8.5 wk old puppy potty problems- Help!

[Rebecca Matthews]

I'm not sure what we are doing wrong.  We take her out several times a day.  Mostly she just lays down or picks up leaves or barks at cars or people walking by (we only have a front fenced yard).  Sometimes she pees or poops and we praise greatly and give treats.  We've started making her sit by the door before we take her out to hopefully train her that right before we go out we sit by the door, so that hopefully will just be her cue to us that she needs to go.  She does do this trick sometimes.

But the problem is #1 that whenever she is crated and we are not in her direct line of vision she gets sad and whines and pees.  I then Natures Miracle the crate, do the same to her bedding and wash it.  It's been this way since the beginning.  I think this may be leading to problem #2 though, that we'll just come in from sniffing around outside for what seems like forever and I'll put her in her crate for nap and she just immediately pees! (this is very new) I say "ah ah ah" and take her outside again, then nothing AGAIN!  

She's probably at a 50/50 success rate right now.  Over night she's fine and sleeps in her crate next to our bed waking only once to go outside where she will pee and then go back to bed.  

But what can I do about her crating potty habits from #1 being sad, #2 thinking it's a great place to go!

ps.  I haven't really even left her at home alone yet.  We got her Sunday...  I've got 2 young kids that need to get places and I just bring her with me in the car in her crate and she's fine w. that, but I don't want to set it up to where we can never be apart and support any separation issues.  

Thanks for any tips!

[Emily & Wispa]

Uhh.. I think you're expecting miracles if you're expecting her to know the drill this quickly.  Do you have a pee/poo command word?  That way when she does one or the other you can say the word and praise her, so she will associate it with the command. 

Teaching her to sit at the door before going outside is a bit of a big ask at the moment, I think, especially if you're crating her.  Wispa has been great with potty training, but it wasn't until quite recently that we sussed out her signals to go outside.

How big is the crate?  Is it entirely covered in bedding?  Does she pee on her bedding?  Is this where she has been sleeping?  Wispa never peed in her crate, even though it was a 42 incher, but it was full of soft bedding, and she slept in there every night..  Apparently puppies won't pee where they sleep if given an alternative.

I know it's really frustrating, but unfortunately the answer now if to not come inside until she pees.  I remember how frustrating it was, and I even made a spreadsheet to see if I could see a pattern in it.  Basically, she had to pee every hour.  And she wouldn't sleep in her crate during the day, and cried and cried if I left her in there, so for a couple weeks I just did NOTHING but follow her around and take her outside.  Luckily she slept a ton, but having an 8 week old puppy is a full time job. 

Just keep taking her outside every hour or every time she wakes up, eventually she'll just associate the grass with her toilet area and stop going inside.  Patience!

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Maybe you have to wait until she pees to come back inside.  Don't worry, she will eventually get it.  Zoe took about 2 days, Ben took about 2 months!  

[Emily & Wispa]

Oh, and just about leaving them alone, I wouldn't suggest leaving them alone within the first 2 weeks.  Sure, for a few minutes here and there, but you won't run the risk of them developing anxiety issues, and it's so important for potty training that you be there all the time and be vigilant.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I'm not sure if you are or not, but I would take her out to potty on leash.  This way you can focus her attention on potty and not play or investigate leaves or whatever.  Also, make sure she doesn't have too much room in her crate.  Hopefully your crate came with a divider and you can make it smaller.  She just needs enough room to turn around and that is all.

[Rebecca Matthews]

We do say potty when she does pee or poo and say "oh yay, potty, You went potty, yay potty!!" as we give her hugs and treats when she goes outside. When we take her out we tell her to potty- and sometimes she does and sometimes she just doesn't care to.   I think she's really distracted by everything around her outside and there are so few distractions inside..?  Her crate is small, all bedding (and yes, she'll pee on her bedding!), and she sleeps in there for naps and overnight consistently without issue.  Should I attempt to make it smaller with a box?  There is already only about 3 inches left lengthwise when she's laying straight in the crate.

She already knows the sit and come command wonderfully, so we thought we'd try to use that to our advantage with the door trick...

Puppies are such a mystery to me.  I have a 2 y old and a 4 y old, but I'm a first time puppy mom.  Thank goodness I'm a stay at home mom!  I appreciate any and all help-  so thanks for the tip about not leaving her alone for a couple of weeks.

[Adina P]

My first suggestion is to get rid of the crate bedding.  Some dogs are just attracted to peeing on soft, absorbent things and she will be just fine without it for now.  Try that for a few days along with waiting outside longer (I know, a pain to do!) and see if that helps at all.  I don't think it's a problem to leave your pup alone for short periods.  I purposely left the house in the first week I had Rosco so my pup would get used to some time alone, but maybe I just got lucky...?

[Bonnie and Kona]

You probably want to join the Puppy Madness group here. It is so helpful. I am sure we took Owen out every twenty minutes when he was that young. Seriously, every twenty minutes. I agree with Adina to take out the soft bedding in the crate. When she is in the crate can she see you? We covered our pups' crate with a big quilt but the front was open to the family room where they were crated as pups. Seeing they are not alone helps, I think.

I hope you are able to figure out the peeing in the crate trouble. Also every puppy is different. My pup wasn't completely reliable with pottying outside until he was four months old. I noticed someone else saying their pup "got it" in 2 days. Wow! I seriously was never that lucky. ;o)

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

I was just going to write that. Auggie peed every 15-20 minutes when he was 8 weeks old. And even if he did not ask, I still took him out. It was a major pain. It took him a while to understand that peeing inside is a no-no and that he needs to ring the potty bells. I just could not understand why he was so slow getting it when Monty was ringing the bells his 3rd day he was home. Auggie is 4 months old now and has not had an accident for over a month.

Be patient, they eventually catch up.

[Bonnie and Kona]

No Laurie, It was Joanna, Zoe and Bender who had one dog trained in two days...

I am laughing out loud! I think if you are expecting nothing better than house training in a year and a half you will have happy results! It's expectations that get us into trouble every time! ;o)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Take him out several times an HOUR not several times a day.  Every 15 mins  :)  His bladder is the size of a dime right now and it does not hold much. Also, his muscles have not developed and won't mature for a few more months so he just can't hold on to any urine.  He is a BABY.

Establish a potty area.   Same place, every 15 mins, and wait.  You really need to wait until the act happens, then praise, then come right back inside.  Go outside every time he drinks, eats, wakes up from the nap.

Another thing that really helps is to establish a scent in the potty area you have chosen..  Take the rags you have used to clean up the urine and place them in that spot ( do not use the Natures Mircle Rag-just a cloth of wet urine)  Leave them there for a few weeks so he knows this is where my scent is and I can go here.

Potty training takes a few months.  It gets better day by day, but do give it some time.  A lot of time  :)

Don't know, but sitting by the door is a bit early for such a young baby.   You really need to hurry for his little bladder.  It is a good idea, but really this is going to happen down the road-say 7-9 months. Not now. 

I agree with Adina. Get that bedding out of the crate.  Really, most don't like bedding in a crate. It does make us feel good  :)  but puppies could care less. 

Once you open that crate door, pick the pup up and rush outside to the spot.  Then hang out there 

You may want to use the Poochie Bells. I love these and my dog, almost 4, still rings them.  Do a search on here for Poochie Bells.  This also takes some time.  But in a few months it really helps.

[Ginny Nightingale]

All great answers as usual! The one thing that has not been addressed by anyone is the "sad" act when she cries and then pees--this might be an alpha pup--one that tries to control the situation --and those of you who think she is too young for that, think again--I have witnessed it first hand with one pup in every litter I have raised (but a disclaimer--I have only raised 5 litters:-)

Anyway, I would suggest that you put her in the crate AFTER she has peed and played and is ready to settle down--then if she cries, IGNORE her!! She is playing on your sympathy and is probably a very smart pup!! Very important to act like you are deaf--do not look at her, do NOT COMFORT her. This is a crucial part of crate training--if you want you can give her a treat in the crate or a new toy to make her want to be in there--I also suggest feeding her in the crate every time--then it becomes her safe place--also, you can put a blanket over the crate if it is an open wire one to make you less visible. 

I also agree that you should not sit by the door just yet but carry her outside and keep her in one place to do her potty--no playing and act business-like. Playing is for after she pees. 

Patience! It will all come together!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Your puppy is still very, very young yet.  By all means you are to be training her but it take a good while before they get "it".  When my doodles were being trained as they were peeing I would say good boy/girl you go pee-pee or poopies so they would know what #1 was and #2 was.  In the evening I would pick up the water around 8 pm and take them out the last time by 11 and never had any accidents over night.  When I would leave for work I would pick up the water about 2 hrs before I left and would come home on lunch to let them out again with no accidents in the crate.  Exercise gets the bowels moving as well.  When training my doodles I would feed them @ 6a.m. and 6 p.m. so I would basically know when they would poop, this helps !!!

 

We tend to humanize our dog and I am totally guilty of that, you dog may seem sad to you but maybe she really is not but just wants to be by her humans.  Don't let them boss you around you need to be firm and in control but with loving guidance.  Puppy training is very difficult and it is soooo important because it is molding your dog for adulthood.  I train/guide my dogs with calm assertivness :)