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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on August 16, 2012 at 8:43am

What are you using to clean the spots? Use a good enzyme cleaner (Urine Off ?) not ammonia. The smell can trigger in house accidents. Also, somewhere she got the idea that going inside was OK, it doesn't matter where. So go back to square one, no alone time inside unless she is crated or in a pee safe area, outside frequently (every 1 1/2 to 2 hours at first. This is a good time to teach a potty command. Just say the command the second she squats (I say go potty) every time and praise going outside.If you are consistent this will be a great time saver later. Due to her age she may catch on pretty quick so hopefully this retraining period won't take long.

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Permalink Reply by Jane on August 16, 2012 at 8:46am

She has way too much freedom IMO. If she's not house trained then she should not be out of your sight. Use babygates or even leash her to your belt if you have to. She should not be able to sneak off and poop or pee without you noticing immediately. I don't think 4-5 potty breaks a day is anywhere near enough for a puppy either. I'd say take her out every two hours at least. You are probably going to have to be extra diligent with her since she has already learned that going in the house is acceptable.

 

Also, please don't rub her nose in it. Dogs live in the moment, she does not understand that you are punishing her for something that happened 10 minutes ago. That's a very outdated and IMO, cruel housetraining method. This may sound mean, but you can only punish yourself if you find an accident because you should have been watching her.

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Permalink Reply by Bax & Zigs & Rosie on August 16, 2012 at 9:58am

Jane is right. Crate training at this stage and keeping an eye on her is essential to her learning not to go in the house. If you catch her in the act, you need to grab her (even if she's still going) and tell her "no no no no" and take her outside, put her down and praise her.

When you take her outside and if you feel like she has to poop or will poop soon, stay out there with her until she goes. When I potty-trained my chocolate lab many many years ago, it was winter in Chicago. He would stare up at me with these sad "let's go in the house" eyes but I was steadfast and we didn't go in until be did both kinds. She will get it, just stick with it and keep being dilligent. It will be difficult and there will be a lot of accidents along the way, but you can do it!

Bevy's suggestion about the potty command is the best. Those commands do come in handy and hopefully she will learn it quickly.

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Permalink Reply by Lemmy Winks on August 16, 2012 at 10:15am

It takes 1 year to fully potty train a puppy. At 5 months this is normal. It's extremely frustrating, I was losing my mind right about the same time lol.
Don't rub the nose in it, it doesn't teach them anything, you have to correct it during the act with a sharp " no".
Or if it's recent, I would bring my boy to the spot and a no.
You immediately bring them outside, and play the waiting game. Once they give anything, tons of praise/treats " good potty!"
You may not be able to wait long enough every time if she's already emptied herself.
But it will teach her " outside is were we do this and I get love!"
Limit your vocabulary during too. Correct, take outside say " go potty" sit/stad back and wait, only correcting if you need to for other behavior. Praise the potty.

Look for signs, sniffing, expanded bum, whining, pacing. Take her out no more then 10 minutes after she eats and drinks. Keep a close eye at all time. If she doesn't go in her crate, keep her in there for half hour to an hour and then take her outside immediately. Bring coffee or something to drink, it might take a while.

This is what we did, and I promise it will slow down and it will end!

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Permalink Reply by Beth on August 16, 2012 at 10:18am

I would never expect a five-month old puppy to be housetrained. I don't mean to be harsh, I just think your expectations are way too high, like wondering why a six-month old baby still uses diapers. She has WAY too much freedom and a puppy who has not pooped in the morning should simply not have 20 minutes unsupervised inside in which she has a chance to potty. Remember, every time a puppy potties in the house, the fault is with the human who allowed the freedom and took the eyes off the puppy. She should be taken out every time an activity changes: when she wakes up, after she eats, after she plays. She should only have freedom in the house after she's empty, and then only when you are watching her very carefully.

Have you done crate training?

And please don't put her nose in it. That's an old-fashioned idea that never was useful. Nothing about putting her nose in it makes her understand that she did something wrong. She makes no connection between the two in her brain.

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Permalink Reply by Tomahawk and Fences on August 16, 2012 at 10:45am

Right now, I have a new puppy and going through the housetraining experience again is no fun lol! Like everyone is saying, you need to be taking her out ever 1 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs and wait until she does #1 or #2 and praise like crazy! Put a "go Potty" command in there while you're at it. Makes it so much easier when you are in a hurry and need them to relieve themselves fast.  It isn't fun doing this at 1 or 3 in the morning, but over time they get the point.

So far Fences has only pooped once inside the house and hasn't peed. I was right there watching it as it happened but figured I'd give her this one. I didn't scold her, I just cleaned it up and took her outside and waited until she had to potty again. Also, if I cannot watch her, I put her in a crate. Thankfully she has taken a liking to it right away and will even go in it on her own to nap. Also, make a feeding schedule if your doggy isn't on one already. It really cuts out the guess work on whether they need to go or not. Once you have her on one, you start catching on as to when they need to potty.

Don't give up, you just have to be consistent in everything that you do when it comes to your dog. They are super smart and will understand what it is that you want once you are diligent in the training.

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Permalink Reply by Ludi on August 16, 2012 at 12:35pm

Read the FAQ linked at the top of the site with regards to housebreaking. I promise you that your worries are normal for someone who is unused to training a pup in this matter. Your biggest mistake, or oversight, is that you are giving her the run of the house before she's fully trained. The motto on this site is "Too much freedom, too soon". :-)

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on August 16, 2012 at 1:56pm

First, don't put her nose in it.  A dog doesn't remember what they did wrong unless you actually catch her in the act.  All you are teaching her is that it's bad to go to the bathroom, and that it makes you mad to see it.  She'll start hiding from you to go then.

It took me a good year to get Seanna totally potty trained.  Some dogs just take longer.  Keep her in a puppy pen where you can see her at all times, and take her out every hour or two.  Especially after waking, drinking, or playing.  When she starts to soil, startle her with some noise or command, and take her outside immediately.  I know it's a pain, but you MUST stay out until she pees and poops--then praise as if you just won the lottery.  Give her a treat.  She may not poop every time, but you'll learn her schedule.  Eventually just pin her in a room, and do the same.  Gradually (very gradually) work her up to the whole house.  This way she learns little by little to not potty in the house.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Riney on August 17, 2012 at 9:46pm

My puppy is getting close to 5 months and still having some accidents, but in the last few days it seems to suddenly be clicking! She is standing by the door to go outside and has only had about one accident a day. Before that it really seemed like she wasn't getting it. I think you just need to be consistent about watching her, getting her out, and she will get it! It's tough to be patient but she will appreciate it if you are :-)

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Permalink Reply by Holly on August 29, 2012 at 5:17pm

Thanks so much to those of you that were helpful!! Since I posted this a little over two weeks ago, my corgi has only had two accidents!! I'm very encouraged by this. I will share what worked for me in hopes to help others struggling with the problem. The advice I took from this thread and put into place was taking away her freedom by making sure that she was always in the same room that I was in, and rewarding her with treats when she does her business outside. Every time she peed or pooped outside I praised her and gave her a treat. It was generally easy for me to get her to pee right away--pooping was the problem! So I started taking her on a short walk (about 5 minutes) every time I took her outside. I understand that taking a walk might seem tedious for some people and annoying to have to do every time you go outside, but a 5 minute walk sure beats spending 10-15 minutes outside waiting....and waiting....and waiting....while nothing happens. I think the physical activity helps get things moving, if you know what I mean. Also, she's now slowly getting to the point where she either doesn't need the walk or if we do do a walk, it's only 2-3 minutes. She also starts whining when she needs to go outside, which is so helpful!

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