at my wit's end with peeing in the house

[Sabrina and Bentley]

HELP!!!

 

I feel so lost.  Grumman does not seem to grasp the understanding of peeing outside.  He's 12 weeks and we've had him almost 2 weeks.  I know that I need to give it time, but I haven't seen any improvements.  When we go outside, I say let's go potty.  Once he pees, I say good potty and good boy, give him lots of praise.  We take him out almost every 30 minutes.  First thing in the morning, after meals, after play times.  It never seems like it's enough because he always manages to pee 3-4 times in the house.  And he doesn't sniff around to give warning, he just goes.  And he seems to really like our brick foyer, which is the only positive since everywhere else is carpeted.  When we catch him, we startle him with a firm no and bring him outside to finish.

 

Our first doodle was so easy to potty train.  He had a few accidents for the first couple of weeks and then he was good with going outside every couple of hours. I just don't see an end to this one.

 

I've read through some of the other discussions, but I haven't found anything to try.  I've never used the bells and I wonder if it would confuse my older doodle to start using them now.  I'd rather try and teach him that he just goes when he's outside.  He's a smart dog.  Learned basic commands and his name within his first week home, so I know he's capable, I just feel like he chooses to do his own thing.

 

Here's the little stinker...

[Linda And Loo]

If this this peeing continues, I would consider getting him checked for a UTI. Sounds like he is not emptying his bladder and continues to have the urge to go pee. I would get him checked. Keep us posted! Good luck!

[Sabrina and Bentley]

I asked the vet about a UTI, but she didn't think he had one because he sleeps through the night with no problem.

[Amy N]

I'm no expert, as Archie is only four months old, but we haven't had an accident in three weeks, so something must be starting to click. I made the mistake of not crating him enough in the beginning because I, too, can work from home sometimes. I figured what was the harm in letting him sleep at my feet vs. the crate? Well, our trainer said it was too soon for that much freedom. If he got up to stretch, he also peed a few times with no notice--he just squatted and went. We started crating him more during the day, even when I was home, to help build his bladder. Maybe two hours at a time at three different times in the "work day." I put a big fleece blanket over his crate to make it darker. I even moved it into another room if the barking was too much. I was firm!

The trainer explained to me that his bladder acts like a muscle that needs to be trained. More time in the crate, means more time to train the bladder to expand, hold it for longer amounts of time, and resist the urge to pee the second it feels too full. This is all predicated on the fact that you have a crate small enough for your pup so that he can't pee on one side and lay on the other.

How much water you give him may also contribute to the issue. Our trainer recommended we only give Archie water when he eats. That helps us anticipate when he'll need to go. I give him maybe a half cup with his breakfast, lunch and dinner? I don't measure, but I'm definitely not filling the bowl. Then I set the timer and let him out 15 minutes after he finishes his water, and then again 15 minutes we get back inside. If he doesn't pee both times, he goes back into his crate. Typically that doesn't happen. And when I let him out, he's on a short leash and it's clear it's not a social call. He's outside to pee, not sniff and explore. After the two pees, I lengthen the time to 45 mins. We're now up to about 1 hour and 15 minutes and he's doing really well. After two hours of being given water, he can almost be inside two hours without me being paranoid about letting him out. 

Good luck and be tough and consistent. A few weeks of boot camp will pay dividends!

[Sabrina and Bentley]

That makes a lot of sense that having him in the crate is training his bladder. I always thought crates were just a place to lock up your pup which is why I never liked them, but I'll definitely try it for potty training.

[Amy N]

I saw another post just now where you mentioned Bentley hates his crate and you sort of have to shove him in. Archie was the same way for about two weeks (at Bentley's age). I just kept with it, gave him treats when he went in, put him in only for a treat and he could come back out. Now, I leave the crate open and he goes in on his own for cat naps during the day.

He'll come around. He's just realizing that being with you is tons more fun than the crate, but with a toy or two and a towel or blanket with his smell, it will become his den soon enough and he'll grow to tolerate, probably even like it.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Its very possible he's just one of those puppies that takes a little longer to get the concept of peeing outside. Believe me, I understand your frustration. My Oscar was one and I got to a point where I was pulling my hair out! Nothing like my Lucy, who potty trained (and bell trained) very fast. We made sure he didn't have a UTI, and once that possibility was eliminated we reduced his freedom dramatically. With having an older sister who only wanted to play with him, Oscar had been given a lot of time and freedom to play with Lucy. That was our undoing. I started tethering him to me when he was out of his crate, and giving him and Lucy set times to play where I could watch him closely. Things really seemed to turn around after that. Oscar wasn't reliably potty trained until 5 months old, so its still very early for Grumman.

[Melissa Bissell]

We crate train.  Our puppy is 17 weeks and after his first week home with us, so at about 9 weeks, has rarely had an accident.  At the beginning we used treats and lots of praise every time he did his business outside and we took him out A LOT.  At about 4 mos our puppy started to be able to hold it for over an hour.  Also, we initially only let him spend time in one room in the house, the kitchen, and recently have started to let him roam into the den, but he is supervised.  The rest of the house is pretty much off limits still.  Make sure to use a product like Nature's Miracle where he has had an accident in the house, otherwise he will go back to that spot over and over.  Keep at it.  2 weeks home is not very much time.  I would definitely use lots of treats and  praise every time he goes outside, until you feel pretty confident that he has stopped going in the house.

[Julie and Max]

I didn't crate train, I don't even have a crate as I'm not a fan. I did limit Max to a smaller area of the house until he could be trusted, he was kept in the kitchen with a baby gate, and when he was not gated he was leashed to me. Like others have said, some dogs just take longer, sounds like you're doing great taking him out and maybe try what Ro suggested leaving him out longer. I would also get him checked out to make sure there was no medical problem just to be on the safe side. 

He is absolutely adorable by the way. 

[Tracey & Spike]

I'm another one who doesn't crate. We do confine to the kitchen when we can't observe him non stop. With that said I too had an identical problem with Spike. He'd go out and pee and then come in the house and pee right away. On the floor. We too thought it would never end. We had him checked for a uti and nothing came of it. We then went the potty bell route. At the three month mark. It worked so well for us. I also taught him to pee on a "hurry hurry" command. He's five months old now almost six. Since the potty bell and the hurry hurry command the house accidents dropped dramatically. He even started shredding puppy pads. I think he got offended by them. We are proudly accident free for over three weeks. Im still giving treats like crazy and I still throw parties every time he does his thing outside. I think my neighbours are going to have me commited. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. You will get there!

[Lynda Kamrath]

I am going through the same problems with a rescue pup who is a year old.  He just doesn't seem to get it that the outdoors is where he needs to go potty.  However the other dogs know that when he goes outside they all get a treat and they always go outside with him.  I just made an appointment to have our rugs cleaned as soon as he is reliably house trained.  We had no problems with our other dogs, but we got them right from their breeder at 8 - 12 weeks old.  

[Lynda Kamrath]

We don't crate either (except in the car with a young puppy), and have been quite successful with a baby playpen for their bed when they are little.  They continue to use the playpen whenever they are in the house unsupervised until training is complete.  Then they can sleep wherever they want.  I just don't like the look of crates and we have a very small house.

[Sabrina and Bentley]

Ok you give me hope. Haha!