Potty training help?!

[snoopygal]

I've grown up with dogs and have had several of my own. I adopted a puppy (small mutt about 10 lbs) a couple months ago, she's now 7 months old. i am having the hardest time potty training her! I've never had this problem before. She gives absolutely no warning before peeing. No sniffing etc just jumps up from a nap, leaps onto the floor and pees. Right in front of me! She has never pooped inside. This makes me think that she knows to go outside. When I got her, I took her to the vet and she had a uti, and some other infections, but has since been cleared.

I have her on a schedule with her eating/taking her outside and use positive reinforcement. I only get on to her if I catch her in the act. It just seems like she's not progressing. I've never had a puppy that gave no warnings and didn't seem to get it. Any ideas?

[Birdie]

Kennel train.

 

Keep her in a smaller space for now, as she's less likely to mess in "her" area. When she wakes up from her nap, pick her up and take her outside for a pee. Then slowly, by using gates/cages increase her area, eventually weaning her off when she's good and allowing her to roam the house, but keeping her napping in her kennel for now. If she has an accident, go back to a smaller space.

 

She's also young and should grow out of it, but the same routine is key. And when she does pee outside its the biggest, greatest feat in the world. Loooots of praise.

[Moontiger]

I think step one is to talk to your vet for advice.

[Snny]

I am raising a 4 month old puppy who is 7 lbs, and there have been NO accidents. Has been weened to hold his bladder up to 3.5 hours so far.

 

Anytime a dog wakes up from a lengthy nap... Especially a puppy... It's bathroom time. A 10lb dog has a tiny bladder, and a UTI will mess up their routine.

 

You need to invest in a crate that is the size for your dog- enough to stand up and lay down with no extra space. It is a tool to potty train the dog. Dogs will not urinate inside their crate unless they were left in it for an extremely long time; putting them in a small room like a bathroom gives them space to urinate in a corner and lay on the other side. When the dog is taken out of the crate, it's time to go potty-immediately take the dog outside. Most of the time the dog is crated when you are away. She will learn to associate the antecedent of you coming home as a signal for her to go outside and potty- and then it's time to give her free reign of the house.

 

And don't be afraid to discipline the dog for misbehavior. Positive reinforcement is effective, but it doesn't mean you should coddle the dog after it did something wrong. You need to be a leader and teach BOTH positive and negative consequences. Kids get disciplined for bad behavior, and dog are no exception to this- dog are smart enough to know what bad behavior is since they are extremely social creatures. A dog needs to learn which behaviors are appropriate and which are unacceptable. Show them the mess, tell the dog a firm "Bad dog" and a flick on the muzzle will teach the dog it's bad behavior.

[snoopygal]

Thank you for the replies. She is in a kennel when I'm not home, and she does fine in there, no accidents. When I say napping, I mean on my lap, and when she wakes up, I do take her out immediately, but she's fast! Sometimes it's within 5 seconds that she's literally leaped off of me and peeing. I don't always move that fast! When this happens, I do get on to her. I have absolutely no problem disciplining her. Yes, the uti really messed with her, for a while she was peeing around 15 times in an hour. It was pretty bad. We've been back to the vet twice and she's been cleared of any lingering infections. I did talk to my vet, they said because of the multiple infections she had and the medications, she may not have been able to help it. She may not have known that she needed to until she was doing it. So, they said we were back at square one as far as training after the infection was gone. Anyway, I have pther adult dogs that are the same size raised from 8 was old that didn't have so much trouble if it is just a matter of having a small bladder. I have quite a bit of experience with dogs, and have worked for a vet, I've just never encountered one so stubborn about it, and just not seeming to get it

[Snny]

When I say napping, I mean on my lap, and when she wakes up, I do take her out immediately, but she's fast!

Don't let her sleep on you, or on your bed or furniture. If she needs to sleep, she goes inside her crate. Have the crate near the door so she can exit once she gets out of the crate.

 

Anyway, I have pther adult dogs that are the same size raised from 8 was old that didn't have so much trouble if it is just a matter of having a small bladder.

Every dog you get will be different than the previous, no matter the breed or size.It's all about how you accommodate to meet their needs and gradually shape their behavior.