# Checking in with experienced owners re. house training:



## Klaviergoddess (Aug 5, 2015)

Ok, Here's where we are. We have a 3 mo. old male puppy and I'm a first time dog owner so please be patient. We're taking him out very very often for potty breaks. He's doing quite well, most of the time. We believed that he could have a little free time (20 min?) in the house after going potty outside, however, he's sneaking a few accidents in there when our head is turned (once a day or so). We're trying hard to supervise constantly, honestly we are, but every now and then we get distracted. I do have a human child that I need to make eye contact with occasionally and it only takes him half a second to do his business. LOL I never scold him for anything I didn't witness, we're trying hard to use positive reinforcements. 

He is crate trained and doesn't mind his crate. He gets food rewards and heaps of praise for going outside in the right place. Seriously, the boy has his own personal potty cheering squad. Our neighbors think we're mental. 

Here are my questions:
(1) Is it possible to teach him to tell me when he needs to go out? How do I do it? Sometimes he does a tiny whimper, more often I get nothing at all. So far, I'm not having success with the potty bells but I could try harder to work on that before presuming they won't work. 
(2) If keeping him under total supervision or crated is the way things have to be now, how do I transition him from that routine, to living in the house with us? How do I know when it is safe to allow more freedom? Is it ever?
(3) What is a realistic timeline? None of us realized it would be quite this challenging. Well, we really didn't know what to expect but we're game for whatever needs to happen. 
(4) When should I consider a litter box an option? Do people use the same type of litter box a cat would use? I was worried about confusing him with more than option so I've been adamantly against it. I work from home, he's rarely alone. It seemed like going out wouldn't be a big issue. 
(5) I keep his water out all the time because I'm worried about dehydration. Is that wrong? Should I only give it to him with meals? His meals are put away after eating so he isn't free-feeding.

FYI, He can hold it for hours in his crate at night. The longest he was crated was four hours during the day, that was by necessity and is NOT the norm. (He held out just fine that time.)


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I think the biggest mistake people make is giving too much freedom too soon. I crate trained Molly to go outside for potty. We do not use an indoor option. After pottying outside she would get supervised freedom in the house. I used baby gates to limit the area she could be in so she couldn't sneak off and potty. When I could not have eyes on her every minute she would go in an expen. Molly was much older than your puppy when she started telling me that she had to go out. The fewer accidents your puppy is allowed to have in the house, the better. At this age it is more you being trained when to get your puppy out than it is the puppy telling you. Good luck.


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## Klaviergoddess (Aug 5, 2015)

*X pen vs tethering*

I think you are correct. We had a false expectation of the process going much more quickly, based on our friend's magical experience potty training her Havanese who apparently has never had an accident, ever! &#128521;. Do you think tethering to a sturdy table leg could substitute for an x pen? We had trouble with him knocking down his initial playpen, although it was intended for the smallest pups. It worked perfectly for a while and then became useless. We have a little bit of a space issue as well. A sturdy x pen would be pretty intrusive to household traffic flow but we may just have to get over it.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Tethering to the table leg is certainly an option, but Molly always seems to wind the leash around things when I have tried this and then it creates a whole different problem. Do you have a hallway or other tiled area like a mudroom that you could gate the puppy in? I do this now when I am going to be gone for more than a couple hours and don't want Molly to be stuck in her crate. I used a baby play yard that I could configure into different shapes when she first came home. It also worked as an extra wide gate. Believe me, my husband was not too happy having to step around this big contraption in our kitchen! It was only for a few months and I told him he would eventually get his house back.


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

Your pup is still very young. Sometimes it takes up to a year before pups are allowed freedom. My two were relatively easy to train but I still gate off the front part of my house, not necessarily for potty training but I like being able to keep an eye on them. I certainly don't allow them upstairs by themselves and they are almost two and four. They don't have accidents inside anymore. I'm trying to remember when Mae started using her bells but when she started she was obsessed and I had to keep letting her out every time she rang them even if she didn't have to go outside. Timmy just learned to scratch at the door to signal. Some pups don't have obvious signals like scratching or ringing bells, some will come over to look at you or even look like they are going to do their business like pacing, circling etc... Have you given any thought about tethering your pup to you instead of using an expen? You can keep a closer eye on him then if he's in an expen because he might be in another room. Don't forget puppies have to pee way more often then adults. If it's raining outside Timmy will hold it forever! I do take water up if they seem like they are interested in drinking after 8pm. If they don't drink then it stays down.


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## Klaviergoddess (Aug 5, 2015)

We have been tethering him directly to us or right at our feet for that precise reason, I wanted to be able to observe his behavior. Interestingly, today I have been getting a consistent single yip asking me to take him out. I'm very optimistic about this progress. I really appreciate your thoughtful responses.


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

You'll learn the signals it just takes time. It sounds like you're on the right track. Try not to set any specific expectations its all about adapting to get the behavior you want.


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