[mattjf]

My pup is now about 12 weeks old. She is becoming more and more house trained every day. I've learned some of her subtle cues that she has to go out and will take her out right away. The problem is, she still has accidents sometimes. Is this normal, or have I not succeeded in house breaking yet? How old are they before they really learn that you go outside? Probably the most annoying thing is I will go to take her out and while I'm unlocking the back door, she will pee right in front of the door. I'm guessing it's because she has been holding it so long that she can't anymore.

-Matt

 

[Mads Mom]

I think Madison was just about that age when everything just finally clicked and she got it all figured out. We have had a few accidents since then (she'll be 7 months old next Fri), the recent being 2 days ago. It may have had something to do with bringing a new puppy into the house. Sarah is right around 12 weeks as well, but we only got her Tuesday. I honestly don't think that who ever had her before really worked with her much. She seems to be figuring it out at times, other times, she just piddles right where she is.

I just try to be consistant, patient, and really praise her when she goes out and does her business outside. I'm pretty sure it took us a good 3 to 4 weeks once we got Madison to get her housebroke. I also discovered with Madison that she could become almost lazy about telling you she wanted out. I don't know how many times I had to clean up a mess or puddle near the front door. I even watched her once.... she went to the door, looked around and squated.

Be patient....I know how you're feeling.

 

[loriwolfelabluv]

everytime the pup does the business outside praise and treat. if pup goes in the house No Reaction unless you catch them in the act. if you don't see it happen don't react just clean it up well and deodorize with something designed to get the smell out. If you catch your pup in the act react with a fairly loud no and scoop him up and carry him out. Be vigilant, take him out every 20-30 mins when he's not crated and can't be closely supervised. Good Luck.

 

[Kahlua]

Kahlua's accidents started slowing down between 3 and 4 months old, but between 4 and 6 months she still had isolated incidents every few weeks or so, this is normal.

I can identify with the sitting by the door, looking around, and squatting. Our real breakthrough was when we introduced her to the bell. We hung it from the back door and taught her to ring it when she had to go. This was surprisingly easy. Once the bell was there, we showed her how to ring it, then immediately opened the door and took her outside to her potty spot. It only took a couple drills like this for her to understand that bell = door opening and pee time. I think she figured it out the first day, and that was the first time we went over a week without a mess in the house. In order to keep her from playing with / eating the bell, or using it simply to go outside and play, when she rang it on her own, we would always put her on the leash, take her to her spot, and wait for her to do her business. If she did, praise & playtime, if she didn't, we would go immediately back inside and into her crate for a few minutes. This teaches her that the bell is not for party time.

Good luck!

 

[TimC.]

Asking your puppy not to have anymore accidents at 12 weeks is asking too much of your puppy and yourself in my opinion. You both are going to have the occasional accident. If you take the puppy out right after she wakes up, right after she eats and right before you play hard with her you will cut down the accidents dramatically. When she is sniffing around on the kitchen floor she is giving you the signal that she is looking for a spot. If Oona had an accident I always blamed myself not her because she gave me signals and I chose to ignore them.
Olie