BC potty training problems

[Dieseltwitch]

I've had my 11 week old puppy for about 3 weeks. I've been doing as much research as I can to make sure I'm doing as much right as I can. I'm having some problems getting him to tell me when he needs to go out side. I only seam to be able to catch him in the process of going in the house. He's hardly left un attended. He even come in to the bathroom when I shower. Any advice?

 

My routine is as fallows

 

Wake each day 0600: take puppy out side and he pees, if he doesn't he goes back in the kennel for 30 minutes. 9 out of ten time when I take him back out side he pees and poops. I praise him heavily, give him a treat, and click when he goes in the yard. He eats at 0700 and again at 1800. Each time he goes in the kennel for 30 min after end comes back out and I take him out side to go potty, again 9 out of ten times he's goes. Then we normally do 15 min of training. I do about three of these a day. Each one focusing on 1 command, sit, down, stay, come. He's doing really well with all that. When I'm In the office he plays with other dogs in the office and does a fair bit of sleeping as they run him ragged! I take him for a quick walk about every two hours and a good one during my lunch. At night he's sleeps on the bed. I normally have him so tired he sleeps all night with out any problems. The only time he makes a mess is when I lose track of him in the house. Hard to keep up with him 100% of the time. If I need to talk on the phone or do something where I can't watch him he goes in the kennel. I coax him him with a treat and let him walk out a few time and praise him when he goes in, be it under his own will or lightly pushed. This is going ok but I'd love some advice in this area too, I'm worried if I force it he will become scared of the kennel. Also when we're are outside to go potty I use "potty" over and over till he goes then use "good potty" when he does go.

 

I've been using clicker training and that seams to work well for the commands but it's the non-command based stuff he's having problems with.

 

Thank you for your help.

[Camden's Mom]

What you have described in your post sounds like a really good routine, IMO. The fact that you are catching him in the act of going in the house is a huge advantage for you. You should make it clear you do not like the behavior when you catch him doing it. You could clap your hands or make a loud noise, anything to startle him and stop him in the act. Then scoop him up immediately, even if it's mid-pee, take him outside and praise the heck out of him when he goes potty outside.

 

 

The only time he makes a mess is when I lose track of him in the house. Hard to keep up with him 100% of the time. If I need to talk on the phone or do something where I can't watch him he goes in the kennel.

 

Yup, sounds about right. Make sure if you can't keep an eye on him he's in the kennel. You can do a search for "crate games" and other exercises you can do to keep the kennel a fun and exciting place, but in the end it's your best tool when you can't be observing him and catching potty mistakes.

 

You mentioned "losing track of him in the house". You can also set up baby gates or an ex-pen to contain him to an area or room where you can keep an eye on him. It could cut down on the amount of time you feel you have to kennel him quite a bit. I used baby gates for my puppy but I've sworn if I ever do the whole puppy thing again the first think I purchase will be an ex-pen.

 

Honestly, it sounds like you are on the right track. I think of potty training as more of a behavior then a command/trick, so don't get too frustrated if he takes a little bit to pick up on it. You are doing great... stick with it, stay consistent and he'll figure it out!

[Bordercentrics]

When I got my first puppy, I was having the same problems you are having now. When she was about your pup's age, I complained to a friend who was a Boxer breeder about it. She told me that the puppy brain is not able to process house training until they were about 12 weeks old. I thought that was funny, but when the pup turned 12 weeks, she suddenly went to the door and signaled she wanted out!!! I couldn't believe it. Even the pups who seem to be housebroken can still have accidents when they are young. Just keep on keeping on, and one day it will happen.

 

You can still use the clicker to mark and reward going potty. I have had great success doing that for a dog that seemed resistant to house training. You don't have to give a command to reward a dog for something good. In fact, you may be saying "go potty" too much. Just wait for it.

 

Kathy Robbins

[GentleLake]

I think you're expecting too much of an 11 week old puppy. In human terms, he's a very young toddler. How many very young human toddlers do you know who are fully potty trained, without accidents?

 

As Camden's Mom said, you're on the right track. You just need to recognize that it takes time and patience. Try as much as humanly possible to prevent accidents, which will be setbacks in training.

 

The one thing I disagree with is doing anything to show disapproval if you catch him in the act (or afterwards). It can backfire and create negative associations with eliminating, or it can teach the puppy that he has to go somewhere and hide in the house when he does it. Best to just ignore it, scoop him up and take him out, praising lavishly if he finishes outdoors. If you see him starting to go, you can clap or say something to catch is attention and distract him, but don't scold him. Doing anything at all after the fact, if you haven't caught him in the act but find it later, is pretty much useless. Just clean it up and remember to watch him more carefully next time, or put him in his crate if you can't.

 

So, deep breath. It'll happen, just not instantly! And I'm guessing it'll happen pretty soon . . . but there could be occasional accidents up to a year or so old. You just have to accept that as part of raising a puppy.

[Hope/P.]

I know exactly how you feel with potty training your BC. I am still having problems at 5 months old with my male pup. My schedule seems to be like yours. I work from home and take him out often. I really do wish I could trust him not eleminate so he may be able to interact with the family more often. We do use the x-pen and crate. He keeps both of them dry. We do have a second dog who loves to play so I feel like that is a big distraction for him. Daily I give him kitchen time with me and I stretch out the x-pen to block our open kitchen. I'm still working at it and hope he will be able to signal me that he needs to go out.

[Cass C]

Potty training can feel like it takes forever, but like others have said you are expecting a lot out of an 11 week old puppy. I had issues with potty training my border/golden mix Lyka. I got her from the shelter at 10 weeks old, and she was not fully potty trained until she was about 5 months old. I tried almost everything I could think of before I found something that worked. I ended up getting baby gates to block her out of any room I was not in. I took her out every 30 minutes for about a week, and while that may sound excessive it was just me being proactive. They can't have an accident if they don't have the chance.

 

Every week I increased the time by 30 minutes, and if she had an accident I would lower the time again. I found that it can also be a battle of the wills, because there were times I knew she had to potty and she refused. If I knew she had to potty I would wait outside with her (on a leash to keep her from playing) while forcing her to stand up if she tried to sit or lay down. I also would not respond to her at all unless it was to make her stand up or force her to move back into the potty area. I needed her to know that we couldn't have fun until she went potty. I would also add the phrase "Go Potty" as she realized what I wanted her to do which helped to speed things up. Now all I have to say is 'go potty' and she will do her business and come back inside. The first time I did this I was outside with her for half an hour, but after that she understood all she had to do was potty then we could play and have fun again. When she went potty outside there was a mini celebration of me being excited and her getting a treat.

 

I did end up purchasing some bells for her to ring when she needed to go out, but that was a convenience thing for me. Once she was potty trained I could hear her ring the bells no matter where in the house I am. Instead of watching her like a hawk for when she goes to the door, which was her original signal. Beware if you use bells you need to be strict about them only being for going potty, otherwise the dog will ring them just to have you let them out just to come back in and do it again. You will be able to judge by the time that has passed since your dog last went potty whether it is a potty ring or just your dog teaching you a trick. If they try to ring the bells too soon after coming in they just get a firm "No", and then I don't respond to it again if it continues.

 

Oddly enough my Border/Golden mix was able to help me potty train my now 4 1/2 month old border collie puppy. It was a monkey see monkey do situation, because the puppy realized from watching Lyka if she rings the bells and goes potty outside she gets a reward.

 

One last thing: Be sure you are using a cleaner that removes any trace of the urine/poop smell. I use a product called "Simple Green", but there are loads of other pet mess removers on the market to choose from. Their sense of smell is loads better then you or I. If the dog can smell where they have went before they will think it is OK to keep going in the house.

[Zorro13]

I've read that most dogs are not truly house-trained until a year old. Zorro (9 months) had been good for a few months and then just last week left me a present out of nowhere. Sounds like you're on the right track, just be patient and let him grow up a little.

[GentleLake]

Beware if you use bells you need to be strict about them only being for going potty, otherwise the dog will ring them just to have you let them out just to come back in and do it again. You will be able to judge by the time that has passed since your dog last went potty whether it is a potty ring or just your dog teaching you a trick. If they try to ring the bells too soon after coming in they just get a firm "No", and then I don't respond to it again if it continues.

 

That can happen whether you use bells or not. For many dogs it's just part of the process. They can be very good at trying to train us.

[Camden's Mom]

The one thing I disagree with is doing anything to show disapproval if you catch him in the act (or afterwards). It can backfire and create negative associations with eliminating, or it can teach the puppy that he has to go somewhere and hide in the house when he does it. Best to just ignore it, scoop him up and take him out, praising lavishly if he finishes outdoors. If you see him starting to go, you can clap or say something to catch is attention and distract him, but don't scold him.

 

Actually I couldn't agree with this more! Sorry if my original post made it sound like the pup should be punished.... quite the contrary. I would use a hand clap or a sound to get my pups attention (it would surprise him but was not meant to frighten him) just so he'd stop mid-pee or poo and give me a chance to scoop him up and rush him outside. Then I'd proceed to praise, treat and celebrate him going outside appropriately, like you are doing now.

 

As for asking to go out... my boy had the most subtle "door lean" (and still does) that was meant to communicate that he needed to go out to potty. Once we figured out this was his way of asking we had to really watch out for his cue... it was SO subtle and easy to miss. But, he trained us well and at some point he started doing the "door lean" just to go out and play. This was quickly squelched by the humans in the house but certainly made me wonder, pretty early on, who was traiing who.

[Cass C]

That can happen whether you use bells or not. For many dogs it's just part of the process. They can be very good at trying to train us.

 

That is a very good point . I just didn't notice the issue until I got bells, but its funny to think of how easily some dogs learn to try and train their humans.

[Eileen Stein]

While I would never correct a pup for a misdeed I didn't witness, I have always indicated disapproval when I catch a puppy eliminating in the house. I calibrate so it's not enough to scare him or hurt him - just my usual correction word ("ahhp" or "no") in my usual correction tone (disapproving). That has never resulted in negative associations with eliminating, and only once caused (probably) a pup to seek out a rarely used place in the house to go (a learning experience for me -- now I check all accessible places).

 

I put myself in the pup's place. How on earth would I learn that I'm not supposed to go while in the house if the only information I'm given is praise when I poop/pee outside, and a quick fun trip outside when I poop/pee in the house? It's all good!

 

What is the "learning theory" behind that?

[GentleLake]

I'm talking about a young puppy, Eileen, not an older dog, or even an older puppy. At 11 weeks old the puppy really doesn't have enough experience or control to know that what it's doing when it eliminates in the house.

 

That said, I suppose I could have made more of a distinction between "disapproval" and "punishment" or "reprimand." I'm quite sure the verbal sound I make when interrupting a young puppy in the act sounds very disapproving, simply because I'm not looking forward to cleaning up the mess. But I'm definitely not trying to scold the pup in that moment.

[KJT]

Potty training is very dependent on the dog, like kids, some take longer than others. My mixed breed rescue dog was potty trained by 3 months with only ever had one accident inside, yet my 6 month old BC pup is still a work in progress! One thing my trainer told me was to take him out every hour and give him a few mins with whatever command you are using. If he doesn't go within a few mins, take him back inside, put him back in his crate/kennel and then take him back out again 30mins late and try again. If you let them muck around outside for 5mins or whatever, they have lost the reason you took them outside in the first place. Whenever my BC pup does have an accident (which is always my fault for having lost track of where he is), I just say "oppsie" and make sure he watches me cleaning up. If he has pooped in the house I pick it up with toilet paper, take it outside with pup under the other arm and say "toilet outside". I would say my pup is about 90% trained and no accidents for the last 4 weeks, however, I certainly would call him "fully potty trained". Just be patient, lots of praise, taking him outside regularly and it will come

[Lizabeth]

My dad was amazing with all animals he taught me many things. One sure fire way I learned from good old dad was the 20 minute rule. He said puppies will pee about 20 minutes from when they drink, he also said keep the puppy on a leash when in the house even though that leash gets tangled and is a pain to just make the best of it. This way you see what the pup is up too not only if its about to pee but being sure it is not getting into something it shouldn't be ( for young pups works great )

 

So every 20 go bring the pup outside, let it move around and what not then give it a little time maybe a reminder telling him to go potty praise when job is done and just keep it up. In time you will see the pup going to the door.

 

My brother has 2 French Brit pups they were ready to be off leash in no time, however as it got older and was off leash one of the pups did not let anyone know when she needed out, so they put a bell on ribbons on the door and showed her to ring the bell now that is what she does.

 

I got my beagle at 5 weeks old long story as to how that happen but once i started potty training her I had her trained with NO accidents in 7 days. Yeah I got lucky on that one but just saying Dad knew lots about animals and how to read them