5 months and still not...

[Nutty 4 Boxers]

Jersey is 5 months today and we are still not having any luck with the housebreaking. I do not know what else to do. We have tried the treats, we do crate train, we do out ALL the time. She will do both outside, and then we come in and she will do it again. I have tried to leave her out to do it the second time but she will just come and sit at my feet and then when we come in she will go inside. On the occasions when she does go twice she'll come in a go a third time. Nothing is working!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Need help big time... I'm loosing my mind here.. Please any help will be appreciated...

 

[schipperj25]

I dont know if you have used pee pads, friends of mine used them and that worked well for them. I suggest that because they seemed to have a simular problem as you are having. Good luck.

 

[Eric J]

5 months is still relatively young, and you should not expect the pup to be crate trained yet. The hard part is for your frustration level I am sure.

I know what we do, is take Jedi out to the potty area (between 2 trees in the backyard) and when he goes potty outside he gets praise, when he goes potty outside he gets praise/treat and when he goes potty outside, we intterupt him and run him out right away. Tonight about 10 minutes AFTER peeing outside he peed on the kitchen floor /shrug. He does this whenever he gets to excited from good play. We now try and time it that at 10 minutes of excited play we march his butt outside for another tree visit.

The next best piece of advice is schedule, schedule, schedule. It sounds like you already have been, so just stick with it and stick it out. As long as Jersey is not excessively peeing (that would be a health issue, possibly a Urinary Tract Infection) then you should have nothing to worry about.

 

[Astoreen]

Just as children, all dogs are different and "learn" at different rates. It is unrealistic to expect your 5 month old to be completely potty trained just as it would be for any parent to expect their 6 month old to be walking and talking. "Most" dogs are not completely housebroken until 6 months or older. Please be patient with your little one, she can sense your frustration. When she goes potty inside, what are your reaction(s)? Do you make a big deal, scold her, anything along these lines? Or do you simply go about your business of cleaning it up?

Unfortunately, you must watch them constantly and as soon as you see the "signs" (there are signs ) you must make a noise, pick them up and/or quickly escort them to the door. When they've done their business outside, treat and praise, treat and praise. Use words like "business," "potty," "outside." Personally, we use potty and outside with our girl and have since she was a baby........now all we need do is mention one of those words and she will go on demand. She's also 21 months tomorrow and by no means was she pottying on demand at 5, 6, even 7 or 8 months.

It will take time, patience and consistency on your part. I've inferred from your post that you've got consistency down and that is great. Just give her a little more time and be very patient........one day, it'll just be like a light turned on and she'll know to only potty outside. If you would like some more information on housebreaking, use the search feature at the top right of your screen to search for threads on this very topic. There is a wealth of information available and believe me, you're not the first person to have asked a question like this.

Good luck!

 

[Maria Dial]

Titan is 8months old and is just now getting control of his bladder, the only time we really have to watch him is when he gets to excited (and when he gets in our bed room but thats a different story). Have hope and a good floor cleaner, it will click one of these days.

 

[FlashyTitus]

Do you stay out with her? Everytime Titus goes out I will go with him, Rain or Shine, and when he pee's I say Good outside Titus, and then I will say Now Hurry Up and thats when it poops. It took me about a week to train him. If your puppy uses the bathroom in the house this is what I would do. Its what I did with Titus. As soon as he squated I would grab the skin an the back if his neck and give him a quick shake. Shake her several times, just enough to get her attention, and say Phooie outside. Then take her to the same spot in the yard each time. Wait until she uses it and the tell her Good Outside or Good Hurry Up Outside. Make sure you only correct her in the act. If you find the mistake 1 minute later its to late to correct. Good Luck.

 

[Nutty 4 Boxers]

Thank you all

Thank you all for all your replies. They are all helpful. You see our Joe came potty trained. He was a rescue and was already 1 1/2 old when we got him, so this puppy thing is a little new to us. I have tried the potty pads, and she only chews them up and leaves stuffing all over the place.

I will try some of the other recommendations which you suggested.. Thank you all!!

 

[Q'sMom]

It seems like they will never get the hang of it and then one day....they just don't go in the house anymore. I would say that it was around 7 months that Quincy was pretty reliable. He hasn't had an accident in the house about a year. The key is to train yourself to their schedule and signs. Quincy always circles to the left before he pees or poops. So when I saw him "circling the wagons" I knew we had to "run for the hills". I would never physically punish a dog for having an accident in the house. If you are going to grab a dog and shake it for just doing a natural bodily function, it will associate eliminating with being bad and not want to do it ever, outside or in. Quietly clean up the mess and use an odor remover (they like to do it in "familiar" territory). I use OUT! and it works well. When the go outside, treat and praise and get excited about it play a little and make it a big deal to the dog. If you just breathe a sigh of relief and say "Finally." There is no difference to the dog. You want him to want to go outside because its fun.

Two Rules of Housebreaking:
1. Be Patient
2. Be Consistent

We've all been there, Good Luck!!

 

[Bumblebee]

Here are a few tips that might help.

Tether her to you at all times, if she is not in her crate. Most times, she will not want to pee with you right there and if she does you can take her outside quickly and reward her. This also makes you really focus on her and not get distracted.

Keep treats by the door. This way, you can grap a handfull on the way out and always be able to reward her for potting outside. Reward, Reward, Reward!!!!!!!!

Monitore her water intake. I usually only let my guys drink outside (my new house does not have a hose, so I can't, plus they are already housebroken). If she drinks a lot thru out the day, she will have to pee more frequently. If she only gets one drink every, lets say half hour, she should have to pee every half hour and will hopefully empty her baldder. Kind of the same concept of timed feeding so your puppy wont be pooping all day.

Anyways, good luck!!!!