Potty Training

[Heather, Rocky & Quinn]

Quinn, my goldendoodle is almost 5 months old and is not completely potty trained.  He has an occasional pee pee accident.  I gave up on the pee pads as they provide a little too much fun for him in his joy of shredding and spreading all over the house.  I have hung bells on the door and I'm trying to teach him to ring them when he needs to go potty.  He's not getting it yet. Should I expect him to be completely trained at 5 months?  He's our first puppy in almost 10 years.  We usually get our dogs as adults through rescue.  Any suggestions?

[Jill Turner]

I would be interested in any suggestions also. I just got a 6 month old mini goldendoodle from a rescue and she is having some difficulty getting the concept of going outside too. She was never in a place that worked with her and even though I have 3 other dogs that have "gotten it" she is not following their lead.

[Julie and Charlie]

"People" tell me all the time they potty trained their 8 week old puppies in 2 weeks, 3 weeks, whatever. To me, that's complete rubbish! Maybe they have prodigy dogs, I certainly don't! They've trained you to go out every hour, two hours, whatever.

Charlie, at 5 months is relatively reliable in the two rooms that he is allowed in with minimal supervision, and only for short periods of time (2 hours). I've posted this in the training forum, but for me to consider him fully potty trained, he needs to be reliable if we have a schedule change (within reason) and in all rooms of the house. I certainly don't have to watch every squat, and maybe I'm not expecting enough from him, but it works for us for the time being.  I do expect in the next couple of months to expand his range and timeframe. 

[BG and Gavin]

It was hard to tell when my guy was trained.  Even though he had very few accidents in the house (could count them on one hand) it was because I was a psycho and took him out nearly every hour.  Plus I never allowed him out of our sight unless he was crated (even taking him in the bathroom with me while I showered). He did not have a chance to practice going inside.  I rung the bells each time I went out with him, but it was many weeks before he rung them on his own.  I remember at one point, he squatted in the house after a hard play session around 5 months old and I was dumb-founded.  It takes a while for those little bladders to develop so they can hold it.  Be patient and consistent and he will get there.