# How many accidents is too many?



## CalvinAndHobbes

I've had my new puppy for 2 weeks now. He finally has enough shots that the vet said he can go in the backyard now. So I've switched from trying to litterbox train him to letting him go in the back yard. He seemed to take to it naturally at first. The first day he how no accidents at all! I was so happy! But today, I got him outside once after he ate, and the rest have been inside. I swear he is peeing twice his body weight. I watch him all the time when he's out but he is SO quick to go, and he doesnt respond to loud noises and claps once he starts.

I'm not sure what to do. I guess I'm just wondering if this is normal in the beginning. How many accidents were typical with your new puppy?


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## lanabanana

If you have only had your puppy for two weeks, I'm going to guess that he can't be more than 14 weeks old. This whole potty training thing takes patience by the bucketload and I agree that sometimes it seems like they are peeing every five minutes! I think they have teeny, tiny bladders. I have also noticed that my male pees three times as often as my female.

You probably need to make his space smaller, so he is visible to you every single minute and you can jump up and take him out at the first sniff of the floor. Other people use a leash and just keep the pup hooked to them all day long, so there is just no opportunity for them to have an accident. Good luck! It's a process and you will see improvement as time goes by. Ignore the accidents and do the potty dance and sing for EVERY successful potty experience outside.


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## DonnaC

I am chuckling out loud -- but not in a mean way. I am not sure the number has been counted -- or reached .

It will be over at some point (I hope!) Baxter is five months old and mostly makes it outside, but I cleaned up two messes this morning!


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## DonnaC

What a sweetie!


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## Tessa's Mommy

Tessa is 8 months old this week and still has several accidents a week. She is getting better. She use to have several accidents a day.


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## lkwilson

DonnaC said:


> I am chuckling out loud -- but not in a mean way. I am not sure the number has been counted -- or reached .
> 
> yeah... I was going to say several hundred.... maybe
> 
> treats, treats and more treats and paying attention. Former I'm good at, latter not so much so we still have spots out of the way that he'll use if I'm not understanding the stare or hear the bells.


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## krandall

CalvinAndHobbes said:


> I've had my new puppy for 2 weeks now. He finally has enough shots that the vet said he can go in the backyard now. So I've switched from trying to litterbox train him to letting him go in the back yard. He seemed to take to it naturally at first. The first day he how no accidents at all! I was so happy! But today, I got him outside once after he ate, and the rest have been inside. I swear he is peeing twice his body weight. I watch him all the time when he's out but he is SO quick to go, and he doesnt respond to loud noises and claps once he starts.
> 
> I'm not sure what to do. I guess I'm just wondering if this is normal in the beginning. How many accidents were typical with your new puppy?


In a basic sense, the answer to your question is that ANY accidents are too many. By that, I mean that every time you let him have an accident, you are "training" him that it is OK to go somewhere you don't want him to. Getting a puppy potty trained is all about establishing GOOD potty habits as soon as possible. Read abunch of Tom King's posts on the subject. He and his wife, Pam, have potty trained more puppies than anyone I know.

You HAVE to control your puppy's movement/space until you have a better handle on the potty training. The sooner you get the potty training under control, the sooner you can give him more freedom.

That is not to say you're never going to have an accident... Especially if you are new to puppies. There will be times when you just "miss" the signals that he needs to go, even when you are looking right at him. Just remember these accidents are not his fault, they are yours. Calmly clean them up THOROUGHLY, and be even more vigilant the next time! But certainly, if you are having more misses than hits, the puppy is learning nothing about where he is supposed to be pottying.


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## Rita Nelson

Krandall's advice was great. Keep him confined to a small area and take him out every 30 to 45 min. when awake, after eating and after playing. It's just like having a new baby in the house. Nothing else gets done because of taking care of baby. It's time consuming and tiring, but worth the effort in the long run. Both of you will be reap the benefits.


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## ShirleyH

*Yup--great advice given*

It's an absolute must to remember that puppies learn what they DO, so allowing the accidents says 'it's okay'. Keeping this baby more confined until good habits are established is the only way. Positive reinforcement for doing the right thing is also a must and absolutely no punishment. If you don't catch your puppy in the act of eliminating in the wrong place, he won't know what he's done wrong anyway.

You'll get there.

Keeper's Mom


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## Momo means Peach

I don't know if it helps, but, I so very much missed Momo's signals that I decided that it was best to get bells on the back door. She quickly learned that bells mean that she wants to outside (although, she definitely abuses that one - she loves to go out and survey her yard or just lay out in the sun). At first, we used a leash (breeder recommendation) to take her outside to do her business and gave her a lick of peanut butter for a reward. Eventually, she understood what she needed to do, between the bells and the treats. She now rings the bell if she has to potty, vomit, play, etc. Her accidents are rare now and only because we didn't hear the bell.


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## Tessa's Mommy

We also use the bell as a signal to go outside for both Cooper and Tessa. Cooper learned quite quickly when he was pup.

Tessa though thinks it's a plaything put there just to amuse her. She will sit beside it and bat it with both paws for all she's worth. While it is very cute, it can be annoying because we know she is just playing and doesn't really need or want to go out. I'm hoping that she will learn soon that it is only to go to potty.


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## Atticus

All great advise, I took mine out all the time,out of crate/pen/after play/you really can't go out too often! Remember to say something when the are peeing as later it really inspires them, ("get busy" "hurry up" "go pee") whatever. And I try to pretty much stay in the same area, it's not a walk, it's pee time, I don't do or say much either just concentrate on peeing. To be honest I'm still taking him out most of the time (tho not as often as his bladder is stronger),he will sometimes go to the door but I still don't give him the run of the house unless he just went out.He is 5 months. It's a tricky time because we have had few errors and I don't want to start having them now. I think this now, is a hard transition for me, to let him get to the point to ask to go out.Good Luck!


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## MoirasNiceLady

I, too, find it hard to give Mo the chance to ask to go out. At the slightest sign of a sniff I expect the worst and take her out. We are trying to bell train but she is stubborn about ringing them herself so we keep doing it and saying "outside". 

The good news is she's rung the bells 3 times and each time she went potty when she got out there. The bad news is that she goes potty every time we take her out there so the bells could have just been an unintentional coincidence.

Bottom line, we keep trying. She's so worth it.


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## dodrop82

We tried the bells with Boo too, cause her only indicator that she has to go out is to dig at the sliding glass door. (Yogi whines at the door when she has to go) And if your not in the room, ya don't hear her soft paws digging the glass. We've had the bells up for about 3 months now, and the only time they've rung is when Mommy rings them!


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## krandall

We tried Kodi with bells for a while too... Quite a long while. I know it works for some dogs, but Kodi is very smart in a lot of ways, but a total Dunce at the bells.:biggrin1: Ieventually gave up becuas eall they did was scratch up the door, and he NEVER rang them independently. 

All of a sudden, around 18 months, he started to come to us and give a very distinctive little yip when he needed to go out. We can confirm that this is what he wants by asking, Do you want to go out?". If he does, he cocks his head to the side, and runs to the door. If not, we're left guessing what he wants, but we know that it's NOT that he needs to go out!:biggrin1:


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## ShirleyH

*The Signal*

Like Kodi, Keeper didn't take to the bells. He comes and puts one paw on my knee and gives me 'the look' which says, 'you are smart enough to know I need to go out' aren't you?

Shirley


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## Tom King

Once is an accident. Twice or more and it has become a habit. They have no trouble with both an inside method and going outside. People who have the most accidents are the ones who never want them to go in the house. They don't have reasoning about it until they are adults-see Karen's post about Kodi communicating a couple of posts back-don't expect that until they are adults. Especially at an early age, it's all about habit. And, especially when they are playing, they have to pee often. Even after they have developed the habit of using the box, they need to be reminded frequently during a play session.


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