# Puppy is sleeping through potty training



## Lil Pup (8 mo ago)

So this has me stumped. Lucas is 14 weeks old. He uses a potty pad reliably when he’s in his ex pen. When he’s not, I keep him tethered to me and take him out every 20 minutes or if he starts sniffing around the areas where he’s had accidents before. 

I always take him to the same spot in the yard. We’ve placed used potty pads there, sprayed it with the attractant spray, even left a piece of his poop. He doesn’t seem to get the message. As soon as we get there he lays down and takes a nap! 

If I take him in and put him in his pen, he’ll eliminate pretty quickly. If I just keep him tethered to me, he’ll hold it for hours.

How can I help him figure this out? It’s frustrating for both of us!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Lil Pup said:


> So this has me stumped. Lucas is 14 weeks old. He uses a potty pad reliably when he’s in his ex pen. When he’s not, I keep him tethered to me and take him out every 20 minutes or if he starts sniffing around the areas where he’s had accidents before.
> 
> I always take him to the same spot in the yard. We’ve placed used potty pads there, sprayed it with the attractant spray, even left a piece of his poop. He doesn’t seem to get the message. As soon as we get there he lays down and takes a nap!
> 
> ...


Is there a specific reason why you don't want to just continue with the pad in his expen (or putting a liter box/ pads out in other parts of the house for him?) He will figure out outside pottying on his own, but if the goal is ensuring that he doesn't have an accident in the house, I think keeping up with his indoor potty training would suit the purpose too. 

There are a lot of posts on indoor potty liter trays, etc.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

It’ll save you a lot of time waiting for him to go potty to keep using the indoor potty! If you are tired of the pads you can switch it out for a tray and pine pellets, which absorb odor and are a little easier long term. It sounds like he really gets how it works and only going on the pad in his expen, which is really great! Instead of taking him outside, just take him back to his expen. If he’s indoor trained, the skill will transfer outdoors at some point, you don’t need to actively train it. If you’re trying to train him to eventually go potty in a specific place in your yard, maybe start labeling “good potty” (or whatever you want to call it) when you seen him go on the pad so that you can tell him to “go potty” where you want him to go later. He’ll definitely learn about outside potty on his own when you’re outside playing, and it’s a lot less work because you don’t have to wait around for him  if you have winter where you live, I’d actually wait until next year to make any kind of formal transition to outdoors only if that’s your plan. My guess is he’ll it figure out in the next couple of months, but trained indoor potty is helpful during a puppy’s first winter. It’s really great that he’s holding it so well with you, and that you’re interrupting him sniffing and he gets the message to stop! If you interrupt him but take him to the pad, I think he’ll get the last part of the message. You’re doing great, don’t second guessing yourself.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> Is there a specific reason why you don't want to just continue with the pad in his expen (or putting a liter box/ pads out in other parts of the house for him?) He will figure out outside pottying on his own, but if the goal is ensuring that he doesn't have an accident in the house, I think keeping up with his indoor potty training would suit the purpose too.
> 
> There are a lot of posts on indoor potty liter trays, etc.


Yes!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I think that what is confusing you is that you are thinking about trying to train him to potty in a specific place. Which is a VERY advanced concept. What you FIRST need to train a puppy is where NOT to potty. Which is all the places in the HOUSE that he shouldn't go... except for his potty. (be that pads which I don't care for) or a potty tray with pellets. 

He WILL learn to go outdoors eventually on his own, without ANY help from you. They all do. THEN you can start teaching him to go in a specific PLACE outdoors if that is important to you. But the MOST important concept must come first: "Thou shalt not soil the house"


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> It’ll save you a lot of time waiting for him to go potty to keep using the indoor potty! If you are tired of the pads you can switch it out for a tray and pine pellets, which absorb odor and are a little easier long term. It sounds like he really gets how it works and only going on the pad in his expen, which is really great! Instead of taking him outside, just take him back to his expen. If he’s indoor trained, the skill will transfer outdoors at some point, you don’t need to actively train it. If you’re trying to train him to eventually go potty in a specific place in your yard, maybe start labeling “good potty” (or whatever you want to call it) when you seen him go on the pad so that you can tell him to “go potty” where you want him to go later. He’ll definitely learn about outside potty on his own when you’re outside playing, and it’s a lot less work because you don’t have to wait around for him  if you have winter where you live, I’d actually wait until next year to make any kind of formal transition to outdoors only if that’s your plan. My guess is he’ll it figure out in the next couple of months, but trained indoor potty is helpful during a puppy’s first winter. It’s really great that he’s holding it so well with you, and that you’re interrupting him sniffing and he gets the message to stop! If you interrupt him but take him to the pad, I think he’ll get the last part of the message. You’re doing great, don’t second guessing yourself.


The best "training" that I took from this forum when I first joined was to teach Perry the "potty" command. He's not as good at it as he could be (we didn't start til he was 9 or so months old) but he's pretty good at it - at least for reminding him to pay attention and go. All I did to train it was saying "potty" whenever I saw him going... until we then got to a point where I could tell him "potty" and he would go relatively quickly. Then the best way to teach a specific place is to take him out on a leash and walk around that area until he goes then let him run around the yard. Some dogs almost train themselves in that - I never tried because Perry is in so many different places that I don't want him to only feel like he could go in one specific area but my sister's norwegian elkhound has basically taught herself to poop in a specific area.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Melissa Brill said:


> The best "training" that I took from this forum when I first joined was to teach Perry the "potty" command. He's not as good at it as he could be (we didn't start til he was 9 or so months old) but he's pretty good at it - at least for reminding him to pay attention and go. All I did to train it was saying "potty" whenever I saw him going... until we then got to a point where I could tell him "potty" and he would go relatively quickly. Then the best way to teach a specific place is to take him out on a leash and walk around that area until he goes then let him run around the yard. Some dogs almost train themselves in that - I never tried because Perry is in so many different places that I don't want him to only feel like he could go in one specific area but my sister's norwegian elkhound has basically taught herself to poop in a specific area.


I really think learning “go potty” was a huge step forward in potty training for Sundance. It took time for him to be potty trained in every room of my house, and for him to be able to hold it for long periods during the day. Being able to say “ go potty” before playtime, before getting in the car, made it a lot easier.

i didn’t really intend to teach Sundance to pee in one spot, but I did. I took him out the same door to the same spot after every meal because I was trying to teach him to go potty right away, I didn’t want him to wander or need walks to go potty. So we used a different door to leave for outside fun. It worked for both, but I wish I had planned it out better. It burned the grass for him to go in the exact same place all of the time. I didn’t keep it up because of that, and I wish I would have chosen a better area and material, like pea gravel, maybe with a drain to make rinsing with a hose easier.


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> I really think learning “go potty” was a huge step forward in potty training for Sundance. It took time for him to be potty trained in every room of my house, and for him to be able to hold it for long periods during the day. Being able to say “ go potty” before playtime, before getting in the car, made it a lot easier.
> 
> i didn’t really intend to teach Sundance to pee in one spot, but I did. I took him out the same door to the same spot after every meal because I was trying to teach him to go potty right away, I didn’t want him to wander or need walks to go potty. So we used a different door to leave for outside fun. It worked for both, but I wish I had planned it out better. It burned the grass for him to go in the exact same place all of the time. I didn’t keep it up because of that, and I wish I would have chosen a better area and material, like pea gravel, maybe with a drain to make rinsing with a hose easier.


Totally agree that having a command is the BEST, and that If he’s reliable on the tray, maybe just stick w that for now. Ours are trained to ‘hurry up.’ And it makes a huge difference, especially for things like car rides or flights where we know they won’t have the opportunity to go for a while. It also makes potty breaks different from play breaks. We trained a spot outside for Jo but putting an x pen there when she was little, and using that as the place we’d put her to potty outside. Now that she is finally reliable, she’ll ask to go out, run to her spot in the mulch, and run back up— all less than a minute, which is huge for me when she needs to go out during the work day when I have back-to-back calls.

They’re so funny about their potty preferences… Charlie is also quite good w the command, but not as reliable on location— he lived the first 5 yrs of his life in an apartment peeing on the sidewalk, so his preference is to go on the stone patio (or any hard surface). He’ll go in the mulch if I’m watching and actively encouraging him, but would rather not. Jo prefers soft things (mulch, gravel, grass, sand) which I have actively encouraged bc I don’t have to worry about confusing surfaces as much — like the hardware store where the floor doesn’t feel that different than the sidewalk! The command helps a lot for letting them know where is appropriate whe they’re older.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

My problem with Ducky is that he will "Go pee!" on command, but unlike Kodi, who would "empty", just like the girls, when I gave him this cue, Ducky is ALLLL boy. He will only lift his leg and squirt. He ALWAYS saves some for later. Who knows when you're going to need it? 

FORTUNATELY, he CAN hold it for a long time. UNFORTUNATELY, because he IS "all boy", I still have to watch him pretty carefully if I am in the home of anyone with other dogs, or he could potentially try to mark. I have to be "on him" every second. This is ALWAYS worse the day or two after a dog show, when he has been exposed to a lot of intact girls... <sigh>


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

krandall said:


> My problem with Ducky is that he will "Go pee!" on command, but unlike Kodi, who would "empty", just like the girls, when I gave him this cue, Ducky is ALLLL boy. He will only lift his leg and squirt. He ALWAYS saves some for later. Who knows when you're going to need it?
> 
> FORTUNATELY, he CAN hold it for a long time. UNFORTUNATELY, because he IS "all boy", I still have to watch him pretty carefully if I am in the home of anyone with other dogs, or he could potentially try to mark. I have to be "on him" every second. This is ALWAYS worse the day or two after a dog show, when he has been exposed to a lot of intact girls... <sigh>


My mom’s last dog was a ‘saver’ and I have always been so grateful that Charlie fully empties! It’s so funny to think of Ducky being so ‘manly’ in this way since he seems like (and by your accounts is) such a good boy who is SO good at doing what he is told. So the urge to mark must be REALLY strong! Can’t fight nature! I wonder, does it get worse after they are bred because they now know what’s possible, or does that not make a difference?


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

LWalks said:


> My mom’s last dog was a ‘saver’ and I have always been so grateful that Charlie fully empties! It’s so funny to think of Ducky being so ‘manly’ in this way since he seems like (and by your accounts is) such a good boy who is SO good at doing what he is told. So the urge to mark must be REALLY strong! Can’t fight nature! I wonder, does it get worse after they are bred because they now know what’s possible, or does that not make a difference?


Perry is neutered but still seems to "save" ... and even when he's empty he will still try to mark when we're out on our walks. It's funny sometimes because he'll lift his leg and there will be literally 1-2 drops that come out. 

I have to keep a very close eye on him when I'm in houses where another dog might have marked - because he definitely considers it.


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## Toffee170221 (Sep 10, 2021)

krandall said:


> My problem with Ducky is that he will "Go pee!" on command, but unlike Kodi, who would "empty", just like the girls, when I gave him this cue, Ducky is ALLLL boy. He will only lift his leg and squirt. He ALWAYS saves some for later. Who knows when you're going to need it?
> 
> FORTUNATELY, he CAN hold it for a long time. UNFORTUNATELY, because he IS "all boy", I still have to watch him pretty carefully if I am in the home of anyone with other dogs, or he could potentially try to mark. I have to be "on him" every second. This is ALWAYS worse the day or two after a dog show, when he has been exposed to a lot of intact girls... <sigh>


This is exactly what Toffee does 😫 A little squirt here and a little squirt there just to make sure the world knows he’s around 🤨


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

LWalks said:


> My mom’s last dog was a ‘saver’ and I have always been so grateful that Charlie fully empties! It’s so funny to think of Ducky being so ‘manly’ in this way since he seems like (and by your accounts is) such a good boy who is SO good at doing what he is told. So the urge to mark must be REALLY strong! Can’t fight nature! I wonder, does it get worse after they are bred because they now know what’s possible, or does that not make a difference?


The marking is communication between dogs, and doesn't DIRECTLY have anything to do with breeding a girl, so I wouldn't EXPECT so... But I'll let you know when the time comes! LOL! I WOULD expect that I will have to watch him more closely for a few days AFTER he has bred, but I already have to do that even if an intact girl has been in the house... even if she has not been in heat. (which would not be allowed at this point! )


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