. When he wakes, I wait a few minutes when I hear him wimper and/or bark, then get him out and immediately take him out. He gets a treat when he pees or poops outside. In fact, he knows where to go to get the treat when he comes back in. We follow the same pattern. Sometimes I go out for an hour to two hours. He hasn't soiled his crate once! I'm extremely nervous, though, that I'm not teaching him correctly. Or rather, I should say I'm nervous when he's up and I have to watch. Have tried the leash outside but he doesn't like it. Today, he went around the house with me on the leash. Sometimes he'll stop and I have to drag him a bit, but eventually he follows. Guess I just need some confidence that I'm doing okay with him. I block off the bedrooms and bathrooms, but he has access to the living area and the kitchen. Is this space too big? Should I confine him to a smaller area? And do I need to constantly keep him busy when he's awake? Any advice you can provide would be most welcome and appreciated.
 

You are doing perfectly!!! In fact when someone asks what they should do, i think i will refer them to your explanation. The area you have blocked seems like it's ok, but you will know it's not if he ever tries to pee or poop in there. Dogs will not soil their den if they can help it. If he considers the kitchen his den he will try his best not to soil it. Same with the living room, and eventually all rooms in the house. You establish these areas as his den by "visiting" these areas with him on leash when he's "empty" and you can play with him there and give treats, etc. Or you visit these areas without ever taking your eyes off him. This is a bit more labor intensive. Since i spend so much time on the computer, i will have my puppy leashed to my chair and will take her around the house with me everywhere i go. And right now, yes you must keep him constantly busy and occupied when he's awake. I like to use chew toys that allow you to put food inside. One kong stuffed with liver or cheese always kept my dogs busy for at least an hour if not more. Gradually he'll become more mellow and will not need constant supervision and activities. He'll learn to entertain himself. You are doing a fantastic job and this is pretty much how i will be raising my new puppy....... when she eventually arrives...... i'm waiting, waiting, waiting...
 

Thanks, Gwen for your kind words. I am the mother of Sammie the miniature dachshund. He's really doing great now and I began letting him have access to other rooms in the house when I know he's empty. I let him stay with me in the room when I'm cleaning, etc. and let him roam in the room. He's becoming a bit more independent and plays by himself for a little at a time. I'll play with him for a bit, but if I have something to do, I just let him keep himself busy or follow me around. Do you have any tips for me about getting him accustomed to the leash? We don't have a fenced in yard and we live in the country with a lot of rabbits and other varmits, so I don't want him to wander too far. He hasn't learned to come to me when I call him--especially if he's gotten interested in something. He will be 12 weeks old this Thursday...should I start keeping him on a leash (when we're outside) now? Also, what is a kong?
 

Hello Sammie and mom,
Yes, I would get him a body harness to start teaching him to walk on leash. That way he can pull and strain a bit and not cause any damage to his neck or throat. You can practice walking him inside as well as outside. It'll be easier to start in the house where there aren't all those distractions.
If you go to the pet store they can help you fit him. If you shop online or can't take him to your local pet store, then measure his chest just behind the front legs. Usually that's how harnesses are sized. You might need to get a couple different sizes as he will be growing. They also make adjustable ones. Read the article at www.perfectpaws.com/cls.html as it talks about getting him used to the collar/harness and leash. (i think the article is written for collars but just substitute the word)
I've written an extensive article on teaching a dog to come when called. you can read it at www.perfectpaws.com/recall.html .
A kong is a toy made of hard rubber and is hollow inside so you can stuff treats inside. A kong would keep my dogs busy for hours. If you go to an online petstore and do a search for Kong, i'm sure you'll see plenty of variations of it. Or just ask the salesperson at the petstore. They pretty popular and common. Just be sure to get the right size for him as he could probably crawl inside the larger ones!
gwen
 

I'm having trouble with my beagle/jack russell mix. Duncan is about 13 months old now and has been doing great as far as training except for 1 thing. I don't have to worry about him going in my livingroom/kitchen area but I must keep all bedroom doors closed. I can take him outside and he'll do his business but if I bring him in and there is a bedroom door open then he'll go poop in that room so quickly that I never knew it happened and he was out of my site. My girls room is a mess and he'll go to the bathroom right on top of their clothes. I don't understand. HELP!! I've started over again with the basics of taking him outside frequently and giving him rewards when he goes. I've also put up a baby gate so he can't reach the other rooms. Any other suggestions?
 

Two things about dogs, especially the boys. They like to keep their own den clean and they like to "go" on territory other than their own. So the key is to try to make Duncan understand that these areas are also part of his den. As far as he's concerned they are not; so when he enters those rooms it's almost like being outside on new turf. When i'm housetraining my puppy or dog, besides all the basics which you've already done so well, part of the training includes incorporating all the areas/rooms of my home that i want the dog to have access to but not think it's free toilet area. So we play in those areas, we train, we nap, we get treats, we eat our breakfast or dinner in there frequently. At first you'll probably have to escort him to those places on leash as you've already discovered how quickly he can act. Conquer only one room at a time. Once he is trustworthy in one room and has integrated it into his den, then start with another room. But in the mean time, the only way to keep him for soiling those areas is to close the door or use baby gates, as you've been doing.
 

Gwen,

I have a five month old female Rat Terrier Mix who I recently adopted about two weeks ago. We live in an apartment so when it's potty time we go out on a leash. She does really good goes potty. However, I've found within a five minute period of returning from our potty break she is pooing in the house even after pooing outside. Any suggestions?
 

My last puppy was always a "double pooper." She would go poop once and then within about 5 minutes or so, she'd poop again..... everytime. So i just made sure i didn't let her back in the house until after #2 #2.
 

Hi Gwen, to answer your question: "When you say he can't hold himself for more than 6 minutes outside the crate, does that mean he can't hold it for 6 minutes after he's already gone outside (because you've whisked him out)"?

Answer: We will have just taken him outside to go and he does that just fine, but when we bring him inside the house (but not put back in the crate) I can time him to 6 minutes and he is again sniffing around to pee on the floor. So its as if we can't keep him out of the crate without having to take him outside every few minutes. BUT if left in the crate he can hold it over nite or for a few hours just fine. Its only when we take him out of the crate to socialize that he gets very excited and wants to pee only after 6 minutes of being out. Hence having to crate him all of the time.
 

Your little boy seems to be quite the anomaly! Here's what i'd try if he were mine. I'd let him stay out for 5 minutes or just until I see him start to sniff around. Then either put him in his crate or take him to his toilet area. By now the 6 minutes should be increasing to 7, 8, 9 and 10 minutes. If he truly empties out, i don't know why his bladder is full again in 6 minutes unless he either comes in from outside and immediately drinks some water or he has a UTI. If he emptied his bladder completely only 6 minutes ago, then he should have a "dry pee." My male dogs used to do that when their bladder was empty but they still wanted to urine mark. They'd go thru the motions, but nothing came out. Keep me posted on this because it is highly unusual for his age. Notice anything else and definitely record the time as you did the 6 minutes. Also note if he actually pees again if you take him back outside after the 6 minutes or if he pees inside after the 6 minutes. Maybe his sniffing doesn't mean he is actually going to pee again. I think i would also try putting him on a leash when i bring him in and using the leash to extend his "dry time" by preventing him from sniffing areas that provokes him to pee again. Also be sure to clean these areas with either an enzyme cleaner like Natures Miracle or a neutral disinfectant. Often either vinegar or ammonia based cleaners will entice the dog to pee there again.
 

Gwen,
Please help. We have a new 5 mo. old male Lab puppy. He has been doing very well in his housetraining, EXCEPT: periodically he sneaks into one of the bedrooms and pees ON THE BED! He is not having other "accidents" on the floor, so I think this may a different type of problem. I don't know how to discipline him on this since I can't ever catch him in the act. We also have a 7 yr. old female Lab and they get along great. Any suggestions?
 

He's a little young to be urine marking already, but it's possible that he's trying to get a message about his social insecurity. Another possibility is that some dogs will pee on beds because they just don't quite have the bladder control and the physical act of jumping makes their bladder release, then once the urine starts to flow, it just keeps going. If it is a big puddle, then it's more likely bladder control. A smaller amount would be more indicative of a marking behavior. I wouldn't be giving my dog free access to the bedroom or anyother room yet without my supervision. I usually wait until a minimum of 6 months before i ever let my pup out of my sight. I do this with either gates, barriers or leash.
 

Hello,

I apologize not sure how to use this website so I am probably posting this comment in the wrong place or way, but maybe someone could help:

I want to know if you have any suggestions about how to deal with my 4 year old dog that has been potty trained since she was about 3-4 months old when we got her. She has pottied in the house atleast 7-8 times in the last 2 months. I thought originally that she might of been sick, because of the consistancy of her bowel movement and that she may of not been able to control herself. But the bowel movement has went back to normal and she has continued to do the same thing. We have a 18 month old daughter which has taken a lot of attention away from our dog, and I feel like this could be the cause. I know it is not the lack of opportunities that she has to go, because just this morning I brought her out just briefly but telling her to go and she even went as far as to pretend that she was doing her business, but do not. So I brought her in the house and left for work, I had a feeling she was going to go ahead and potty in the house which she did probably with in minutes of me leaving. The last time she did it she went in our bedroom, which she is rarely allowed in. And it is always pooh and not the other. Please help, we are totally frustrated!

Thank you,
Joe
 

Hello Joe,
I think you've figured out that it has something to do with the lack of attention she's been getting. Try to find a way to help her feel more a part of the pack and activities with the baby. Dogs figure out pretty quickly that once they empty out outside, they are immediately taken back in the house and the outing is terminated and so is the attention their getting. So they will often hold themselves in an attempt to extend the outing and when we whisk them back in before they complete their business, then they will eliminate in the house when we're gone. I know life is more filled with obligations now that you have a daughter, but you might try getting up just a bit earlier in the morning to spend some special time with your dog. At least 15 minutes of uninterrupted, exclusive time devoted only to her. Take her for a special walk, play fetch, do anything but it's her time and her time only and it's consistant and without fail. And again repeat this in the evening. It's only an additional 30 minutes a day, i know it may sound like you can't squeeze it in, but i bet you'll agree that she deserves it and i think it will help her feelings of being neglected.
 

rHi Gwen,
I was hoping you would be able to help me out with my 14 month old beagle. House training is going fairly well, he is to the point where he won't relieve himself anywhere in the house, but we are having trouble with him going in his kennel. He will go pee outside, but eventually, whenever we put him in his kennel, he wets his bedding. We are using old blankets for him right now, so I tried not putting anything in his kennel, but he still pees in it, and ends up being all wet with it. The longest he is left alone is 4 1/2 hours. Yet sometimes after even 10 minutes in his kennel (right after he goes outside) he'll soil his bedding. I'm not sure what to do, and was hoping very much that you could help. Thanks. Sheri
 

Sheri,
I don't know if this applies to you or not but common scenario is for us to take the dog out, he pees, then comes in and drinks a bunch of water sometime between then and when we leave him in his crate or kennel. So in reality it's much longer than 4.5 hours since he emptied out and then he refilled sometime between then and when he's crated. So during the time we're gone, he really has a full bladder and needs to empty. Another reason he may not be able to hold it is because he's psychologically stressed from being alone and this increases urine production. I don't know how big his kennel it, but often people leave water in the kennel, so now when the dog is stressed, he pants and gets thirsty and needs to drink more water. Now his bladder is really full! So that would be the first thing i would do. Make sure he empties out immediately before you kennel him. Limit his water unless it's a really hot day. And since he already has a proclivity to go on the blankets, i think i would try a different type of bedding so see if that has any affect. If the blankets are soaked, that means his bladder was full. He's a small dog so he shouldn't be able to soak a blanket and get himself all wet too unless he's got a really full bladder.
 

Hi Gwen,

My worst fear is that if I get a dog, it will jump the fence and get hit by a car if we leave her in the backyard. Is there a way to train a puppy to have no desire to do so, even if we don't have a very high fence or electric fence?

Thanks,
Justine
 

Justine,
Even with the best of training, i would never trust a dog to be 100% obedient 100% of the time when her life depended on it. So, with that said, my only solution is that you have a secure and reliable fence installed.
 

Hi Gwen,

We resently adopted a 8wk old airedale puppy. Abbie is now 3months old. One of our problems is we are gone to work from 6:30 to 3:00. My husband is running home at lunch around half hour of so each day to let her out of her crate. Some days she is dry others she is wet. She has never
pooped in her crate, only pee.
Is this expected from a 3month old?

Another problems with Abbie is she will not let us know when she has to go outside. We bring bring her out every hour or so when we are home and she will releave herself right away, but will still have
accidents on the floor. Is this normal for a three month puppy.

And of course there is bitting.
How do we stop her from grabbing on to clothing while playing with her. We have held her mouth together, tell her no very firmly.

Any suggestions?
 

This all sounds very normal for a 12 week old puppy. Sounds like you just need to stay with the program longer. I never expect a puppy to be reliably housetrained until she is at least 6 months old. Also please read the posts on "biting and aggressive" behavior because everyone has the same problem and you can read what we've written there. If your questions still aren't answered, please keep posting and asking, i'll do my best to help. But remember that just like housetraining, it's a process that takes time, training and repetition. Hang in there!
 

Any suggestions on how to handle a 4 month old Jack Russell mix who potties in her crate? She has just enough room to turn & lay down. Seems she doesn't have a problem sitting in her own mess.
Phyllis
 

Phyllis,
i need more info. How long is she in her crate when she's soiling it? What is her feeding schedule? How much time between when she empties out and gets put in her crate? Does she drink any water within an hour of being put in her crate? Other than soiling it, does she appear content in there or does she whine and appear stressed? You might also want to read the section on housetraining a puppy and crate training as well. Start here: www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html
 

I have a 5 mth old maltipoo female. She is 3/4 maltese & 1/4 poodle. I am having a ruff time potty training her. I am training her indoors on puppy pads.
She will not poop on the pads period. She will urinate on them, on a good day.
I have her gated in the kitchen during the day while I am at work. I work 7:00 a.m to 5 p.m. M-F. The kitchen area is large enough to have her bed area, eating area and potty area.
When I come home sometimes she has completely shredded her puppy pads and other times she will go on them. If she doesn't she will usually pee anywhere else, or she take off running with them and then tries tear them up.

When she was a puppy the people I bought her from kept all of the puppies in a bath tub on a pile of old blankets and let them potty in the bath tub. I am not really sure what to do anymore. I leave her gated in the kitchen until she goes on the pad, if she hasn't ripped up the pad in the process. I tired newspapers first. HELP!!
 

This is just part of the housetraining process. I know it's frustrating cleaning up shredding pads and papers, but there is really no alternative when you are not home to do any active housetraining. Your primary means of potty training right now is the passive method and this not only takes more time, but it lends itself to the ripped up pad/paper problem. All of my pups have done that. And the pads are designed for pee, not poop so i wouldn't expect her to poop on them. Both the active and passive methods of housetraining are described on my website, you may want to review them. www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html
Also remember that housetraining is a process and at best, pups are housetrained no earlier than 6 months of age. So i wouldn't be alarmed since your pup is still only 5 months old. And when engaging primarily in passive training, it will take longer. And you really don't have a choice with this because you can hardly quit your job just to housetrain the pup. You sound a bit frustrated, but it looks to me that everything is progressing as it should be and i wouldn't expect anything more at this point. So smile and give her a big kiss and tell her she's a good girl.
 

Hi Gwen,
I have been using some of your tips on your site and jsut when I think i have my new puppy trained she does it again! Her name is Cindy short for Cindy Loo Who and she is a Walker. She is so hyper and then she sleeps so easily. I am not sure how to handle her anymore she is beginning to be such a hassle to have to watch her whereever i go from now on. And i am really tired of cleaning up after her. She goes so much! But not as much as before. She has her own place to go outs ide so when i do take her outside she know where to go and what to do but she still goes in the house. I cant say i have tried a crate because i do not own one. Do you think i should buy one for her. I love to see her happy i jsut get tired of her going on my floor. i could really use some advise. Thankyou alot!
 

What an adorable name!! You don't say how old Cindy is, but from what you describe it sounds very normal for a young puppy. It's very rare that a puppy is reliably housetrained before it's 6 months old, so you have to just persevere with the training, as it is a time dependent process. You might want to use a crate to facilitate the training. If you haven't already read the housetraining info on my website, it's at www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html
Read the info on both passive and active training and then decide if you want to use a crate or not.
The article will give you more tips on how to housetrain her.
 

Hi! This looks like a great site! We have a question about our almost 14 week old labradoodle. (We have had him since he was 7 weeks).

He is progressing in all areas except peeing. I would say he has not learned anything about housebreaking for urination at all, it seems. If I have been walking him and then want him to urinate before going back in the house, he will usually pee on our command. He will stay dry in his crate sometimes for 2 or even 2.5 hours and then pee outside when we take him right out. All this is great!

However other days, he will pee after 10 minutes in the crate! Most frustrating is, half of the time he will do serious sniffing and give us signals, and when we take him out he produces. That is fine. However, the other half or 3/4 time, he will be trotting along in the kitchen and boom! all of a sudden he starts a stream with no warning!

So we take him out and then literally 5 minutes later he will pee on the floor again. Many many days he has peed 5 times in a 20 minute period.

Another problematic thing is, he has gone into his crate to pee! Everything I have read says crate training is predicated upon dogs not wanting to pee where they sleep! So we don't seem to be able to use the crate as a tool to force him to hold it for longer and longer periods of time.

Two other pieces of info - we have flexible schedules here, so we don't really leave him alone for 5-6 hours (with a lunch break) like many people. Could we be hindering housebreaking by being so available?

And he was neutered at 7 weeks, which my vet said may or may not interfere. I am at the end of my rope here, after 7 weeks of practically living in the kitchen! Thanks!
 

Actually everything you write sounds pretty normal to me and i would expect this from my own pup. The fact that he goes into his crate to pee, rather than pee while confined in there for a very short time after he's emptied out is not violating the principle of not wanting to pee where they sleep, at this age. They also shouldn't want to pee where they eat, but at this age, they usually will. I don't think you're hindering the housetraining process, i think you just expect it to happen sooner than what is normal. As i've said in my article on housetraining a puppy, i don't expect a pup to be housetrained until she is 6 months old. Your pup is only 14 weeks so you still have a way to go. If he is trained sooner than 6 months, consider yourself very fortunate. But expect him to be a typical puppy and take up to 6 months. I've never heard of early neutering causing incontinence in male dogs, only females, i suppose it could happen, but your pup doesn't sound incontinent from what you describe. It sounds exactly like what he should be doing at this age and stage of training. My new puppy will be coming home soon and i too will feel like i'm living out of my kitchen and utility room. Also I walk around with a wad of paper towels tucked somewhere on myself for months, that way when i see my pup doing that random-without-warning squat and pee, i can grab the paper towels and quickly shove it under her tush to prevent the pee from going all over the floor. Sections of puppy pads work well for this too. Needless to say you have to have your eyes glued to him in order to catch him in time. Eventually you'll be able to see subtle signs and predict when it's going to happen and then whisk him outside before he starts to go. But this takes time and diligent observation. Hang in there, he sounds like he's making good progress with his peeing on command and being able to hold it. Some days and hours will be great and then the next day it will seem like he's never had any training. That's normal. Just be as consistant as possible. And reward and praise him when he goes outside. At this stage of training, I'd even give him a treat when he goes on command.
 

HI Gwen,
I have a HUGE problem, at my wits end. A little over a year ago, we adopted a neutered male Staffordshire Terrier mix, the shelter estimated him to be about a year old. Lucky was completely housebroken, and we only had a couple of minor accidents in the initial breaking-in period. We both worked outside the home, and we learned it was best not to keep him closed in a room, he is rather large and a crate would have took up too much space, as long as the door was open in our bedroom he was fine-up to 12 hrs sometimes. In December, we moved down south. He no longer sleeps in our room, we moved him to our girls' room then to the living room. Lucky has separation anxiety now, scratching and jumping at the front door, urinating and defecating in the house. He is only left alone now for a few hours at the most. Lucky will only eat if I place his food bowl down or stay in the kitchen with him. He usually follows me everywhere but I am not the one who walks him. Tonight I was cleaning the tub and he stood beside me and started urinating on the bathroom rug, continued after I told him to stop. Last week he urinated on his bed. I really need some help, it is hard to understand being that he was so well behaved before.
 

Kenyetta,
It appears to me that he needs a refresher course in housetraining. It is not uncommon for a dog to be housetrained just fine until they move to a new home and then it's often like having to do the training all over again, but it should happen more quickly. You can read my article on that at www.perfectpaws.com/htra.html
Also changes in routine can set off separation anxiety so you will probably need to address that as if he's just come home to live with you for the first time. I know it sounds strange since he was fine in the previous house, but it is quite normal for dogs to feel insecure in a new environment or with a new routine until they acclimate to it.
If he were my dog i'd also have him checked out physically just to make sure all is well in the health department. Please also read the info on separation anxiety if you haven't already. it's at www.perfectpaws.com/sa.html.
 

Hi Gwen,
My husband and I have recently moved into a newly remodeled home in the past 5 weeks. We have a 8 year old toy poodle. We have recently noticed that this dog is marking his territory all around the windows and curtains of the house. We did not have any problems with him at our previous house and do not really know why he started doing this. Our new home has lots of floor to ceiling windows, could this be a distraction to him? Also, we have another dog, a lab mix that has been fixed. No problems there. The toy poodle is not fixed. We started to crate train him again since he started marking his territory. Help!
 

This is common especially in unneutered male dogs. He needs to establish this "new" home as his territory. When they mark it usually indicates some sense of insecurity and need to make themselves feel protected and secure. What he sees out the window or smells outside may be contributing to his insecurity. The also may be some scent he finds intrusive on the curtains. But most likely he sees other dogs or cats or people outside. Take him for lots of walks around the new home and allow him to mark his territory out there.It's probably a good idea to use the crate for the time being until he begins to feel more secure on his new property. Praise him for peeing outside so if you can catch him in the act of lifing his leg indoors, a quick, loud verbal reprimand should let him know you disapprove of his marking inside. If you limit his training to just reprimanding him for marking, you may inadvertantly increase his insecurity and the problem can worsen.
 

Hi Gwen,
We are just a few days away from bringing home 2 (brother & sister) lab's. They are 7 1/2 weeks old and have developed somewhat potty skills with their mother. The breeders kennel/pen has a dog house and a area covered in straw in which the puppies potty on. I am planning on crate training the puppies however I am concerned about the nights. I plan on setting up a small pen around a crate in which I can lay some straw or paper down. Would I be confusing the puppies by letting them potty on the straw at night and then locking the crate taking them outside to potty during the day? My wife and I both have jobs in which we can come home several times a day to let them out of the crate to potty. We would like to start out on the right path from the beginning. Scott in Co.
 

Hi Scott,
There are many approaches to housetraining and the plan you describe should work. I hope you plan to crate them together. Personally i think my inclination would be to crate them at night and wake up once (once for you and once for your wife) until they can hold it all night long. And i would use the pen during the day with those puppy potty training pads or something they are used to "going" on. I'm assuming you've read my article on housetraining a puppy at my website: www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html
 

Hi there. I have a 4 year old neutered JRT with a marking problem (and a 2 year old spayed JRT who thinks she's in charge). Almost every night he will get out of bed (he sleeps with us) and sneak into another room and pee on something. He doesn't seem to mind peeing on boxes, bags, clothes, furniture, or anything left lying around. I don't understand why. We let him out around 11pm but sometime before 6am he's left us a sizeable mess to mop up. I am at my witt's end with him! We have no carpeting anywhere in the house only because I can't stand the thought of urine soaked into it and the smell it leaves. Why is my dog marking in the house only at night? He doesn't do it in front of anyone which makes me think he knows it's wrong. When he sees us 'find his spot' he slinks away and cowers in another room. He also doesn't mark indoors during the day. I'm a SAHM so the dogs go in and out at will all day long. We also use self-feeders and waterers that are left out 24/7. Niether dog poos in the house and the female rarely has a pee peoblem. What on earth is going on with my dog???
 

From everything you describe it appears to me to be a very clear case of him simply having to empty his bladder in the middle of the night. He's drinking water too late in the evening before bedtime. Marking is typically a very small amount of urine. He appears to be emptying a full bladder. Take his water away early in the evening. It may have already become a habit so do everything you can to prevent him from getting out of bed at night. I would put a bell on his collar so it would wake me up, then i would take him outside to empty out, even if it's at 2 or 3 in the morning. After a few days of limiting his water in the evening, he should beable to hold it all night long.
Some dogs may actually have a urinary track problem so if the problem doesn't go away, i would have him checked, but i'm assuming at only 4 years old he's pretty healthy.
 

I wanted to add what has worked for me, as far as housetraining/crate training our dogs. Whenever I have brought home a new puppy, I keep a notebook. I, or any family member who takes the new puppy outside to potty, writes down at what time and what the pup did, #1 or #2. We write down the time of all feedings. After about a week, everyone is settled into a routine. Our puppy is almost 12 weeks old, and at this time, we take the pup out every 1 1/2 hour to pee. We know that she usually poops 2 hours after eating. We also noted she gets the "zoomies" (running around wildly) before she poops. This way no one forgets what time they took the dog out so there are less accidents. We do this until the puppy hasn't had one single accident for 2 months and that usually tells us, the dog has got the housetraining thing down. This has worked for our family, maybe it will helpfull for someone else. Good luck.

Regards,
Danielle Schuman
 

Hi Kim,
Congratulations on adopting Harley. It's great that you have other dogs because they will do most of the training for you. Usually puppies want to do what the "big" dogs are doing and will follow their lead. They pee, he pees. They chew toys, he chews toys. They sleep, he sleeps. All my pups have been pretty easy to train because the older dogs in the pack did most of the work. Kaylee will be another story........ sigh......
At 8 weeks it's normal for them to pee and poop almost at random. It's not recommended that you give him free run at this early age. It's great that he loves to nap in his kennel. What i do is put the crate/kennel in the "confinement" room with the door propped open so he can come and go as he pleases. If you're home, take him outside to pee at least every hour. Gradually one hour will become 2 and 3 and so on. If you haven't read my article on housetraining a puppy, it does explain the difference between crate training and confinement or active vs passive training. You might find some of the info there useful. Hope this helps. Feel free to write and ask more questions, but you might also get some tips and advice by reading all the housetraining posts as other people have written about their experiences. Also there is alot of info under the topic "Training Issues" where people have written about crate training. the potty training article is at www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html
 

Gwen,
We have an 11-month old lab mix, and she was fairly easy to house train when we got here about 8 months ago. We recently added a 3-month old lab puppy. We have made some progress with house training the new puppy, but it is difficult with she and the older one together. Now the older dog has had a couple of accidents with the puppy. We have a dog door that is used by both to access the back yard, which is the designated poddy area. We have been using a crate for the puppy at night. My wife is home much of the time on weekdays. We would appreciate suggestions on house training with the pair.
 

Adding a puppy can upset the balance of the household and it's not uncommon for the resident older dog to start having "accidents," even "accidents" that are on purpose.
The older dog should just be run thru a refresher course in housetraining while the puppy is going thru it for the first time. I would just pretend she wasn't housetrained at all and start at sqaure one as you did when she first came home. Or if it's easier, use the same training method for both of them. It may seem like it's unfair for the older dog to be confined since she supposedly was trained, but she's proven that presently she is not trustworthy. She should come around pretty quickly tho, especially if you give her lots of praise and treats for performing in her potty area.
 

Hi Gwen,
We bought our new lhasa poo puppy three days ago. (Our girls named her Snickers :) I couldn't ask for a more perfect puppy. She is exactly 4 months old and though most books seem to imply that we have just missed the most ideal time to housebreak her, all seems to be going well. She isn't housebroken yet, by any means, but we are taking her out frequently and she seems willing to do her "business" outside. She’s not yet ready to tell us she has to go. She has made it all three nights from 10:00pm - 7:00am without peeing or pooping. For each of the three days that we have had her, she has pooped once each day at approximately 10:00 am in the morning. Here is the question/problem. Beginning tomorrow, I will be back to work and the kids back to school. Snickers will be in the laundry room closed off with a baby gate. (Also where she has slept for three nights with very little complaining.) I have her crate and food and water in the laundry room with her. I can come home at lunch to take her out, but not at 10:00. Is there a way to change her internal poop schedule from pooping everyday at 10:00 to closer to 8:00 am or noon? (I realize this won't happen by tomorrow, but is it possible and if so how.) I am assuming her feeding schedule will have to be altered. I put food in her bowl at 7:00 am but she doesn't eat it until later in the am and then only nibbles throughout the morning, more vigorously eating in the afternoon and evening. I would appreciate an expert opinion on our sweet Snickers. Maybe three days isn’t enough time to call it a true pattern, but I suspect when I come home at noon tomorrow, I will find that she has pooped in the laundry room. I welcome you thoughts!
 

Sounds like she is doing wonderfully! I personally don't feel you have missed the ideal time for housetraining.The best time to start training is whenever you get your puppy. It's simple to adjust her feeding time and her "output" time should take on a corresponding change. The difficult part will be your feelings. She must learn to eat when breakfast is served and not eat at her own whim. How would you feel if you cooked dinner all evening, served it at dinner time and your family just picked at it and maybe eventually ate it for breakfast.... unacceptable. So...... you put her food down and give her 5 minutes. If she doesn't eat it, you take it away and not offer anything else to eat until the next scheduled feeding time. This could be the next morning. Don't worry she will not starve to death if she misses one or even 2 meals. (make sure she has water) Usually by the very next morning, she will be so hungry she will eat immediately and she will consume all her meal. If not, take it away and repeat. It's healthier for dogs to have a semi-regular feeding time instead of grazing all day. They are canine, not bovine. A healthy dog with healthy digestion should eat and then poop immediately afterwards, making it very convenient for housetraining because if you're there to feed her, you're there to take her to her toilet area. This might take a few days for her system to adjust, but she will. If you start to feel bad and guilty, and succumb, then it will set her back in her training. Once she is reliably trained and her system adjusts, it's possible to go back to free - style feeding, but i never recommend for pups less than a year old.
 

gwen, I have 3 shihzus aged 2,7,and9 .The 9 yr old is a male. He ignores the invisible barrier in my home to confine 3 dogs to the kitchen,family room area. He has also increasingly become terrified of rain. He has access to a doggy door, which the other 2 use faithfully. Altho ritz has been the hardest to house-train, he is now ruining our house. he often wets his crate at night.We take him outside before bed and give him meds ,it still can happen.
 

This sounds like it could be "older dog syndrome." The exact same thing happened to a couple of my dogs as they got older. The best thing i found to do was try to accomodate them as best as possible. I tried not going out or making sure someone was home during thunderstorms and also during holidays with lots of fireworks as that noise had the same affect. I used Rescue Remedy which you've probably read about on the other posts whenever a storm was approaching. I tried the standard desensitization process but it didn't work with my older dogs. I tried leaving a radio on really loud to help mask the sounds as well. I had to be much more diligent with the housetraining, not taking for granted their perfect behavior in the past. As they get older they run into more health reasons for loss of bladder control. So i made sure to take them out more frequently. It's almost like i had to treat them as young puppies all over again. Sometimes i had to confine them to a kitchen or utility room and i made special indoor pens to confine them when i was going to be gone a long time. I didn't want to use something so confining as a crate. And the other dogs were happy to be confined to the same space. At this time in their lives, they are pretty much couch potatoes during the day anyway. Their peak activity is morning and evening when i'm home to give them attention and exercise/play, etc.
 

Hi Gwen,
I have a 2 year old female dog. She was house trained when we got her but now she pees and does even more 2-5 times a day inside the house. She is locked up in the laundry room when no one is home but she always finds an empty room when she is out. I put her outside every 1-3 hours during the day. But she still has "accidents". What do I do?
HELP!!!!
Haleigh
 

Hi Haleigh,
I'm sure you've heard that dogs are easily housetrained because they do not like to soil their den.
Most dogs need to be re-housetrained when they enter a new home. They are trained not to soil their own den but they have no problems soiling a new place that they don't yet consider their den. Some dogs that are housetrained will soil a room if that room is generally closed or shut off or empty because they don't consider it their living space. So you need to train her as if she's not already housetrained showing her that each part of your new living space is also a part of her living space. Never let her roam unsupervised. Play with her, nap with her, feed her, and do all the normal everyday living things you habitually do in each place you want her to consider her "den."
 

Hi Joanne,
I think he is housetrained as it appears as tho he is trying to go to his toilet area based on where his "accidents" are located. During the day he's probably eating or drinking more water than he is capable of holding. So at this point in his bladder control ability, i would limit his water before you leave during the day and make sure he empties before you leave.
 

Thank you! I hope my comments are useful. good luck and keep us posted.
 

Hi Gwen,

I have a 10 mo old Boston. He has been doing great with house training. He goes several hours at home in his crate without any problems. But when we are home with him he goes to the door almost every hour asking to go out. We know he needs to go out if he has just been playing hard, but otherwise he should be able to hold it longer right? There have been times that we just try to ignore him for a while to make him get used to not going so frequently. Sometimes it works for a short time, other times he starts a howling fit, or he has a little accident in the house. Is he just doing this for attention? What do you suggest? Thanks for your help.
 

It's not normal for a 10 month old puppy to feel as if he has to empty his bladder every hour. I would take him to your vet asap to make sure there are not urinary tract problems with him.The fact that his "accidents" are little also indicates that he doesn't have a full bladder so it doesn't appear to be a housetraining issue, besides he's going to the door to let you know he wants to go outside. If he gets a clean bill of health, then we can address whether or not he's just trying to get attention or if he's beginning to do some urine marking which is typical of an adolescent male. But first get him to his vet as soon as possible, better safe than sorry.
 

From: Leeann

DOES ANYONEHAVE ANY ADVICE ON HOUSEBREAKING A PUPPY? MY MINI SCHNAUZER IS 3 1/2 MONTHS OLD, I HAVE HAD HER SINCE SHE WAS 6 WEEKS....SHE GOES IN HE HOUSE NOW JUST AS MUCH AS SHE DID WHEN I FIRST GOT HER! I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING! SHE IS CRATE TRAINED, SHE WILL NOT GO IN HER CRATE. I TAKE HER OUTSIDE TO GO AND SHE WON'T AND AS SOON AS SHE COMES IN WITHIN 10 MINUTES OR SO, THERE SHE GOES....ON THE FLOOR! PLEASE HELP!!!
 

hi gwen, i have a couple of problems with my dog. First of all my dogs breed is a west highland terrier mixed with a pomeranian. He seems very stubborn he doesn't listen most of the time. When i put a leash on him and tie to go pee in his wee wee pad and i leave him, he doesn't pee on the pad but pees somewhere else, and most of the time im not home so he just makes a mess all over the house he is about three and a half weeks old. Sometimes he pees on the pad but most of the time he doesn't. This problem is also the same for the pooping, its just so frustrating because i talk to him and show him where to pee and poo but it seems like he doesn't understand. Please help me.
 

I'm assuming you mean that your pom/westie is 3.5 months not weeks old.At this age it's normal for them to pee and poop all over the house unless you specifically start housetraining them. It's too early to give him free run of your house. It generally takes until the pup is 6 months old to be housetrained. Because you are not home alot, it can take even longer. The basics of how to housetrain a puppy both when you are home and when you are not home is described on my website at: www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html
 

Hi Dana,
If i leave my puppy in her crate just a little too long, she too has the same problem. So what i've been doing is opening the crate door with a few paper towels in hand and i use them under her bottom when i pick her up. At least that prevents the mess i had to clean up. Now i try to let her out a little sooner and monitor her water before i crate her so she isn't at "bursting edge" when i let her out. You might try that and see if it works for you.
 

Hi Gwen!

First, I've been reading your site a lot--and it's been very helpful! Also, Kaylee is just adorable! I'm raising a Seeing Eye puppy who will be coming to me on May 12th. He is a Golden/Lab mix, and his name is Robert (of all things to name a dog!). I was wondering about house-training: my idea is to do like you say, set a timer for every 45 minutes, and basically sacrifice my first few nights of sleep so I can be with him. Are there any other suggestions you may have for me? Good luck with Kaylee, she sounds like a dream!! Thank you!

-Meredith
 

Meridith,
congratulations on the soon-to-arrive Robert. I love the name for a retriever pup. I think there's probably enough advice about housetraining on the website, the housetraining blog and you might read the Training blog as there are many posts there on crate training. So i don't think i need to add anything to that topic except to say that setting the timer and planning on getting little sleep the first week is a valid approach. If he ends up letting you get your sleep, then just consider it a blessing. With the timer, you might find that 45 minutes is too long if he is 7-9 weeks old. So in addtion to the every 45 minutes, take him out immediately after he eats, drinks or has an active play session. They sleep alot at this age so take him out immediately upon his waking from a nap.
But if i have any other suggestions it would be to spend alot of tactile time with him. Hold him, pet him, hug him, get him used to be touched and handled. This will bond him with the human touch. I'm sure the Seeing Eye organization will probably also give you tons of guidelines as they probably would like him socialized to every day events, noises, sights and sounds. Give him lots of praise and rewards for anything remotely good that he does to build his confidence about himself. He has a huge job and responsibility ahead of him if he is chosen as a working dog and it's so wonderfully generous of you to devote your time and home to him.
 

Hi Gwen...this is Teri and Sammie (the mini-doxie). We haven't been on your website in a while and I just loved catching up and reading about your training Kaylee. Sammie and I just had a big weekend...He was scheduled to be neutered on Friday and stay at the vet's the weekend as my husband and I were going to Asheville, NC for the weekend. Then the vet was called out of town on a family emergency and Sammie couldn't get neutered until Monday. I almost took him with us, but decided to leave him with the vet. I was worried about him a little...hated to think of him being all alone (without momma & daddy), but I knew they'd take good care of him. Anyway, I went to pick him up this morning and BOY! was he glad to see momma. I was expecting him to be a little sluggish, but not my Sammie...when we got out of the car, he started running all around the house and then couldn't wait to get in. Then he went straight back to his crate. We played for a while (momma brought him back some new toys), then he ate and went right to sleep in my arms. I am so relieved!

Anyway, Kaylee is adorable and keep posting your progress..we love reading them!
 

Hi Gwen,
I left a post last January seeking advice on housetraining my dalmation mixed puppy. I had problems because I work all day and was trying to crate train him with little success. At that time he was 6 months old. Well, now he will be 1 year soon and I'm glad to report that we finally did it! It took some doing and a LOT of patience but he has finally adapted to being on his own and waiting for me to return home at the end of the day. He has even picked out his own "spot" in the yard to go (not the one I originally planned) but it works out okay and it's much better than him going all over the yard which is what he had begun to do. Thanks so much for your tips and I wish you much success with Kaylee! And to everyone else who reads this, be patient and hang in there. In time your puppy can and will be trained!