Improving Potty Training

**iammike** · 11-26-2011, 07:16 AM

In the Kennel Charlie does great and has gone 6 hours but usually never goes more than 4 between bathroom breaks and those are only when I'm working or sleeping.

A few days ago it seemed to click with him not only that going outside is good but that going in the right place outside is better! Now if he needs to go badly, he'll run down the stairs in order to get to the right place faster.

Unfortunately, one area I have seen no improvement on is the time between potty when not in kennel. If I don't take him out hourly he's likely to have an accident inside. This has been the case for some time now and doesn't seem to be improving.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there something specific I need to be doing so he treats the apartment more like his kennel?

The questions keep on coming. lol First time puppy owner in your midst.

**HersheyK's Dad** · 11-26-2011, 07:26 AM

How old is the dog?

**iammike** · 11-26-2011, 07:31 AM

Almost 4.5 months.

**Beerfish** · 11-28-2011, 12:33 PM

Nice looking pup! How often do you feed him, how often does he go to his water bowl for a drink?

**felicity62** · 11-28-2011, 03:54 PM

i cant advise but your pup is gorgeous! if he continues i would ask for a vetinary opinion in case there is a medical reason for it

**marmstr** · 11-28-2011, 08:20 PM

If your apartment is carpeted and he's had accidents on the carpet it's going to be really difficult to remove all trace of the scent. Make sure you're getting every trace of the 'accident' cleaned up each time. Nature's Miracle is your best friend! At 5-6 months, we found that Artemis was still having accidents on one particular rug near our back door. DH and kids told me they were 'cleaning up' but it turns out they weren't soaking the spot and the hard surface floor under it with Nature's Miracle. Also she had a few accidents on a very large bean bag chair (about 5 ft diameter). Finally DH and DS took the cover off (it doesn't have an internal cover) collected all the filling and put the cover in the washer with oxyclean and some Nature's Miracle. Since then we've had no accidents...apparently she was finding the spots where she'd been before even though we thought they were completely cleaned up.

She also had a UTI at around 5 months that set us back a little on house breaking. She just had to go too often.

**tammyhuffman** · 11-28-2011, 09:01 PM

My puppy just turned 4 mos on the 18th and he goes from 9/10 PM until 5:30 AM in his crate without a potty break. During the day it depends on how much he is drinking, but every 2 or 3 hours is about normal. If he is playing really hard with Emma and drinking a lot of water it can be a bit more often. The advice above about making sure the accidents are thoroughly cleaned up is really important. If you have wall to wall carpet with padding this may be difficult as some of the urine may be in the sub-flooring. If you have made sure you cleaned all accidents thoroughly I would definitely take the puppy for a check at the vets just to be sure all is ok. It could be that I just got lucky but I would much rather be on the safe side. It is obvious he has figured out that going outside to potty is a good thing so that is a definite plus! Good luck.

**MeganWUlery** · 11-28-2011, 10:04 PM

My goodness! Your Charlie does look just like my Cocoa! How funny

**iammike** · 11-29-2011, 12:55 AM

Originally Posted by MeganWUlery

My goodness! Your Charlie does look just like my Cocoa! How funny

Wow, you're right!

**iammike** · 11-29-2011, 01:02 AM

I'll go over everything for a fresh cleaning again. No carpet so at least that part is easy.

Here in Japan I'm limited on supplies I can find that match the brands I read about on here. They are probably here and I just can't read the tag. LOL

Right now I'm using some "Dog Wisperer Natural Odor Eliminator" that they had on base. Honestly, I would feel like I was in heaven if Charlie only needed to go out every 2 to 3 hours. LOL