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Completely 100% housebroken ages?

7K views 50 replies 32 participants last post by  llombardo 
#1 ·
I have been doing a lot of research on housebreaking lately. My question: If a dog's bladder is not capable of full control until 6 months + , why are so many people on the net claiming their puppy of ages anywhere 8-14 weeks is completely housebroken & only took two days??

This just seems crazy & contradictory to me.


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#7 ·
Exactly. We ran an errand once and were suppose to be back home in 3 to 4 hours. Well, there were delays and traffic, we were going about 6 hours. We had Riley then and he did his poo right near the back door. He was trying to get out. He did not get in trouble for that though. It was our fault.
 
#4 ·
some people are good trainers. some dogs learn faster. my last
dog took 2 weeks before he was house broken. i got him when he
was 10 weeks old. the dog i have now took 11 days and he was house
broken. i got the dog i have now when he was 10 weeks old.

after my dog was house broken i continued to take out every
15 minutes to a 1/2 hour. overnight he was out 2 or 3 times.
as he aged his times went from every 1/2 hour to every
45 minutes, to every hour, to 1 hour and 15 minutes and so.


I have been doing a lot of research on housebreaking lately. My question: If a dog's bladder is not capable of full control until 6 months + , why are so many people on the net claiming their puppy of ages anywhere 8-14 weeks is completely housebroken & only took two days??

This just seems crazy & contradictory to me.


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#8 ·
I honestly didn't think it was possible for such a young puppy to have bladder control...but Cricket (my JRT) proved me wrong. We brought her home at 12 weeks, the first few nights she slept in the crate and I'd wake up every few hours throughout the night to take her out. She never pottied and I just knew she'd have accidents...

She never did, and I realized she just didn't NEED to go out every few hours. So we stopped waking up to take her out and she never had an issue holding it through the night.

The experience I had with her hasn't been typical, most of my other dogs have been higher maintenance and haven't had as much bladder control until they were older. But it is possible! I'm sure it helped that she was already crate trained by her breeder, and I think she was used to sleeping in her crate.
 
#9 ·
My dog was 7 weeks old when we brought him home. Within a week he was housebroken. While I was at work or school and had to leave the pup alone for 9 hours-he could not hold it that long and would have to pee. That's because he was too young to hold it so long-but housebroken he was because he wouldn't do that if someone was home to let him out-and he knew to go to the door when he needed to go.
 
#10 ·
Lisl was good to be by herself up to 10 hours at about seven months. She would regularly hold it for up to eight hours by the time she was five months. About six hours at four months.

Careful food and water intake management helps a lot during potty training and never letting them out of your sight while you are home with them.

Lisl was very easy to train. I can't remember the last accident she had before I considered her 110% potty trained.
 
#11 ·
I brought my puppy home when he was 8 weeks. He could not hold his bladder. When he woke up from a nap, I had to carry him straight outside because if I let him walk he would stop and pee before we got to the door. Other than that we went out every two hours, through the night as well.

At 10 weeks, he was fully house trained and used the doggy door on his own.
 
#12 ·
Delgado came home at 9 weeks, he had two accidents the first week (my fault) and never had another. So he was completely housebroken and hasn't had a single accident since 10 weeks old.

I attribute it to the breeder doing crate training and potty training in advance and us just keeping a very close eye on him. Some dogs just naturally get it, some take much longer
 
#15 ·
Hans and Sasha were housebroken within 3 weeks of bringing them home. However, both of them never had to wait too long. They were both crate trained and either I or my son are home on and off during the day. So, I agree with the OP in the fact that a young bladder can't hold it all day. But, using a crate and being very diligent in your potty breaks makes a big difference. Hans is now 15 weeks old and hasn't had an accident in weeks.
 
#22 ·
Medical and age don't count. Technically if they are completely house broken and they start peeing in the house, it can be signs of a medical issue(diabetes, uti, etc )
 
#20 ·
I am beginning week 3 of potty training tomorrow and Oskar has just in the past three days started whining at the door when he needs to go out. Honestly, I am proud of him I thought it would take MUCH longer than this. He hasn't had any accidents in the past two days whatsoever. We have had him on a strict intake schedule) and been integrating crate training with having him out and taking him out ever 30-45 min this entire time CONSISTENTLY! <-- I really cannot stress that enough.

It was weird though, just all of a sudden he was whining when he needed to go out, ignore him for a second and he will whine his way over to bite your arm... baby's gotta go!

That being said, and I would think more onto the topic of this post, I wouldn't think he is officially house-broken! But maybe that is just my skepticism. I was trying to do the whole deal without treats until my vet looked at me on monday and said "Seriously, give him a treat every time, CONSISTENTLY, and it will be a matter of weeks. GSD's are smart dogs!"

I'm glad I took the advice :)
 
#24 · (Edited)
I keep my back sliding open all the time for access to the completely walled in backyard, my last GSD taught my pup Golden Retriever Dory to go outside in 2 days. Now 4 year old Dory is teaching Rebell, it's been a week but only a couple of pees, no poops. I know some not agree with this method but when I catch my pup in the act of peeing or pooping I stick his nose in it and carry him outside.



.
 
#25 ·
Banjo was ROCK solid at 6 months. I do not recall an accident ever past that.
Cable came to me when 3-ish. Aside from day one jitters he hasn't gone inside.
Allie, semi-adopted 9 month old, never, that I remember.

Doggie doors are worth their weight in gold.
 
#27 ·
The second night home, Jonas was scratching at the door asking to go out. 8 weeks 1 1/2 days. He has asked to go out since. But don't worry he is no angel LOL , he makes up for it with a few other quirks I am working on. :)
 
#30 ·
Russell was 10 weeks old when he tried to go out the dog door on his own because he had to pee and poop. He got stuck in it, and had to back out, and we raced outside through the patio door. He peed and pooped and I threw him a party.

I seriously never had to do anything to housebreak him beyond taking him outside about every 30 minutes to an hour. He never had an opportunity to go in the house. Once he could heave himself out the dog door on his own, it was even easier. If I hadn't let him out yet, and he needed to go, he just went outside on his own. Carly and Sage were good teachers too with the dog door. He also went to work with me every day, so I took him out constantly. It's very handy to have a dog that will potty on a leash.

When we go to dog shows, and he is loose in the hotel room and needs to go outside, he will jump on the hotel door.

Easiest dog I've EVER house trained. Ever.
 
#31 ·
We got Zenna on the 26th of last week, and the past four days there were no accidents in the house, none in the crate, and she sleeps from midnight to 8am. We pick up water at 8pm. Working from home, I was able to take her out every hour... we had several accidents the first 2-3 days, but it seems she "gets it now"... she goes to the front door and whines frantically when she has to go. Happened very quickly for my male Hunter, too!

If you can be consistent and vigilant, it can happen pretty quickly.
 
#35 ·
Housebroken. This is something that has been debated a lot between my husband and I lately over our 5 month old GSD. My Housebroken means this: "A dog that can hold it even after he is let out of his crate, plays, eats & drinks, etc. and can still be trusted to tell us when he's gotta go."
My husband's Housebroken means this: "A dog who can be left out all night while we are sleeping and is confidently trusted to not potty in the house, who can wait til someone lets him out in the morning."
I personally think they're the same but my husband thinks crate training is "cheating" when it comes to potty training. I think a crate is setting the puppy up to win. I think leaving a puppy out all night not in a crate is setting him up to fail. Thus, my 5 month old is crate trained. Because I win. Lol.
Honestly, I would trust Yogi to wake me up if he had to go in the middle of the night if he wasn't crated but alas, I have three boys under the age of ten, 2 of which still wet the bed. I have enough potty accidents to clean up in the morning without adding the dog. Lol! :D

*-*Summer*-*
 
#36 ·
Our youngest GSD is 15 weeks, and completely house broken. From the day we brought her home (at 8 weeks), I've been by her side. I take her out on a schedule, and she has slept with me every night since she's been here. She stays on our bed from about 10:30pm, until 5-6am every morning. At first, during the day, I would take her out about once an hour, then I pushed it to 2 hours, now it's about every 3 hours. She also has 2 very good teachers. A 10 yr old GSD, and a 10 yr old Husky. They're both great dogs, so she's learning a lot from them. We also have a 3 yr old GSD, but he's not home all the time, he travels with my Husband. With all of our dogs we go in and out the same door every time we take them out, so now our 15 week old will go sit by the door, and wait. They're very smart, so take full advantage of that. Routine is the the key. We also have never crated our dogs. Thankfully I'm a stay at home Mom, so I'm able to keep a set routine. I can also leave for a few hours to grocery shop, etc, and come home to no accidents, and nothing chewed up. We've been blessed with some amazing dogs.
 
#37 ·
I'm not sure where you got that information. Dakota was pretty much house trained from day one- at 7 weeks (maybe younger, it was almost 10 years ago now). He only peed in the house once. Other than that we would leave him in our (safe) basement when we would leave and if it was for 8 hours he would poop. Maybe occasionally he would pee in that time, but usually it was just poop. He never pooped in the house when we were home and only peed that one time.

I think it really depends on the dog, but most dogs, with consistent training will be finished around 6 months.
 
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