Everyone with a house trained dog tells me not to worry about my puppy and that he will get the concept eventually. Well I am currently taking him out very frequently down 2 flights of steps (getting in much cardio over the course of the day) and as long as I stay on top of that schedule he does fine. I know that in time I can start lengthening the time I take him out as his bladder goes stronger. But I don't see how he is going to make the connection that he needs to go outside if I am always the one initiating it. I don't know where to go from here after I he gets older and can hold it for 3-4 hours or more. How do I get him to notify me or initiate himself when he has to go instead of me doing all the thinking for him?
I actually think that your pup will be making the connection between peeing and doing it outdoors. It sounds like you are being very successful in creating that link, because it doesn't seem that there are many accidents. When he pees or poos, it is 99.99% outside, so the link is being made for him. If you want him to learn to tell you when to go then, when you think he is old enough to have the bladder strength to handle it, put him down on the floor inside the door (before you open it), pause a few seconds, and then open the door and let him go out on his own. Later you can get more sophisticated and even hang a little bell there which you get him to touch with his nose, rewarding this by opening the door and going out (don't reward it with a treat - reward it with going out the door). Over time your puppy will also be learning that the whole house is his house, and he will become motivated not to pee or poo in his house. So you have that working for you too. That will just happen naturally. The only other thing I'd say is to encourage you to look after yourself too, and don't risk hurting your back or slipping on the stairs carrying a heavy puppy. Before he gets too heavy I would be teaching him to walk slowly down and up the stairs on lead, by your side, with lots of pauses (and waiting at the top step). That will be fine on his joints, if it's done at a walk
I think it just happens. We did the same thing with Jessie and she was very quickly trained. Jessie developed her own cue, which was to bark at the back door. Which she rarely does now she can hold her wee for hours rather than minutes,so we've generally let her put before she needs to go. Are you giving him treats and praise when he goes? Jessie is a gready hound and as soon as she learnt there was food in it for her if she went outside, she got it! We also have a cue for going for a wee which means I can say it and generally she will try, which is handy when going out etc to know she has an empty bladder. I know you are probably feeling run ragged with all those stairs, but it is honestly not forever as he will soon be able to hold it longer. Good luck!
Nothing to add to the above !Sam just started letting us know by sitting against the door ( not something we trained) , and my other dog just sits and stares at us really intensely until we let her out . Caoimhes method can be quite freaky at times
Thanks so much for the encouragement. I am looking forward to the day he gets that the whole house is his crate. He's only had 2 boo boos so far and that was due to me not keeping an eagle eye on him. But I'm REALLY looking forward to the day that I don't HAVE to! Right now he's sleeping about 6 hours at night and hasn't soiled his crate once so I'll take it! Thanks for the concern on my back. I am keeping that in mind, along with the possibility of dropping him. He's only 9 weeks old so right now I carry him down 2 flights of stairs and let him walk up. I also don't let him walk far because I know he will take a few steps and wee. As he grows I will be teaching him to go down but for now I want to protect his joints as much as possible. Unfortunately the only access to the back yard is through our basement so hanging bells won't wort because we won't be able to hear them from the upper levels. So we will probably need to get a doggy door when the time comes.
Thank you! I use a cue word and give him tons of praise every time he goes. He is pretty good at taking care of business when we're out there but I know he would gladly do it inside if given the chance and that's what I'm struggling with. But everyone keeps saying he will make that connection in time so I will just keep pressing on with the routine and wait for that miracle to happen. How old was Jessie when she got it?
lol....how old were they when they got it? Do they keep sitting by the door if you're not around until you notice them?
Really, it's how long till YOU notice they need out. My theory is they have an over rated opinion of us as God and think we can read their minds. So they just think, PEE. Then mine would say, huh. Then HUH, Then HUH HUH. And when I looked at them THEN they'd go to the door. This was around 4 to 5 months, when they were able to hold on a bit. Dog's can't physically completely control themselves till around 6 months old, I've read, but it's a gradual process.
Mine also leans against our back door. It has a slightly dodgy catch and sometimes she is surprised when it mysteriously opens itself. Mostly it is a case of thought transference. If she REALLY REALLY needs to go NOW when we are in she does a kind of pace between the door and me/OH and a quiet whine. She does the quiet whine to get back in too. OH is trying to teach her to bark to get back in We have managed for 6 years without that.......
I remember thinking exactly the same as you. I was taking Luna out every half hour then I was crating her after half an hour and taking her out every hour, it felt like a full time job. But eventually it stretched out. She is now 16 weeks and much better able to hold herself. i do let her wander around outside more on her own now though which maybe you aren't able to do, but he will get it. Luna paces a bit if she needs to go and I guess it is up to me to recognise that, I should imagine he will go to the door when he begins to realise and that will be your cue.
And PS I haven't been eating great since Luna arrived for various reasons but amazingly I have kept my weight right down. Mainly because of all the taking to the toilet!
lol...yes I am doing those stairs 12-15 times a day so I am looking forward to shaping up my thighs and shedding a few pounds! How old is Luna now? She's adorable.
Sam is 5 months and he started reliably leaning against the door from around 12-13 weeks , we still have the occasional dribble by the door if no one happens to see him straight away ! Caoimhe with her evil staring technique has been using this since she was probably around 3-4 months , she's 11 now so has mastered her stare
Yes Sam does sit there for ages if There's no one in the kitchen , Caoimhe stalks us with the staring though
Luna is 16 1/2 weeks, and she is adorable,except when she get the crazies and puts holes in your new top . My son says "Ahhh she is getting green eyes!" She just gets over excited, but is is getting better. Slowly!
By no means is Duncan potty trained yet, especially because he had a UTI for 4 weeks that really set things back, but he can at least hold it and only go out about once every hour if he is out of the crate or once every 3-4 hours if he is in the crate and he holds it entirely through the night. He still has accidents especially because of the UTI and the accidents that happened during that time that set things back, but I remember thinking at 9-10 weeks how can I seriously go outside this many times per day everyday?!? haha I was going outside every 15-20 minutes and I was seriously exhausted. It does get better!!! Duncan is now 16 1/2-17 weeks and is a lot better than he was at 9-10 weeks. Things got a lot better around 13-14 weeks even though he had the urinary tract infection and also crate training during the day helped A LOT. Before I hadn't started my new job and I took 5 weeks off with him when we got him, so I didn't ever put him in the crate except for at night to sleep, but now I am working from home so he goes in there for a couple hours here and there during the day and it has helped potty train him A LOT and now he likes the crate and goes in there willingly, which I thought would never happen when I first got him haha
Thanks for the input! According to most people it seems like something magical happens around 14 weeks so I can't wait till that happens because I feel like I live outside! How long does Duncan sleep at night and has it changed much from 9 weeks till now? How often do you take him out now? Does he notify you or do you just take him out every 3-4 hours? My boy will last about 3 hours in his playpen but if he's out and about he can wee every hour. I still don't know how I'm gonna get him to see the whole house as his crate but I'm hoping in time he will! I didn't realize what a full time job this is!
He sleeps from about 730-830pm (crashes early most nights) till about 6am when my husbands alarm goes off and wakes him up. If he does have to go out and he is in the crate he makes it known with crying, but during the day it is only for 2.5-3 hours at a time and he can hold it that whole time. Otherwise he definitely does not really tell me he has to go. The UTI set things back as well because he felt like he constantly needed to go and we were going outside every 20-30 minutes still till that was cleared up recently. He 100% does not see the whole house as his crate yet haha he had a lot of accidents with the UTI and those I think made him think it's not that big of a deal going in the house, but we are working on it every day! Usually no accidents on weekdays since he's crated in my office while I work from home and he just sleeps or chews on his teething toys, but once the weekend comes and he is roaming the house freely we definitely still have accidents. It IS a full time job! I knew it would be hard but in the beginning I was shocked that I literally spent my entire day outside! It is still a tonnnn of work and different problems than before, but those first few weeks were the most work for me for sure
Have you considered confining him to one room at a time on the weekends instead of leaving him roam free? I heard that's a better way to approach it since it teaches them to see their crate expanding one room at a time and it's easier for you to keep an eye on him. Or at least that's what a lot of house training guides suggest. The only time I let him roam free is if I am able to watch him every second (and even THEN he has managed to catch me turning my head while he races to another room to squat! UGH!!!) This is a much slower and intense process than I ever imagined and I try not to think of how long it might take before he really "gets it". I have friends who say it only took a week or two. I don't see that happening with us by a LONG shot. LOL. I can't imagine having a UTI problem on TOP of the insane amount of times you have to take him out AND work. Taking care of him is a full time job so hats off to you for finding a way to so all this AND work from home!
