I have a 9 1/2 week old lab pup that has been home with us now for a week and a half. Potty training started out very well with the diligence of all family members taking turns to take him out to his designated area. After the first week with only a few mishaps in the house, which I understand are inevitable, it seems the last few days he has regressed with many accidents in the house. Is this type of regressing normal? Our routine with him has not changed, and he seems to be able to hold it for 2-3 hour periods when he is crated. I am also wondering if maybe he has some sort of bladder infection that is causing the issues. I was hoping for guidance from you fine folks before maybe getting him to see the vet. Thanks
Hi @RyanO I strongly suspect that he is not regressing because he was never at the stage where he was fully toilet trained. 9.5 weeks is too young. I would go back to extra-vigilant monitoring. When not supervised I think you should put him in a crate. Of course he has to be properly crate trained. Take the dog out regularly on a house line for toilet breaks. Reward the dog with a treat when he urinates. Take him to the same spot in the garden.
Thanks Michael. I am certainly not suggesting he was fully trained. My concern was that he had as many accidents in one day (with the same break schedule) as he had in the previous week and a half. I fully understand this is a process, it was just a little alarming at the rate the accidents happened.
During the day when they are awake, and drinking lots of water, and pre-occupied with exploring his new home, toys, and ever thing else, then the toilet breaks have to be very frequent. A 9.5 week old pup can hold his bladder for about 2 hours on average--bit less during the day and a bit more than that at night. The rule is one hour for each month of age. The dog needs to be in a crate when not supervised. It is entirely possible that the dog has a bladder infection, particularly if he is constantly urinating. So yes have him checked if you sense a problem. On the dog training front, the dog has to learn what you want. Some times you will progress, other times plateau, and even regress. Don't expect a linear upwards progression. The trick is to get him to want to go out in the garden by constantly reinforcing that behaviour with treats. If there is no bladder infection, then you may need to be a frequent visitor to the garden.
Puppies physically just can't hold their urine until they are older - often. They are able to control faeces and where those go, much earlier than they gain control over their bladders and have any 'say' about that. So until then, it's about you taking the pup out frequently and getting the bladder emptied outside before it even occurs to the pup to go inside...
