House Training

[Tracy A]

Mousse is almost 1 year old, and is really a great and easy dog. He is house trained for the most part, but I still have to remember to let him out.  He will not "tell" me he has to go out.  I just recently bought some bells, and am hoping it will solve the problem.  If i don't remember to let him out, and it's been a few hours, he will sneak into the other room and pee on the floor.  Is this normal for older puppies?  This is our first dog ever, by the way :)

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

First of all, Mousse is an adorable doodle. I think he should be house trained by this time and maybe you just need to perfect his routine to eliminate these accidents. I think the bell idea is a great idea. I did not use the bell technique, but both my doodles will pace by the door when they have to go. You might just not be recognizing the way he is telling you he has to go, so the bells should help. If he is peeing consistently on the same spot, it should be cleaned very well to eliminate the smell, etc. There have been discussions as to what products work best. For now, I would work on the bell training, take him out each morning, after every nap, before bed, and anytime he seems to be going towards that room and I would Praise, praise, praise the results. Also, use a phrase like "Go Potty" each time, so he knows what is expected of him. Maybe a timer every couple of hours until he stops having accidents. Good luck!!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I agree with Laurie about his peeing in the same spot, and it may be so soaked by now that the smell will keep coming back up and attracting him. Do you ever catch him going there and do the whole NO dance?  Somehow he didn't get that message strong enough and he has a pee spot alternative just in case you don;t notice him.  Looks like it's back to watching him, letting him out routinely and catching accidents. As for the pee spot, it it;s on carpet it may need to be replaced. If it's on wood or tile you can neutralize it easier. Good luck. And Mousse really is adorable.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Mousse is just too cute.  Two additional suggestions:

1) Set a timer to remind YOU to take Mousse out.

2) Clean Mousse's current pee spot as best you can but place a piece of furniture over it so that it just plain is not available to him.