# I'm a Failure at Potty Training!



## Ellie NY (Aug 27, 2010)

Potty training is probably the #1 issue most dog owners have with their puppies. Knowing this, I've done everything I could to ensure Eli was house trained correctly. I've read every article, put him on a food/water and walking schedule, crate him at night, use an expen during the day while working, and sought advice from this wonderful forum, etc... 

He's now almost 6 months old and he's completely unreliable. I've committed and recommitted to schedules/routines that will lead to potty training success but, honestly, they haven't worked. Any small deviation from the schedule (e.g. walking him less than every 90 - 120 min and even then) leads to accidents. I walk him immediately after naps, about 45 - 60 minutes after he eats, and in between. There are almost no accident free days. In the five days I've been home for the Thanksgiving break we had only one truly accident free day. Yesterday he peed in my sons room twice - both times shortly after coming in from long walks where he had already urinated outside. My son's room is the only one with a rug - once on the rug and once near it. I don't believe it's marking and I use a special solution to remove the stains/smells, but it's not the only place he goes - he's very random. 

I've tried teaching him to use the bell for weeks and weeks with no success. He's stopped using the outdoor space we have to potty and only goes potty when he's on a walk or gets an opportunity to be out of our sight. I just don't understand what doesn't click for him. We've never scolded or punished him for going inside, only told him "no potty inside" firmly. I know he can hold it, he does so for up to 10 hours at night and when in his expen. I feel like the only option is to keep him in his expen or crate 24/7 which DH is totally against. 

We don't use potty pads or litter. I'm not even sure how to introduce those even if I wanted to at this point. It's 11 AM Eastern and he's been walked twice since 7:00 AM (immediately after he woke up and an hour after breakfast). We're now going on our third walk of the day. He's such a completely awesome dog and we love him so much. If only this one final thing would click for him! Sorry for feeling sorry for myself. I just really needed to vent a little.


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## The Fussy Puppy Gang (May 21, 2007)

When he's not in his crate or ex-pen, try keeping him tethered to you while he's indoors. It serves two-fold. He can't leave your sight, and if he starts to take a potty posture (which should be in full view of you on that tether), you IMMEDIATELY clap your hands in sharp, single manner or say "NO" or both together and then scoop him up and take him outside to potty. 

When he does potty outside remember to praise heavily, cheer, golf-clap, jump excitedly (but don't scare him), etc. Let it be obvious that he got it right by going outside. Keep some small treats in your pocket and give him one after he potties outside.

It sounds like he just doesn't understand that indoors is a no-no, or he's got too much free run and he's able to do it out of your eyesight, so he does.

Also, has he been checked or a urinary infection? That can cause even the most reliably trained dog to have accidents. If all else fails, check him for a medical cause for the accidents.

Added: If you haven't been using a command word for the potty runs, start using one now. Some folks use "get busy", others use "go potty", "potty time"...you get the idea. Give him a key phrase to learn so he knows WHY you brought him outside. I would also start waiting for him to potty before starting the walk. Let the walk itself be his reward for pottying sometimes.


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## Ellie NY (Aug 27, 2010)

Thanks Wanda. I do pretty much everything you've suggested already except tether him to me in the evenings. 

I use "go potty" and I still repeat "potty" several times as he's going. It's funny because when he gets busy he will turn his head to look at me - even when his back is to me at the moment - as if for permission to get started. We do lots of praise, "good potty Eli", and I even give him treats. 

You're correct that the only thing that seems to be absent in the equation is sufficient restriction - especially when we're all home in the evenings. DH is against keeping him in the expen in the evenings but, obviously, we're not keeping a close enough eye on him - even when it's "safe" because he's just done his business outside. 

The biggest problem is that he has learned that going in the house is acceptable because there are no consequences. It only takes him a minute to run out of our sight, do his business, and run back. In that minute we've lost the opportunity to catch him in the act and correct the behavior. I'm at a loss as to why he has the needs to go in the house at all if given ample opportunity to go outside.

He's scheduled for his neuter on Wednesday. The vet will check him over but I don't believe he has a urinary infection. This hasn't just started - it's been going on for whole 3 months we've had him although, to be fair, it's much less frequent than it used to be.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Aww :grouphug:

First of all, you are NOT a failure, toy breeds and small dogs are notoriously hard to potty train, especially singleton pups who don't have the benefit of learning from the pack or older siblings.

I do think some of this may be *marking* behavior and you may see improvement after his neuter, not to say that neutered boys don't mark, that won't prevent it, but it certainly can't hurt.

If it makes you feel better, Gucci was over a year old when I thought she was fully housebroken, and she is with me, underfoot..practically 24/7 so it wasnt' from lack of paying attention on my part

hang in there! Just keep being persistent 

One more thing, do you have cats? I've always heard dogs tend to mark more if there is a cat in the house, or 'was' a cat prior, to cover the smell, or mark over it.

Kara


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## MaggieMay (Sep 8, 2010)

I feel for you!!! While Maggie is only 4 months old, she isn't potty trained yet either, I have done everything right also. It's so upsetting. Maggie hasn't peed in a while in the house, but she will try and poop. I do keep her in the kitchen only when I am home though. I use gates. At night after 8:30 or so she lays on the couch with us until bedtime. She is ALWAYS crated when I go out and at night. After alot of accident free days I opened up the kitchen to the family room and put the gates so she can't get beyond the family room, that's when she started to sneak the poops. She would poop behind the couch when I wasn't looking so I have pulled her back to the kitchen. Today though I took her out she peed and pooed, so I let her run wild through the house for 20 minutes and she tried to poop in my den. My daughter saw her. I only walk her once a day for about 20 minutes, your walk time is impressive!!! She has a potty spot right outside my garage door. She rings the bells when she has to go but lately I have been taking her out alot more b/c I want her to get it!! 
I think the bottom line is that they need to be kept in smaller spaces, unless you tether them to you. Also I notice with Maggie I have to take her to the potty spot first before I walk her, and not use the walk as the only time to potty, b/c then you start having to walk them to go, and they may not make the assumption that walking =potty. When I do walk her I still give her a treat and praise if she goes. 
I never thought it would be so hard to train a dog. But then I think my kids took 3+ years!! Good luck I hope we get some good advice here. 
One last thing, my puppy kindergarten trainer said you need to watch the dog like you would a toddler around a swimming pool and if you can't they need to go in the crate. Crazy!!!! Exhausting i tell ya!!


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## Ellie NY (Aug 27, 2010)

Thanks for the kind words of support Kara. They're really appreciated. No, we don't have cats and never have.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Please stay the course. He is only six months old. It took my guys a long time to be totally reliable. I think Fred took over a year! He learned pretty quickly, but would have accidents from time to time. I thought it would never stop. Then one day I realized, the boy got it! Praise the Lord! 

I swear by a dog door and fenced in yard. I don't know how anyone can live without it. Of course, you can't do it if you have animals of prey. My sister has 3 dogs and I've been telling her for years to get one. She finally got one and can't believe she lived without one for so long. She said, it's effortless!

Good luck. He will get it. Just don't blame yourself or give up. It takes time and dedication, but it will pay off!


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## Ellie NY (Aug 27, 2010)

lfung5 said:


> Please stay the course. He is only six months old. It took my guys a long time to be totally reliable. I think Fred took over a year! He learned pretty quickly, but would have accidents from time to time. I thought it would never stop. Then one day I realized, the boy got it! Praise the Lord!
> 
> I swear by a dog door and fenced in yard. I don't know how anyone can live without it. Of course, you can't do it if you have animals of prey. My sister has 3 dogs and I've been telling her for years to get one. She finally got one and can't believe she lived without one for so long. She said, it's effortless!
> 
> Good luck. He will get it. Just don't blame yourself or give up. It takes time and dedication, but it will pay off!


Linda - I live in NYC so, unfortunately, a doggy door isn't possible without inviting Lord knows what into the house. I do have a back porch that Eli used to go potty on but now refuses to even step out on. I think he's come to associate it with being punished and locked out of the house (by the screen door) rather than a place to potty.

Today I checked the bottom of my shoes and I've really started to wear down the tread! I think I'm going to invest in the new kind of walking sneaker that firms the butt and thighs. I've done so much walking in the past three months I should be getting some added benefit! Obviously, I'm looking for the silver lining in this situation.

Thanks for the words of support. I know it takes time. I think I understimated just how much.


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

sigh... I feel your pain. Jack is 4 mos old and is in permanent lock-down. He has gotten the crate down. This past week I think he has realized that the ex-pen is a no-potty zone. He hasn't messed in there for a couple of weeks. We have one end of the ex-pen hooked to his crate. The other end is propped up in a stand next to the outside door. It gives him a bigger area.

We let him roam in the family room only if we are supervising. He will make a mess if he can get away with it. The few times he escaped, Jack ran straight into the dining room and pooped. :frusty: He refuses to ring the stupid bell. The only signal we are seeing is that he now goes and sits by the door. It is a start.


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## irishnproud2b (Jan 13, 2009)

I had bought a book on Havanese where it said to expect them to take upward to a year, and then regress. That is exactly what both of mine did. It's the regression part that is really frustrating because they are house broken then all of a sudden they leave you a surprise in the dining room or living room. :frusty:


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

I have said, in other threads, that I considered Augie to be fairly easy to potty train. However, he was not allowed to run free in the house unless we were with him. He was newspaper trained, then the UgoDog, and finally at approximately 8-9 months, outside trained. We did not attempt to train him outside as a small puppy. We did have a couple of instances where, after not having had any accidents for quite some time, he went poop under the dining room table. I realized we were still not at the point where he could be allowed to roam the house, unless we were right there with him, so back to the family room/kitchen area. If we were not in the room with him, then to the kitchen area only; if we were gone, he was crated. We gradually allowed him a bigger area to roam as he proved himself, but we did supervise for quite some time just to be sure.


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

That is what we are doing with Jack. It seems to be working. The accidents are getting fewer. He is signalling.... sortof.

He is SOOOO different from all the other dogs we have ever had. We always had Aussie/Border Collie mixes before. Nessie is almost 4. We got her at 12 weeks. I don't remember her ever having accidents in the house (except for that awful bladder infection.) We showed her the door and that was it. The same with all of our previous doggies.

Jack is a bit of a shock. Yeah, yeah, I know. They have small bladders but.... they are small dogs. Their bladders should be proportional, right? I just don't get it. :suspicious:


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Oh, you live in the city. Have you consider liter training him? I know a lot of Hav owners use inside potty alternative and they work out well.


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## Brady's mom (Dec 1, 2006)

So sorry to hear you are having problems with this. My boys were easy to train, but I am a huge believer in restricting space. We confined the boys in the kitchen/den as puppies. At night, they were in crates in our bedroom. Once we let them out of the crates at night, we closed them in the bedroom with us so they couldn't wonder. They were never out of our sight when we were home and when we were out, they were in their crates. I relied heavily upon baby gates . When I first took down the baby gates with Dugan, he peed in the dining room. I told him he wasn't ready to be a big boy yet and put the gates back up for another few months. It wasn't until the boys were a year old or so that they got full run of the house for good. Best of luck.


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## rfctexas (Sep 2, 2010)

Auggie is a little over 5 months, and I _*know *_he understands the potty outdoors concept. He rings the bell to play and or potty outside, however he is not at all reliable. We always have to watch him as he will execute a surprise for us at any time. My carpet looks horrible. He likes to sneak in the master bedroom and urinate when my wife is there. He is a really smart good dog except for his potty behavior.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Keep on keeping on...it takes time. I would suggest you close your son's door. Dexter loved to go potty in the spare bedroom when he was young puppy. 

You are not a failure! If you catch him in the act of potty, I shouted No! Outside! and immediately took him outside. It is hard to catch them in the act though. And, it takes time. The first year is the busiest time and it can be trying and frustrating and rewarding at the same time.


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## puppyinmyyard (Aug 24, 2010)

We have a set up similar to Jack/morriscsps. Chloe is 6 months old. She sleeps in her crate at night, and she is in her expen during the day. The first week or two were a little rough because she could see us and would want to get out and play. Now she is used to our "routine". She rides in the car with me, has free run of a fenced yard, and is let out for supervised play time after we are sure she has gone out and pottied. And then I try to set a timer so I remember, often one of the kids will assure me they are playing with her and will watch her. But Chloe has gotten quicker, and more curious, and it's too easy to find out she has wandered off so I really have to be the one to keep up on it.

I feel bad that we aren't enjoying her in the way we want (free run of the house), but really it is an investment in the future that we hope to have with her. I have posted that we had to find a home for our 7 yo Bichon for a couple of reasons, but one of them was she was never reliable in our house. I really think we thought she house trained and gave her free run of the house too soon. I found out she would go outside to potty, and then come in and go again. We never caught her in the act. I worked with my vet, breeder, trainer etc. and but nothing worked. She had to be confined to her crate, be outside or on our lap or leash. I eventually found a retired couple, no kids, tile floors in the house, who agreed to take her. She has done really well there. They totally spoil her and last I heard, she is going potty outside only. I think she had her own set of "rules" for our house, and now she has learned the "rules" for their house. I knew she was a smart dog! So long story, I am doing everything I can to avoid a repeat of this situation. Small dogs are just notorious for being hard to house train, it takes much longer than with larger dogs. The big dogs I have had figured it out in no time!


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## Ellie NY (Aug 27, 2010)

I've rolled up my son's rug and am sending it out to be cleaned. The rug cleaner promised to rid the rug 100% of smells, if not stains, so he shouldn't want to mark there again when we eventually put it down. 

Eli gets the whole concept of going outside, it's just that he doesn't get the concept of not going inside too. He's definitely gotten better and the accidents are much fewer. I just need to be patient, I guess, and keep on keeping on.

Eli is getting neutured today. I had to leave him with the vet this morning. I'm so anxious and upset. Even as I'm typing this my heart is beating so hard and my eyes are watering. I got so used to him being with me all day. I've found myself walking around the house looking for him. I've already called the vets office and Eli was still playing with another puppy in a play space they have. They promised to call me as soon as the surgery was over. I'm on pins and needles!


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

Is Eli your first pet? 

I was just wondering because I know that any surgery is potential scary but neutering is a very common procedure. The boys have it WAY easier than the girls. Snip, snip! (All the guys on the forum are cringing now. lol!)

It is not a thing to work yourself into a tizzy over. He will be fine. Probably a little owie tomorrow but by the weekend, you will be driving yourself nuts trying to keep him quiet. 

Deep breath...


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

:hug: It will be ok. He will probably sleep a lot, especially tonight. And, he will be as good as new in a few days!


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## Ellie NY (Aug 27, 2010)

morriscsps said:


> Is Eli your first pet?
> 
> I was just wondering because I know that any surgery is potential scary but neutering is a very common procedure. The boys have it WAY easier than the girls. Snip, snip! (All the guys on the forum are cringing now. lol!)
> 
> ...


Yes, he is my first dog as an adult. My family had 2 dogs when I was a kid but I was only emotionally attached the first dog and I was practically a baby. My heart was breaking as I was leaving the vet's office. The vet tech holding Eli and he was quiet but pushing off of her and looking at me with those soft, pleading eyes to come get him!

I know this is a very common procedure but it's still difficult. I hate the idea of Eli being in any kind of pain or sick from the meds.


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## Ellie NY (Aug 27, 2010)

HavaneseSoon said:


> :hug: It will be ok. He will probably sleep a lot, especially tonight. And, he will be as good as new in a few days!


Thanks, I'm counting on it! I've filled up is kongs with cream cheese and put them in the freezer. He loves that and, hopefully, he'll feel up to licking on them since he hasn't eaten all day. I'm also going to buy a new flossy. Not sure if he'll have the energy but he really enjoys chewing on them too. What Eli wants, Eli gets. He's going to be so spoiled these next few days!


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## MaggieMay (Sep 8, 2010)

How did Eli do? I am sure he came though just fine. It's just so hard handing over your baby.  
Since writing my reply to you, seeing my response in writing, I closed Maggie in back to just the kitchen. I am making her stay like that until she's got a while of no accidents. It's really helped. I let her in other rooms with me only and only if she's been out to potty. 
It really is disappointing when you envision having this dog walking freely through your house room to room with your family to the harsh reality that they have to be confined. THe puppy kind. trainer says put the work in now, then you will have a good 15 years with your dog. Confine now, so they can have space later. I can't wait for the day I don't have to crate her when I leave, and just let her go around the house. I hope it comes soon!!! 
Hang in there our puppies are still babies. Let us know how Eli did with his surgery.


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## LuckyOne (Sep 3, 2009)

So many great suggestions. I too had one that was a little "slow" to get with the program. I decided to use a massive amount of praise. A little over the top at times for sure but that coupled with an instant and small (very small) treat did the trick. Have them in your pocket and give him instant reward for a job well done! My boys are now 20 months old and have been accident free since 5 months old (Einstein) and 8 months old (Watson) Now you know which one was slow! lol Good luck and keep us posted.


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## snewbern (Dec 1, 2010)

I Have two Havanese. My first one was a rescue and she took about a full year to get her on track. I have now gotten a new puppy. She is 7 months old now. I am doing the bell training on her. I didn't put the bells on the door but hung them by the door into the side of the door frame. She is just now ringing the bell after 3 months. To start evertime I went to take her out I would stand her by the door in front of the bells and say ring the bell 3 times, of course she didn't so I would ring them and open the door while saying good girl! I have been doing this for 3 months now. She just started ringing the bell 2 days before Thanksgiving. She finally has caught on. It takes time but it will work. Now if I don't come right when she rings them she just keeps ringing! lol Puppy training is hard. I will say I used the crate alot. Once we came back in from potty i would let her play for about 30 mins and in she went to the crate. She would cry to be let out. I would open the door of the crate and say lets go peepee as we walked to the bells. Once there I would tell her 3 times to ring then I would. It has paid off.. 

Hope this helps some... Potty Training is not fun is it?!!!!! Good Luck


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## Dalmane (Oct 4, 2010)

Hi I am new to the forum. I have a 5 month old Hav, Mia. We also are having a time with housebreaking. We're at the telepathic stage,she looks at me I look at her then I say "wanna go outside"and she heads for the door but if any of those steps are missed she goes anyplace. Actually she has a poop dance that I have learned to recognise but the pee is a surprise. Forgot any rules if its raining the snow is better though if she doesn't get distracted eating it.


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## marlowe'sgirl (Jun 17, 2010)

My pup (11 months now) was fairly easy to train, but restricting space is super-super-key. I used a baby gate to keep him downstairs and slowly (30 mins at first, now all day) found I was able to let him have free roam of downstairs. So, he's doing great. Well since he was waking us up at the crack of dawn (to play, not to go potty), we started letting him sleep in our bed. It's brilliant - he lets us sleep as late or as early as we want and just hangs out on the end. Well the bedroom is upstairs, so we think he might be ready for a bit more space. BIG mistake. Even when we are home, he'll go run upstairs, pee, and run back down like nothing happened. He doesn't do it in the bedroom, but in the hallway area. Well after a week or so (took us a while to realize it - the carpet hids stains well - but NOT smell), and catching him in the act once; the babygate is back up. Too much space is just too much space - no matter how reliable they have been. Did not enjoy buying Nature's Miracle. Really thought I was done with that stuff.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Maddie started peeing in her creat about three weeks ago. I would take her out and she would piddle. I have to leave her for a bit over 3 hrs daily and she can not seem to hold it. So I let her have the kitchen with pads on the floor.
I think she is doing it when I get home because she is so excited to see me. 
The rest of the time I am with her and we still have accidents. I leave a pad up stairs in the hall because that is a area she loves to go off to when I am upstairs doing things. She pretty much sticks to me like glue so when she does have a accident it is because I don't have a eye on her. 
When we are downstairs she goes to the door 95% of the time
I use lots of treats and good girl we have a birthday party!


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## Ellie NY (Aug 27, 2010)

Quick update. Eli seems to have made a full recovery from his neuter, thank G-d! The vet appears to have done a bit of plastic surgery in that he not only removed the testicles but also the scrotum. That may be why he had such a rough time recuperating the first couple of days. There is only the tiniest of incisions, about an inch long, that is healing nicely. We go back on Wednesday for a check up.

On Sunday, Eli began urinating and marking in the house. He only showed signs of marking a little bit a week or so before his neuter in my son's room. I have since picked up the rug in my sons room and sent it out for professional cleaning to remove odors. Sunday was terrible. We picked up the old rug in our office, where he stays with me while I'm working, and replaced it with a new one. Well, he immediately pooped on it and later marked it a little. He also marked my bathroom mat and my son's room where the rug used to lay. He also urinated 3 times. I couldn't understand what was going on because the neuter was supposed to have eliminated the marking yet it seems to have made it worse. I read that marking is an attempt to release anxiety and smelling their urine gives them comfort. DH and I think the neuter was a bit traumatic so once we gave him a little more physical freedom he went nuts. I'm thinking his hormone's are adjusting so maybe there was a surge or something that brought it on. Anyway, I put him back in the onesie and that's helped (he won't pee on himself), however, it restricts his movements. I'm thinking of trying a belly band. Has anyone had experience with them? Is it a good idea to use one of these or will he begin to rely on it to the point we cannot go with out?


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