I am going nuts with housetraining.

[jinkiesp]

Chopper is my six month old pup. And he is driving me crazy with housetraining. He has an accident at least twice a day a pee and a poo. I do have another boxer, a 1 1/2 year old female, Coco, who was a snap to train.... a few accidents and then she got it very quickly. I have had Chopper since he was 9 weeks old and to no avail can I get him to go "outside" on a consistent basis. We can go several days without an accident but then we can go several days with at least two accidents. The thing that is so frustrating is that I can send them both outside for at least thirty minutes to do their thing and Chopper comes right back in the house and pees or poos right in the middle of the floor. I do crate train and he is finally getting it that he isn't suppose to mess in there. I just wish he would not mess in the house.

 

[GraciesWorld]

Maybe when you let Chopper and Coco outside you should accompany them so that you can teach him that going outside is a good thing. Take some tasty treats with you and when you see him "doing the doo" give him lots of praise and treats while repeating whatever word you are using to associate outside with going potty. He will get it. I know with my Gracie, it wasn't nearly as hard as it's been with Gizmo but he is getting it and the treats and praise is really working with him. Just be persistent and consistent.

 

[bradford]

Chopper is my six month old pup. And he is driving me crazy with housetraining. He has an accident at least twice a day a pee and a poo. I do have another boxer, a 1 1/2 year old female, Coco, who was a snap to train.... a few accidents and then she got it very quickly. I have had Chopper since he was 9 weeks old and to no avail can I get him to go "outside" on a consistent basis. We can go several days without an accident but then we can go several days with at least two accidents. The thing that is so frustrating is that I can send them both outside for at least thirty minutes to do their thing and Chopper comes right back in the house and pees or poos right in the middle of the floor. I do crate train and he is finally getting it that he isn't suppose to mess in there. I just wish he would not mess in the house.

Have you tried staying outside with him to make sure he relieves himself out there? Tucker is 11 weeks and he didn't really get the idea of going out until he had an accident out there - basically I had kept him out with me the entire day and he finally had to relieve himself. After that, I praised him a lot. He still goes in the house, but he's getting a much better idea that he should go outside. When I take him outside, I make sure he goes before he comes back in. It seems to be working so far. Now teaching him bit inhibition is a completely different story!

 

[Kilby'sMum]

I have to agree with bradford, actually going outside with them is going to be the best option. I also found it a lot harder having an adult dog and a puppy to train, if Kilby (eldest) was outside when Kona (pup) was supposed to be going potty we'd end up with the same result as you. I could stay out there for hours and all she would want to do is play then we'd be inside less than 2 minutes and there was a puddle (or worse!).

I got some great advice here and that was to take Kona out on a leash and keep Kilby inside. Once Kona went potty she was praised like you wouldn't believe and then she was allowed off-leash and Kilby could come out to play. It worked great for us, I think it helped Kona realise that outside doesn't always mean playtime.

 

[Althea]

I'll just add my support to what the others said! (Can you see a trend?) I keep Suki on leash when she goes outside, she does her business, and then if I want to let her off lead, so be it. But she is never off lead until AFTER she does her business. Fear not, he will get it. Suki is 5 months and just started to really understand. We have her ringing a bell now, and with the exception of a mistake here and there, we're all learning quite well. :D

 

[Sansal]

I agree with everything already said: supervise her while she is outside to make sure she goes potty AND also supervise her while she is inside so you can take her out BEFORE she has an accident. As long as she is not 100% trained I would not give her the free run of the house. Have her stay in the same room with you at all times. Take her out after every nap, after every playtime, after every meal so she can relieve herself. If you watch her closely you will soon be able to tell the "singals" (sniffing the floor, going to the door,...) and you will also get to know her schedule and know when she needs to be taken outside.
Be patient and consistent and she will learn.

 

[jbbtlr]

Yep, you need to go outside with him. Rain, shine, snow, it doesn't matter. They are just like little kids, they go outside to do something and get distracted by something else and going potty goes straight to the back of the head and forgotten. Then when they come in and settle down, it's like ohhhh I have to go potty like now, and there lies the accident. It isn't the puppies fault just part of being a puppy.

If you go outside with him you can reward the behavior outside. Throw him a potty party!!!! Just like kids, you can't compare one dog to another. They all learn differently and at different paces!!!

Good luck!

 

[Silly Goose]

We practice pretty much what everyone else has said. We use "go pee" and "go poop" for when we want him to go. He is still so young so he does want to play a lot when we're outside...when he's in this mood I either just follow him around calmly saying the keywords or keep him on leash. Also, once he goes he gets TONS of praise and some sort of reward; sometimes a treat, sometimes a toy, sometimes a play session outside, just make sure it's SOMETHING.

Also, make sure you clean the areas where he has gone inside really well. We use Nature's Miracle. If he smells his own pee/poop he's likely to go in that spot again and again.

 

[jinkiesp]

Thanks everyone.

 

[daisybearden]

I am in the same spot as jinkiesp. I have a 6month old boxer and 1 1/2 old boxer mix. I go outside with both of them all the time and we use the words to accompany it and praise. he still will go in and just pee and poo right after you take him even if he is empty. I also can't get him to stop peeing in his crate at night. Yes he can hold it for up to 7 hours but at night when he is in there for like 5 or 6 he pee's. Could it be separation anxiety?