HELP needed!! Almost 9 months old and STILL not fully potty trained....
 

I've been dreading posting this, honestly, because I feel like such a failure admitting the struggles we've been having to get Bella PT'd. She WILL go outside. We finally taught her to go to the door when we say 'outside' and she walks down the steps by herself now, which is a huge step (no pun intended). But, the problem is, she won't come to us when she has to potty...we have to guess. We had her on a schedule for a while but now it's all out of whack again. She tends to go poop 3-4 times a day, twice in the morning, once in the afternoon and again at night. Tonight we took her outside not long after eating and she went, so that was good. But if she has to go....she'll go hide and do it in the house. She WON'T just come to us and bark....and we've tried to get her associated with doing that as much as possible, but it's NOT working. I feel like we're doing something wrong. :(

I want her to be potty trained, I'd love to have her on a schedule and get her to know that pottying inside is NOT an option. We used to put puppy pads down, but she would chew them to pieces and eat them/play with them all the time so that's out. Any suggestions? Does it normally take this long to potty train? Is it unheard of to still be a year old and not potty trained? I feel like we're not doing something right.

It can take a long time. It just depends on the dog, and your ability to communicate with her.

If what you are doing isn't working then try something different. She is not being naughty, she just doesn't understand.

There are many threads on this subject, and many different methods listed. Start trying different ones.

One thing they will ALL say however, is not to give her the run of the house. Keep her confined to a hard floor such as the kitchen, or leash her to yourself. But do not let her run. You need to be able to correct her when she is in the act, not after the fact.

Patience and praise are the key words.

good luck

Potty training is most definitely frustrating!!! Most folks here will tell you that it took a LONG time, and I'm sure there are still accidents.

Sissy will be year old next week and is mostly trained. Her only signal to go outside to pee is to sit quietly and look at me for about 30 seconds. If I don't see her, she will go wherever. Most times when she needs to poop, she will jump at me and bite me. Sometimes, no signal there. Since she has mostly been going outside for 3 months now, she will shred a pad if I put it down!

The only advice I can give is have patience!! At least the accidents are small and fairly easy to clean.

What about trying those poochie bells that everyone talks about? I have Oscar pee pad trained because I live in an apartment, but I think the idea is that these bells hang on or by your door and before you take them out, you ring the bells. Everytime you go to take the puppy outside or let them out, you ring the bell first - the dog then associates the bells with being let outside to potty. Just keep working at her, she'll figure it out - it takes a lot of praise and a lot of patience.

Carrie, you're not a failure! Potty training can take a loooong time. It's not your fault. Here are a couple of thoughts for you.

I personally love what the others call "poochie bells". I just use a couple of jingle bells suspended from the door knob of the door that the dog uses to go outside. However, you need to know the downside and that is that they'll frequently ring the bell just because they want to go outside and play. Could be a problem for you in an apartment.

If she already understands "outside" and goes to the door, watch her like a hawk. I think it's possible that she will soon (if she hasn't already) start going to the door to let you know that she needs out. I've had dogs who would come "tell" me that wanted out, but I've had others who would just go to the door.

As far as the hiding to potty inside, be sure that you are NOT reprimanding her for going inside. She learns that it's dangerous to potty around you. Therefore, she wants to hide from you when she goes. If you catch her in the act, say no and rush her outside to finish. If you find a "mistake" after it happens, say nothing, but vow to watch her more closely!

Potty training can take so long sometimes. There is soooo much advice on this forum about just that. I would do a search on this forum and read all the advice that has been offered and pick what will work best for you. Good luck!!!:)

Thank you so much for saying that about not being a failure.....I know that it can take a long time, I just feel bad that we're not doing the 'right' thing for HER....that's going to help her learn, that's all.

I will try the poochie bells! I had read the different threads about training and just wanted to be sure that we personally weren't doing something wrong. We NEVER reprimand her for going in the house, never have, because I read here actually that that was wrong. So whenever she goes we just clean it up and go about our business. But she'll still run from us and go into the hallway and go potty. There have been a couple times she's peed right in front of us.....I stopped her midway, told her no in a firm voice and took her outside.

Thank you all so much for your posts, it felt better to post about it and get it out.....I just wanna do extremely RIGHT by her. She loves it outside, but I think she views it as her big playground and that's why, lol. It's hard to keep her from eating everything in sight rather than going potty!

You aren't a failure! Muffin was very difficult to housetrain. Kacee was easy. The difference? I honestly think it was the poochie bells and the cheese!:D

I started Kacee off when she was about three months old if I remember correctly. I'd take her to the door and take her front paws and reach up and we'd ring the bells together and at the same time I'd ask her if she wanted to go potty. She caught on to ringing them just like that! Very quick. And, yes, she rang them all of the time for awhile. It was fun for her, you know? Besides, she has always (still does) loved to go outside. Now she just rings them if she needs to potty or just wants to go out for awhile.

After she potties, I always say, "Good girl!" and I get really excited. Then I say, "Good girls get cheese." :D And, guess what? Now she won't come in until I say, "Good girls get cheese." :D :D :D She is totally housetrained. No accidents.

Go to the following site and click on "Video Example" in the column at the left and watch it.

http://www.poochie-pets.net/

Just be patient - it definitely takes awhile. Trying to keep to a schedule is helpful. Jaxon is 10 months and we're still working on the training. He's getting better at going outside and I'm working on the poochie bells training. Sometimes he's just too polite and doesn't ask, but luckily he'll go and use puppy pads 99% of the time.

Ugh, I agree with all these posts!! I have an 8 month old yorkie who is very smart and has known to go to the door for a long long time now, but if you don't get her outside when she is at the door she will have an accident at the front door. I'm always curious as to when they learn that they need to hold it for little while, but I guess when you gotta go you gotta go. I would say Em is 99% trained, maybe an accident every 2 weeks, and it's only a poo-poo accident. I find that I have to take her out when I am home about every 2 hours to pee, which isn't too bad but she hasn't had a pee-pee accident in a very long time.
I am getting a little nervous though because I am moving into a new apartment Aug. 12th which is going to throw her off, plus my roommate has a little yorkie too. Emmy has been use to being an only dog since I have had her, but plays well with others. Hopefully, she will be 100% trained soon enough!!
I know how frustrating it is, we are all in the same boat, but one day I think they will catch on fully!!

-Ashley & Emmy:aimeeyork

Don't fret, I have a Japanese Chin only a few accidents a week for two months now at 2.9 yrs. old. I'm amazed he's doing so well, he's not particularly bright but very sweet. My late Yorkie, Pixie, was the only Yorkie I owned that was a breeze to housebreak. They're all different.
Jessica

My dog is 7 months old. He was doing great until I got him fixed last week. We were letting him walk around the house and he did great. Now is a different story........it seems that he is intentionally doing it where ever he wants. :eek: When he is in his kennel, he lifts his leg & does it on the kitchen floor. I don't know what to do:confused:

Start over. Take him outside every few minutes. Praise and treat heavily when he is successful. Keep him contained in a safe area when you can't watch him. Otherwise, watch him like a hawk. When he starts to go inappropriately, say "no!" and rush him outside to finish. Ignore accidents except vowing to watch him more closely.

I think he'll relearn the right way to potty quickly with some diligence on your part!

I guess I don't feel so bad with Piper. She is only 19 weeks, we've had her for 6 weeks now. She goes 90% on the potty pads, but the 10% she doesn't, she knows she did wrong. She runs from me & hides. When she does potty on the potty pads, she lets me know by barking to get her treat. She is so smart, I think having Misha (her big sissy) has helped with training.