will he ever learn to pee outside???

[Mary-E]

Hello,

Everything is going great with Rocket, with the exception of potty training.  He is so smart, I can't figure out why he can't get this one thing.  I had the bells for two weeks, but they scared him more than anything so I got rid of them.  I take him out hourly, but is still peeing/pooing in the house.  During the day when I'm at work he is crated and the dog walker comes twice.  He has only peed  in the crate once.  

What do I do?  Do I put him in the crate even when we are home?  Do I attach his leash to me?  Any tips would be appreciated, and he is only 12 weeks so I do understand he has a way to go….

[Emily Lau]

at twelve weeks, yeah it is supposed to be like that for a lot of dogs :)

I'd take him out more like every 30 mins if you are at the house. Maybe you can tether him to a pole/chair/something when you cannot directly supervise him. :) It will pass, I promise~

E

[Melissa]

I felt the same way at 12 weeks...  thought I had a defective dog!  I too put the bells away for a time.  I did tether my puppy to me with the leash, and also crated her a lot, and honestly she didn't catch on at all until earliest 16 weeks, and I felt like she really got it around 20 weeks.  I think I put the bells back out at 24 weeks and she got them pretty quick.  Now she's 7.5 months with only an occasional accident (maybe 1x month) when someone ignores the bells!  Hang in there and invest in enzyme cleaner.

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

Sometimes it is like they get it - they just don't care...

[Paige and Leo]

Leo had to go out every 30 min. Then went to 45 min. It started to click around 16 weeks and by 20-24 weeks bells worked for him. I did have him with me at all times with leash at that young age. He is 8 months now and no accidents.

[Christina Casper]

We started our puppy, now 16 weeks, in obedience class right away (8 weeks old) and our instructor gave us a lot of useful info. The very first thing she said to do was to get some tasty treats ( I use ones with chicken liver) and have them in your pocket when you take Him out. Then she said you give a treat literally the second they are finished going potty. I did one after pee then another after poop. I would also say good potty. This was training her to go outside. If there was ever an accident inside no treat was given and no punishment either, just pick him up and go outside. I watched mine like a hawk inside and she did great. She hasn't had an accident in weeks so we slowly stopped the treats. We bell trained her about 10 weeks and I'd always say let's go potty and take her paw and ring the bell. Within 2 days she was doing it on her own, any accidents at that point were at the front door and probably our fault for not getting to her quick enough. We also only use 1 door to avoid confusion at this point. Good luck! He will get it!

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Attaching leash or tethering him to you will just allow you close supervision, which really helps! Gates help also. The closer you supervise him, the more opportunity you will have to correct him, run him outside, or distract him from chewing the wrong thing, replace a behavior, etc. This "all eyes on" method is a great way to teach them and prevent (key) bad habits, IMHO! The more you let him practice good habits, the better he will do. Close supervision can be tiring, but only lasts until they are about 5 mos old (in my experience) and sets you up for future good habits! Then slowly you can give them more freedom... Good luck! Best,

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Great advice! And at 12 weeks, he sounds completely normal. It's like saying: " why isn't my one year old toddler potty trained yet"? Patience and consistency is a must. In a few months, this will all be behind you! 5-6 months is the norm. 30 days without an accident in the house. * hint*. You will reset that clock a bazillion times! ;)