How old was your dog when FINALLY house broken?

[abock]

I am going crazy. I have a 6.5 month girl who was pee pad trained from her breeder. Brought her home at 16 weeks, and she began ripping up the pee pads & eating her poop. Bought the holder for the pads and it did no good. Used FOR-Bid on the poop issue, and that seemed to take care of it. So, I finally resorted to taking her outside to do her business. She will not go if I am looking at her and she will not go on a leash. She only goes if I let her loose in the back yard and of course, then I cannot praise her when she does good, because I am inside or too far away. I cannot stay outside with her for the 20 min. it takes her to go because I have small children who are left alone in the house when I take the dog out. I am wishing I never got the dog and really need some encouragement. I have her on a feed schedule & she is crate trained. Still, she will go outside for up to 30min. and then come right in and poop in the hallway!!! I am furious! I don't know what to do now, other than have her crated the entire day and only let her out for brief play sessions and for her pee/poopp schedule. OH...did I mention she will pee & poop in the crate also! I didn't think a smaller crate than 13x24 was very humane, but she still thinks it is too big I guess! Agh!!! I have used the book "How to Housebreak your dog in 7 days." but it doesn't seem to work on this dog. Please someone give me a ray of hope...I am seriously thinking of giving this dog up. It has been 2.5 months of frustration since I've had her.

[newproudmom]

charlie is 6 months and we are still in the process of potty training..he is pretty good now however we are still having a few accidents inside the house. I can't wait until he is fully potty train. Charlie has been going inside his crate as well. I know what you are going through. When I first got charlie it was really frustrating for me to potty train him. My husband and his parents were all against me and telling me how bad of a job i am doing..I got so fed up with them so I decided to crate train him. I felt bad letting him stay in the crate all day except for potty time but it works. Within 2 wks he learn however we are still working on him letting me know he needs to go. It is hard. Please don't give up. Keep trying eventually she will catch on like charlie.

[yorkiekist]

Amy was about 7 months old and Samantha was 3 years old. She just didnt want to "leave the action"!!LOL Now ask me how many years it took her to not do her business OFF the porch!!








I moved after about 2 years and didnt have a porch at my new place.

[wemple2]

I lucked out with Winston, he learned to go potty outside quickly, like the day we brought him home...he was 8 weeks old. He was amazingly easy to train. But I have to give the credit to a local dog trainer, she told me "when you bring him home, do not bring him in the house, IMMEDIATELY take him outside and keep him outside with you until he goes potty" Plenty of praise, then and only then can you let his paws touch your floors. It worked for me!

[Dara311]

Fiona is my first puppy that I have owned, and I really lucked out with her. I got her when she was 3.5 months old since the breeder wasn't sure if she was going to keep her or not, and by 4 months she was house broken. When I first got her she had 2 accidents, both on hardwood floors. I have her on command now, so when she needs to go out she will stand by the door and bark at you.

[Amanda7]

A dog trainer told me once that puppies cannot control their bodily functions until 6 mos. of age. I did see a difference in both my males at 6 mos., they seemed to slowly 'get it'. By 9 months they were 90% trained, and by 12 months I was able to trust them.

Potty training yorkies can be a slow process. It's frustrating and exhausting. But it CAN be done!

[Karrie]

Potty training is about giving the dog your complete attention - which can be difficult if you have a young family - as you mentioned. I feel for you, I really do. Here's my suggestions - I hope they help you:

I don't know if you work or not - but either way, the dog should have a small area to call her own (I use a 4x4 ex pen in the basement with a small piece of vinyl underneath it) - include a crate, small throw rug (or blanket), water and safe toys. This area gives both you and the dog a break from any and all rules. Let her pee, chew pee pads and do what ever she wants in there guilt free (excpet eat poop - but you have that under control now - yay!). Expect to clean the area daily - and swap out the rug with a clean one daily. It takes 5 minutes to clean and gives you back your sanity. Eventualy, as the dog learns bladder control, she will not soil her area - but we're not there yet, so don't sweat it.

When she's not in her small area, she should be in potty training mode - which means all attention on the dog. So, I suggest doing the potty training when the kids are either napping or being supervised by someone else - so that someone is watching and training the dog. Her area in the house should be small - so block off the family room, lay down some blankets (to swap out as they are soiled - to save the carpet and to remove the odor). Don't allow the puppy to run down the hallway or find quiet places. If at any time, the dog can't be supervised while in potty training mode, then put her in her crate. The golden rule is don't try to do two things at once.

Going outside with the puppy is important so that you 1) know she went outside and 2) so you can mark the good behavior. And while your at it, get a service bell. When you scoop up the dog as she has an accident, take her paw, hit the bell and say "outside".

Some undivided attention right now will give you years of stress free enjoyment. Bailey was trained in 2 mos - reliable in 4 mos. It wasn't easy trying to live my life and potty train - but it was sooooo worth it!!

Good luck!!

[AbbysMom08]

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[Verna]

I got lucky with Maximus. He was puppy pad trained 2 days from bringing him home and at 6 months, he was outside trained.

[mandy4]

So i had this whole thing typed up and then got kicked offline....
What I had was basically...you have to watch them constantly. All the time, every minute.
It took about 2 weeks for me to get Bella trained (She is 15 weeks old)and I was exhausted and had no life because I was following my puppy around all day. But now its been over a week and it is wonderful. I still make sure I know where she is and watch her, but not like I did. She now knows where to go and waits by the back door to be let out. She goes right away and is ready to come back in.

I am by no means an expert on this, but I do know its like potty training a child (I have 4 skin kids) Consistency is the key.

I never use treats just lots of praise.

[AbbysMom08]

Sorry about the last post. I must have been half asleep
I got my Abby when she was 12 weeks old and the breeder did NO training what so ever!!
She is 6 and 1/2 months old. We have to watch her always, as she does , in her own way, let us know when she needs to go potty. I take her out on a leash and sometimes she goes right away and sometimes I'm out there with her for a good 20 minutes or more and when it's below zero out, it isn't fun. But................it needs to be done. She still messes in her crate at night. Sometimes I can get her out in the morning before she does but most times not. I just wish she could hold it longer at night.
Some days it's one step forward and one step back
We will get there, eventually.........I hope

[Fashionlady]

Sophie was potty train a 4 months old. i put her pads were she had pissed before and i moved them closer to the door until they were at the back door. that worked for me. It just takes time. and all dogs are different just like kids. i had a back room with tile floor and pocket door i could keep her in. Moving the pads worked because dog go back to the same places to go potty. she still uses the pads when we are gone for a long time she is only 6 1/2 pds she can't hold it 8 hrs about 6 is her tops. hope this helps. you can as look in to a trainer if you don't have the time with the little ones.

[Karrie]

One other tip - in the morning, pick up the puppy and take directly outside until fully trained. Don't let their little feet hit the carpet. Its easy for them to get side tracked on the way outside.

Now that Bailey is fully potty trained - she can take herself to the door in the morning, but I always to let her go first, then me.

[Britster]

Jackson is about 4 months old and he is doing fairly well. We have the back area of the house gated off for him (it's sort of like an in-law suite) and it's all tile floor. He hardly ever goes when he's back here and he will now wait at the door to go. However, the minute he's on the other side of the house, he will sneak off and go somewhere. He's so fast and sneaky. I just constantly let him outside and leave no room for accidents. Praise him, etc. I'm not sure what to tell you. It's tough. But I know it will get better.

[yogini75]

Nobu is almost 3 and is just NOW finally starting to hold it till he goes out or going on the pee pee pad all the time. Be patient...they are stubborn and have tiny bladders.