Bo is 5 months old and I think he's finally "getting" potty training!! He hasn't had an accident in several days. I still take him out about every 1 1/2 - 2 hours, sometimes sooner if he's had a lot of water. I realize he's still got a very small bladder. A couple weeks ago he started coming to me and jumping up to get my attention. I'd ask if he wanted to go out (sometimes it's for water if his dish is empty) and he actually barks and gets excited! Once outside, I try my best to keep him from getting distracted and continually remind him "Bo, potty!". When he pottys, I immediately take him back inside and reward him. I know a good part of this has come with maturity. I don't expect him to be accident free now, especially if I'm occupied with something and he doesn't try hard enough to tell me he needs to go, but I feel like we've made major progress. I'm so proud of the little guy. I feel like the turning point came when we started really restricting where he could be in the house. I bought a baby gate that extended to fit my hallway to my bedrooms (it took about a month to find one that extends and swings and doesn't look like crap!). And for about 2 weeks I "fenced off" the dining room with some 2 foot tall lattice panels. I put his cage in there and when we couldn't keep a close eye on him, he was in there. Room to play but still restricted. He could no longer sneak off to the bedrooms to potty and I had a better feel for when he started circling cause I could always see him. I'm posting this to encourage those of you who have been going through this as well. Keep working at it. Restrict your pup's freedom. And be consistent.
