How long until your puppy was potty trained?

[Kate]

My puppy is almost 12 weeks and We are still having accidents everyday. She is crated during the day with no accidents. In the evening we take her out several times. It seems like when we take her out she will either pee or just play and then comes back in and poops.

I know every puppy is different but any tips? How long did it take before your dog was fully potty trained?

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Housebreaking doesn't happen overnight.  Most pups are housebroken between 5-6 months.  Rule of thumb is 30 days without an accident, and you can consider your pup housebroken.  LOL...Can't tell you how many times we reset that clock!

  I think the biggest mistake puppy owners make is waiting for the pup to alert them they need out.  At this point, they barely know themselves until it is too late.  It's like asking a 1 yr old toddler to tell you they need the bathroom.  Take your pup out every 45 minutes to an hr., after he eats, after he wakes up, after he has had a rigorous play session.  If your not already, leash him outdoors to help prevent the "play mode" kicking in.  You need to have control.  And it he is coming in and pooping, that means you are not staying out long enough.  Once he does go, praise the hell out of him and bring him in.

  You may want to try and incorporate potty training bells.  They are a set of bells that hang from the door you got out of all the time.  As you go out, have him hit the bells with his nose or paw.  We did both and to this day, Enzo uses one or the other to alert us she needs out.  She picked up on the bells very quickly, but it was at around 51/2 months that I considered fully housebroken.  Even then, if I knew she had not be out in awhile, I brought her out to "go".  Good luck!  Remember....patience and consistency is key!

[Kelly & Zoe]

If your puppy is pooping in the same place indoors, you may want to scrub it really hard with Nature Miracle or cover the spot completely.

Zoe was 5 months before bully potty trained (as Ro said, no accidents in the house in 30 days).

Good Luck!  Stay consistent and patient!

[Amy and Annabelle]

The breeder had already started the potty training when we brought her home at 10 weeks. By 12 weeks she was doing really well and having maybe 1 accident a week. She has been accident free since about 15 weeks. I used the piddle pads in her crate at night but after the first week she really didn't need them anymore. So while she was a breeze to potty train, her obedience training is a work in progress.

[Shoney & Ruby]

We lucked out. We had a crazy situation when we brought Ruby home at 8 weeks [see my blog]. She spent her first 4 nights with my us at my father--in-law's, in assisted living, while he was dying. Then we drove with her from Colorado to California, stayed in hotels along the way and while there, and on the way back for 10 days. She has never had an accident. When she has to go she lets out a little whimper and stands by the door, no matter what that door is--hotel room or house. She doesn't lie, when she says she has to go, she has to go. She gets up once a night at around 12 midnight and goes out, then sleeps until we get up around 6. When we first got her she needed to go out 2-3 times a night but that quickly changed.

We never used newspaper, piddle pads or anything like that or bells. We did keep her confined to the kitchen for the first few weeks and expanded her territory to kitchen and dining room now--just so we could keep a close eye on her.

Before we got her I was afraid that potty training would be much harder--but no accidents ever. She's 12 weeks now and still does a great job. We may never be able to get another dog because we are spoiled. We are with her a lot and pay close attention to her cues [which really are one little whimper and stand by the door]. Are we just lucky? Or did she know we really needed a break...

Good luck with your pretty doodle.

[Paige and Leo]

Leo got the hang of house training around 5/6 months.  He was on his way by 4 months he had the idea but had an accident a few times. Now by 8 months he is fully potty trained.  I took him out a lot at the start.  About every 30 min.  Then moved to longer as he got older. He uses the bell to go out.  Each dog is different.  We know Leo's sister and she was much quicker in the process.  She could hold it longer and 30 min was not necessary for her at the start.  12 weeks is still young give it a month or two and see what a difference it makes.

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

I'm probably going to jinx myself by putting this in print. :D
We have had Gracie for going on 3 weeks now. She's just a bit over 10 weeks now.
I'm trying to be super proactive (maybe a bit too much). We were taking her out as soon as she was up and out of the crate. Then watching the clock every 15 min or so. We have been pretty successful with such a strict schedule that she has been alerting us with a whine at the door. The first time she did so on her own was when I was giving her a bit more time in the house w/o being super strict by the clock. I was so excited about that! She has done it a few more times since.
She has had a few accidents with potty (not this past week though) but no poos. We take her out as soon as she eats and then watch her like a hawk if she didn't poo right away. There are definite signs with her - she quits playing and starts whining. It's time to go!
Now, we do have a long house and the door we have to get through is on the other side. But, then we have to walk through the garage. So, for the first few weeks we carried her out - and then started giving her more freedom. I still carry her out after being in the crate all night. One time she did pee in there (after a round of vaccinations) and was peeing on me out the door. Ha. Yeah. Good times!
I guess the other thing we do is keep her confined to one room - whichever one we are in and if we can't keep an eye on her she goes to her crate.
So, now I've been a bit more relaxed (and might pay for it). Lol.
Oh and if she ever goes for her second drink of water during free time - I feel it's a good time to take her out.
She doesn't go as soon as we are out like she did in the beginning, but she knows we are out there for business.
If by chance she doesn't do anything after 5 min - crate for 15.
She's also on a schedule with food. If she doesn't eat it all - it gets put away until the next feeding time. This has worked really well (except the first few days I did bend the rules because the breeder had her eating at will).
We also use potty words as soon as the flow starts and praise her when she's done. I've tried treats out there too - but she doesn't really need them with all the praise I give. Anyway, I hope some of this helps. I have researched a lot because I don't want to clean up the messes. ;)
Oh and we try to take her for a good walk after she poos. I read it will teach them they still get to haven fun after toileting and not have to go right back in. Believe me we've had some really cold days and that walk might just be around our house, but she gets a walk every day.

[Keri]

Jackson made huge progress right around 12 weeks. Someone here suggested we introduce one room at a time, which really seemed to help. He's 16 weeks now and hasn't had an accident in almost a month. I feel like it just clicked overnight, so hopefully that will be the case for you!

[Holly Elliott]

My Findlay is a little over 4 months and he is doing really well. But, I keep thinking it is me that is so well trained. I take him out often and try to keep him in the same area with me so I won't miss the signs it is time to go back out. We are at the 10 day mark today, so come on 20 more days. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Holly: you won't be sorry! Well trained or not, ( you or Findlay), the end result will be a great, well trained and house broken puppy! Great job! Come on 20 days! And not too worry...if you must start over....it will mean you guys are just normal! Good luck!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I say it was perfected by the end of 4 months- 16-17 weeks.  It becomes less and less until it is not even a memory anymore.  We were vigilant, at least after meals, to go out exactly 4-5 minutes after eating. 

Leave an area with some poop in the same spot in the yard. Dont clean it up.  Two or three will work. Establish a scent. Your pup will get it   :)

We did have a period of problems when he had parasites and we did not know.  We could not figure out why the training was slipping.  Be sure to get another stool sample and take it to your vet just in case. 

But do leave an area where the puppy knows, because there is already poo in that area, that it is okay to go there. 

[Theresa and Doodle Dagny]

Yes!  Not cleaning up for a bit is key!  My dood took a bit longer to potty train.  I'd say she was at least 16 weeks before she was potty trained.  It took her a long time to catch on to the bells, but now at 5 months she completely potty trained.  AND she loves those bells!  All great advice here :)