Ok, all of you good breeders and trainers out there. Let's hear you sure fire method of house training. What if you have a stud. How do you keep him inside and not mark his area? Let's hear all of your good ideas.
We thought that our Holly was a Goldenpuddle, not a Goldendoodle until she was three months old. She had absolutely no bladder control. We would take her out every half hour to 45 minutes and she would pee twice and poop once, then turn around and wet in the house in-between yard trips. We would praise her when she went potty in the yard and scold her when we caught her wetting in the house. Scolding a dog after the fact does no good. If you scold a dog regarding an earlier accident - the dog cannot connect the wetting with the scolding. Additionally, we don't believe in punishing a puppy for household "accidents" anymore than you punish a baby for wetting its diapers or nappies. Luckily, most Doodles become house trained earlier in life than most children become potty trained. Holly magically became completely house trained at 3-months. There was no tapering off period. One day, she realized where to go potty and where not to go potty and she has not had an acident since.
It is frustrating to have a dog go outside and then turn around and wet in the house but, that is the price you pay for having a puppy. We are lucky in that our house has tiled floors all over. We once raised purebred Maltese puppies and since the warm Southern California climate lends itself to having tiled floors; we felt it was best to tile our house.
One trick that I learned from a friend who runs a bed and breakfast is that plain old club soda will neutralize urine smell and stains. Buy the cheapest you can find and it doesn't seem to matter if the soda has fizz left or if it is flat. Just pour some of the soda on the urine (best if you catch the spot while the urine is still wet) - leave it for a half hour or so and then blot it up with a rag or paper towel. Don't clean urine spots with an ammonia based cleaner. The ammonia odor will attract the dog to that spot in the future.
Can you use club soda on ceramic tile/grout? Toby is doing well, but for some reason has started going into the hall and peeing! So frustrating. I usually have him confined to the kitchen (linoleum) and hall (ceramic). He doesn't pee in the kitchen, only the hall. Weird dog. I've been using "Out!" which is supposed to remove stain and odor, but I wonder if there is an odour in the grout that I'm not sensing?
Every pup is different and att 16 weeks her bladder control may not be optimal yet...and she will FORGET at times just like a child.
When you say she is crate trained...can you elaborate? Is she in her crate any time you cannot keep BOTH eyes on her? If you are not watching her intently...she should be confined either to a crate or by a leash attached to your belt so she cannot get far.
She may need to pee as often as 20-30 minutes while she is not sleeping or in a crate. So perhaps she needs to go out more often.
Do you clean the pee areas on your carpet with a doggy odor neutralizer? Here in the states "Nature's Miracle' brand is popular for removing odor so doggy doesn't choose to go again in the same area.
Also consider using delicious treats as well as praise. Praise may not mean as much to a puppy (as dogs mature and you have a bond of training and time praise means more) so make it MORE valuable to go pee outside by giving her a treat.
Also go to the FORUM section on this site and search for "bell" for instructions on how to teach her to ring a bell to tell you she has to go potty outside.
Well you do NOT want her to be afraid of peeing in front of you....if she becomes afraid of peeing in front of you then she will either hide it and go behind your back OR you will never get her potty trained because she won't go in your presence when you take her outside.
So for NOW just make a loud sound like "AH AH" and clap your hands to startle her and pick her up and take her out to finish outside and then praise her and treat her when she goes outside.
If you have LOTS of trouble get her checked for a urinary tract infection.
Do not Pad train! Jordan came pad trained, I thought it was great. BUT.....She was not outside Potty trained until she was 9m old.
Even now (she is 3) I always have a pad out because she will still use it at night maybe once every 1-3 months. She will not wake us to go out if we are already sleeping. I always make sure she goes before bed, but she will go on the pad once in a while. Payton will wake us if he needs to go if we are sleeping.
I would not pad train again. They say a pad trained dog is never fully outside trained.
I did teach her Potty-Potty for when I want her to go. It works great, especially if she is just sniffing around the yard. I say Potty-Potty Jordan and she will get down to business.
Be consistent!!! This was always my own problem, but I know it is true!! I always started off with every 1/2 hr...then 45 min...then hr....then hopefully they start telling you. I also got the Poochie Bells...for them to ring when they want to go out. My puppy is getting the hang of that...they are wonderful!!
And yes -like Adina said - keep saying potty!! I think that word has been in my vocabulary now for over 7 years (starting with my daughter!!!)!!! So funny...I even say it when I have to go!!
Good luck!! I think this is always the biggest challenge for me.
Hi Susan. Three intact breeding dogs live in our home which means we have three adult males who lift their legs. So they can be part of the family, we put a belly band on them when inside. It is like a diaper and found in dog catalogs and pet stores. Good luck.