We semi-rescued a 3 month old Pembroke Corgi puppy about six weeks ago. I thought that potty training would be a breeze since he was supposedly paper-trained by his previous owner. Unfortunately, either the owner lied or the paper training didn't transfer over to our house.

We've been working on him using the backyard as a bathroom ever since with very little progress. When we first brought him home, he didn't even realize that he was supposed to pee and poop outside and would hold it until we brought him back into the house. Now he seems to know that he's supposed to go out there but only does it when he's already outside. He doesn't give us any signal that he needs to go and won't go outside, even if the door is open. He will choose to go anywhere in our family room (of course he's chosen the only room that has carpet!) if he has access to it or will get up on one of the beds if he doesn't. I'm sure he's marked enough now that he thinks he should go potty in there. The family room is the only way to get to the backyard but he'll often piddle or poop as I'm walking him out to the backyard for his potty time.

I'm totally frustrated and can't stand the idea of him ruining my carpet or mattresses. Am I fair to expect some type of potty training progress after six weeks? I'm tired of keeping him kenneled for hours at a time, spending so much time getting the smell out of my house, and seeing very little improvement! Argh!!! Can some of you dog people give me some advice?

He's such a cutie and I know this will resolve itself eventually but I'd like it to happen sooner rather than later!

By Kaye on Friday, July 6, 2007 - 05:44 pm:

Our first dog we just had a real issue house breaking her. We got her the end of march, by mid june she was untrained. She also failed to let us know she had to go out. Well I was still in college and she became by class project for behavior management (good thing I didn't have kids yet..lol). Anyway, ultimately what worked was the consistency. Since I had to turn in paperwork, we made a chart, stating her exact schedule. It was on the fridge, like we took her outside, then into the crate for 10 minutes, then out for home play for 10 minutes, back to the crate for certain time.

I am willing to bet that if you write down your plan, and look at it, you will see what you can do differently, it took about 2 weeks to reprogram our dog.

It can seem cruel to leave the dog crated, but as long as they are getting a couple hours of play time a day, they are fine. This too shall pass.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, July 6, 2007 - 08:28 pm:

Take her out after she eats, after she wakes, after she plays. With Jasmine, she didn't tell us either, for a long time, so I had to just anticipate it. You have to be her brain, for a little while. Eventually she will get it and give you some kind of signal. It took a few months with Jasmine, too.

What I did with Jasmine was hook her on the leash and leave the leash on my wrist. She went with me, everywhere. It helped me keep better track of her and I was better able to catch her in the act and interrupt it.

By Reds9298 on Friday, July 6, 2007 - 09:34 pm:

I'm sorry for you! The messes can get really old and frustrating. Both of our dogs potty trained pretty well..one to paper then outside, the other straight to outside.

For both of them, they weren't crated for potty training. I don't really understand doing that? We watched them both just like potty training a child. When they drank, they went out about 30 min. later. We just made sure to put them on the paper/outside about every 30-45min., just depending on the dog. If you write down the times he goes one day, you'll probably see a pattern.

For our older dog, we did the paper because we lived in a 3rd floor apartment. We moved to a house a little later and just moved the paper right out the door. For the straight-to-outside dog, we watched her like a hawk. If she started to squat, we said "No!" really loud to startle her, scooped her up and put her in the grass. Usually she was so startled she stopped right away (although not always). Then she got to where she just sat at the door and peed. Later she started yelping/scratching at the door. My older one started barking at the door right off.

We never scolded too much about going in the house. I think the thing is you're not wanting them to think that GOING potty is a bad thing, it's WHERE. We put her in the grass and acted so happy about it, pee or not. Even if she didn't make it and peed all the way out the door. It took maybe 2 months with one and about the same with the other. With the first one, he slept with us, so we kept a paper in our room for a while just as a precaution at night. He used it a few times and then just stopped altogether at night so we threw it away then.

Dawn's idea on the leash is a good one, too. We've never done that one.

By Reds9298 on Friday, July 6, 2007 - 09:34 pm:

I forgot to say Good Luck! He's TOOOOOO cute.

By Claire on Friday, July 6, 2007 - 09:50 pm:

I can't recommend crate training strongly enough. Done right your dog will be house broken in a snap.

It's also very important to feed & walk your dog on a regular schedule.

By Tink on Friday, July 6, 2007 - 10:02 pm:

Claire, do you have any pointers for doing it right? He loves his crate and will lay down in it when he's worn out from playing but I'm keeping him in it for about two hours, letting him out to potty for about 20 minutes, sometimes he goes, sometimes not. He gets a treat and lots of praise if he does go. Then he comes in to eat, play with the family and our other dog for half an hour and then potty again before going back into the crate. He gets fed at 8am and walked and fed at 5pm. Is there anything else I can do to make this happen?

Deanna, the idea behind crate training is that dogs won't soil their "dens" so he won't go until I take him out of it and is learning to "hold it" when necessary. Unfortunately, clapping or saying "No!" doesn't make him stop. He just runs and piddles the entire time so I end up coaxing him out of a corner or out from under a bed and by the time I get him outside, he's done. I like the leash idea but it still means he's not playing with the kids or other dog and I don't think it's any different than crate training.

By Reds9298 on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 08:49 am:

I knew that they wouldn't use their crates for potty unless it was a serious emergency. We just never did it for potty training. Crates are used daily here, just for nighttime and when the dogs need to be contained for some reason. It never seemed feasible to us to crate a puppy for more than a little bit because we felt they needed to explore their surroundings and have the opportunity to potty in a "no" place. If Shelby had been crated for potty training, she would have peed as soon as she was let out I'm sure, which would have been the same as leaving her out all the time anyway. The crate method seems like the dog is set up for "I'm locked up and only let out to go potty". Sounds like others have had success, just not what we've ever done with any of our dogs over the years.

I think the leash idea is more of keeping the dog where you are so he can be watched. We somewhat did that I guess. If we came to the office room, we brought Riff with us. If we were in the family room, we brought him with us, and if he left, someone followed him.

By Claire on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 09:18 am:

crate training

The most important part of this in my opinion is the schedule - which you can ease up and not follow so closely once they have the basic house breaking down.

By Debbie on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 10:39 am:

Our puppy was crate trained, and we stuck to a strict schedule. I think it really helped with potty training. We would feed him, play with him, crate him, etc at the same time every day. I also gated the house, so he was only in a few rooms, and when he was out of his crate, someone watched him at all times. Also, we took him out as soon as he was let out of his crate, after he ate/drank, and then every 30 minutes. He was only 5 lbs when we got him, so he went often in the beginning. It was hard the first few weeks, not letting him out of our sight, and taking him out all the time. But, within a week, he had very few accidents. Also, when I let him out, I would say "outside" when we got to the door, and I would take him, on his leash, directly to where I wanted him to go. We picked one place in our yard. I would reward him with a treat as soon as he went. After a few weeks, we trained him to ring a bell that was on the door. We started by saying "touch" and having him touch the bell with his nose. I would hold the bell in one hand, and a treat in the other. After a few weeks, I put the bell on the door, and before I took him out, I would say "touch". He would touch the bell, and I would take him out. After a few weeks, he was rining the bell when he wanted out!

I had help from a trainer, that worked with the breeder, that we got our puppy from. She was so helpful. This is all advice that I got from her.

By Boxzgrl on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 01:28 pm:

Cori- I'm still potty training my Bichon, and i've had her for 2 1/2 months! Her breed is supposed to be very smart and easy to potty train, too. One thing i've learned though from recent reading is that small breed dogs have a harder time establishing bladder control and even then so, they can't hold it for long period of time like larger breed dogs until at least 6 months of age (in a lot of cases).

Just remember: consistency is key. Don't change the routine in any way. She'll get it eventually. I agree with having her leashed to you at all times. That has saved my sanity at times. I get so tired of cleaning up piddle messes!

You sound like you are doing everything and are right on track. Good luck.

By Tink on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 02:17 pm:

Thanks, everyone! I'm really glad to hear that he seems to be on track. I thought he'd be trained in a couple of weeks but it sounds like a couple of months is more normal. Debbie, I love the bell idea and it would keep the dogs from scratching at the door. Last night, he went and sat by the back door and looked at me so we may be making more progress than I realized. I think my expectations may have been too high. He's already 22 lbs so I thought he'd be able to go longer between bathroom breaks but he's still young so his control hasn't been established. Thanks for letting me know that he's doing well for his age and size.

By Conni on Sunday, July 8, 2007 - 08:28 pm:

Can't you just get down on his level, look him in the eye and reason with him??? Maybe you didn't get a real smart one...

Ok, all joking aside..he is sooooo cute!!! I just want to cuddle him. Adorable!! I am sorry you are frustrated and hope it gets better soon.

By Tink on Monday, July 9, 2007 - 11:59 am:

Thanks for the laugh, Conni! I swear getting down on his level and reasoning with him is the ONLY tactic I haven't tried! You think Supernanny could help?