# What age did you feel your Havanese was totally housebroken?



## meganmckellar

We're nearing 9 months in a couple weeks and I feel like he "gets" it. However, a couple weeks ago we had to start back at square one after a relapse I realized is pretty common for the breed after reading some posts on the forum.

So, I was just wondering at what age did you feel like your pup was housebroken? 

My biggest problem as of now is that I don't think Oscar knows how to signal to go out - I just know his schedule. And I wish he'd scratch at the door or bark or whine or SOMETHING so he could tell me, "Hey! I gotta go right now!".


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## Sheri

I felt that Tucker really got it and felt safe enough to let him roam (without watching him all the time,) when he was about a year old. However, at nearly 3 years old, a couple of months ago he lifted his leg in the Feed store!!! I'm still shocked and horrified, and now do not trust him anywhere but home.


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## Rita Nelson

Tucker has been doing his business outside since he was 4 mos. old. He is now 11 mos. old and not a single slip up. He jumps up on the door when he needs to go out. I was told this wouldn't last. He would revert to going inside at around 8 - 9 mos. So far so good. He has run of the house downstairs. We don't let him upstairs just because there's too much for him to get into.


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## hav2

Probably at about 9 months is when Izzy fully grasped going potty outside. She is now a little over a year and she runs to the back door when she wants to go. However I still make her go out, even if she doesn't run to the door, about every 2 hours. I do still crate her when we leave to go somewhere.


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## Eva

Todd was totally potty trained at around a year old.
Since I've gone back to work he's had a couple of (poop) accidents when I've been out of the house for more than 8-10 hrs but overall he's done really well.


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## Leslie

I know this will sound unbelievable but, Tori came to me 99% trained to pee pads. At 10 weeks old, she'd stop playing hop into her expen and go on her pad. To this day, at 2.5 yrs. old, her only pee accidents have been if she's too close to the edge of the pad and it runs off. The main potty issue we've had w/her is that she's a "walking pooper". She always starts on the pad but, will begin slowly creeping forward while still in her hunched position doing her business. By the time she's finished there's almost always at least a tiny piece of poo that didn't fall before she got off the pad.:frusty: Lately, however, she's been asking more often to go outside to do her business rather than use her pad.


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## susieg

Lola seemed to "get it" and start signaling by walking to the door at around 6 months. But she'd still have occasional accidents. At around 7 or 8 months she no longer had accidents in my house except maybe one or two that were totally my fault. Now at 9 months she hasn't had an accident in my house in a long time. 

BUT....when I visit my parents I have to watch her like a hawk and leave baby gates up. They have white carpeting and silk area rugs, so I'm nervous. She's been pretty good at their house the past month or so, but that's because I take her out often. She doesn't signal there as much. Their house is much bigger than mine & there are more doors that lead to "potty areas" so she gets confused. Hoping she'll eventually "get it" there too b/c I visit them often & they nag me about how their poodle never had accidents once he was potty trained.....and how poodles are the best dogs ever, blah, blah, blah.


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## good buddy

Rufus was "getting it" at 10 months but I didn't count him 100% until 15 months. At that point he hadn't had any accidents in a few months and I started trusting him to be out when I was away from home.

Marley was "getting" it at about a year and half, but still not 100%. He will be two this month and I've just started trusting him out of the pen for short spells when I'm gone.

I think the true test is whe you are away from home and it's been awhile--will they or won't they? :juggle:


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## Poornima

Like Leslie's Tori, Benji and Lizzie both didn't have accidents when they came to us at 13 weeks. My breeder trains them to use doggie door and they "got" it right away in our house too. On rainy days, they had a tough time but didn't have any accidents inside the house ever. By 6 months, I was completely sure that they were both reliable but just to be safe, they had the full freedom in the house at 9 months. 

When we moved from CA to the East Coast, they hated rain and slush in the winter. I had to retrain them to pads and even with our 2 moves within the 15 months, they adapted well to the new locations, homes and they have always used pads. Like Tori, sometimes they tend to go a little outside the pad, but it is not often. They have never had any accidents in the house.


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## good buddy

good buddy said:


> Marley was "getting" it at about a year and half, but still not 100%. He will be two this month and I've just started trusting him out of the pen for short spells when I'm gone.


To be completely fair to Marley, I have to say we had alot of turbulence here the second half of his first year which included bringing in 2 foster dogs that weren't potty trained. I think it made it all the harder to finish up his potty training with two more added to our home that weren't trained.

The good part is--they are all trained now! Even Phoebe who I had worries would never potty train! eace:


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## Leslie

Way to go, Christy and Phoebe!!! :thumb:


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## galaxie

I pretty much trust Roscoe 100% these days and have for just about the last month, so since he was about 4 months. He hasn't had an accident since the end of January. He was pretty well litter box trained when he came home at 8 weeks, but he couldn't venture far from the box or he wouldn't make it back. Now he will just trot over whenever he needs to go, whether we are watching him or not. I'm so proud of him! 

Maddie, on the other hand, turns 5 in April and is still not totally trustworthy. My mom leaves what she calls a "wee pad runway" out, which consists of 4 pads in a row. Sometimes, she still piddles or poops on the carpet. She wasn't potty trained AT ALL when she came home at 10 weeks. And even though I was totally vigilant with potty training, I think that when I was not home my mom and brother let her have the run of the upstairs and didn't pay attention to her, which obviously caused accidents. I'm sure she can still smell the scent of her previous accidents and that's why she goes in the same places. However, she's also stubborn as heck so that may have something to do with it.

I use the "go potty" command with Roscoe, which I didn't know about when I trained Maddie. I credit this command to Roscoe's ability to go in both his litter box and outside. I'm pretty happy with the fact that he can be trusted to use the appropriate area inside the house. Here's to hoping that we don't go through the regression stage that a lot of people have mentioned!


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## davetgabby

eight weeks. Never had an accident except once at five months . But that was our fault for leaving her for seven hours when she wasn't emptied. LOL The simplest advice take them out every hour on the hour with lots of praise . Before You Get Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar is a good read. It's not easy getting up in the middle of the night a few times but it's worth it.


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## good buddy

Leslie said:


> Way to go, Christy and Phoebe!!! :thumb:


Thanks! I'm pretty happy about it too! :biggrin1:


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## good buddy

davetgabby said:


> eight weeks. Never had an accident except once at five months .


Is that pee pad trained or totally housebroken? :suspicious: I'm thinking of totally housebroken as you can fully trust the dog with the run of the house and be gone from home and they will not have an accident. If it's housebroken, whoa, that's amazing!


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## KSC

Kipling was about 4 months and I do trust him. He has a low grumble bark and is very good at telling me when he needs to go out. I had him going out on a leash every time until just about a month ago when I started to let him out in the backyard. I think the benefit of that was that he really learned his potty commands and that we go outside to go. I love that he will now go in the backyard with command and then come back when I call come. So much easier!


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## ama0722

I wouldn't worry about when other Havs were trained- that is going to vary by dog. What I would do is just concentrate on setting yourself up for no accidents. Make sure if you can't keep your eye on the dog, you place it where it will be accident free (xpen or crate). I have only had 3 dogs but a few fosters who came not potty trained and this has been the best method to having a reliable dog in the house.

For both my Havs, they were trained really young. One at the breeders, the other at my home. I think it is cause I had a maltese who are notorious for not being housebroken that I honestly found the Havanese easy to potty train. I tend to see most who struggle with Havs usually had big dogs before.


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## lfung5

OMG, it felt like such a long journey. Fred was my hardest and Scudder my easiest. Bella was somewhere in between. They never had a lot of accidents, but it seemed just when you think they got it, they would relapse! I know if I was more strict with crating, it would have been easier. I would say Fred was 1.5 years old before I could fully trust him. Scudder hardly messed up, but he was accident free in under a year. It's almost like one day they just get it and it's a time of celebrating!!!! Don't give it, up will click!


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## meganmckellar

Thanks for all the advice guys! I know all pups are different. Just wanted a round about when everyone would be done. I know Oscar is doing really well. But you know how it is, when you realize he's had an accident after weeks and weeks of not having one, that "you're such a failure" feeling washes over you! 

He's doing much better though. I take him out every hour generally, and sometimes he just looks at me like "you're kidding right? we were just out here 3 seconds ago!!!"


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## davetgabby

good buddy said:


> Is that pee pad trained or totally housebroken? :suspicious: I'm thinking of totally housebroken as you can fully trust the dog with the run of the house and be gone from home and they will not have an accident. If it's housebroken, whoa, that's amazing!


My wife was home all day ,so she had the run of the house. But she took her out every hour on the hour.We only went out for a couple of hours at most. Never bothered with a crate. She slept with us from day one. Believe me it wasn't easy but I got up every two hours at night. Then every three. Once she got rewarded for going outside she learned quickly . Once they have an accident inside ,it makes it that much harder.


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## lfung5

davetgabby said:


> eight weeks. Never had an accident except once at five months . But that was our fault for leaving her for seven hours when she wasn't emptied. LOL The simplest advice take them out every hour on the hour with lots of praise . Before You Get Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar is a good read. It's not easy getting up in the middle of the night a few times but it's worth it.


8 weeks! I'm impressed!!! Here I thought Scudder did good in under a year!


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## mimismom

I had the toughest time with Mimi. She was one year old when we rescued her a little over a year ago.... and even now she won't go on command, but I can trust her in the house for most of the day on her own. We let her have run of the house about the time she turned two. 

A reason why I think it was difficult, was me not knowing exactly what to do, even though I had read advice and tips on potty training. The other part I think was her diet. Once we switched her to Wellness, it was almost like clockwork to expect her to go within an hour or two of eating. I also began noticing her signals. This may sound strange, but I feel very intuitive about knowing when she has to go potty other than after eating, like when she's had treats, snacks, and water in between meal times. 

When visiting family and friends, I make sure she goes potty before entering their home. That way I feel confident that she won't need to go again. 9 out of 10 times she will relieve herself before going inside. If she doesn't I watch her closely. One other thing, is that I made it a routine to have her relieve herself after each car ride so that it is expected. 

With Gordo, I have been taking him out every hour on the hour (THANKS Dave) and I feel confident he will be potty trained in no time. He's had maybe a couple of accidents that I blame on me for losing track of time. He is starting to go on command and he's only been with us less than a week! He's also starting to walk to the backdoor when he needs to go... And he drinks lots of water!


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## ksj123

Harley is 14 months old, and I thought he was totally housebroken, well that is until this morning. I have started letting him sleep in the bed with us, and guess what I found this morning. "pee". I cleaned it with bathroom cleaner because I didn't have any natures miracle. I hope it will not stain too bad. Any suggestions. Also, Harley goes back in the crate at night. He starts out in there anyway, but wakes up early morning hours because he knows I will let him in the bed. I'm in for a couple of long nights. barking, crying..... I take partial blame for this because he got me right where he wanted me!! But, he is so sweet!


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## JCChaplin

I strongly recommend hanging a bell on the door that you use to take him out and take his paw to "ring" it every time you go out. It may take a while, but eventually, he will get it and he will be able to ring it to let you know that he has to go out. My hav is 2 1/2 years old and he will still have an occasional accident. Usually it's my fault though!


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## meganmckellar

JCChaplin said:


> I strongly recommend hanging a bell on the door that you use to take him out and take his paw to "ring" it every time you go out. It may take a while, but eventually, he will get it and he will be able to ring it to let you know that he has to go out. My hav is 2 1/2 years old and he will still have an occasional accident. Usually it's my fault though!


Yeah, I've thought about the Poochie Bells, I guess what has discouraged me is my parent's Hav refuses to use them. I guess I need to give it a shot though.


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## JCChaplin

I didn't believe it would work, but I started it when Charlie was 3 months old. After about a month, one day he walked to the door and rang it. Wherever we go, I put a bell on the door (hotels, etc.) and he knows that's his way to tell me, even in a strange place. Definitely give it a try! Good luck.


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## good buddy

meganmckellar said:


> Yeah, I've thought about the Poochie Bells, I guess what has discouraged me is my parent's Hav refuses to use them. I guess I need to give it a shot though.


If your parents Hav doesn't use them, maybe they would send them to you! :biggrin1:


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