When house training is really slow going....
Ok, so Oskar is now officially 4 months old. And still not housetrained. Yes, he's young. He's also 48 pounds, so its not like he has a tiny puppy bladder.
He's gone as long as 4 days without peeing in the house, but then he does it again.
I know this is about me as trainer, but its been such a long time since I had a puppy that didn't learn quick on this, that I think I've just forgotten how to do continue the training if it doesn't go quickly.
When he was younger, I was taking him out every hour and praising him for peeing. (I did not click and treat though). We're no longer on a set schedule, though I do try to keep track of how long he's been in and how much water he has been drinking. I don't usually keep him in his crate except for at night, meals, and if we're gone (though he's good in his crate) because he's generally pretty good about not getting into things or chewing, etc.
The problem is, of course, he doesn't indicate when he needs to go out (sometimes I can see him getting more active/pacing, and then I take him out but not always). If he has to pee, he'll just pee. And since he's not a small puppy, it's often kind of a lot! If I see him starting, I usually make the "aah aah aah" sound (probably the only time I use it) and grab him and take him out.
At least downstairs he recognizes that most of the house is "inside" so he won't go right in front of us--he walks over behind the sofa usually. But he seems to think all upstairs is "outside" and thus fair game.
And I've been kind of lazy with him, because he understand "go pee" and if I put him outside, I can tell him that and he'll walk to his place and pee....so I'm not always going with him, I mean.
so do you think I need to start all over again with potty training? Taking him out on a schedule, etc? Going out with him every time? Or maybe I've just been spoiled by my super quick learning Shibas, and his "accidents' aren't atypical for this age? At least I've seen some improvement...as a younger puppy he peed in the car! He's not doing that anymore!
He's gone as long as 4 days without peeing in the house, but then he does it again.
I know this is about me as trainer, but its been such a long time since I had a puppy that didn't learn quick on this, that I think I've just forgotten how to do continue the training if it doesn't go quickly.
When he was younger, I was taking him out every hour and praising him for peeing. (I did not click and treat though). We're no longer on a set schedule, though I do try to keep track of how long he's been in and how much water he has been drinking. I don't usually keep him in his crate except for at night, meals, and if we're gone (though he's good in his crate) because he's generally pretty good about not getting into things or chewing, etc.
The problem is, of course, he doesn't indicate when he needs to go out (sometimes I can see him getting more active/pacing, and then I take him out but not always). If he has to pee, he'll just pee. And since he's not a small puppy, it's often kind of a lot! If I see him starting, I usually make the "aah aah aah" sound (probably the only time I use it) and grab him and take him out.
At least downstairs he recognizes that most of the house is "inside" so he won't go right in front of us--he walks over behind the sofa usually. But he seems to think all upstairs is "outside" and thus fair game.
And I've been kind of lazy with him, because he understand "go pee" and if I put him outside, I can tell him that and he'll walk to his place and pee....so I'm not always going with him, I mean.
so do you think I need to start all over again with potty training? Taking him out on a schedule, etc? Going out with him every time? Or maybe I've just been spoiled by my super quick learning Shibas, and his "accidents' aren't atypical for this age? At least I've seen some improvement...as a younger puppy he peed in the car! He's not doing that anymore!
Comments
That being said, it is very typical when a dog learns a behavior (in this case peeing outside) that they will learn very quickly, then suddenly seem to "forget" it for a while, and then all of a sudden remember it. It's possible you are experiencing that with him. Also, it is not surprising that he hasn't associated all parts of the house as being "inside." If he spends most of his time in a select few places, those are the places he'll register as "clean zones" the quickest. The other places will take a lot longer.
Another thing you can try is "umbilical" training with him. Although I don't think a 4 month old puppy with occasional accidents every few days is cause for this level of concern. Remember, at 4 months old he's barely a toddler. If he was a human baby, he'd still be wearing diapers and he'd most definitely be needing mommy to clean up after him even if he did manage to use the big boy toilet.
Also, remember, every dog is different. Joey took until about 7 months to be 100% reliable with potty training. Tyson basically came potty trained at barely 5 months (he's had 3 accidents total). Oskar will get there, he just needs to find his time. :-)
With the exception of my Shiba and Shikoku most of my dogs were in no way flawless at six months. Ruby would still have an occasional accident at a year.
And don't forget that large dogs develop more slowly than little ones so they have longer to grown into their bodies and urges.
Wraith's almost 5 months now, & we do something similar to when he was still a really small puppy. Basically, we take him out of his crate in the morning, take him directly outside, he empties his bladder, then he comes back in to play. When we're not playing with him / doing something with him, he's in his crate with a kong or just napping. When we want to take him out of his crate to play / train / etc. again, we take him outside first & make sure he's gone to the bathroom.
Essentially, we don't let him out to play in the house unless we know he's voided his bowels lol As he's been getting older & more trustworthy, he's had less & less crate time & more & more free time.
Also, we didn't give him freedom of the whole house right away. We started with one room, once he proved trustworthy in that room, we started extending out his space. Even when he's had reaaaaally bad diarrhea he's been awesome about holding it til we get him outside.
We did give him treats when / while he was going outside to emphasis: outside potty = good things! But we didn't click it or anything, just a "Go Potty" then when he does, "Gooooood boooooooyyy!!!" *treat*
And, no matter how trustworthy I think he is, I still take him out every 3 - 4 hours. He's 5 months old, so he should be able to hold his bladder for a while, but I still try to take him out before he feels like he needs to explode.
Oh, and the reason we used the crate so much [ especially in the beginning ] was because I read that the crate teaches puppies to hold their bladders, & that just because they CAN go doesn't mean they SHOULD. It's really helped, IMO, as after switching to the crate method [ vs. the "watching like a hawk" method ] he does actually hold his bladder now.
Hope that helps Lisa, & Good Luck!
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And yes, I was spoiled by Shibas. That certainly was one thing they were good at!
The tips are great though. I think I need to be more vigilant, but mostly, more patient.