Housetraining...Sooo needing help

[Hioctanechic]

To be fair, this is just as new to puppy (Auto) as it is to me. I have never house-trained a dog before and I think I may be in over my head! HELP!

The first couple of days went very well with Auto and he seemed to [kind of] understand what we were supposed to do outside, but I didn't know to create a pattern of the every hour thing. So, maybe that was my first mistake.

As he seemed to catch on quite well, I didn't consistently reward him with a treat when he did his deed. I would love on him and say 'good boy', though. Mistake two?

Now it has been a week and Auto seems a bit rebellious about peeing and pooing outside. He is officially a repeat offender. I fuss and say "outside!" and take him directly.

He now has a crate and is [more] closely watched, but he will do it right under my nose!! How do I recover from any mistakes? How do I "stop the madness"??!!!

 

[hmdupuis]

Excellent question! I'm having the same issue with Tyson. I've had him for 3 weeks now. He was doing great up until this week. It's only peeing that I'm having a problem with though.

 

[Caney Creek]

That's a good thing that he does his business right in front of you! That makes it easy for you to IMMEDIATELY pick him up and take him outside, sending him the message that inside is not the appropriate place to potty. On the other hand if he has an accident out of your sight and you find it even a few minutes later, there's nothing you can do. The opportunity to teach by showing him to the right spot has passed and nothing is learned. He needs immediate feedback the moment an accident happens so ALWAYS keep a close eye on him in the house.

I don't think you necessarily need to treat him every time he does his business outside. Verbal praise is plenty, as long as it is enough to get him really excited. :D Remember you want to make pottying outside a SUPER FUN thing so that he wants to do it over and over!

Don't get discouraged if he doesn't seem to be getting it after a week or two. It will likely take months of consistency and training, preventing accidents indoors and rewarding for going outside, before he is 100% housebroken. Just keep working at it!

 

[xJazerx]

My pitbull was potty trained at 13 weeks old, never had an accident in my house after that age. My Boxer, did not finally have it click until he was close to 5 months old... but when it clicked, it clicked.

Be consistent & stick with it. It may take time, but it will happen. Take him out every hour if that's what it takes. That's what I had to do. His accidents were 85% of the time, negligence on my part. Me being lazy and wanting to wait just 10 minutes more.. and that's always when it would happen. Little puppies don't think about it. They feel the sensation and they just let it out. Once they have the ability to actually hold it, they really do seem to try to hold it.... but YOU have to be the responsible one and be 1-2 steps ahead of him, every time. Every accident is a missed opportunity to praise him for doing it in the right place. Give him treats, praise him, and if you catch him in the act, pick him up (hopefully this will stop the urination) and bring him outside as fast as possible. If I caught Dante in the act I would give him a very firm no... eventually, he caught on and now he knows the drill.

 

[LILYLARUE]

All excellent advice so far! Make sure you take him out on leash until he goes. Letting off leash after a potty can be a reward too. Potty time should be called "Party Time"......cause you should make it the biggest event ever! As if he pooped nuggets of gold!

You can even add one more step: Take him to one spot in the yard. He will learn that the area is his potty area and probably save your grass in other areas. PLUS it's one small area you have to clean up - no searching out for bombs. LOL ALSO this will tell him when you go to that area, that thats the time to do his business. It's a life saver when you are in a rush - avoids the inspection of every area and wasted time.

Lily was house trained almost from day 1 - but I was extremely diligent with every hour take outs, after every excited moment she had and I could take her to work all day helping in the process.