Part-time pottier

[Erin B]

Butternut is my 12.5-week old puppy. She is a sweetheart! At my house, she appears to be pretty solidly potty trained, or at least very well on her way. It has been about 3 weeks since she had an accident in my house. 

On the other hand, there's my parents' house. Butternut spends some time there almost every day, usually a few hours, because they have an older doodle who is her playmate. At mom's house, Butters is a pee machine. She *sometimes* will go to the mudroom gate and sit, indicating she needs to go out. But at least 2 or 3 times a day she will just randomly pee on the floor -- in all different areas of their living room/kitchen area. It is very frustrating and we are going through a lot of Nature's Miracle to say the least. :) At these times she does not make any signal that she needs to go, and in fact is never near the mudroom at all when the accidents happen. 

Do you think just a lot more crate time is in order while she's there? She does NOT like to be in the crate while she's there because the older doodle is hanging out and she wants to play, and the crate barking gets frustrating to us. Likewise tethering her doesn't seem like the perfect option because when they are playing together, there will be major tether tangles. I probably just need to suck it up, huh. 

Any suggestions will be so welcome. 

[Laura and Angus]

Hi there! So it sounds like it might be worth it to take a few steps back in terms of potty training. This would mean making sure she goes out after naps and during/after playtimes. It might just be a matter of getting her outside more often to potty and give her treats. You might also consider blocking Butternut (and your parents') pup into smaller areas - keeping them to two rooms where you can pay more attention. That way you can catch whatever "signals" she's giving before she goes...sometimes this is just sniffing around. She probably just needs more supervision/potty breaks...

Our puppy is 7 months and is still not allowed to be unattended. If he's not in the room with us, we're checking to make sure he's not getting into trouble - he usually is..

[Erin B]

I think you're right -- a smaller area would be better! Their house has an open floor plan which makes it challenging, but we have some additional gates that I think I could employ. Also I had stopped treating her when she potties outside, just relying on praise, but I think I will try bringing the potty treats back ONLY when at mom's house. Maybe that will help it sink in. Thanks for the awesome ideas!

[Laura and Angus]

No problem :) Just stick with the reminders/rewards -- sometimes it takes some time for pups to understand that the rules are the same for different places. Plus I agree with what Ashley said below about getting too distracted by play. This has even happened with our older pup where he didn't realize he had to go cuz he was happily playing and then it was like AHH! it's an EMERGENCY - he got outside, but not all the way to the grass haha

Most importantly - everything I've read with training (and what our trainer told us) is that if you're struggling with a certain command or behavior, even if the puppy previously did it consistently, you have to take a step back and return to what you were doing before to practice and reinforce. This happens with adolescent puppies too :) 

[Erin B]

That's a really good idea. The older doodle (Pippi) can hang out in the basement where the TV is while Butternut hangs out upstairs, or I can just take Butternut there while Pippi is not home. I think you're right -- she knows what she is supposed to do, but she is having too much fun to care. :)

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

All great suggestions. The first thing that comes to mind for me is that she needs more frequent potty breaks at your mom's house. When pups are playing with other dogs, they have to pee more often. And, at 12.5 weeks, she is going to be much more likely to not realize that she has to pee until right now. "Oops- too late to let someone know that I have to go."

[Debbie and Bentley]

I agree with frequent potty breaks. I can't remember if at 12.5 weeks, I took Bentley out every 30 or 45 minutes. He was a slow learner in that area, and if I forgot, he would have an accident.

[Glenda & Lizzy Lu]

I agree. When we were training Lizzy the only time she had accidents was when we failed to take her out often enough. She was 4 months old when we got her. She is 6 months old now and no potty issues in a long time.

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

I think Lorie hit the nail on the head - she's quite distracted by doodle play at your mom's house.  We take Gracie out almost immediately when she and Barkley are done playing or when she gets a couple of drinks of water while vigorously playing. 

Sometimes we will put Barkley in my son's room (while he's in there) so that Gracie can have some down time. She will not take it on her own if Barkley is in the same room during certain times in the day even though she is super tired.

I would also wonder how the differences in the houses play into her potty training memory at Mom's house.

Gracie doesn't like to be in her crate if we are all home, but I still put her in there during certain times. I feel bad about it, but we will be using it until she can be trusted.

[Erin B]

Butters did well at my mom's house this afternoon/evening. Only one potty accident. I took her out whether she wanted to go or not, and I could have avoided the accident if I had been paying a little bit better attention. Feeling hopeful. :) 

Generally speaking, when she is there I take her out every 30 minutes. She drinks a TON of water when she is there. If she sees the older dog getting a drink it's like she is compelled to get one, too. They will empty multiple bowls of water over a several-hour period. I feel bad taking it up, but I don't know if it's just a habit she has gotten into. They do play and wrestle pretty hard basically the whole time they're together. 

At home she is much less drinky, and potties WAY less often. 

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

It sounds like she is emulating the older dog. Plus, the more they play, the more they drink.

I had a self waterer and had to take that away because Gracie was drinking way too much from it. She gets plenty of water now, but is not enamored with the unlimited water supply.
I've heard that puppies aren't always good at self regulating when it comes to water (and of course food). I will probably reintroduce the self waterer when she's a bit older, but for now she just has a regular water dish. She even has learned to ask for it if it is not filled.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think she has more distractions at your mom's for her and for the adults watching her (since there is another dog). She needs to be in a more confined area and not have free run of the house and the dogs need to be separated sometimes - so crate or corral or baby gate them apart for a period of time.

[Erin B]

Life is getting better! No potty accidents at mom's house today. I am keeping my beady eye on her at all times and when she makes any sort of move toward the door I take her out. 

Funny -- at home when she needs to go out, she has started sitting not at the door but at the bottom of the stairs in my living room. Weird but it works I guess!