House training problems

[Mindy and Tim and Cody]

We have only had our 9 week-old puppy for 5 days, but he has yet to poop while on the leash.  And he will only rarely pee while on the leash.  We are pretty diligent about taking him out in the back yard every 2 hours or so, but almost invariably he just wants to explore.  Then, sure enough, a short while later, he'll pee or poop in the house.  Has anyone had this problem?  What should we do?   

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I totally agree....take him out often, confine or tether him inside, and praise and treat like crazy when he does go outside. He'll catch on pretty quickly....right now he's really young, but it's great he's doing so well at night!

[Mindy and Tim and Cody]

Thanks, Nancy, for your advice. We have been doing scheduled feeding but it doesn't seem to matter much. And he has been doing really well in his crate. In fact, the last 2 nights he hasn't even woken us up to go out -- slept through from about 11 to almost 5:30.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

In addition to treating EVERY TIME he goes potty outside, go crazy making praises. High pitched "yeses" or "good boy" works very well. For the first 2 months of Peri being home, I always carried treats with us outside. I said "peepee time, Peri" everytime and the second she started going, I praised her and then followed it by a treat. They catch on to that really fast. These doodles are smart - they know that "peepee outside = treat and mom and dad like it". To this day, Peri will pee on command and I still do a little "yes". It works.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Until you 'get' his potty schedule, why don't you keep track by writing it down
how long after eating, long after drinking, playing, waking up from nap, etc
Then YOU will know when the time is right!

Learn from mistakes I made - use the word for him to associate what he is doing 'pee', 'poop' or whatever word you want to use. later on you can say 'go poop' and he will understand what you are asking.
- don't let him wander around the yard to pee/poop. His 'area' will be the entire yard and not a specific area.
- the big mistake I made was them on a leash to go potty. When we were away they had clue that is was okay to go potty while walking on leash. Made for super long walks
Just my suggestions.

[Mindy and Tim and Cody]

I totally understand what you mean about not letting him wander around the yard to pee/poop. That's the reason we put him on the leash in the back yard, so we could take him to the spot we want him to use. But he doesn't want to be over there -- it's a spot where we have some gravel, not grass, on the side of the house. How do you get a puppy to go pee/poop in a specific area if he is not on a leash?

[Adina P]

It WILL help to figure out his schedule. But it won't happen right away.

How long do you take him out to potty...do you stand out there for 2 minutes? 5 min? 10 min?

My best guess is that he needs to run around a bit and play before feeling the urge to go potty. Perhaps that happens in the house and NOT in the yard and that's why he's pooping/peeing in the house. Also at THIS age, Rosco could pee every 15-20 minutes if I took him out so I RARELY ever let him go longer than 30 min in the house without a potty break (unless he was crated...then he could go 1-2 hours).

I would:

-- Take him out way more often.
-- If he doesn't go pee or poo outside, then RIGHT BACK INTO THE CRATE. Repeat as needed until he poos/pees outside.

-- If that doesn't work then try letting him be free outside (unless you don't have a fenced yard) or at least let him drag a parachute cord or other light line when he's outside so he can move around and shake those bowels loose. Just stay near to him and then you can still praise and treat him when he does go.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned does not pee or poop on-leash except as a last resort. At home this is not problem, but we travel in our RV lots during the summer and it is tough on Ned. We just keep trying until he goes. He has always been this way. He was housebroken in an RV. He also prefers to back up to a fence - a guy wants his privacy. When we go on walks in the neighborhood, Ned NEVER goes.

[Christine & Shelby]

My general approach to potty training (on leash or off) while Shelby was young was.... no attention, no petting, no play until she did her business... then we would celebrate and play for a good while before going back inside. Once I started with the leash, I'd walk out to her favorite potty area and stand still.... she eventually went and then again....celebrate and play! Shelby did great with potty training. I'll be honest - I didn't start having her potty on a leash until she was probably about 11 weeks.... just because, as a first time dog owner, I didn't know I should get her used to that. I started after a good friend mentioned I should get her used to it, so she would be comfortable going in different circumstances and while traveling!

[Mindy and Tim and Cody]

How long did it take her to get a favorite potty area? Right now Cody is going all over the yard. We have a place we'd like him to go, but he just won't go there. It's some gravel on the side of the house. He goes anywhere and everywhere on the grass in the yard, and a few times has even gone right on the patio, definitely NOT what we would like!