# housebreaking question



## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

Housebreaking is going very slowly around here. Jinx will go outside, then come in and sometimes pee again within 15 minutes of having already gone!

I am trying to stick with the crate training as much as possible, but I don't like to keep him in the crate all day. The plan is to take him out to do his business, let him come in and play for 25-30 minutes, then put him back in the crate to nap and then repeat the cycle over.

This morning, he woke up a little early (we try to keep him in the crate until 6:30). He really needed to go out though, so he went pee at 6:00. Chuck put him back in the crate when he came in. I had him back out again when I got up around 20 minutes later and he peed all over the kitchen floor. I would have thought that I'd be safe since it was only 20 minutes.

He was doing much better a few weeks ago. I am trying to remember how this whole process went with Gryff. I know it wasn't easy, but he's good to go now. Is this setback normal at around 4 months? He just seems to pee so often.


----------



## ShirleyH (Sep 13, 2009)

This is SO frustrating I know. If you really think he's peeing too much, give the vet's office a call. You might keep a log for 24 hours and give them the time periods between pees. Does he ever pee in his crate?

Keeper's Mom


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah Ivy, try making his rewards greater for going outdoors. He probably needs more reinforcement for doing it outside. When he goes outside reward him with a walk . Don't walk with the purpose of getting him to eliminate. Use the walk or playtime, as a reward for going outside. But it sounds like there is no incentive for him to go outside possibly. Throw in a t-bone outside when he goes there. LOL


----------



## 1plus2havs (Jan 29, 2010)

I know it is frustrating but just be patient. I usually take the water bowl at 9pm the most probably it stays until 10pm. I will let my dog go potty outside, if he DOES his business a lot of praise and I play with him for about 20 to 30 mins and he goes back to the crate. If he DOES NOT, he need to go back immediately to the crate without play and just repeat the process. Liam has been accident free since he was 6 months old. Good luck! he will get it just be consistent.


----------



## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

My pup is 18 weeks old and I'm having the exact same troubles. The crate helps, but I agree, I don't want to keep her in there all day. She seems to be able to hold it while in the crate, and she will go outside if i take her out, but she has no problem letting it go anywhere else in the house! My other dog (not a hav) was completely housebroken at this age. Is this a Havanese thing? I've been treating her and lots of praise when she goes outside, and if i catch her in the act in the house then she gets a good scolding. Any other advice? I'm embarrassed to take her visiting to friends houses in case she makes a mess.


----------



## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

I realized that yesterday that I do need to praise him more than just a "good boy" when he goes outside. I will start carrying treats outside. He did very well this morning. I took him out of the crate and he did both outside. In fact, it was the first really solid poop he's had. He had breakfast, played with Gryff for about 15 minutes, then I took him back out and he did both again. Now he's playing with Gryff again and I will put him in his crate in about 15-20 minutes.

He never goes while he's in the crate, so that's good. He's starting to get too big for it though. Gryff has a really nice wooden crate that sometimes they both lay in. Perhaps I'll transition Jinx into that one.


----------



## ShirleyH (Sep 13, 2009)

I think it is very good news that Jinx does not eliminate in his crate. That says that he is wanting a clean place. Dave's suggestions are great. Yes, I'd make a party out of it everytime he does it right. 

Putting Jiinx in the wooden crate with Gryff for short periods of time might be a good thing too. You could try it.

Keeper's Mom


----------



## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

ivyagogo said:


> I realized that yesterday that *I do need to praise him more than just a "good boy" when he goes outside.* I will start carrying treats outside. He did very well this morning. I took him out of the crate and he did both outside. In fact, it was the first really solid poop he's had. He had breakfast, played with Gryff for about 15 minutes, then I took him back out and he did both again. Now he's playing with Gryff again and I will put him in his crate in about 15-20 minutes.
> 
> He never goes while he's in the crate, so that's good. He's starting to get too big for it though. Gryff has a really nice wooden crate that sometimes they both lay in. Perhaps I'll transition Jinx into that one.


When I was training Henry I was told you literally have to jump around and and get excited about the potty outside, practically throw a party! :whoo:arty:


----------



## Carefulove (Mar 20, 2009)

Ivy, Yes praise him (A LOT) when he goes outside and do show him you are upset when he does it inside and gets put back in the crate/xpen or designated area. The solution here is "consistency & patience" he will get it. When Toby was that age, I took him out every hour, sometimes less. Anytime you see him getting up from where he is and he starts looking around, get him outside (even if is less than 1 hr). Eventually, his bladder will get bigger and he will be able to hold it for longer periods of time.

I had my set backs with both of mine as well, As a matter of fact, just last night I pulled the Expen out again. Toby had already graduated to sleeping on a doggy bed (outside of his crate) and I took his expen away as well. When we are home, he has the run of the house and when we are out or sleeping, he is in the game/play room with a gate to the kitchen. He spent about 2.5 weeks doing great like that, and for the past 2 days started lifting his leg and peeing in the playroom (EVEN when his litter box was NEXT to him :frusty. Now he is back in his expen again with no expiration date. Since he just started showing signs of Sexual interest (mounting Bumi any chance he gets), I assume he will start the marking, so perhaps I'll keep the expen until he is neutered in Oct. Is up to him to earn more freedom.


----------



## HannahBearsMom (Jul 31, 2011)

Tuss said:


> My pup is 18 weeks old and I'm having the exact same troubles. The crate helps, but I agree, I don't want to keep her in there all day. She seems to be able to hold it while in the crate, and she will go outside if i take her out, but she has no problem letting it go anywhere else in the house!


Same situation here, except Maccabee is mostly in an expen, not a crate (at night only). He is accident-free in the ex-pen, except for his occasional "misfire" when he doesn't step all the way into his litter box.

At out breeder's recommendation, we are now working on pottying outside most of the time (which he seems to prefer), while still using the litter box in the expen. I think I also need to offer more encouragement and rewards when he goes outside. "Good Job" is obviously not enough to really encourage him.


----------



## Ruthi (Nov 10, 2011)

I am hoping to teach Otis to potty inside and outside. He is pretty good about using the ugodog inside, and I want him to have that as a back up when it is raining, etc. I have never tried doing both before, so, hope it works.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ruthi said:


> I am hoping to teach Otis to potty inside and outside. He is pretty good about using the ugodog inside, and I want him to have that as a back up when it is raining, etc. I have never tried doing both before, so, hope it works.


We didn't have any trouble... We didn't even work very hard on training Kodi to go outside. We just praised him when he did. Before long, he preferred going outside, if it was an option.


----------



## Ruthi (Nov 10, 2011)

Good to know Karen. Otis loves to go outside to potty. He just does it naturally. He also will use the ugodog inside the exercise pen. I suppose I need to work with him walking on leash. There will be lots of times that he will have to be on leash, and will have to potty on leash.


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Tuss said:


> My pup is 18 weeks old and I'm having the exact same troubles. The crate helps, but I agree, I don't want to keep her in there all day. She seems to be able to hold it while in the crate, and she will go outside if i take her out, but she has no problem letting it go anywhere else in the house! My other dog (not a hav) was completely housebroken at this age. Is this a Havanese thing? I've been treating her and lots of praise when she goes outside, and if i catch her in the act in the house then she gets a good scolding. Any other advice? I'm embarrassed to take her visiting to friends houses in case she makes a mess.


" and if i catch her in the act in the house then she gets a good scolding."... 
Yeah , I wouldn't quite recommend this scolding. Even if you see her about to do the deed, don't scare her but in a quick vocal ... "ahhh ahhh:" ,simply go get her, pick her up and take her outside while saying your go potty command. If puppies get punished in anyway for this , they will learn to hide and eliminate somewhere. here is a quote from Jolanta Benal ,on this aspect. ...."Many trainers suggest a clap or other sharp noise to interrupt a puppy who's just getting ready to go. The idea is that then you bring her outside to finish up, and reward her when she does. I'm not wild about this tactic. For a sensitive pup, interruption may bump right up against startlement and fear. It's not always so easy to gauge what's loud and sharp enough to interrupt but not loud and sharp enough to scare."


----------



## Lori (Mar 1, 2012)

Wow...this is sounding all too familiar! Shamus is 16 weeks and is doing the same things others have said. We actually do not use his crate much. We have gated off a part of the laundry room and put his crate in there with the door open. When we are gone, he goes in the laundry room with a potty pad. He will either use the pad or hold it till we get home. Same thing at night. He goes just fine when we take him outside but when we give him a little freedom, he pees in the kitchen. He does not really show any signs...all of sudden we see pee on the floor. We have a playpen set up for when we are home but cannot keep an eye on him or after we catch him peeing...he goes in there till we take him out again to pee. If he pees, he gets some freedom, if not...he goes in the playpen. I am wondering if I should get an expen instead of the playpen so he gets use to the wood floor and maybe he would learn that he is not to pee on that surface. He does very well about not peeing in confined spaces so maybe if I confined him on the hardwood he would start associating that with a no pee area!? Also thought about putting a potty pad in there with him if I did get an expen...since he does use that in the laundry room. I could start off with small confinement and then gradually give him more room and see how he does.

Does this sound like a good plan? My husband is bugging me to come up with a plan B so I am trying to think of something....short of hiring a trainer!!

Like the others, I will say that we have been laxed with the potty party when he does go outside. We were very good at it when we first started but after so long it gets harder to throw a huge party every time!! Especially when he goes so much!!
Will try to do better!!! It's hard with him though because sometimes he does not want the treat and just wants to run around outside. A lot of time I will take him for a little walk afterward...just depending on time constraints! 

Looking for any advice.

Lori


----------



## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

Look at that Shamus! He is so adorable. Good thing these guys are cute, huh.

Jinx has started to shred his wee wee pads, so those are quickly becoming an option of the past. I know he will figure this out sooner or later.


----------



## PeaceLoveHavanese (Apr 30, 2012)

*Stay positive! Everyone has set backs *

I know that is really frustrating when you have set backs, but just stay positive, stay consistent, and reinforce with a favorite treat and lots of praise when Jinx does as he's supposed to, sometimes you even have to revert totally back to the brand new puppy stage by taking them out 15 minutes after drink/water, after naps, after play, and once an hour on top of that, may be necessary. I'm not sure how old Jinx is, but it could possibly be a definite in that tween/teen stage that isn't fun for humans or canines! Brees too still has some accidents, but it does get better with time!! Brees doesn't wake us up anymore but instead waits for my fiance and I to take her out even if Chad can't take her out because he running late, she will wait & just snooze with me until I take her out-honestly she could sleep until 2 pm if I did!! Although I do kind of miss my alarm clock puppy...!

And this is the first face I usually roll over to greet in the morning, especially on week days when Chad isn't home. And yes, my 8lb dog has at least 4 pillows of her own!


----------



## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

So, how about some updates? Are your pups getting it right?


----------



## Jplatthy (Jan 16, 2011)

LOL...when Smokey was younger NO ONE believed me that he was peeing every 15-20 minutes..they said he had to be "marking" but in my opinion it was too much to be marking...........unfortunately the only solution I found was crating him at the advice of my vet because she said he had to "learn" to hold it longer and he never would if I took him out every 15-20 minutes...good news is it worked and by 6 months he was completely house trained! I did take him to the vet to get him checked out to make sure it was not any medical condition....good luck!


----------



## MerryMaeFlower (May 26, 2012)

Gilbert suddenly started to regress on his housebreaking after it had been going really well and I found that giving him a treat he LOVES after he went potty seemed to give him a lot more enthusiasm for going outside (it took quite a few tries to find something he got excited about). He has done the whole go potty outside, come inside, and then go potty inside 15 minutes later. That's actual really normal for a puppy. They can get easily distracted outside and do not always finish going potty so they then finish going inside 15 minutes later. 

Does he have a play pen area? I find it really helps to piddle pad train a puppy to use their piddle pad in a pen. This way if they have to go during the night/early morning they can go immediately and there are also fewer distractions so they completely empty their bladders. I don't suggest leaving a piddle pad anywhere else in the house though since you want him to primarily go outside, which is what he will most likely prefer as he gets older. FYI, the grass scented piddle pads may make easier to train him. 

Anyway, just my thoughts and what has worked for me. I've helped to train other people's pups and treats and a piddle pad always seem to be the most effective. And having a dog piddle pad trained can be really helpful if the dog is going to occasioannly be in a new enviroment or something like a hotel. Good luck with whatever you try, he'll get it!


----------



## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

Jinx is doing better, but I'm on him constantly. I take him out a zillion times a day, just to make sure he is empty! We had a bit of a heatwave two weeks ago and the smell in my house was awful. I had the rugs taken away to be cleaned and all the carpets done. Believe it or not, that has helped him not pee on the rugs in and of itself. He went once on the stairs since then and twice on the tile floor, which is easy to clean up.


----------



## MerryMaeFlower (May 26, 2012)

Oh, I forgot to mention, giving the puppy acccess to water through out the day only every two hours can also help with the whole go potty out, come inside and go potty again 15 minutes later. Unless he's outside or playing hard (he'll need more water at those times) giving him access to water only every two hours should keep him plenty hydrated but can also help his pottying become more predictable and easier to control.


----------



## MerryMaeFlower (May 26, 2012)

ivyagogo said:


> Jinx is doing better, but I'm on him constantly. I take him out a zillion times a day, just to make sure he is empty! We had a bit of a heatwave two weeks ago and the smell in my house was awful. I had the rugs taken away to be cleaned and all the carpets done. Believe it or not, that has helped him not pee on the rugs in and of itself. He went once on the stairs since then and twice on the tile floor, which is easy to clean up.


That's great! What a relief!


----------



## BennyBoy (Apr 25, 2012)

StarrLhasa said:


> So, how about some updates? Are your pups getting it right?


At 16 weeks, Benny is doing pretty well in this area. He is great about going to the back door and scratching/barking to get our attention when he has to go out. He has gone almost a week with no accidents, so I can't complain.

Around 12 weeks, I noticed a big change in his ability to hold his pee and not just go every 20 minutes. I guess he finally developed some muscle control over that tiny bladder.

He does not have full run of the house unsupervised, mostly because he loves to eat Legos - but I also don't trust him not to have an accident - there are too many distractions out in the "real world" LOL! He is confined to the kitchen/Florida room (hardwood) while we are home but can't supervise him, and then he goes in his crate when we are not home and at night.

As far as pooping, he is pretty predicable at this point - goes first thing in the morning, at noon and then after dinner. He will poop in the yard just fine, but he loves to go for walks, so after I put my son on the bus at noon, we always go for a "poop walk". I can always count on a good poop before we get to the end of the street.

I am not a fan of dogs going potty inside on pads, etc., so Benny was going outside only from day one. Not fun at 3 a.m. those first few weeks, but it was worth it, since I believe it made his training easier.


----------

