I feel like we're failing at potty training our puppy

[Anonymous]

We've had him for almost a month and he's now about 12 weeks old. I don't feel like we're making any training progress...he pees in his crate multiple times per day, even though we take him out. Each time we take him out, he pees (poops about 2-3 times per day). We'll come back in, and he'll pee in his crate or on the floor within 45 minutes. We take him out very often and feed on a schedule - leave water out all day as I read dogs should have access to water all day. We watch when he drinks and take him out about 15 mins after, yet he still pees inside. We reward with lots of love and treats when he pottys outside. When he pottys inside, he gets a firm "no pee pee inside" and no treats. What are we doing wrong? I'm just starting to get frustrated because I'm getting tired of washing his bedding and washing him (he smells like pee when he pees in his crate) multiple times per day. I know he's still young and I know it'll take months to get this accomplished, but I just feel like we're moving backwards instead of forward. I've read online that 12 week puppies should be able to hold it for 2-4 hours, but I feel like our puppy just isn't even attempting to hold it - he just goes wherever and whenever. Any advice?

[Anonymous]

What breed is the dog?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What breed is the dog?

Sorry, should've added this. He's a Lhasa Apso / Shih Tzu mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What breed is the dog?

Sorry, should've added this. He's a Lhasa Apso / Shih Tzu mix.

Look up the breed. We inherited a pekingese that has accidents all the time unless she goes out every 4 hours. Makes it through the night in the crate fine though.

I read that her breed is very difficult to train. Have never had this problem before and have had a half dozen dogs in my life.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I'll also add that we use the enzyme cleaner to make sure the urine smells are gone in the crate/around the crate and wash the bedding with the enzyme cleaner followed by a hot, deep wash run in the washing machine with detergent and bleach. Hoping that is getting the urine smell out so he can't sense it (we can't obviously but I know it's different for pups).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What breed is the dog?

Sorry, should've added this. He's a Lhasa Apso / Shih Tzu mix.

Look up the breed. We inherited a pekingese that has accidents all the time unless she goes out every 4 hours. Makes it through the night in the crate fine though.

I read that her breed is very difficult to train. Have never had this problem before and have had a half dozen dogs in my life.

OP here. Yep, I've read that both Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso breeds are difficult to train as well. I was glad we got him early so we could start off on a good foot, but I guess his innate difficulty in training is winning

[Anonymous]

Smaller breeds can take longer to completely housetrain.

I would put away that crate for now. If you have another or can borrow another, try to use a different one. It’s become a habit in the current one.

Have you tried to potty pad train? It’s not ideal, but works for smaller dogs that need to go more frequently. You say he pees or poops again after 45 minutes, but that may be when he needs to go again.

Also, he may be allergic to something in the dog food. Maybe slowly tryout a different brand and meat.

[Anonymous]

You might give up on the bedding and just line the crate with a disposable puppy pad until you get over the hump. Less to clean up.

Also, watch for tells that the puppy needs to go. Try to take her out a bit after she eats or drinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might give up on the bedding and just line the crate with a disposable puppy pad until you get over the hump. Less to clean up.

Also, watch for tells that the puppy needs to go. Try to take her out a bit after she eats or drinks.

OP here. Great advice and I actually started this today! He's just been messing up the pad by kicking it around, so the pee still ended up on the opposite side of the pad/on the crate floor, but it was easier to clean up than having to run the washing machine! Will keep taking him out after he eats/drinks...maybe sooner than 15 mins. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Smaller breeds can take longer to completely housetrain.

I would put away that crate for now. If you have another or can borrow another, try to use a different one. It’s become a habit in the current one.

Have you tried to potty pad train? It’s not ideal, but works for smaller dogs that need to go more frequently. You say he pees or poops again after 45 minutes, but that may be when he needs to go again.

Also, he may be allergic to something in the dog food. Maybe slowly tryout a different brand and meat.

Really good idea on changing crates...I thought about pad training but read online and was told by the vet that it can be confusing to them to be allowed to go inside on a pad but also be trained to pee/poop outside. So we've been trying to stick to outside only. Will look into the allergies. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might give up on the bedding and just line the crate with a disposable puppy pad until you get over the hump. Less to clean up.

Also, watch for tells that the puppy needs to go. Try to take her out a bit after she eats or drinks.

OP I'm the desperate first-time puppy mom from the other thread so obviously take my advice with many many grains of salt, but the 3 times my puppy has peed inside in her first days at home she has done the exact same tell.

I read in a book that if the dog starts sniffing around on the floor, especially if it stops what it was doing like playing and moves to sniffing, she's about to pee. Sure enough, that's exactly what she does. She particularly starts walking the perimeter of her pen sniffing, looking for somewhere "away" from her main floor area to pee.

I watched the tell but didn't catch the actual pee moment the first two times. On the third, I swooped her up so quickly that she hadn't even stopped and pee got all over. But she hasn't done it since (in 48 hours so I know not a huge victory).

I know this doesn't help for the crate part though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might give up on the bedding and just line the crate with a disposable puppy pad until you get over the hump. Less to clean up.

Also, watch for tells that the puppy needs to go. Try to take her out a bit after she eats or drinks.

OP here. Great advice and I actually started this today! He's just been messing up the pad by kicking it around, so the pee still ended up on the opposite side of the pad/on the crate floor, but it was easier to clean up than having to run the washing machine! Will keep taking him out after he eats/drinks...maybe sooner than 15 mins. Thanks!

DP responding.

Is the crate the right size?

It's said if the crate is too big for a puppy they will pee in the opposite corner from where they sleep.

[Anonymous]

How big is the crate? You may need a really small one.

Make sure there is a schedule. Come out of crate, right outside. Wake up, right outside.

Also get some good liver treats and only use them for when the pup goes to the bathroom outside. The minute done peeing give that treat. I also like to give a verbal command like "go potty" so they learn that along with bathroom and the good treat.

[Anonymous]

Another emphasizing the size of the crate. Did your crate come with a divider that you can insert to make the crate smaller? Usually the black metal crates come with one. If I’m recalling correctly, you should insert the divider so that the puppy has enough room to lie down and just enough to turn around. Obviously you increase the size as they grow and become more reliable in holding urine until they have the entire crate and the divider is removed.

[Anonymous]

Really important that if you catch them having the accident you pick them up mid-pee and take them outside to finish.

I also kept our puppy (now 10 months) on a leash attached to me and watched for any sign to go outside. I also did every 2 hours like clockwork. I downloaded an app that tracked his pees, poops and accidents and it would send me reminders base on past behavior when a pee was expected.

Good luck.