# Regressing in house training!



## MomToFitz (Jan 30, 2014)

Fitz is 18 weeks old now and had been doing so well with his house training for the last 4-5 weeks or so. He would go to the door and wasn't having accidents. WELL. Yesterday evening a friend came over. We were sitting on the couch and let Fitz sit with us. He peed on the couch twice! While we were sitting on it! Today he had three accidents and didn't even make an attempt to go to the door to be let out.
Have any of you had this happen, where a puppy seems to be doing well and then suddenly forgets it all? If so, what did you do to fix it, and how long did the stage last?


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## paricia (Mar 23, 2014)

*Me Too!*

I'm looking forward to your replies as we have a similar issue. We keep Riley in his ex-pen when we're not directly watching him. He was doing really well - even going to the door to be let out. Now he goes out, sniffs around and comes in and pees on the carpet (same general area). What the heck?


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

I think potty training setbacks should be dealt with by going back to what worked when the dogs were baby puppies. Like starting over from square one except this time things go much faster. Kind of like they need a reminder and going back to square one helps.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

In a young puppy like Riley, if you take him out and he doesn't go potty you have to put him in a crate or pen when he comes in. Don't let him have the freedom to pee on the carpet or anywhere else. Freedom in the house comes only after he has gone potty immediately before.


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## bigbadboss101 (Mar 29, 2014)

Good advice!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

paricia said:


> I'm looking forward to your replies as we have a similar issue. We keep Riley in his ex-pen when we're not directly watching him. He was doing really well - even going to the door to be let out. Now he goes out, sniffs around and comes in and pees on the carpet (same general area). What the heck?


One thing I notice several people saying, (so I'm not picking on you specifically!!! ) is, "He/she goes out and&#8230;" Are those of you who are having this problem going out WITH your dog, watching to make SURE they eliminate, and then praising HIGHLY? If not, you are missing an important step in the training process. Just because the dog goes out the door doesn't mean that pottying is their first priority, especially in the case of distractible puppy noses. Anyone who is having this problem needs to go out with the dog, ON LEASH, and stand in one spot and say, just once, "Go potty". (or you can have different words for pee and poop&#8230; Kodi knows the difference) I wouldn't stay out there for long, either. 5 minutes is MORE than enough time. If they don't go, now you know that for certain, and back in their pen or crate. Try again in half an hour with a little puppy, up to an hour later with an older dog.

It gets boring out there if they're not allowed to wander and sniff, and if they really HAVE to go, and know they only have a few minutes, they get down to business. (Praise, praise, PRAISE!!! Cookies if you want) Also, they learn very quickly that if they DON'T go, it's back into solitary. No chance to pee or poop on the rug.

This has several benefits. Not only does it teach the dog where to eliminate and where NOT to eliminate, it also puts elimination on command. This can be very useful if you're heading off for a long car ride, or have to leave them home alone for a few hours. You know you are starting with an "empty" dog. When we go to get in the car, I tell Kodi, "Go potty!" and even if he doesn't REALLY have to go, he will dutifully squeeze out a few drops just to mollify me.


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## dianaplo (Dec 30, 2013)

Karen needs to write a book. And I would buy it!)


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## MomToFitz (Jan 30, 2014)

krandall, now that you mention it, we have gotten kind of lazy with praising Fitz when he goes. We have a balcony that is "his" spot, and now that he has all of his shots we are taking him for walks and to the dog park. He often goes there as well, so maybe he's a bit confused now that his bathroom area has expanded! He's had several accident-free days in a row now, but we will go back to making sure we praise him highly. Thanks for the advice!


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## paricia (Mar 23, 2014)

krandall said:


> One thing I notice several people saying, (so I'm not picking on you specifically!!! ) is, "He/she goes out and&#8230;" Are those of you who are having this problem going out WITH your dog, watching to make SURE they eliminate, and then praising HIGHLY? If not, you are missing an important step in the training process. Just because the dog goes out the door doesn't mean that pottying is their first priority, especially in the case of distractible puppy noses. Anyone who is having this problem needs to go out with the dog, ON LEASH, and stand in one spot and say, just once, "Go potty". (or you can have different words for pee and poop&#8230; Kodi knows the difference) I wouldn't stay out there for long, either. 5 minutes is MORE than enough time. If they don't go, now you know that for certain, and back in their pen or crate. Try again in half an hour with a little puppy, up to an hour later with an older dog.
> 
> It gets boring out there if they're not allowed to wander and sniff, and if they really HAVE to go, and know they only have a few minutes, they get down to business. (Praise, praise, PRAISE!!! Cookies if you want) Also, they learn very quickly that if they DON'T go, it's back into solitary. No chance to pee or poop on the rug.
> 
> This has several benefits. Not only does it teach the dog where to eliminate and where NOT to eliminate, it also puts elimination on command. This can be very useful if you're heading off for a long car ride, or have to leave them home alone for a few hours. You know you are starting with an "empty" dog. When we go to get in the car, I tell Kodi, "Go potty!" and even if he doesn't REALLY have to go, he will dutifully squeeze out a few drops just to mollify me.


Good advise - now trying this at home.

One of my concerns, but don't know if it's legitimate - he goes to doggy daycare where there is less control over where the dogs soil. I'm not sure if this is confusing him. I like that he is getting well socialized with other dogs of all sizes and breeds and eventually he will be home, but in the meantime... I don't know about this piece of the puzzle. Anyone with thoughts on this?


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Emmie goes to doggie daycare and doesn't have this issue but her daycare has both indoor and outdoor areas and the dogs are expected to eliminate outside.

-Jeanne-


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## paricia (Mar 23, 2014)

MarinaGirl said:


> Emmie goes to doggie daycare and doesn't have this issue but her daycare has both indoor and outdoor areas and the dogs are expected to eliminate outside.
> 
> -Jeanne-


Interesting - how many dogs are there?


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

When my big dog Porter was younger (4 months - about 1.5 years) he attended doggie day care 3 days each week. There were indoor and outdoor spaces and the dogs were expected to go out to potty. He didn't have any housetraining confusion. I think doggie day care programs vary a lot in how they are set up and how well they are run.


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## raeshan (Nov 18, 2013)

Doesn't sound like this is the issue, but wanted to mention that Ginger had a similar thing happen where she was going outside regularly and then had one evening where it was like she couldn't control herself and peed inside a number of times in a short time span. When we had her outside she continued to try to pee over and over again.

She ended up having a bladder infection. After 2 days on an antibiotic, she was back to her old self.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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