Puppy Training 101 - Housebreaking

[isa aldawolfa]

Dozer is now 11 weeks old.. and is still not trained. But I feel that he has us trained. We take him out all the time, just in case. He does the classic stop what ever he is doin and pee. No signs, just a puddle. We have done the crate traing thing, and there is a problem. Dozer loves his crate, he lays in it all the time on his own, but he also pee's in it. He will actually go over to his crate... walk in and pee on his bed. GRRRRRR ....it is so frustrating. I wash his bed everyday. He will also pee in it if I take the bed out. I have now resorted to keeping his crate locked when he is not in it. He is sooo much harder than any other dog I have ever had. Is this seemigly impossible task common in danes?

how many pups of any breed have you had completely housebroken at 11 weeks? also, it sounds like he thinks he is supposed to pee in his crate. it takes patience and time, he will learn. and so will you. continue to be consistent. when you have to clean up his mess, separate him from you, still where he can see you, ignore him, not in a mean way, and clean the mess. when he goes outside, treat and praise like you never have before. wont take long, he will get it. oh, and when you go outside for him to potty, say "{insert bathroom command}", and stand still. i had to go over this with my nephew. he would take the dog out on a walk and potty break at the same time. and not stand still long enough for the dog to potty. walks and potty breaks should be 2 separate things. also helps the dog learn to go the bathroom in their own yard, not while out on a walk.
anyway, thats my advice. good luck

[Dozerboy007]

how many pups of any breed have you had completely housebroken at 11 weeks? also, it sounds like he thinks he is supposed to pee in his crate. it takes patience and time, he will learn. and so will you. continue to be consistent. when you have to clean up his mess, separate him from you, still where he can see you, ignore him, not in a mean way, and clean the mess. when he goes outside, treat and praise like you never have before. wont take long, he will get it. oh, and when you go outside for him to potty, say "{insert bathroom command}", and stand still. i had to go over this with my nephew. he would take the dog out on a walk and potty break at the same time. and not stand still long enough for the dog to potty. walks and potty breaks should be 2 separate things. also helps the dog learn to go the bathroom in their own yard, not while out on a walk.
anyway, thats my advice. good luck

I appreciate your advice.... I have never had a dog completely housebroken in 11 weeks, but again I have never had one so stubborn! Some days he does great, and others he acts like he has no idea. I got Dozer when he was very young.. 4 weeks( bad idea, I know but the lady LIED and said he was older) so I expect issues. I think you may be right about the crate thing. Dozer was seperated from his mother really early and thrown in a crate with his littermates. They of course used this as a bathroom. So I am sure he thinks this is acceptable behavior. I just don't know how to change this habit. We spend alot of time outside, and if I did as much praising in church as I did in my front yard, my pastor would be speechless. My nieghbors are all convinced I have lost my mind. I Hope this is something he grows out of. I really appreciate the time you have taken time to reply. I guess it is just something we are gonna have to keep working on. It is a good thing he is absolutley adorable and has mom wrapped around his finger!

[WendyVA]

It will happen

Dozerboy007if I did as much praising in church as I did in my front yard, my pastor would be speechless.

Thought this part was hilarious..

Keep up the good work he will get it. Just takes a little time. I think all the ideas above are great you just have to find one that works for you.

[crdane]

While it is hard to break bad habits, I have to ask, are you taking him out every time he becomes active? I was taking Ayla out every 45 minutes or so, in addition to whenever started moving around, and after every meal. Our first week together, we were outside more then inside. She is now 16 weeks old, and completely trained, and even asking to go out. The key is to prevent accidents as much as possible. I realize that she is older then your pup, and her breeder did a great job with her, but I think prevention is the name of the game. I have done this with all of my puppies, and it has not failed me. I am a stay at home mom, and I plan on just staying home and training the first two weeks of having a new puppy. Also, are you using a enzyme cleaner? I know that Natures Miracle is making a stronger formula now that you may want to invest in.

[Dozerboy007]

We are taking the dozer boy out about every thirty/45 minutes.. persistence is gonna be the key in this case I think. I also think there may be a medical issue, a urinary tract infection maybe. He has progressed in the last 24 hours to peeing on everything in the house including my bed..

Today for example... while sitting and snuggling with me on the couch he sat up ( not stood up) and started peeing all over himself and the couch. It was like uncontrollable! Of course I grab him and run outside where I thought he had finished his business. ( quite a large puddle) and brought him in... where he instantaniously about flooded my carpet.

I am headed out to play catch for a urine sample and we have an appointment tomorrow morning. I am hoping I get some answers. If the tests shows nothing is wrong, I am thinking that maybe he is marking? He seems to young to pick up such a big dog habit.

I went and bought a little green clean machine the week we brought Dozer home and have been using some kind of enzyme cleaner, but I will be checking out the Natures Best everyone speaks so highly about. Thanks Guys!

[crdane]

Dawn, I bet he has an infection. I had the same thing happen with my IW. He was just about trained and started peeing everywhere. The vet insisted that I was not taking him out enough. I was taking him out every 30 min. He was walking around the kitchen peeing as he walked, so the entire floor would need moping. UGGG. He ended up having a seizure because the infection, that the vet did not think he had, went systemic. It took 6 weeks of antibiotics to clear it.

Once you get him tested, buy the Nature's Miracle and clean it up, and things will hopefully get better!! Hang in there, I know it is not easy.

[mdmbutterfly]

Quick question...

My pup will be 9 weeks old on Saturday and he's been doing very well house training considering his age and my lack of experience. At night we secure him in the kitchen with 5 or 6 pads down, and his crate with the door open.

I've read conflicting things on what to do when he whines and cries during the night. Some things I've read say to ignore it or his crying will escalate...while others say to take him out when he cries so he knows you will come when he needs you...so he'll cry less and trust you more. Sigh. We've been ignoring him thus far but it breaks my heart and I'm wondering if it just teaches him its ok to potty inside....thus derailing all my daytime house training.

Any thoughts/opinions on the matter would be greatly appreciated!

[Dozerboy007]

I have always thought that you shouldn't encourage them to pee inside...It seems to me that it would only create another bad habit to break, but atleast puppy pads keep it contained. But this is only my opinion, and nine weeks is really little.

Not to mention Dozer isn't doing so well with this himself... so I am looking forward to the answers from the more experienced folk!

[oneheatherdiane]

we got a female at 14 weeks. by our 3rd day of having her, she was signaling us at the back door to go outside for the bathroom! she has done very well with potty training

[Dozerboy007]

update: Dozer

Took the little man to the vet this morning with his pee sample. They said there was no blood in his urine but was running a 2 degree fever, so they said it was a possible infection. They perscribed some anibiotics and some anti inflamatory meds and hopefully we will be as good as new in a couple days. He isn't real happy about all the handling, and the shot hurt but he is resting comfortably on the couch next to me. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this solves some of our potty issues, and we can get back on track! Thanks for all the help guys! You are the best!

[mdmbutterfly]

Good for you guys dozer! Glad you figured out the problem! He doing better now?

I took your advice and started getting up when he let me know he needed to go out at night. We had less accidents that next day, and now what accidents we have are due to me not getting the message lol. We hung a bell on the door yesterday and are going to work on that.

[EmoAbstracts]

What's the Deal?

OK - so my Berkeley is now 10 weeks old (today) and he has been doing really good on his housebreaking/potty training. He now will go to my back patio door and paw the door to let me know he needs to go. However - I have discovered in the last couple days some unusual breaks in his pattern.

1.) Whenever there is a comfy blanket on the living room (or any room) floor for him to play, nap, etc when he's not in his crate, he will literally just stand up and pee on whatever he is laying on. If he's just playing on the floor (carpeted or hard-wood) he will get up and go to the door. Why would the presence of some form of comfy bedding, etc entice him to just pee where he stands with no notice at all?

2.) I have a 2-story home and VERY rarely do I allow him upstairs. But this morning he was unusually fussy about being left alone while I changed clothes so I brought him up with me. While he was upstairs with me he pooped on the floor twice (in two different spots) right in front of me. Both times I had to pick him up mid-poop and quickly run down the stairs to carry him outside to finish. Is this possibly because he was just confused about being in a part of the house without access to the patio door and so he was just confused as to what he should do? It is also rare for him to poop so much first thing in the morning - he had already done it once when I first woke him up and he let me know he needed to go outside.

As a caveat to all this - he has been in doggy daycare this week for the first time. Could that be encouraging him to just go to the bathroom anywhere since the doggy day care allows free roaming of the facility and cleans up after him? I was told this shouldn't create an issue at home because he will understand it as two different environments.

Anyway - thanks for the thoughts on this. The fact remains that he's only 10 weeks old and I still feel he's doing a good job - just wanted to stave off any problems that might be developing.

[audreys]

As a caveat to all this - he has been in doggy daycare this week for the first time. Could that be encouraging him to just go to the bathroom anywhere since the doggy day care allows free roaming of the facility and cleans up after him? I was told this shouldn't create an issue at home because he will understand it as two different environments.

Anyway - thanks for the thoughts on this. The fact remains that he's only 10 weeks old and I still feel he's doing a good job - just wanted to stave off any problems that might be developing.

Yes, he is only 10 weeks old and you have to have eyes behind your head
Plus he is very young to be going to doggy day care anyway and yes, that maybe part of the problem. He is not being potty trained there.

[Callies mom]

My Callie is 12 weeks old and she also will pee on a blanket if its in the floor, it can be on a bed or anywhere else and she won't pee on it but on the floor she will, also had a big foam mattress in floor for her to lay on and she peed on that too, other than that she's doing great with the whole potty thing.

[bigbear]

I have a 11week old dane I am trying to get him to pee outside but he seem to pee where ever.i have a 2yr. Old dane and he did fine but my new baby.was chewing a bone on my bed and peed write there can anyone help.