# HELP! Potty training gone bad!



## brookeandcolby (Dec 31, 2009)

So...Colby was doing good with the potty training and now he's taken a turn for the worst! 
We started out with having him go on potty pads (when we got him, November 1st). Originally he was doing really well. We had one in his ex-pen and one in the family room. And for nighttime he has one in the blocked off area between my bed and the wall. We have moved the ex-pen and potty pad near the back door now (in the family room). He seemed good with that too and we brought him outside to potty when we could. But a couple of weeks ago he started just putting his front feet on the pad and totally missing!:doh:...thank goodness we have tile floor! I thought that maybe if I got one of those Purina secondnature litter pans that would help so that he had to actually step inside of it. I got one yesterday and put the potty pad in it but he totally doesn't get it! He pooped in it right away but he peed on the floor next to it! He is so confused on where to pee! I kept putting him the litter pan when i knew he had to pee and he would just sit down in it and stare up at me! ugh! He got soooo confused that he peed on the rug and he never does that! Clearly the litter pan is not working. What should I do??? Should I try to keep the litter pan? For now, I took it away cause I didn't want to back track on the process we had made before. Oh yeah, and he pooped next to the toilet in the bathroom this morning! 
As for the night time situation...we built stairs so that he could get up/down from my bed to his play/sleep/potty area in my room but he hardly ever uses that potty pad. I take him outside as soon as we wake up and he poops and pees outside in the morning. 
WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT??? please help


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

No clue.....I taught Dexter to go outside. I would think to keep working with him...he may not be potty reliable until at least 6 months or so.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Maybe 5% of boys go through the "front feet in only" phase. NEVER scold or show any anxiety. We train ours to litter and if one starts this, we tell our owner who is having the problem to push the litter to the back of the box so he has to step all the way in. Once it has again become routine for him to step back in the box, the whole floor of the box can be covered again with the litter. We have never heard that this has not worked. Maybe you can do the same thing and fold the pad so he has to get in the box to get to it.

These dogs are very much creatures of habit and routine. Housetraining is all about establishing the right way to do things. Be sure he does not get any negative reinforcement for getting his front feet on.


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

Roscoe did the front paws only thing for a little while, we would watch him and when he stopped without all 4 paws in we would say "all the way in!" and give his bum a nudge, then lots of praise. He learned pretty quick and after about a week we had no more "half in, half out" accidents!

Have you used the "go potty" command? I would suggest working on this. When you KNOW he has to go, just stick him in the litter box and tell him GO POTTY! Also when he starts to go on his own, again say "Go potty!" and when he is done, "Good potty!"


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

Tom King said:


> Maybe 5% of boys go through the "front feet in only" phase. NEVER scold or show any anxiety. We train ours to litter and if one starts this, we tell our owner who is having the problem *to push the litter to the back of the box so he has to step all the way in. Once it has again become routine for him to step back in the box, the whole floor of the box can be covered again with the litter. * We have never heard that this has not worked. Maybe you can do the same thing and fold the pad so he has to get in the box to get to it.
> 
> These dogs are very much creatures of habit and routine. Housetraining is all about establishing the right way to do things. Be sure he does not get any negative reinforcement for getting his front feet on.


Tom I agree 100% ---if you push them in etc you will have more issues


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## brookeandcolby (Dec 31, 2009)

Thanks Tom, thats a great idea! The only problem is that we cant get him to use the litter box at all, the potty pad is just on the tile floor. I bought the litter box the other day but look it away and went back to the old method when he wasn't getting it...should I keep trying to get him to use litter box? If so, any suggestions on how? We put him in the litter box and say "go potty" but he doesn't seem to get it.


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## murphymoesmamma (Apr 1, 2009)

Murphy is litter trained and has always done the front paws in only. He usually is able to hit the mark so I don't stress over it but he has been marking alot lately and that has me very frustrated.

Litter pan training really is the way to go but I think with a pup as young as yours expecting him to go down the steps from the bed to pee in his potty area might be expecting a bit much. He probably still needs to be reminded, even if it is the middle of the night, that the puppy pad or litter pan is where he needs to go. My grandson is now potty trained but if he woke up in the middle of the night to go potty he wouldn't just get up by himself and go to the bathroom. He would still need mom's guidance.

Good luck with his training and I do think if you stay with the puppy litter pan you will be glad that you did.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I know you have mentioned that Colby is a big puppy. Kodi is too, and we found (pretty quickly) that we had bought litter boxes that were too small. We went through a short period of front feet only until dawn lit that he couldn't comfortable get all of himself INTO the litter box. (with room for prerequisite circling and sniffing) We got bigger boxes and the problem went away immediately. Could it be that the pee pads just aren't big enough for him to comfortably arrange all of himself over it?

He still occasionally goes in with just his front feet to pee, but he goes in far enough that he doesn't miss the mark. I figure I don't make my guys stand on the toilet to pee, so if he can hit the target with his back feet out, I won't complain!<g>


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## brookeandcolby (Dec 31, 2009)

murphymoesmamma said:


> *Litter pan training really is the way to go but I think with a pup as young as yours expecting him to go down the steps from the bed to pee in his potty area might be expecting a bit much.* He probably still needs to be reminded, even if it is the middle of the night, that the puppy pad or litter pan is where he needs to go. My grandson is now potty trained but if he woke up in the middle of the night to go potty he wouldn't just get up by himself and go to the bathroom. He would still need mom's guidance.
> 
> Good luck with his training and I do think if you stay with the puppy litter pan you will be glad that you did.


Actually he's really good about the night time thing...and he mostly holds it until the morning now anyway. I think I'll stay with the litter pan. Do you use bells as well?

Ideally, I would like to take him outside to go most of the time but have the litter box for when I'm not home. I'll be moving into an apartment soon (hopefully) and I was thinking about putting one of the fake grass things on the patio as well. I think that using bells would be the best option so that when Im home he can let me know that he needs to go out instead of using the litter box. Does anybody else use this method of bells w/ litter box also?

Any advice on how to get started using bells???

Thanks so much for the help!


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## cjsud (Oct 26, 2008)

Everytime I hear you guys talking about litter training I keep seeing my big boy Hobbes trying to fit into one and then I envision him needing a baby pool size container.ound:


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## Leah (Jan 12, 2010)

One of my girls is getting all 4 feet on the pad, but her rear end is off the pad so her puddle ends up next to the pad. I'm also nudging her on to the pad when it looks like she's wanting to go. 

As for the litter box, I noticed a puppy has been using it since the cats having been using the great litter box outside. I make sure that it's extra clean because the girls like to dig in it for cat poop and the other day I noticed that there were a couple puppy poops in it. They have never been trained to do this. 

My goal is to get them paper trained in the utility room when they're not able to go outside. I hate changing litter boxes and now that the cats go outside, I don't want to get the dogs using it. Papers are much easier to pick up than litter boxes.


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## Feisty (Nov 20, 2009)

Hi, I’m new on here but have been reading since November. Ari (pronounced like R-ee instead of Airy) is 19 weeks old)
The breeder gave us a Ugodog (a pad tray) which we put it in our ensuite because it’s the biggest tile floor in the house. He knows to run in there if he's in a rush. He’s not reliable yet. First thing in the morning while I’m in the bathroom he’d pee and poop on the tray while I was getting ready for work but the last week he’s waited for me to finish so he can go outside. I was amazed that he could now hold it. He sleeps thru the night in his kennel next to my bed without having to go at all.
The rest of the time we accompany him out every couple hours, after naps and after eating. We put the bell on the patio door when we first brought him home. A couple of weeks ago I was in the kitchen and I heard the bell. I looked and he was sitting with his body facing the patio door on the doormat, with his head turned back to look for me. Sure enough he had to go. He doesn’t use it consistently yet but he’s getting there. I find he learns things eventually really well....long after I’ve given up trying to teach it to him. 
He hasn’t peed on carpet for about 2 weeks. He still manages to poop on a doormat from time to time if we aren’t keen to keep taking him out over and over again to try. He rarely uses his Ugo tray anymore. We hope to wean him off completely by summer weather. 
Today he wasn’t due for a poop, I had him pee outside my mom’s house and then we went in for a visit. He greeted her, had a look around and then pooped all over her kitchen floor next to the cat’s dish! :doh:
Good luck with the litter. I think we’ll get there....eventually. 
Judy & Ari


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Leah said:


> My goal is to get them paper trained in the utility room when they're not able to go outside. I hate changing litter boxes and now that the cats go outside, I don't want to get the dogs using it. Papers are much easier to pick up than litter boxes.


Actually, you don't have to pick up the litter box. You just scoop out the wet spots daily. There is no smell at all to the wet spots because the wood pellets are super absorbent. Dogs don't bury their poop the way cats do, so you know right away that needs to be picked up. I hate cat boxes too, but for a house where a dog door isn't an easy option, I LOVE the litter box!!!!


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## tenortime (May 15, 2009)

Sadie is just turning 11 months and she is trained about 90%. We taught her to go outside and if she didn't go she was crated until she did. She can be stubborn--might refuse to potty for 2 hours even though she drank a whole bowl of water. It means taking her out every 30 minutes if necessary. Hang in there. We thought that the training would never end but there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. It should also be easier once winter is over.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I have 8 grandsons and have helped potty train them all. I know how they stand before the toilet. But the vision of a dog standing in front of the litter box with hind legs out just cracks me up. I needed a laugh before going to bed.


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