[Codie's mom]

Hello, I brought my 10 week old puppy home from the breeder/ trainers on Sunday. He is constantly peeing in the house! He is crate trained, and at night he will wake us at 2, then we are up at 6, so I know he can hold it. The problem is, is during the day. I will take him outside to the grass on a leash, tell him to "go potty" and the praise him while he is peeing, then give him a liver treat when he has finished. I praise him like crazy too. Then, we will come back inside and I set my timer for 20 minutes to take him out again. I watch him like a hawk while he has free roam (just the family room) but yet he will be playing then just stop and pee. Sometimes it's only 15 minutes after he had just peed. Every time I catch him while he is peeing and I yell no, tuck his tail under him and bring him outside and tell him to go potty - he never does. So then, I put him in his crate, set the timer for 30 minutes and take him out again and repeat that till he goes. Then the whole senario will occur again...
A side note, we bought him at 8 weeks, but the breeder/ trainer talked us into leaving him there for 2 weeks for training- and that included being potty trained - or at least more than what he is now as I know they can't be fully potty trained for months... I'm just angry that I paid for 2 weeks of training and didn't get anything for my money.
What more can I do? He just doesn't seem to "get it" or care, and never gives a signal or warning or anything else that would let me know he is about to pee.
Sorry for the long read, I just wanted to give as much info as I can.

 

[quilter]

Normal for 10 weeks

Sorry you paid for training, but I think things are pretty normal for a dog that age. My puppy is 16 weeks and he can hold it all night and about an hour during the day. The physiology at night is different, so you can't go by that to decide about the day. We take our pup out after every nap, after every play session, after eating, and about every hour. We don't often get a signal. Sometimes it's as subtle as him losing interest in a game and walking away. We still have a couple of accidents a week.

I'd say it was at least a month before we thought he was being trained. Before that, we were the ones being trained!

 

[LaylaBauer1718]

Bauer is 15 weeks old and has had a horrible time with potty training. It seems like he just doesn't get it. We praise him like crazy when he pees outside and he seems to know he's doing it right, yet he has accidents at least once a day. We've even steam cleaned the carpet to get the scent out, but that didn't seem to help - 5 minutes after being on the clean carpet, he peed. :doh:

We've started taking away privileges to see if he notices or associates bad behavior with less privileges. For example, we do not let him out in the living room for more than 10 minutes or so at a time, and especially not unsupervised. Much like a teenager, once we regain trust with him, he gets more freedom. Not sure if it will work, but we're trying!

I'd also like to hear suggestions! I know how frustrating it is.. and I'm sorry you paid extra for poor results!

 

[estesbubba]

and the praise him while he is peeing, then give him a liver treat when he has finished. I praise him like crazy too

I never praised Peyton until she was done. I wonder if your praise is actually causing him to stop short?

 

[SeaMonster]

I would not yell no too much. your puppy is only 10 weeks old. It's like telling a new born baby to hold it sound like you are dong great. Keep it up for 2 more month and you should be good to go.

 

[caseypooh]

It took our Jessie about 4 months, I kept thinking we were doing something wrong but one day she just got it. I think some pups just take longer. Casey knew what to do right away it seems. Not our Jessie, I had a timer on my watch and every 20 minutes we went out. That lasted a while. We also have bells on the door, that seemed to help too. Your pup will get it too. Just keep doing what you are doing, your pup is just too young to understand.

 

[flykelley]

Hi Gang
I guess i have been lucky for the most part all of my Goldens were potty trained with in a couple of weeks of being home. For the most part they would go to the door and wimpier or cry. We also made sure they went out after every nap and meal and about once a hour. The hardest one was Lilly but for the most part she figured it out pretty quick. On a side note we only had just a puppy once all the other times we always had a adult Golden when we got a new puppy so maybe that had something to do with it.

Good Luck Mike

 

[Ljilly28]

My vet once showed me an xray of a golden puppy's bladder at this age- it is the size of a walnut! This puppy is a baby, and in a few weeks it will be easier for him. Right now, even if he grasps the idea, he just physically cannot hold it well during active day time. Mother Nature makes a differnece at night. Remember that with every accident, the concept is "untaught". Try to get the pup outside playing alot so he is tired, give him little training sessions for sit, hand target, and "find it". and give him more structured crate time too for a few weeks.

 

[lgnutah]

Do you play inside (where he has to run after something?) I noticed when Brooks was a young puppy, that play triggered a need to pee, so I tried to only play outdoors.

 

[Aviator]

Hi, I have a now 15 week old pup who is house trained, he has not had an accident in the house since 11 weeks old, if he needs to go he will tell me by sitting by the door and if that is ignored he will whine briefly.

I have house trained before on previous dogs and can offer this advice.

First thing you need to understand is every-time he goes potty inside the house it is YOUR fault, not his. Accept that as the absolute truth. He is never WRONG for peeing, NEVER EVER.

The key to successfully house-training is consistency. Meals should be at same time everyday and left down for only 20 mins max. He will eliminate within 30 mins of eating like clockwork. Every time he drinks, take him outside. Keep playtimes divided up between 'learning play' and 'active play' such as games of fetch. With potty breaks in between, if he suddenly loses interest in the game, take him outside. Every time he wakes up after a rest, take him straight outside.

Try also to judge your puppies state, rank it on a score of 1 to 10. 1 being the most docile relaxed state and 10 being hyperactive. Try to never allow him to get to 10, if he starts getting over-excited or stimulated then change the game to make him think. Over-excited puppies will not listen to you, they will not be able to give you any sign they are about to pee.

As he/she pees outside, praise him and reward with a treat.

When you get an accident inside, the most important thing is be absolutely calm and never scold him/her. Saying 'NO' could cause great problems down the line as he/she will associate peeing with your disapproval, he/she will NOT make the association with the location. Just calming clean it up immediately and ignore puppy.

You mention steam cleaning the carpet. Sorry to tell you but this will be totally ineffective. You need to use a specialist pet odour remover as this will break down the enzymes in the urine, even disinfectant would not do a good job at removing the smell from your pets nose.

Just be consistent and you will find the problem will become a thing of the past very quickly. Good luck.

 

[mylissyk]

He is an INFANT. You are expecting way too much from a 10 week old puppy. He is not capable of being house trained at this age, he is much too young. If he goes in 15 minutes, take him out every 10. It will be months before he is even close to understanding potty only outside. Yelling at him when he has accidents will only make him afraid of you, and make house training harder. If you catch him in the act, just calmly say No, potty outside, and carry him out to his potty area. When he goes, praise, treat and act like you won the lottery.

Puppies this young need to potty in the middle of playing, right after playing, right afer eating, right after drinking, right after they wake up, and every 15 minutes or less when they are awake.

Please be patient with him. He just is not big enough to mentally or physically get house training.

 

[Gwen]

I totally agree with the comments that "He is a baby" & maybe you're expecting too much. All the yelling in the world isn't going to housetrain your puppy. Like children, puppies are all different - some train very quickly & others not so & require the patience of Jobe. Be patient, make peeing outside a very happy experience ( sounds like you are) & maybe ignore the accidents inside other than immediately taking puppy outside.

You might want to consider asking your breeder how she/he housetrained your puppy because your method might be totally different. I know that my breeder starts housetraining puppies @ 4 weeks old & I've never had a problem.

 

[Aviator]

He is an INFANT. You are expecting way too much from a 10 week old puppy. He is not capable of being house trained at this age, he is much too young. If he goes in 15 minutes, take him out every 10. It will be months before he is even close to understanding potty only outside. Yelling at him when he has accidents will only make him afraid of you, and make house training harder. If you catch him in the act, just calmly say No, potty outside, and carry him out to his potty area. When he goes, praise, treat and act like you won the lottery.

Puppies this young need to potty in the middle of playing, right after playing, right afer eating, right after drinking, right after they wake up, and every 15 minutes or less when they are awake.

Please be patient with him. He just is not big enough to mentally or physically get house training.

Agree with all except the age for potty training. All dogs can quickly learn most expected behaviours, especially in those first few months. They are learning machines, they are not like human infants and far less dependent. All my dogs have mastered potty training by week 10 or 11 as well as all basic commands.

 

[steiner302]

We just went through a similar stage. Our Cooper is now 13 weeks and is doing better. We are doing the same with the crate training and setting the timer to take him out. I think just at times he gets wound up and the time doesn't matter. You will get through it. Cooper is 13 weeks and I am still watching him like a hawk and just waiting for the squat to come

One option could be to use the bells at the door you take him out. It seems it took Cooper a week or so to figure it out, but once he has, he rings them every time he wants to go out.

I simply just helped him ring the bell with his paw or nose before taking him out each time. Now he rings them himself.

 

[SeaMonster]

Thats great advice Aviator. I've seen too many puppies who were punished for going inside and as adults they are afraid to go infront of people

 

[quilter]

Schedule

I'll second the schedule factor. Know your puppy's schedule. My pup poops before breakfast, not after. That means we don't go back into the house for breakfast until he poops and pees. At this point, if I give up waiting and head back towards the house, he'll poop immediately. Weird, but true. He poops about 20 minutes after dinner - if we take him for a walk. Otherwise, it's anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. So, a walk he gets. When we brought him home, he usually went before and after a meal. Yes, six baggies a day!

At 16 weeks, our puppy also has a sleep schedule of sorts. That makes it easier, too, because we take him out after meals and before and after naps. That kind of spaces things out in a predictable pattern.

 

[annef]

I always tell puppy buyers that no puppy will be totally reliable until they are at least 4 months old, some 6 months That doesn't mean to say that some aren't- I had a singleton puppy that housetrained himself at 5 weeks, he followed his Mum and asked to go outside. Puppies want to go every time they wake up, everytime they are fed and everytime they get excited. Be patient he will be fine eventually but 10 weeks is far too young to expect a fully housetrained puppy. Annef

 

[Codie's mom]

Thank you all! I feel so much better about it now. I think he was stopping short when I would praise while he was going. Since I have stopped doing that, he seems to potty longer. So far today, no accidents! It will be a lot easier once our company leaves and the kids go back to school to get into our routine. I'm hoping that will be the key. I was just thinking I was failing somehow. thanks again for all your help!

 

[mylissyk]

Agree with all except the age for potty training. All dogs can quickly learn most expected behaviours, especially in those first few months. They are learning machines, they are not like human infants and far less dependent. All my dogs have mastered potty training by week 10 or 11 as well as all basic commands.

They may understand the concept at an early age, but will not be able to physically hold it until their bladders mature a little.

 

[mylissyk]

Thank you all! I feel so much better about it now. I think he was stopping short when I would praise while he was going. Since I have stopped doing that, he seems to potty longer. So far today, no accidents! It will be a lot easier once our company leaves and the kids go back to school to get into our routine. I'm hoping that will be the key. I was just thinking I was failing somehow. thanks again for all your help!

Oh yes, be sure and wait until he finishes, then praise! Sometimes if you praise while they are in the act they stop and come to you instead of finishing.