Lots of questions from a new puppy owner (Bit long)

[apollosdad]

no need to say shame on yourself, you are only wanting the best for your dog, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

sounds like your dog is getting the hang of it. potty training is more dependent upon the owners than it is the dog.

keep up the close watch on him, be persistent and patient, and be sure to reward when your dog does well. they will be on track in no time.
i always say, "when in doubt, let them out."
good luck.

 

[TobyPez]

Making some great strides in potty training. He hasn't had an accident in our home for a long time.. Though he had a few at my parents house but he is not familiar to there territory so I wasn't expecting miracles.

Only had one incident this morning where he woke up and as I was taking him outside he stopped on the stairs and just started peeing! (Thank god no one was walking below us as the pee was leaking to the stairwell below!)

But other then that so far so good!

 

[apollosdad]

congrats on the progress. i know it can be difficult to potty train a dog when apartments and stairways are involved. sounds like you are doing great. congrats again.

 

[TobyPez]

Some more progress.. tonight I was on the phone and saw Toby was sitting by the front door and put his nose toward the bell. I quickly dropped everything and praised him and said 'Outside' our keyword numerous times and he bolted out the door and down the stairs with me and went to the bathroom (both #'s).

Then 1.5 hours later kind of layed by the front door but don't know if he wanted to go out exactly and kind of took him out anyway.. he did his #1 and back in.

Then I took him out 2 hours later right before we headed into bed and walked him to the front door and he walked straight to the bell and put his nose on it.

I think he is getting the idea!

The only problem is.. he doesn't actually ring it.. ! :P

He just puts his nose against it and if I'm in another room I may be in trouble. So I am keeping close eyes on him still and willl continue so like I have been

 

[apollosdad]

sounds like great progress. just remember to be patient and to not expect him to catch onto the bell thing for quite some time. he might start to ring the bell all of a sudden, and then again, it might not be for several months. i don't want you to get disappointed if your dog doesn't ring the bell. it sounds like he is barely getting the whole process of going outside, and that is great news. take it one step at a time. the bell ringing process can actually be taught once he has the whole housebreaking thing down. for now, the more important thing for your dog to learn is that relieving himself is only to be done outside.

on a side note, it sounds like you have done a great job by watching him very closely in order to catch him doing these things. umlimited close supervision is perhaps the most important thing involved in potty training, and it seems that you both are doing great.

 

[TobyPez]

Toby has been doing awesome the past few weeks. He has only made 2 accidents in two weeks and they were my fault for trying to get him to hold his whines in for a few more seconds while I finish like brushing my teeth or something.

Completely my fault.

But then today happened!!!

He has gone 3 times today inside without any warning. Usually he warns me by running to the front door or ringing the bell. Today my friend was walking out of the apartment and he followed him and just started peeing while walking to the door.

What confused me was that he went out just 20 mins before and the pee was yellow so it wasnt clearish where he over drank and had to go immediately again. Not to mention he was walking while doing it.

Then again he gave no warning later that night and just pee'd some more right by us and we were baffled.

Not sure if this is normal or he is going through some stubborness but hopefully he didnt forget the last two weeks :(

 

[apollosdad]

it is not stubborness. dogs don't think that way. it might have been having a stranger in the house that was new to him. new scents on people, and the new attention, can be distracting to a puppy and there training might just slip for a minute. this is when supervision needs to be even closer.
and again, it is still very soon to rely on the bell or him just walking to the door. take him out when you think he needs to go. i always say, "when in doubt, take them out."
having one accident in several weeks can be confusing and regression can possibly begin. the goal is to not have a single accident that can be avoided. the two accidents you mentioned were due to not getting there in time. sounds like he is getting the hang of it, but you need to drop whatever it is your doing and instantly get to him in order to set him up for success. by whining or letting you know he needs to go, he is doing his part.

 

[Box Boys]

I think I would add to treat and praise after he goes outside! Make it a big deal. You will have the extra time to get outside due to the stairs, and for that reason, I would probably carry him down at this point (until he can hold it until outside), otherwise, you might have him peeing as he's going downstairs. Whenever we caught Buster starting to pee inside, we would say "ah ah" or "no" and immediately took him outside...even if he didn't do anything while we were outside, always get him outside. Again...treat him for going outside and praise lavishly. Remember...it takes time. Buster actually trained pretty quickly...but now is doing some reversal (which is more frustrating...cause when they pee now...it's a whole lot more than when they're little). Good luck! Sounds like you're on the road to success.

 

[apollosdad]

right around 7 months of age, a dog can tend to regress in their potty training. it is most likely due to their adolesent years starting to peek through. they will test their limits as well as yours. be patient with them, and simply resort to basics when it comes to potty training. they will get through this stage in a couple of weeks.

good luck.