Posted: 6/10/2024 9:55:45 AM EDT
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Hello, We got a new male pup a bit over a week ago, and are having real trouble potty training. Dog details: 12 weeks old Half GoldenDoodle, half American Bulldog Backyard freebie Craigslist special. I doubt he and his litter spent much time indoors About 26 pounds Our last puppy, 13 years ago, was a labradoodle from a slimeball breeder. And despite the shitty person we got him from, he was an incredible dog who peed twice and pooped once in the house and was then housebroken at 8 weeks old. We were spoiled. This new pup just doesn't think twice about peeing absolutely anywhere at any time. He's also the most lazy puppy ever, but he's growing fast. Other than the peeing, his temperament is great and he is a model citizen. We try to take him out often and set him down in the grass, and he will usually pee. But 10 minutes later he will pee in the house, too. He also will drink water more than any dog I've seen, but I've never withheld water for a dog before. His vet check last week was good. He isn't marking, just pausing in whatever he's doing and peeing wherever he is. One issue is that he is very submissive with me. If I come to get him to take him outside he will roll over on his back and often start peeing, which is extra fun. And then he's a deadweight ragdoll with pee on himself. Any ideas? He's pooped in the house a few times, but not nearly as much as the peeing issue. Norm:  
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Lit Low Ready, LLC
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First find out what positive reinforcement he responds to. Praise, play/toy, or food. Use them to reward wanted behavior. If you try some negative reinforcement, scold the pee, not the dog. It sounds dumb, but works. But it has to be immediate. Yelling at a cold pee spot isn’t helpful. Our latest pup was a nervous/excited piddler. Just build their confidence as best you can and try to avoid excitement triggers . It took her the better part of a year to finally stop when excited. Good luck. ETA: you can try hanging a bell at the door to go out and ring it everytime you take them out. Maybe even guide their paw to it. Hopefully they learn to ring to go out. But be aware it may scrape across the door or wall leaving a mark. |
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Thanks for the advice, guys. We are trying really hard with the positive reinforcement and taking him outside often. He will go to the back door and whine when he needs to poop, but peeing is still an issue. He has taught himself to open the back door and let himself inside  If he'd just let himself out and close the door after, that'd be just great ha |
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Originally Posted By TexCorriente: Thanks for the advice, guys. We are trying really hard with the positive reinforcement and taking him outside often. He will go to the back door and whine when he needs to poop, but peeing is still an issue. He has taught himself to open the back door and let himself inside If he'd just let himself out and close the door after, that'd be just great ha Are you not going out with him? potty traing always worked best for me on a leash at a close enough distance that I can monitor exactly whats going on and give instant praise when finished. Keep them in a crate while training only letting out when you are going to play with him, and constantly take them outside as soon as let out of the crate. The crate needs to be just big enough for the dog to lay down and sleep comfortably. Any bigger and it will have room for a potty in the corner. |
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First off, the submission peeing... some dogs do that. Most outgrow it, some don't. I don't have good advice there. Now, on to regular potty training: OK. Dogs will naturally potty train themselves, BUT... their natural instincts are around their "home" being measured in a few square feet, not a few thousand square feet. Your job is to teach him that the entire house is his home. First, make sure the dog never pees inside the house. Drank some water? Take it outside until it pees, the INSTANT it finishes peeing, put a treat in its mouth and say "YES!". Did the dog just wake up? Do that again. Did it just play? Do it again. Has it not been out in twenty minutes? Do it again. Is the dog sniffing the floor, especially at a corner or edge? DO IT AGAIN. As for the sniffing, dogs will ALWAYS sniff before relieving themselves. Roll up a good, heavy magazine, and every time your dog pees on the carpet, whack YOURSELF over the head, saying "I SHOULD HAVE WATCHED MY DOG MORE CLOSELY, I SHOULD HAVE WATCHED MY DOG MORE CLOSELY!" Honestly, it's a lot of work to do that round-the-clock. But every time I've done it, the dog has been potty trained REALLY quickly. I've had puppies as young as about 8 weeks that learned in less than a week by doing exactly what I typed above. At that age, they couldn't always MAKE it to the door to go outside, but they'd at least try.  Now, with my puppies, if we couldn't be home watching them, they did NOT have free reign of the house. They would either be in a crate (for age-appropriate lengths of time, going too long will MAKE them soil the crate, and that works against you HARD), or in the back yard. They've only been in the house when we could supervise them, and we've always set aside a week or so to be at home supervising new puppies. And so the potty training has gone real quick. He also will drink water more than any dog I've seen, but I've never withheld water for a dog before. You really shouldn't be having to withhold, I don't think. If he's really drinking that much, having blood/urine workup at the vet might be a good thing to have done. One issue is that he is very submissive with me. If I come to get him to take him outside he will roll over on his back and often start peeing So... don't go get him and take him outside. Walk in the room, then turn around and face the door, look back at him, and say "Hey, come on! Let's go!" and get him to follow you outside. Facing the way you want him to go (not facing HIM) is a big part of this. Finally, if you take the puppy outside to pee and it won't pee... if you're able, whip it out and pee yourself. The puppy will see you doing it and immediately copy you.
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Update: He seems to have turned a corner this weekend. Other than one squirt when he was excited, he didn't pee in the house any on Sunday. And he has started letting us know he needs to go outside, and peeing pretty quickly once situated. He is also responding really well to positive encouragement when he does go. Originally Posted By Goostoff: Are you not going out with him? potty traing always worked best for me on a leash at a close enough distance that I can monitor exactly whats going on and give instant praise when finished. Keep them in a crate while training only letting out when you are going to play with him, and constantly take them outside as soon as let out of the crate. The crate needs to be just big enough for the dog to lay down and sleep comfortably. Any bigger and it will have room for a potty in the corner. We've been going out with him consistently every half hour. Crate training has gone pretty well, he actually likes the really small one better and will get in it of his own accord. But he can hardly turn around in it, so we put him in a larger one when we are leaving for any amount of time. Originally Posted By GlutealCleft: First off, the submission peeing... some dogs do that. Most outgrow it, some don't. I don't have good advice there. Now, on to regular potty training: OK. Dogs will naturally potty train themselves, BUT... their natural instincts are around their "home" being measured in a few square feet, not a few thousand square feet. Your job is to teach him that the entire house is his home. First, make sure the dog never pees inside the house. Drank some water? Take it outside until it pees, the INSTANT it finishes peeing, put a treat in its mouth and say "YES!". Did the dog just wake up? Do that again. Did it just play? Do it again. Has it not been out in twenty minutes? Do it again. Is the dog sniffing the floor, especially at a corner or edge? DO IT AGAIN. As for the sniffing, dogs will ALWAYS sniff before relieving themselves. Roll up a good, heavy magazine, and every time your dog pees on the carpet, whack YOURSELF over the head, saying "I SHOULD HAVE WATCHED MY DOG MORE CLOSELY, I SHOULD HAVE WATCHED MY DOG MORE CLOSELY!" Honestly, it's a lot of work to do that round-the-clock. But every time I've done it, the dog has been potty trained REALLY quickly. I've had puppies as young as about 8 weeks that learned in less than a week by doing exactly what I typed above. At that age, they couldn't always MAKE it to the door to go outside, but they'd at least try. Now, with my puppies, if we couldn't be home watching them, they did NOT have free reign of the house. They would either be in a crate (for age-appropriate lengths of time, going too long will MAKE them soil the crate, and that works against you HARD), or in the back yard. They've only been in the house when we could supervise them, and we've always set aside a week or so to be at home supervising new puppies. And so the potty training has gone real quick. You really shouldn't be having to withhold, I don't think. If he's really drinking that much, having blood/urine workup at the vet might be a good thing to have done. So... don't go get him and take him outside. Walk in the room, then turn around and face the door, look back at him, and say "Hey, come on! Let's go!" and get him to follow you outside. Facing the way you want him to go (not facing HIM) is a big part of this. Finally, if you take the puppy outside to pee and it won't pee... if you're able, whip it out and pee yourself. The puppy will see you doing it and immediately copy you. Thanks for the advice. I don't think he's quite so bad with the water I need to get him checked out, but we are watching it. He does great in the morning. I get up about 5 usually, and he consistently holds it long enough for me to get him outside. I've actually gone around my yard before and peed on perimeter fence posts, and peed on an indoor potted plant when our old (otherwise potty trained) dog started feeling punchy and began marking in the house. Works! |
Lit Low Ready, LLC
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| To successfully house break, you have to follow them around every min of the day for a couple of weeks. We had one dog that was doing the same. I read a trick, get a metal coffee can, fill with some pennies and tape up the lid. If you see the dog start to go inside, throw the can near them (do not hit them). Then take them out and let them go. Heap praises. It worked. Current dog did not require. We just took him out and heaped the praises and gave treats. He figured it out on his own. |
Well, I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison....