What's the most difficult breed to potty train?

[BlackDog]

I know alot of people say that toys are the hardiest to house train. What breed inparticular do you think is the hardiest? When Papillons were on the cover of dog fancy in the article it said that they are one of hardiest, if not the hardiest, breed to potty train. I actually own a pap and she took 3 years to potty train.

[bubbatd]

This will be interesting to me !! I can't imagine a dog untrained beyond 4 months. I've never owned a toy, so this is an eye opener for Grammy !

[juliefurry]

I have heard that toys are really difficult to housebreak as well. Some dogs, even larger breeds, need more time to housebreak though and some just never get it. I know our lab will still sometimes have an occasional accident if she seriously can not hold it any longer (only pee) and that is usually if she has drank a bunch of water in a short time or we forget to let her out so it is actually our faults. Although I know a silky terrier who hasn't had an accident indoor since she was not even 4 months old. It really depends on the dog.

[tessa_s212]

I have heard that sporting breeds and toy breeds can be slower to potty train.

[Mordy]

i think much of it also depends on the owners and the approach they take to house training.

many people make mistakes that regularly cause setbacks in the routine, sending mixed signals to the dog as to what exactly is acceptable and what isn't.

[frenchboxer]

Wow, 3 years is a very long time -you must have a lot of patience. I agree with Mordy - a lot of it depends on the method. I had heard that Frenchies were impossible to housetrain, and mine was completely housetrained just short of 5 months, and has never in her 4 years asked to go out during the night even - not that I wouldn't allow her to.

Training my big dogs was exactly the same as my small dog, so I don't believe one breed is more difficult than the next - just my 2c worth

[Gempress]

I've never heard that about toys before. But I have heard that beagles are awful at housetraining.

[RD]

My guess would be Italian Greyhounds. I know so many of these little guys that are never fully housetrained. A lot of people just use puppy pads throughout the life of their IG because they can be such a challenge to train. I'm not sure what it is about them that makes it so hard for them, though, I don't know the breed that well.
Paps would be on my list too. I have had my Papillon for close to two years and he is still not housetrained. I know a lady with three Paps and two (the males) aren't housetrained, but the female is.
But I also know of many Paps who were a snap to housetrain even with novice owners making tons of mistakes, and never gave their owners much trouble after that.

In contrast to the two years I've spent on trying to get Ripley reliable in the house... Dakota was asking to go out after maybe a week.

[BlackDog]

Interesting. So maybe it's not just the breed, and owner but the individual personality of the dog aswell.

I once met a lady in petsmart right after we got our pap. She stopped us in the aisle because she just bought a pap from a breeder and she loved to met ours. She told us her pap was from a breeder and was a year old. The original owners returned him to the breeder when he was almost a year old because they couldn't potty train him. She said that she didn't have a problem potty training him as soon as she got him because she had had all terriers up until that point and wanted something easier as she was going older. She potty trained him within the first month of having him.

When we first got our pap was would stratch at our leg or the door when she wanted to go out. Then she started going all over the house. We figured that once she realized we were first time dog owners and we were still learning how to potty train a puppy she took that to her advantage by just going inside. That's something that's very characteristic of her personality. If you don't train her, she'll train you. I've heard that's something all paps do but I wouldn't know for sure because you've only had one.

I also think that because we got her in feb it made things harder because she still had a puppy coat and it was cold so she never liked going outside. We'd sit out there for a half hour waiting for her to go and she wouldn't do anything until the first 5 minutes after coming into the house.

[Athebeau]

One more reason not to get a toy breed.:)

I have talked to a few people who own Papillons and other small breeds who have litter trained their small dogs. Maybe it's because they have small bladders that need to be empytied more frequently.

[RD]

One more reason not to get a toy breed.:)

I have talked to a few people who own Papillons and other small breeds who have litter trained their small dogs. Maybe it's because they have small bladders that need to be empytied more frequently.
Ripley was litterbox trained as a puppy and let me tell you, it made things SOOO much easier! The problem, though, with the litterbox is that he completely ignored it once we got out of our RV and into the house with all the space... He no longer had the box in sight all the time and stopped using it almost entirely. (And my dad had this *thing* about the litterbox and refused to have more than one in the house.)

Perhaps it was the litterbox training that messed Ripley up on his house manners by making it clear that going inside the house was okay. But, I still don't know how that explains a year and a half of tried-and-true methods having little to no impact on him.

[Sirius]

Well, Harley is 6 months and he is still having accidents. He is a 'giant' breed dog. (Bouvier des Flandres) Well, he should have a giant bladder too! Sam came housetrained... and Lemon well I can't really blame her for having any accidents as she's only 7 weeks old ! We are working, but I know it isn't her fault when she has to go.

So, Papilions and Italian Greyhounds? IT's seem so fragile. I can understand how it would be hard to train one. I was looking into a papilion when we had Tessa, but never got one.

[BlackDog]

One more reason not to get a toy breed.:)

I have talked to a few people who own Papillons and other small breeds who have litter trained their small dogs. Maybe it's because they have small bladders that need to be empytied more frequently.

Well I didn't start this post to bash toy breeds or breeds that have a hard time with potty training. I simply wanted to know if many of you agree that it even exists and why. Of course the owner and their level of understanding is going to account for half the success rate but what about the dog themselves?

Don't get me wrong. I love my papillon. Mine's 100% dog compact into a tiny body. My life without her would be a very boring dull one indeed. If I had to go through the 3 years of potty training again I would because it's a small price to pay for a much bigger result. She brings happiness to our family and also our more distant family. They love her and ask us how she's doing on the phone. If you as a prospective owner and you doesn't like the thought of having a dog that isn't easily house trained maybe your best bet is getting a pap from a all breed rescue that is already house trained. They are worth the trouble.

[BigDog2191]

I hear Dachshunds are very hard to house train. I heard about an 11 year old dachshund that never got the idea of going outside... also my brother's still has accidents on occasion.

[Julie]

I don't think it has too much to do with the specific breed.
I think it is more the individual dog and how the owner goes about it.
What might work great for one dog might not for another.

Shiloh was about 1 year old before she could be Fully trusted.
Charlie was only about 5 months until he was fully trusted. (with very few accidents to get to that point)

I am familar with a couple extra small dogs taking forever and still cannot be trusted. My view on this is the house looks even bigger to them. With plenty of space to relieve themselves. It is also hard to catch them in the act cause they fit under chairs and tables, and it just doesnt' stand out as much as a big dog that has "cow size patties" or puddles 2 feet wide. lol.
And I don't think every little dog has these problems just the couple that I have met.:D

[Brattina88]

Personal experiance I'd have to disagree with sporting breeds and beagles. I've never personally had a problem with either. I'd also say that Dachshunds are one of the hardest. Then again both Dachshund owners I know and visit/talk to very often are not very consistant or or pushing as hard as they could be. Yea, maybe the house does appear bigger and the keeping-the-den-clean instinct may wear off when they go into another room, but in my opinion that just means owners need to be more viligent / restrict the area in which they roam. It may take longer compared to other dogs or other breeds, but why compare red apples to yellow apples? There still good ! :p

[Mordy]

as a former dachshund owner and being actively involved with the breed for over a decade, i can't say i've made that experience at all. i also disagree with the often made claim that they are hard to train in general. it just takes a different approach. :)

my own dachshund was 90% reliable a week after i found her, and she was only 8 weeks old. i know that one single dog doesn't say a lot, but my vet of 15 years was also a dachshund breeder. she was one of my mentors and i was exposed to the "dachshund world" including shows and hunt trials. most of my vet's puppies were pretty reliable by the time they went to their new homes and just needed a refresher for the new environment.

in my opinion the way puppies are raised at the breeder's plays a large role as well, if they are growing up in a cage, pen or kennel with little to no guidance, how are they supposed to pick up house manners? :) we all know that it is so much harder to housetrain pet shop puppies who are used to doing their business wherever it comes to mind.

[BlackDog]

as a former dachshund owner and being actively involved with the breed for over a decade, i can't say i've made that experience at all. i also disagree with the often made claim that they are hard to train in general. it just takes a different approach. :)

my own dachshund was 90% reliable a week after i found her, and she was only 8 weeks old. i know that one single dog doesn't say a lot, but my vet of 15 years was also a dachshund breeder. she was one of my mentors and i was exposed to the "dachshund world" including shows and hunt trials. most of my vet's puppies were pretty reliable by the time they went to their new homes and just needed a refresher for the new environment.

in my opinion the way puppies are raised at the breeder's plays a large role as well, if they are growing up in a cage, pen or kennel with little to no guidance, how are they supposed to pick up house manners? :) we all know that it is so much harder to housetrain pet shop puppies who are used to doing their business wherever it comes to mind.

That's true. My pap came from a pet store because my friend bought her for me as a suprize present. The store wouldn't take her back. I love her to death but boy was it hard to potty train her. She's doesn't follow the breed standard when it comes to her shedding, and size. She's very tall and she sheds like CRAZY! Health wise we've been lucky. She doesn't have any health problems yet. But she's only 5 so. For a larger breed she would be getting older buy now and health more health problems would be popping up. But not so much a breed that can easily live to be 15.

[panzer426]

I always heard toys and hounds were the most difficult but I would bet the farm (if I had one) that it absolutely depends on the breeds general desire to please, the owners approach, confidence and consistency, and the individual dogs personality/desire to please.
I could easily imagine the most stubborn, care free dog learning really fast through persistence and consistency and positive reinforcement...or the most willing, smartest dog never learning due to owner mistakes, laziness, ignorance etc and/or negative reinforcement.
never had a hound dog or a toy breed so I dont know if it is true that they are slower to house train or not.

[Zoom]

One (or four) more reason(s) not to get dogs from petstores! :)

I've heard many people also say that their Cocker Spaniels were just impossible to reliably housetrain. Then again, my aunt was one of those people, she called me up for advice and she said that the dog was housetrained after three days. I dont' know how reliably, but at least more than it had been.

How do you get a dog trained to ask to go out? My old mutt just picked up the scratch at the door trick one day. Sawyer on the other hand, doesn't do anything, he just waits until I remember that he probably needs to go outside. If I ask him, he'll perk his ears up and run to the door, but there's not an active signal. He's really good about holding it for as long as he has to though. He's such a good boy. :)

[wildwings811]

I have to say that it takes consistancy and patience to potty train a dog I have met many breeds of dogs who are not potty trained and it has always been the owner not the dog for example

Labrador Retriver- still urinated and had BMs in the house at 3 years of age
Dashund and Chi mix- same as above at 8 years of age
Weim- 2 years old and still urinates in the house
Pomeranian- 6 years old and goes number one and two in the house

and on and on and on :)

[CanadianK9]

lol I dont like toy breeds cause the are small, im afraid ill step on em and hurt them, and generally they just dont fit my lifestyle, if I wanted a little teeny thing running around my house id get a rabbit or a cat

[BlackDog]

I have to say that it takes consistancy and patience to potty train a dog I have met many breeds of dogs who are not potty trained and it has always been the owner not the dog for example

Labrador Retriver- still urinated and had BMs in the house at 3 years of age
Dashund and Chi mix- same as above at 8 years of age
Weim- 2 years old and still urinates in the house
Pomeranian- 6 years old and goes number one and two in the house

and on and on and on :)

Right but I still think the individual dog does play a factor in how fast you can potty train him/her.

[Pomp]

I live in a building in downtown Boston. I've been taking my dogs out every 3 hours and rewarding with praise or a treat when they go to the bathroom outside.

I'd like to get them to the point where they scratch at the door if they need to do their business.

[Ratboy]

I had a Pit/Golden/?? mix that took about 18 months to stop dropping his load in the house, usually right after he came in from a long period out in the back yard. The peeing was pretty easy to get him to stop.

On the other end of the spectrum. My present dogs were amazingly easy and quick. Molly had it down 100% in a week or so, and King not long after. Not that he doesn't pee, and pee a lot if I'm not watching him at the vets ot pet store, wherever another dog has peed, he want's to mark it. At home though, both are prety much perfection.

But from relatives and friends that have had them, Bassett Hounds seem to be one of the worst. My friend's had one that took forever to stop going on the kitchen floor. He just kept on doing it, then suddenly one day, he quit, and was pretty good the next 10 years..

[DanL]

I don't think you can pinpoint a certain breed. I think it's 99% on the owner. We had Gunnar reliably going outside by 10 weeks. Sometimes go if he was excited and playing he'd start #1 inside. Once we learned to read his signs, that stopped too and that he was 100% by 3-3 1/2 months. I had one incident when he was about 6 months old where he was confused while I was training him and he got nervous and went, and around 8 months old he had a hot spot near his tail, so I took him in the bathroom to shave it and he dribbled then because he was scared of the clippers. Other than that, nothing at all in the house. We just used a lot of positive reinforcement, watched him closely and took him out when he started circling and right after he ate, and he learned real fast.

My wife's friend has 2 Cairn's- they both go all over and they are 7-8 years old. She just never trained them right. When I was a kid my boss (I worked at a pet store) had a bloodhound and a bassett, and both of them were very difficult to housetrain for her. We had a bassett as well and he never got it either, he'd sneak down in the basement and go even though he was (mostly) supervised and had plenty of outdoor time. Again, mostly our fault.

[filarotten]

The only dog I couldn't housetrain was a scottish terrier that I bought from a pet store in the 80's. Know matter what I tried he couldn't get it. He is also the only dog I ever gave away. My fox terrier took about 8 months but he finally got it and never went in the house again. My husbands cousin has a american eskimo and I am sorry, but that is the stupidist dog I have ever seen.(he is worse than the scotty) He is three years old and still pees on everything. Plus he doesn't mind. They bought him from a pet shop.

[rottiegirl]

Dogs that are not neutered are harder to potty train. My rottie took longer than my chi to potty train. my rottie would constantly pee in the house and my chi would constantly poop in the house.

[joce]

I've heard from a lot of people that dobes ae more difficult and mine sure was. On the other hand I swear shar peis are the easiest. I don;t remember any of the three having an accident after a week. they are so picky about stuff they can't stand going anywere near the house! Whenever we are out with my cousin and her yorkie people always ask if she still goes in the house,so a lot of them have problems too.