How long until fully potty trained?

[Penny & Wrigley]

I would love to know how old your puppy was until he stopped having accidents. Wrigley is almost 12 weeks and just peed on the floor. He hasn't pooped in the house since the first week we had him. Like other posts I've read I see the signs when he needs to poop but peeing can happen in a flash. He usually goes to the door and waits if he needs to go. I had just taken him out and he didn't go so we came back inside and thought he didn't need to go....turned my back for a second and all of a sudden I hear pee hitting the floor. We tried the bells but during his play time phase he would yank and jerk them so we just took them down. He used them more for play than communicating with us. I think he's pretty well got the hang of training but just want to know how long until I don't have to watch him every second. He hasn't had an accident in probably a week.

[Julie Kudron]

We got Maxwell at 10 1/2 weeks. The breeder had paper trained him, but we never used papers. We crate trained him. He was house broken after 2 weeks. He is 6 months now and hasn't had an accident since the beginning of December.

[Katie & Charlie]

Our guy is fully potty trained and he is about 4 months old.  At 12 weeks he would still have accidents on occasion.  I know how frustrating it is when you just had them out and they decide to wait until they're inside to do their business.  Just keep on top of him -- get him outside every 30 minutes or so when he's awake and active.... immediately after naps and after being crated for a long time etc.  It'll click, and before you know it, he'll be potty trained.  :) 

[Bonnie and Kona]

I read somewhere that they cannot be expected to be reliable before 4 months old. I have had that experience but have read of some pups on this site who are trained in ten minutes (well, maybe a little longer, but in less time than the many dogs I have owned). I know it gets frustrating but I think you will be surprised how quickly after they are trained reliably that you forget all about those myriad accidents. sorry.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

If you caught him in mid flow and brought him outside to finish then that really helps to quicken the process. Lots of puppies differ in the age where you can absolutely say they are safe. It sounds like Wrigley is doing really well.  Riley was 12 and a half weeks old when he had his last accident.  Of course I didn't know it at the time : )  I think others will tell you that their dogs were different ages when they were fully trained.  I didn't use bells here so I can't chip in on that aspect. I think you just have to watch them like a hawk and if they do have an accident be sure to leave not a trace of a scent on the floor.  Keep in mind that ' this too shall pass '

[Penny & Wrigley]

Oh thanks :-)  He turns 12 weeks on Friday so just wanted to make sure we are on track.  I caught him mid stream so he got another reminder that was not the thing to do.  I thought I had read 4 months until they really have full control of their bladder but it's helpful to know how others are doing.  Sounds like a few more weeks to be sure.  Thanks everyone for your kind words and support!!

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy was potty trained where he could hold it all day without needing a potty pad at 4 months old and almost completely stopped having any accidents in the house. Up until 6 months he would have the very occasional pee accident. These accidents always happened after he had been playing at the park and drank a lot of water and we didn't take him out soon enough. Once I realized that problem and started taking him out about an hour after playing in the park those accidents stopped too. Teddy will go to the door and look at it if he really needs to go out, but this happens very rarely. He can hold it a long time now and can wait until one of his regular walks.

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

My Murphy was ringing a bell at 10 weeks and had his last accident at around 12 weeks.  My Wilson is eight months old, never communicates at all that he has to go so we just have to keep him on a schedule and last Sunday he peed in the carpet. Sooooo........i think it is different for every dog but I would say Wrigley is very normal and doing a great job!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Sounds like you may have did the same thing I did with the bells.  Charlie got the bell ringing right away, but I failed to read the directions which said to use different doors for going out to play and potty if possible.  He too thought it was lots of fun and rang them all the time no matter what! 

Sounds like your little guy is doing a pretty good job!  Just keep praising him for all his good behavior and he will be there before you know it.

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

Cocoa is going to be 14 weeks Friday and today we are officially 1 week accident free (Other than the excided dribbles and I need to do a post about that).

We got her at 8 weeks and the first 4 weeks were pure hell outside every 15-20 minutes and she would do just what your Wrigley just did and I wanted to scream.  The vet said they really can not control there bladders until after 12 weeks but told us to keep a routine going with her and when she learns control it should happen fast.

 

As for pooping this Sunday will be 4 weeks poop free in the house.  For some reason that came really fast and she only had about 4-5 poo accidents in the house and I think all of those were because of the terrible runs we are dealing with.

 

I also tried the bells and they just became cool toy on a rope that hangs from the door so I took them down. But now she does this bark whinny thing to let us know she needs to go out. She is going out about every 45-120 minutes depends on how much she drinks and how active she is.   BUT... she also will fake that she needs to potty and just go out to play.

[Sue and Buddy]

Buddy is 13 weeks. He tried to potty in the house last week. I caught him mid-stream and dashed outside where he finished. I still take him out after he's been asleep awhile or just gets out of his crate. Last night he went and sat in front of the back door when he needed to go potty. This was the first time he did that. He got lots of praise. I do notice when we spend lots of time outside he pees more often than he needs to go out when he is inside. That tells me he is learning to control his bladder inside. I think the hardest part is getting the little one to let me know he needs to go out.

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

It is so funny......sometimes Murphy rings the bell to tell me that Wilson has to go potty :)  We have come to the realization that Wilson is never going to communicate and our vet says this is normal.   He does however wake us up with a face lick every morning and we think that he is telling us he has to potty then, but why he doesn't communicate any other time is beyond me.  Thank goodness he has his big brother to let us know when he has to go...LOL.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

I love this!