How to fix my errors in housebreaking?

[marshies]

So this is a confession thread of all the things I've done wrong in house-breaking, and hopefully receive some guidance about how to improve what I'm doing so Amaretto can do well in housetraining! Amaretto is 16 weeks now,

Handler error #1:

Yesterday, I took her out for a long 40 minute walk + run to the grocery store while boyfriend held leash outside right before she went to bed, and she didn't pee during the whole time. Naturally, I was stupid and forgot she needed to go. When I put her into the crate, she whined a whole lot, and I ignored it. A few minutes pass and I go downstairs thinking I should give her a toy in case she wakes up in the morning before me, and found that she peed in the crate. POOR girl!

Handler error #2:

Today, after a nice 3 hour nap for both of us, I take her out to potty. She starts lying down on the grass and generally shows no interest. So I take her back inside and put her in her expen for some independent play time with her bones and toys. The second she went in, she circled and peed.

Handler error #3:

Just now, she woke up from her nap. It's been 4+ hours since she last peed, and she most definitely has to go pee. I take her out from her crate to the backyard. And she walks around, sniffs a bit, and the lies down. I ignore her, thinking it'll pass, and she puts her head down to the floor. At this point I'm thinking, she must still be super sleepy. So I take her back inside. As soon as I go in, she pees. I think near the same spot she did earlier today. I cleaned with diluted bleach when she did, and know that I should've used an enzymatic cleaner. But other than that, I guess my question is what did I do wrong to associate my backyard with NOT going potty? I think both times I said no and pulled on her leash as she was peeing to go outside...what lasting damages have I done and how can I fix it? How often did your dog poo at this age? I keep expecting her to pee and poo at the same frequency in a day, so I get worried when she doesn't poo.

Amaretto is really really sweet and adorable. She went back into her crate immediately after we came back from second pee session after she went in the house, and passed out again within seconds. She was making mini-barking noises (so quiet that only I can hear her), probably dreaming about something exciting.

[marshies]

Want to add and say that yesterday, we got a nice outside pee and poo.

[qbchottu]

I would make sure that she pees outside no matter how long it takes. Most recently, I had to potty train Wiva. She's older so it was a lot easier, but she was a kennel dog and was not used to holding it till she went outside. Another problem was that she was let out without a leash to do her business so she had trouble going when I had her leashed. She would always do nothing outside and then go the second we went back in the house. What I did was:
- make sure she goes when you take her outside. I've stood 20 mins plus in the rain outlasting the dog (it sucks but it works). If you KNOW that she should go, outlast her. I just put on headphones, listen to music and wait the dog out.
- always go to the same spot to potty so she can associate that area with potty time
- I walk my dogs repeatedly in a circle which helps move things along sometimes
- make sure to keep it boring so that all the dog has to do is pee. no engaging the dog, no playing etc
- the second she pees, act super excited, give treats, praise lots and then go back inside to play. It will be rewarding for her to go in her spot which will eventually be effortless once she associates pee+outside+praise
- try putting a bell on the door so that she can associate bell ringing with going out
- associate a command with peeing. eventually she can pee on command
- you have to catch her in the act for it to be effective. The second you catch her peeing inside, make a loud noise, scoop her up, run outside and let her finish there. It's no good if you find a mess after the fact. You must catch her in the act and correct her.
- always use a good enzymatic cleaner. Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution works really well. Blot up every bit of urine you can till the paper blots dry. Then soak the area thoroughly with cleaner and then let it dry. It must remain on the stain for the enzymes to break down urine molecules. Otherwise it will smell and the dog will be tempted to go again on that same spot.
- regulate water intake. If you monitor when she eats and drinks, you can predict when it'll come out the back end. I started at about 30 mins after drinking and worked my way up. If they had an accident, then I went back to a shorter time period.
- quality over quantity with potty training. If you are very vigilant and fastidious with training, it will pay off in the long run.

I have a good schedule somewhere. Have to dig it up. It helped me structure and potty train quickly.

[chelle]

Ok, when she lays down outside... don't let her. Get excited, woohoo, let's run and play and goof around a minute.. she'll pee. It'll stimulate and she'll eliminate.

THEN when she does, praise, praise, praise. WHAT A GOOD GIRL!!!!! Go potty!!! Tie the praise and words together so she knows what she's being praised FOR. Literally do it the whole time she's peeing/pooping. (I'm weird. When my puppy would pee, I'm like, good girl/boy, potty! Replace potty with poopy when they're doing the other. I want the dog to know the difference. When it's 12 below zero outside and I know my dog needs to poop, I'm going to tell them okay time to go poop.) Find the right voice tone so you don't get them so excited they quit peeing, but they know you're happy and praising them.

Immediately go back inside when the deed is done. Tie the outdoor trip to the goal.

Not sure what you mean by, "I think both times I said no and pulled on her leash as she was peeing to go outside." ?? I "think" you mean that when you busted her, you pulled her on leash to go out? IF that's what you mean, I wouldn't do that... instead, if you can bust her IN THE ACT, scoop her up, say NO POTTY or poop or whatever it is, whatever words you like and act dramatic and rush outdoors. No punishment. Nothing to scare her -- just whatever it takes to be dramatic and get her attention. Then get her out there, and moving around and when she eliminates, praise to the hilt.

Don't worry so much, you haven't created any lasting harm.

Oh and yes, get a good cleaner. Plenty to choose from at the pet store.

And a last note, no they won't necessarily poo on schedule with going pee. But if you feed at regularly scheduled intervals, you'll soon figure out when your dog needs to poop.

Good luck!!!!!!!! It only lasts a little while even if it feels like forever.!

[marshies]

Originally Posted by qbchottu

I would make sure that she pees outside no matter how long it takes. Most recently, I had to potty train Wiva. She's older so it was a lot easier, but she was a kennel dog and was not used to holding it till she went outside. Another problem was that she was let out without a leash to do her business so she had trouble going when I had her leashed. She would always do nothing outside and then go the second we went back in the house. What I did was:
- make sure she goes when you take her outside. I've stood 20 mins plus in the rain outlasting the dog (it sucks but it works). If you KNOW that she should go, outlast her. I just put on headphones, listen to music and wait the dog out.
- always go to the same spot to potty so she can associate that area with potty time
- I walk my dogs repeatedly in a circle which helps move things along sometimes
- make sure to keep it boring so that all the dog has to do is pee. no engaging the dog, no playing etc
- the second she pees, act super excited, give treats, praise lots and then go back inside to play. It will be rewarding for her to go in her spot which will eventually be effortless once she associates pee+outside+praise
- try putting a bell on the door so that she can associate bell ringing with going out
- associate a command with peeing. eventually she can pee on command
- you have to catch her in the act for it to be effective. The second you catch her peeing inside, make a loud noise, scoop her up, run outside and let her finish there. It's no good if you find a mess after the fact. You must catch her in the act and correct her.
- always use a good enzymatic cleaner. Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution works really well. Blot up every bit of urine you can till the paper blots dry. Then soak the area thoroughly with cleaner and then let it dry. It must remain on the stain for the enzymes to break down urine molecules. Otherwise it will smell and the dog will be tempted to go again on that same spot.
- regulate water intake. If you monitor when she eats and drinks, you can predict when it'll come out the back end. I started at about 30 mins after drinking and worked my way up. If they had an accident, then I went back to a shorter time period.
- quality over quantity with potty training. If you are very vigilant and fastidious with training, it will pay off in the long run.

I have a good schedule somewhere. Have to dig it up. It helped me structure and potty train quickly.

Thank you very much for the thorough advice. I've been able to catch her in the act mainly because when I'm not with her, she's crated.

Originally Posted by chelle

Ok, when she lays down outside... don't let her. Get excited, woohoo, let's run and play and goof around a minute.. she'll pee. It'll stimulate and she'll eliminate.

THEN when she does, praise, praise, praise. WHAT A GOOD GIRL!!!!! Go potty!!! Tie the praise and words together so she knows what she's being praised FOR. Literally do it the whole time she's peeing/pooping. (I'm weird. When my puppy would pee, I'm like, good girl/boy, potty! Replace potty with poopy when they're doing the other. I want the dog to know the difference. When it's 12 below zero outside and I know my dog needs to poop, I'm going to tell them okay time to go poop.) Find the right voice tone so you don't get them so excited they quit peeing, but they know you're happy and praising them.

Immediately go back inside when the deed is done. Tie the outdoor trip to the goal.

Not sure what you mean by, "I think both times I said no and pulled on her leash as she was peeing to go outside." ?? I "think" you mean that when you busted her, you pulled her on leash to go out? IF that's what you mean, I wouldn't do that... instead, if you can bust her IN THE ACT, scoop her up, say NO POTTY or poop or whatever it is, whatever words you like and act dramatic and rush outdoors. No punishment. Nothing to scare her -- just whatever it takes to be dramatic and get her attention. Then get her out there, and moving around and when she eliminates, praise to the hilt.

Don't worry so much, you haven't created any lasting harm.

Oh and yes, get a good cleaner. Plenty to choose from at the pet store.

And a last note, no they won't necessarily poo on schedule with going pee. But if you feed at regularly scheduled intervals, you'll soon figure out when your dog needs to poop.

Good luck!!!!!!!! It only lasts a little while even if it feels like forever.!

Thank you!!! The playing part is very useful and something I hadn't thought about earlier because of our pee at home experience yesterday, where she was walked for 40 minutes and came home to pee. Will try again.

My question is, I want her to continue being calm after when we come inside, and hopefully go back to sleep if it's an evening pee session. Does this still work?

[qbchottu]

She should be able to settle back down once she realizes that it is not a prolonged play session. When my dogs were puppies and we did midnight pee runs, they were a little amped up after they came back in, but were able to quickly settle down after I went back to bed. But you want to make sure to be SUPER excited that she did something right. Dogs know black and white. Don't leave room for gray areas. If something is right, BE VERY VERY EXCITED. THEY JUST DID THE BEST THING IS THE WORLD!!! GOOD GIRL!!! SO GOOD!! WHAT A SWEETHEART!!!! High pitched voice is good for praise. Give them a good snuggle and petting. On the other hand, use the same word for corrections. I usually use a very sharp "Ah AHH!". I like it better than "no" because it won't get used to death by everyone. My dogs have gotten to the point where if I glare sternly, they knock off whatever they are doing. The death stare gets good results

[bianca]

Cooper does the same thing by flopping down when I take him outside if he's just woken up. I just walk away from him calling his name so when walks, I say good boy, go toilet. I just wait until he has been before coming back inside.

[doggiedad]

#1. i think the whining meant she had to go.

#2. keep her out longer and take her to the same
area to potty. when she was inside and circled
you should have picked her up and taken out
immediately. the circling is a que that they have to go.

Originally Posted by marshies

#3. keep her out longer.

when my dog was 4 months i think we were taking
him out every hour or two and at night he would
wake one of us up at 4:00 am to go out. he did that untill
he was 8 months old. don't worry your pup will learn to
go outside.

>>>> take her out more often.
>>>> go to the same pot when in the yard.
if going to the same spot doesn't work let her
loose. she might pick her own spot.

>>>> praise her for going.

Handler error #1:

Yesterday, I took her out for a long 40 minute walk + run to the grocery store while boyfriend held leash outside right before she went to bed, and she didn't pee during the whole time. Naturally, I was stupid and forgot she needed to go. When I put her into the crate, she whined a whole lot, and I ignored it. A few minutes pass and I go downstairs thinking I should give her a toy in case she wakes up in the morning before me, and found that she peed in the crate. POOR girl!

Handler error #2:

Today, after a nice 3 hour nap for both of us, I take her out to potty. She starts lying down on the grass and generally shows no interest. So I take her back inside and put her in her expen for some independent play time with her bones and toys. The second she went in, she circled and peed.

Handler error #3:

Just now, she woke up from her nap. It's been 4+ hours since she last peed, and she most definitely has to go pee. I take her out from her crate to the backyard. And she walks around, sniffs a bit, and the lies down. I ignore her, thinking it'll pass, and she puts her head down to the floor. At this point I'm thinking, she must still be super sleepy. So I take her back inside. As soon as I go in, she pees. I think near the same spot she did earlier today.

[marshies]

So last night, she went to sleep at 8. I took her out at 12, 3, and then again at 6.
Peed at 12 and 3 after a long session outside.
At 6, took almost 30 minutes for her to go. She would just lie down and chew on a stick or whatever else she found. I tried not responding, and she was fine to lie down and chew on the floor beneath her. It frosted overnight, so I imagine it's fantastic fun. So I kept moving and she finally peed. But still no poo, I knew she was due since she last pottied at 4:30 PM yesterday, so I took her in, fed her, and leashed her to take her outside for a walk. She pulls extra hard on the leash when she wants to poo, and we succeeded on a nice patch of grass near my front door.
Wish she would do both in my backyard on command but...oh well, will keep working.

Still problems:
Likes to lie down when we go outside and easily distracted
Does not poo in backyard

Successes:
Peed every time I took her out, even if it meant a long wait with lots of moving

Accident free: 12 hours

[robinhuerta]

Hi Xuan!
Just remember....she is a puppy, albeit 16 weeks on the 23rd.....but still a puppy.
She had the "luxury" of 15 foot dog runs to "potty" in......she associated potty time "with" potty area.
She is now in a different home structure...and she must learn a "new" routine.
But...she is still very young...she will take time to be completely house broken.
Everything you experience, and everything she does...is normal puppy behaviour.
Don't worry so much....you should be fine! ALL puppies need patience and guidance....and puppy-hood passes way too quickly.
You know that I am always here for you.....through good and bad times.