# Help with Potty Training



## Dilly53

I purchased my 4 month old Havanese about 3 weeks ago. I adore him but his inability to even try to get his potty under control is causing me to consider selliing him. I have devoted myself to his potty training since I purchased him and have noted the times of day that he potties. I've housebroken at least 10 dogs in the past and never had these problems. Here's whats going on:
1. He was paper trained at the breeders, but I am trying to train him to use my backyard.

2. He hides his accidents, and will disappear from my sight if I turn away for an instant and by the time I find him it's too late. I scold him if I see him do it, and never use physical punishment.

3. He has yet to poop in the yard. I walk him twice a day, and I finally had success yesterday as he pooped and peed. Unfortunately, he ended the day by peeing on my floor 4 times. I was cleaning up one mess and he would make another.

4. I have been crating him almost constantly the last few days unless he potties when I take him out. I have also put him on a leash and had him by my side constantly, but this isn't feasible all day as I have work to do!

5. I am an artist and have created a small gated enclosure for him with a doggie bed inside in my studio. Yesterday he peed all over it in his sleep. I've never seen this done before.

6. I've tried using the housebreaking spray outside and he doesn't even pay any attention to it. He just walks on past it.

7. When he does perform outside I give him treats that he loves.

8. Although I have a doggie door he won't use it as it has steps down to the yard. He's terrified to go down any steps. I've been working with him on this since I got him, but he still won't go down. Up is okay, but that doesn't help get him out when he needs to go, so I'm now trying bell training.


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## MopTop Havanese

I am sorry for your frustrations!! I can guarantee you that he won't be housetrained in three weeks- they are usually pretty reliable around 6-8 months and of course will have accidents in the mean time. Potty training a small dog is indeed frustrating and time consuming!
If he peed in his sleep, (and not just on his bed when you weren't looking) I would def get him into the vet to have him checked out. He could possibly have a UTI.
If he was trained to papers at his breeders, can you-just for a couple weeks- put papers down for him so he has somewhere to go instead of running off to hide? I relate it to a baby and diapers. You would never just take a diaper off a one year old baby and expect them to suddenly tell you every time they had to go to the bathroom. You would use training pants or pull-ups (pee-pads or papers) until they are older and able to alert you.
Hang in there, he will get it!!


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## Suzi

I agree with bringing back the training pad. put it by the door you go out still do everything you have been doing. I have two areas in my house where I keep a pad just to make sure we don't have accidents. You might change the treat to something really good. Mine love chicken breast. You can also use deli turkey. Have a huge party when he goes out side.
What was his environment like at the breeders? Had they started outdoor training? was he pined up a lot? Don't give up !


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## HavaneseSoon

Potty training takes time............lots of time..............lots of accidents. Do not show frustration to your Hav for accidents you do not catch him in the act. Your Hav will not understand why you are so upset. 

Just clean up the accident. Show lots of praise for the things your Hav does correctly... immediately.

Havs have tiny bladders. I remember watching Dexter like a hawk! I did not crate him, I knew where he was at all times and I learned his body language when he was getting ready to poo and pee. 

I remember setting a timer to take Dexter out EVERY 45 minutes and slowly getting to the 2 hour mark. 

I took Dexter outside immediately after naps, meals, first thing in the morning, after playing....and knowing...as soon as he drank water, he would need to pee about 30-45 minutes later. 

Watch your Hav and get to know the signs when he needs to potty. Sometimes...it is just the "look" at you...or he might be sniffing around too much. We had lots of accidents! 

Hang in there! Life does get easier.


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## CrazieJones

Oh I know how you so feel. Going through the same thing right now with my 3 month old Roshi. Since I'm raising him all by myself, it's tough. I'm already stressed out at work, and I come home and all I do is clean up his crap. He sleeps in his crate well, but that's about it. He pees in there as well. Sigh. Note - he was paper trained by his breeder, and not a petshop pup. I was bad, and one day I had a major spaz. I think it did something to us, and I am totally paying for it now (seems like our bond was hurt). So now, I'm trying to work on it again. However, Roshi is improving. For the last week, just 1 accident/day at his daycare. When I take over at night, he's leashed onto me and I watch him like a hawk. If he sniffs more than 5 seconds, I lead him outside. 
Forget the "age in month = hold it hour". I find that does not apply to the havanese. Mine is 3 mths old, and his average day time hold = 1.5 hrs. If he naps, maybe 2 to 2.5 hours. Mine pees in his crate too. 
Yeah, house training is ... you can fill in the blank! I'm sure we'll get through it.


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## motherslittlehelper

When we got Augie, he had a good start on paper training. The breeder had not crate trained him, but advised us to start that immediately, but also said not to lock the door on him at night as at that age (he was 8 wks then), his body was too immature to hold it the whole night. She also told us that we could try to take him outside to potty, but until about 16 weeks, we would only be training ourselves, that they were really too immature to be potty trained to the outside as well. Since we don't have a fenced yard and stray dogs run through and he had not had all his shots and it was December where we get nearly daily rain, I just decided to keep on with the paper training and transitioned him to a UgoDog pan/tray when I learned about them. We kept his crate and UgoDog in the kitchen, the only centrally located area with vinyl in our house. We would let him out to play with us in the family room. If he peed on the floor there, I scooped him up, took him to the newspaper or UgoDog and told him go potty and put the gate back up to the kitchen. It was not long before he would be playing and all of a sudden run lickety split for the kitchen to go potty. We did not even attempt outside potty until he was 8-9 months old. He was kept in the kitchen area at night and could go potty if need be. I am lazy and this worked for me. When we decided that maybe he could have run of the whole first floor, he went and pooped under the dining room table (probably at about 9 months or so), so he was back to being restricted to the family room and kitchen area as that is where he was reliable. That method worked for us and is what I am doing with our new puppy who is now 12 wks. old. At this time, with new puppy, I can only let him out for about 30 minutes to avoid accidents.

Casie, a comment you made jumped out at me - about being stressed at work. I took a training session to see if Augie and I were suitable to become a Pet Partner team. Part of the training involved stress and how a handler's stress travels down the leash to the dog. Dogs are very in tune to our feelings and the Havanese breed is very sensitive. I know that when we are just planning a trip, Augie's behavior changes and he gets more under foot and acts in ways he doesn't usually act. We take Rally classes, and our trainer even commented on his behavior at that time. Just a thought is that it may be possible that Roshi is reacting to your stress with some of his behaviors? I have to admit that when we brought Augie home as a puppy, I had second thoughts and wondered for a short time what I had done to myself. It was totally overwhelming for a bit. But it passed, we got a routine down and I wouldn't trade him for anything. And then we brought in new puppy two weeks ago, and we are doing it all over again.  And I can't even come up with a name for him!


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## pjewel

I think your expectations are causing some of your stress. It takes much longer to train most small dogs than their larger counterparts. I've had dogs all my adult life and never had so many training issues until I got my first Havanese. If you lower your expectation, understanding it's just a function of time, I think you'll make both your lives easier. And I would take Katie's advice and have him checked out for a UTI.


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## Lizzie'sMom

Lizzie was not reliable until about 9 months of age. She spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I took her out every 30 min for a week, then every hour and every two and by that time figured out her signals. Puppies have to go after eating, drinking, and any little bit of play. If she wandered into a new part of the house, even as an older puppy, she would piddle. Now she is like a trooper holding her pee, but it took time and a lot of accidents.


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## CrazieJones

That was last month. This week we started day care, and I started to bring home positive energy. But I guess after a month of negative energy, maybe it's still clinging onto Roshi. Hopefully it will dissipate after a few weeks.

But anyways, there is hope!!! Last night, I saw Roshi started to sniff, and I'm like what are you doing? He looked at me, and led me to the stairs to the front door, his pee door! We went outside. He peed. I had tears of joy in my eyes.



motherslittlehelper said:


> When we got Augie, he had a good start on paper training. The breeder had not crate trained him, but advised us to start that immediately, but also said not to lock the door on him at night as at that age (he was 8 wks then), his body was too immature to hold it the whole night. She also told us that we could try to take him outside to potty, but until about 16 weeks, we would only be training ourselves, that they were really too immature to be potty trained to the outside as well. Since we don't have a fenced yard and stray dogs run through and he had not had all his shots and it was December where we get nearly daily rain, I just decided to keep on with the paper training and transitioned him to a UgoDog pan/tray when I learned about them. We kept his crate and UgoDog in the kitchen, the only centrally located area with vinyl in our house. We would let him out to play with us in the family room. If he peed on the floor there, I scooped him up, took him to the newspaper or UgoDog and told him go potty and put the gate back up to the kitchen. It was not long before he would be playing and all of a sudden run lickety split for the kitchen to go potty. We did not even attempt outside potty until he was 8-9 months old. He was kept in the kitchen area at night and could go potty if need be. I am lazy and this worked for me. When we decided that maybe he could have run of the whole first floor, he went and pooped under the dining room table (probably at about 9 months or so), so he was back to being restricted to the family room and kitchen area as that is where he was reliable. That method worked for us and is what I am doing with our new puppy who is now 12 wks. old. At this time, with new puppy, I can only let him out for about 30 minutes to avoid accidents.
> 
> Casie, a comment you made jumped out at me - about being stressed at work. I took a training session to see if Augie and I were suitable to become a Pet Partner team. Part of the training involved stress and how a handler's stress travels down the leash to the dog. Dogs are very in tune to our feelings and the Havanese breed is very sensitive. I know that when we are just planning a trip, Augie's behavior changes and he gets more under foot and acts in ways he doesn't usually act. We take Rally classes, and our trainer even commented on his behavior at that time. Just a thought is that it may be possible that Roshi is reacting to your stress with some of his behaviors? I have to admit that when we brought Augie home as a puppy, I had second thoughts and wondered for a short time what I had done to myself. It was totally overwhelming for a bit. But it passed, we got a routine down and I wouldn't trade him for anything. And then we brought in new puppy two weeks ago, and we are doing it all over again.  And I can't even come up with a name for him!


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## Tom King

1. He was paper trained at the breeders, but I am trying to train him to use my backyard. People who have the most accidents are the ones who don't want them to go in the house. I have known of one owner who trained one of our puppies to go outside eliminating our work at teaching them to use a litter box. She was successful when she realized she could not have a life otherwise than watching the pup.

2. He hides his accidents, and will disappear from my sight if I turn away for an instant and by the time I find him it's too late. I scold him if I see him do it, and never use physical punishment. At this age they may or may not understand scolding. It's all about establishing correct habits. If he has an accident when you cannot see him, the fault there is that he has too much freedom. If you cannot trust the pup out of your sight, he has not earned that much freedom yet.

3. He has yet to poop in the yard. I walk him twice a day, and I finally had success yesterday as he pooped and peed. Unfortunately, he ended the day by peeing on my floor 4 times. I was cleaning up one mess and he would make another. They always have to go first thing in the morning and soon after they eat. Use that to your advantage. At this age they have a bladder the size of a teaspoon, and a REALLY high metabolizm. It's not unusual for one to pee several times during a play session. 



4. I have been crating him almost constantly the last few days unless he potties when I take him out. I have also put him on a leash and had him by my side constantly, but this isn't feasible all day as I have work to do!
We have never crate trained one, but use an expen that is folded down to start with to 2x4 with room for a bed, and a potty area. Until the pup is reliable in this space, and will go to a designated potty area when made closely available during a play session
he has not earned enough freedom to have more room yet.

5. I am an artist and have created a small gated enclosure for him with a doggie bed inside in my studio. Yesterday he peed all over it in his sleep. I've never seen this done before. I've never seen that before either. Hopefully it was a one time thing, and he was too full and dreaming or something.

6. I've tried using the housebreaking spray outside and he doesn't even pay any attention to it. He just walks on past it.

7. When he does perform outside I give him treats that he loves. This works for some, but we never use treats for potty training. I've heard of pups peeing in front of the owner to get a treat. 

8. Although I have a doggie door he won't use it as it has steps down to the yard. He's terrified to go down any steps. I've been working with him on this since I got him, but he still won't go down. Up is okay, but that doesn't help get him out when he needs to go, so I'm now trying bell training. I'm betting that the steps don't have enclosed risers, so he can see through them. This is just a size issue for him and he will get over it. Don't force the issue. I built all our steps outside with a low rise so pups can come and go easily, but wouldn't expect anyone else to do this. This will pass as he grows.


I'm adding these responses based on my experience in doing the early childhood development of something over 200 puppies that have spent the first 9 or 10 weeks in our house. I've told other breeders that our system is foolproof, but I have found out that I have underestimated where experience counts, and well less than half the breeders who start out using our system have the success that we do. I'm thinking it's a communication thing between us and the pups that involves a lot of timing and understanding their signals.

The pups we keep have the run of our house soon after their last sibling leaves, and we very seldom ever have an accident. But we don't expect them to only go outside. For instance, we have three litter boxes in different parts of our living room (24x30) and two different dog doors that go into different yards that sometimes one or both are open.

If they didn't have a system for going inside, I wouldn't want to have to teach one to only go outside. I've never seen one that didn't prefer to go outside if the chance was available, but then there are times when it's pouring rain, thunderstorming, or some other situation.........

It's all about establishing habit. Don't expect reasoning until they are probably a year old. You have to learn to read their signals, and not give too much freedom too soon. Their free space needs to be gradually increased, but not before they are ready. Knowing when they are ready is the whole key to good training.

It makes life with one great when potty training is no longer a worry. 

Good luck,


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## kcynkar

*housebreaking*

This is really embarrassing. I have 2 havanese dogs who are now 3 years old, brother & sister, love them to death. However I was never very successful at housebreaking them. Both were spayed and neutered at about 5 or 6 months. The female eventually appeared to get it and* would* tell me when she needed to go out. The male never did get it. However, when I take them out they will pee on cue, that 's good, but they will also pee inside on just about anything and every where.

During the day they are in their xpen, never pee or poo all day. But if they are free in the house running around or at night on their own they may go. My male also marks even though I got him nuetered at the proper time.

I take them outside almost on the exact time each morning, in the afternoon when I return from work and in the evening before bed. I make sure that they go the bathroom each time we go out and yet they continue to go in the house. I have had my carpets cleaned regularly and I have used enzyme based cleaning supplies when I clean the spots myself.

Please help.... I know that somehow I have not communicated to them the proper way...


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## Dilly53

*Housebreaking Help*

Everyone on this forum was so helpful when I posted asking for help with my puppies training. I had only had poodles before and they trained very quickly so I wasn't prepared for a puppy that seemed to pee constantly. Seriously, I'd just be cleaning one puddle and he'd make another. I was ready to sell him or give him away. He was exactly 4 months old when I got him and I was expecting maybe 2 weeks to get him trained. So, feeling entirely hopeless when I had had him for exactly 1 month, I was shocked when I was putting in a load of laundry and heard water running. I turned around and there was Oliver, lifting his leg on the laundry room door. I was so angry I took my hand and slammed it onto the dryer, which made such a loud noise he actually jumped a foot into the air and ran out the doggie door as fast as he could go. Since that day he has never peed in the house! He also won't poo inside except for right after breakfast when he is excited about being up and doesn't want to take the time to go outside. So, I just nudge him out the door and he goes right away. My perfect little 5 month old boy is now completely trained. So, if anyone needs advice I would suggest making a really loud noise if you catch them in the act. Maybe a rolled up newspaper or a soda can filled with coins. It worked for me and I am so grateful that I have a snuggly housebroken puppy at last!


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## Stacey

I am glad to see so many posts related to keeping your puppy in a small area to start. We gave too much freedom after 2 days of Digby coming to our home, and we paid for it....pee everywhere. Right now we keep him in his pen during the day if we can't keep an eye on him. He has a potty pad which he will use if needed, but we try to take him out every hour. If he actually pees/poos outside when we take him, we then give him 20 minutes with us in our carpeted family room (on a leash so he can't hide behind anything), then back to his pen to play. We were having really good luck and hadn't had any accidents for two days.....until this morning. He had a drink, then was playing with our daughter running around, I was just getting ready to tell her to take him out for his bathroom break, when he squatted and peed on the carpet....oh well....that was totally our fault. I am quickly learning that containing him to a small area isn't cruel, but will instead save my sanity! Although I must admit that I can't wait until we don't have to do this anymore.


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## Dilly53

*Puppy potty training*



I forgot to mention that I used a method suggested by the dog trainer at Petco. She told me to keep him on a leash at my side at all times when he wasn't in his kennel. I did this and it was almost impossible to drag that puppy around with me everywhere, but it did cut down on the accidents. I periodically took him outside and we managed to get along doing that for awhile. That said, I still think you can't really train them until their brain is ready to accept being trained and their body is mature enough to train. It's a lot like training a child. Oliver had a slight setback the day after I had him neutered, but that was only one day and then he got right back into the swing of things here. He's a delightful puppy....he has much more energy than I expected him to have as he was so quiet for the first week. Now he lives to annoy my 10 year old dog and I'm hoping he outgrows that pretty soon. Good luck with your pup. I will happen, I promise!


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## StarrLhasa

Photos of Oliver and Digby, please. We all love cute puppies.


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## Dilly53

*Photo of Oliver*

I guess I'll try to post a photo of my big boy! I haven't tried doing that on this site yet, and there are so many different requirements, so please forgive me if this doesn't work. I'm getting a bit concerned about his size. At 6 months he's a gigantic 15 pounds, and isn't overweight. I think this is really large for a Havanese? Are there any other pups out there that are on the "large" size? I also think he might be part wood chuck. He has chewed every dead bush in my yard down to the ground and will bring any chunk of wood into the house and chew it into millions of pieces. Not great for keeping my house clean, but much better than chewing on the arm of my sofa. I have a 10 year old cocker spaniel, Bailey, and Oliver follows him around all day and copies all of his behavior. Thankfully, Bailey is a really good dog so he's a great teacher. Havanese are a very different breed from dogs I've owned in the past, so I'm learning about him as he is learning about us! He's sweet and lovable and very quick to learn. I feel that we are a great match!


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## jessegirl

OMG - he's ridiculous cute! I LOVE a big Hav! I hope Rollie is a giant, but I doubt it - nearly 6 months and only 8.2 lbs.


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## krandall

Oliver is absolutely adorable!!! That is REALLY big for a 6 month old... Kodi is a big Hav and is 16.5 lbs as a full grown adult. But, as we say with Kodi, it's just more Hav to love! Unless you were planning to show in breed, Oliver's size makes absolutely no difference. Just more dog to hug. We call Kodi our lap-and-a-half dog!:biggrin1:


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## Shirley Ray

Thank goodness for the comments in this subject. I too have been threatening to "sell you" but since reading the comments, I realize that we are doing very well in comparison. At five months, Paddles goes outside at least three times a day, but still pees and poops in the house if he feels like it. He has a lot of freedom at times when he comes back in and I think he is beginning to mark because I am seeing small puddles every once in a while a very short time after we had a successful run outside. Also, he can hold it for hours. He sleeps on my bed at night sometimes for five or six hours with no accidents and always goes right away when I take him out for the first time. He is spending a lot of time in two different crates. His first one, he has never done anything in, the second was too big, but since I have used the separater and covered is all over there have been no accidents in it. And he occasionally barks to let me know he needs to go out. Regardless, I have decided to hire a professional dog trainer to give me help. I am 83 and it is extremely wearing. So, compared to other reports, I feel better because we are doing pretty good.

Except for potty training, he is one of the Han'N'Hold kennels pups and is a perfect puppy. He is loving, smart, born socialized (he is in love with a neighbor's 18 pound cat), learns words in two shakes of his tail, and does not suffer from separation anxiety.


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## Colbie

I'm sorry that it has come to this level of frustration for you. Hopefully all the posts with people sharing their experiences and offering some good advice have helped dissipate some of the stress for you.
Like people ever pup is different, different breeding, different environment and what works for one doesn't always carry over to the next.
Patience is a virtue that I wish I personally had a greater supply of but over time these things usually improve.
My pup is 3 months old and almost always goes on her wee wee pads in the kitchen. That is of course if she is gated in the kitchen. She will not go outside no matter how many times we take her out. Once inside she usually goes instantly. We tried moving a pad outside no good. We returned home to her being home 6 hours by herself with no accidents, took her outside, still nothing. Sure it is frustrating after reading
some success stories or people potty training in 3 days but I think those are not the norm. It takes as long as it takes.... we make a committment to them when we bring them home. I think being patient is part of that commitment.


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## Dilly53

*Housebreaking Oliver*

Hello, Everyone,
It's been years since I posted on this site regarding Oliver's housbreaking problems. I had asked for help on this forum and received some extremely critical replies that didn't help but certainly stung. That wasn't what I expected to receive on this site and I quickly decided to never go onto the site again. Now, however I want to share some things I have learned about housebreaking a very obstinate Havanese. 
There have been many times over the past 2 years where I thought Oliver finally got it. I would watch him playing and see him jump up and run out the doggie door, pee and come back inside. But, I would still find mostly dried pee that looked like he was still marking. I never once have actually seen him pee in the house which is an indication of how devious he is. I have tried every type of training and spoken with experts about him and I have tried every thing they have suggested. I think I mentioned before that I have housebroken at least 20 dogs without any problems. I'm a very good dog trainer and have great relationships with my dogs. That said, I'm about to say something that may make some of your heads spin around.

I had reached the point of considering giving Oliver away because I just couldn't deal with this problem any more. I love Oliver so much and he is a great friend to my new cocker pup (who NEVER once has gone in the house). So, since none of the training was helping I decided to try something different. When mother dogs are training their pups, they aren't gentle. They often give them a little nip to get their point across. I definitely don't advocate any type of cruelty, but I had reached the point after 2 1/2 years where Oliver had to change or I would find him another home. 
One day while I was cleaning I came across a puddle that was still warm. I found Oliver, picked him up and put his nose near the pee and, using a wooden spoon I popped him on his hind leg and put him outside. It didn't hurt enough to make him yelp, but he did give me a look of surprise. I did this again a few days later in the same scenario and he has not gone in the house for a month. I know some of you will be shocked by what I did, but I had to try something new. Oliver seems like a new dog. He is even more loving than before and we have lots of fun every day. I know they say dogs don't remember their pee after they walk away, but again I think that's not giving our dogs enough credit. Those great noses are able to detect other smells, so why not their old pee. When I would walk by a place that Oliver had peed that was all dried up he would run out the doggie door and I would know by his behavior that there was a pee nearby. These dogs are whip smart and I think there are as many different personalities as there are among people. I still don't know if this is going to be the answer, but I believe he has finally realized that I'm not going to put up with this any longer. So, be as critical as you want about my methods, but at least I get to keep my dog and love him for all his life.


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## krandall

I hope NO ONE takes your advice for their puppies. I'm sorry, but if the choice were between hitting my dog for a past offense or re-homing, I'd re-home.


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## Pinkasaurus

P.S this is not professional advice, just what I think

First, Oliver seems to have learned respect for you instead of fear. That's definitely something that must of startled him when you showed that you are the alpha and you have had enough! It seems the tension must of been mid high, you know, when is Oliver the pooper going to strike next? 
Second, Havanese's are extremely sensitive. We typically imagine sensitive as scared, or feel that we must protect them. Many websites I've seen gear against saying no harshly, but instead using redirection. On the other hand sensitive, means energy, tension, stress, confusion. Was Oliver bored? Did he find that making you angry got your attention? I cant really guess, but usually a Havanese wants your attention, their also paying very detailed attention to how you react. By gently tapping their back, or clapping loudly, or in your case, tapping Oliver with a spoon, you have shown a different reaction. One that snapped the brain right out of it.
Lastly, though I don't agree with the shoving the face in the pee, but I'm glad Oliver learned, and you gained a newfound confidence that you could control Oliver, as it became easier when he started to respect you more.

Then again I may be wrong, I'm not a professional, but I hope this helps!
Have a great day!


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## krandall

This was horrible advice in 2013, and it hasn't gotten any better with age. I hope NO ONE on the forum now reads this and thinks anything about it is a good idea.

I know you are new to the forum, but you might want to check the dates of some of these posts tou are responding to. It is fun to read old posts, but sometimes (as with this person) the peopel haven't been on the forum in ages, and even if they are still here, things may have (probably have!) changed a lot in the intervening years!


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## lolo1

so we finally brought home our pup Jack 4 days ago. We love him so much, he is so smart, but we are struggling with a potty problem. We have an ex pen set up at roughly 4'x4' with a crate an a ugo inside with the equine pellets and newspaper on top. Jack went on paper in his ex pen at the breeder, but I don't think he was actually paper trained. Day one and two he was peeing and pooping on the ugo. It seemed too good to be true and it was! The last 2 days he has pooped on the papers/ugo, but he pees on the uncovered floor. He will pee on the floor right after I have placed him on the ugo, which he won't stay on (which is after a nap, food, in the morning, after play etc.) he gives no physical indication that he is going to pee so I only notice because he is standing a little to long in one place, and then I place him on the ugo too late. Other times I notice he has peed when he walks away from it -no prior indication- and again place him on the ugo. I am not reacting to the incidents, just cleaning it up and moving on. I do use the clicker, treats, and praise after every successful potty. While the pooping is going well, he tries to eat it (so sorry!!) and he and I are in a race to see who can get to it first. He has no interest in the clicker or treat for that! 

He has also started bringing his toys to the ugo and when i remove them, he puts them inside his crate. He really wants to come out of the ex pen and play, and be with us, but every time we let him he pees.

So, I am contemplating what to do. Some of my ideas were to crate him until he goes after napping etc., wait it out and see if things improve, get another ugo, take the crate size down (but he is so active how would he expend any energy/play?), or somehow have him stay on the ugo for a few moments to sniff around. He is also mouthing/biting heavily, but we are seeing improvement through redirection and stopping play. We live in a city so it is not safe for him to be walked outside without full vaccination. I am open to suggestions. I just want to do the right thing. Thank you guys...


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## Henry&Kate

What a sweet little face. Jack is certainly cute. 

it sounds like he may have too much room for where he is right now on his potty training journey. You could try reducing his expen space to just his bed or crate and his Ugo giving him no alternative as to where to potty. He won't want to go in his bed. You don't mention how old he is. He may need to be restricted for a bit especially if he's very young. Once you know for certain he has pottied, you can take him out of the pen and play with him a for a while. But not too long or he'll want to pee again. Then take him outside if you plan to do that or put him back in his expen. if things are going well, you can slowly give him a bit more room. And a little longer play time. Good luck. It will get better.


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## lolo1

Thank you Kate; Jack is 8 weeks old...I can take the pen down to a 2X4 size with just the crate and the ugo. He is very young and I guess I was just encouraged by those first days of him using ugo correctly. But I can't let him into the rest of the house until he is consistently/willingly using the correct potty area, and the sooner that is accomplished the more freedom he will have. Thank you for the encouragement also.


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## Henry&Kate

eight weeks is very young. There is a big difference even between 8 and 10 and 12 weeks. But even when he's able to have more freedom, he will still need to be closely supervised when loose for a few months.


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## PinkMellow

That’s why I don’t agree with doing any form of indoor potty training. In my experience it only confuses them! Our breeder was using puppy pads and as a result our puppy tried to go on any kind of mat or rug we had! She is getting much better now. We take her out whenever we are playing with her (playtime makes them have to go potty) and shortly after we see her eat or drink, like 30 mins or so. Sometimes sooner than that if we see her sniffing and pacing. We bring a bag of cut up plain broiled chicken breast for motivation and when she sees we have treats she usually gets right to business and then we praise her and give her a tiny bit of chicken afterward. With praise alone she didn’t seem to be motivated enough to potty outside and we had much more accidents inside. She understands the potty command, she just needed a bit of an extra incentive to do so outside. She’s even waited at the door a few times on her own now! 

It also helped that we learned quickly where she likes to sneak off to potty to in the house and to bring her outside when we notice her going to these places. 

Of course she is not fully housebroken yet as she is only 9 weeks & we’ve had her for just 6 days but she’s making amazing progress 🙂 only 1 accident today (and in my opinion it’s because my mom didn’t listen to me about bringing the chicken outside so she wasn’t motivated). I’m not a pro dog trainer or anything just wanted to share what we’ve done!


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