But SHE can pee on the floor!

[Ironside]

Churchill, my 9wk old pup is doing okay at potty training. He's not doing spectacular by any means, as we're still constantly spot cleaning puddles (I take him out every two hours sometimes every hour and he'll still dribble in random places).

But you can TELL that he gets we don't want him going in the house. He'll be peachy, you take him outside, he'll pee and poop. Its clear he'll hold it until we take him out.

Every time I take him to my boyfriends however, Church has some seeeerious regression issues. My boyfriends dog, a 6wk old pitt, is constantly making puddles all over the place. Its like the dog has an overactive bladder. Pee. Everywhere. When I take Church over, it's like he sees her do it and then thinks 'OH. This is okay? Sure, I'll pee here! '

I take him home and he's back to peeing on my floor. :|

Puddles (the appropriately named puddle making pit puppy) IS scolded for peeing on the floor. And Church sees it. But I don't think he's grasping it?

I don't know what to do, I guess just not take Church over to the boyfriends until he's a little further along on potty training? I make a HUUUUGE deal about it when he goes potty outside. I'll cheer, give him scritches, the whole 9 yards. My neighbors think I'm nuts.


(Note: I am aware that Puddles is VERY young and probably shouldn't be away from her mother. But the people who were keeping her litter have no heat and its WAY too cold now where I live to leave puppies in a place with no heat.)

[jocoyn]

Really need to clean up that urine with white vinegar or an odor neutralizing agent. They pick up on traces. It would be good to watch him close enough that you can snag him BEFORE a puddle occurs or crate him while not watching. A lot of threads on housbreaking.

[1sttimeforgsd]

At 9 weeks old I took my boy out about every 20 minutes, they are very young to go for 2 hours without being able to potty. You are doing the right thing by acting all crazy when he does go potty outside, I did the same thing with my boy.

[Rott-n-GSDs]

He obviously doesn't 100% know what he is and isn't supposed to do, because otherwise he'd wouldn't be going on the floor. Dogs generally want to please, and aren't going to go on the floor to spite you.

Keep in mind that commands generally do not translate from one place to another. He's starting to get the idea, "I'm not supposed to pee on the floor at my house," but that does not mean he understands, "I'm not supposed to pee on the floor at OTHER people's houses."

Additionally, the scent of urine is overwhelming... it's hard for a dog to resist peeing when they smell another dog's urine (or their own urine, where they've peed before). That's why a designated "potty spot" in your yard is a good idea: your pup will smell the urine where he's gone before and automatically be stimulated to go again. Even my adult dogs sometimes have trouble if an untrained puppy is visiting and pees in the house... I make sure I clean up the spot immediately before my dogs get a chance to go smell it... so they don't get tempted to go, too.

Also, there's no way your pup is going to make the connection "that other dog got scolded for peeing, so that means I shouldn't do it." Just way beyond comprehension. Remember: dogs speak an entirely different language than we do!

[msvette2u]

BTW, at 6 weeks, a puppy ought to be with it's mother, not expected to hold his bladder for any length of time at all.
Scolding a puppy for something that is your own fault makes no sense at all.

[Ironside]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

BTW, at 6 weeks, a puppy ought to be with it's mother, not expected to hold his bladder for any length of time at all.
Scolding a puppy for something that is your own fault makes no sense at all.

I noted at the end of my OP that I'm well aware she shouldn't be away from her mother, thank you. And Puddles isn't mine to begin with.

[ChancetheGSD]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

BTW, at 6 weeks, a puppy ought to be with it's mother, not expected to hold his bladder for any length of time at all.
Scolding a puppy for something that is your own fault makes no sense at all.

(Note: I am aware that Puddles is VERY young and probably shouldn't be away from her mother. But the people who were keeping her litter have no heat and its WAY too cold now where I live to leave puppies in a place with no heat.)

^ Might help to read. 6 weeks old and away from the mother isn't the end of the world. The dog WILL survive, I promise. Worst case scenario is the dog has a harder time learning bite inhibition. It's otherwise not an issue. I got Zoey at 5 weeks old and Eevee at roughly 6 weeks. They've both survived and are well. I do agree with keeping the puppies with the litter until a minimum of 8 weeks, 10-12 for small breeds but in that case, the puppy is MUCH better off in a different home at 6 weeks old.

I'd recommend BOTH of you start crate training your puppies. Unless you're playing with them one on one and paying direct attention to them, they're in the crate or tied up to YOU. If they're out with you and they start sniffing around, scratching at the floor, pacing, doing circles, ect then PICK THEM UP AND RUN THEM OUTSIDE!!! Don't come back in until they've done their business. They need to go out every 20-30min even during the night. You can add an extra 5-10min longer between breaks each week if they're doing well on the 20-30min schedule. If they start having issues, start taking them out more often again. A puppy is like a baby, you get no sleep.

Both houses also do need to be cleaned with an enzyme cleaner. Carpets need to be shampooed, hardwood/laminate/tile flooring needs to be cleaned, if any legs have been cocked those spaces need to be cleaned as well. Dogs will mark where urine is, if you don't pull up the smells (and remember, they can smell a lot better than we can!) then they'll keep going back to those spots.

[1rockyracoon1]

So far I like the advice given by everyone.

Yes this is off topic but i really just felt I needed to say it

Originally Posted by msvette2u

BTW, at 6 weeks, a puppy ought to be with it's mother, not expected to hold his bladder for any length of time at all.
Scolding a puppy for something that is your own fault makes no sense at all.

Post like this just really tick me off. If you read the entire op's post they acknowledge the 6 week thing. Its honestly kinda rude to just post something like this I am in my opinion (yes I know my post isnt neccesarily the nicest either). It isnt the end of the world that the puppy isnt with the mom at 6 weeks is it ideal no.

Okay sorry I just needed to say that because I find it really annoying and its why I dont post more on here even though I am on daily.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by Ironside

Puddles (the appropriately named puddle making pit puppy) IS scolded for peeing on the floor. And Church sees it. But I don't think he's grasping it?

Nope, at 9 weeks old I highly doubt he fully grasps where he should and should not pee. My experience has been that puppies tend to get the "where to" part well before they get the "where NOT to" part. So when I take them out, tell them to "go potty" (our cue, some people use "hurry up"), they happily comply, and get enthusiastic praise and a treat. But they are still occasionally having accidents in the house for awhile longer if I'm not as diligent as I should be at supervising.

Another thing - because Puddles is so young, her capacity to control her bladder is even less than Church's, so she's probably going to need to go out more frequently than he is. As puppies grow and mature, their ability to hold it longer, and also to recognize that they even need to go, will increase. So there's that aspect of housebreaking, as well as understanding where the appropriate place to eliminate is.

I hope your boyfriend isn't just scolding her for peeing on the floor because that is not going to teach her to pee outdoors, it's just to teach her that it's not safe to pee in his presence. She must be caught in the act, picked up immediately and rushed outside and encouraged to continue. And then TONS of reinforcement, yippeee, a couple of yummy treats. It's simply not fair to scold her for something she doesn't understand yet and has very little ability to control. There's a reason that babies spend a couple of years in diapers - it's the same concept! The more you can prevent accidents from happening and the more you can reinforce the pups for going outside instead of inside, the faster they're both going to get it.

Are both of you cleaning the spots thoroughly with an enzyme cleaner? If not, they will be continually attracted back to the same places - they can still smell it even if you can't.