Need help in housebreaking

[Ottos_owner]

We got Otto at 8wks and he's now 14 wks and still not housebroken. The longest he's gone has been 5 days but lately he's peed in the house a lot. He has access to the door and we tried hanging a bell for him to signal us, but he's only used it a few times when he had to go. The rest of the time we anticipate his needs and take him out, about every 30-40 min when he's with us during the day. He can go 7 hours at night in his crate and 2-3 hours when crated during the day. He gets lots of exercise (more when it's not hunting season).

So far we haven't scolded him when he's peed out of sight. When he does it almost at our feet I've shouted NO and rushed him outside. There has been no advance notice that he's needed to pee. We've trained two other puppies much more quickly using the Old School Method: take dog to puddle, shout NO and put him outside. My husband wants to revert to that method and I'm about to give in since I'm at my wit's end. He also wants us to not rush him outside so quickly in order to train him to hold it longer. Any suggestions? Shouldn't he be trained by now?

[rabbitsarebetter]

it does no good to scold a pup if you didnt see him do it.
Ruckus is over six months old and sometimes will still go in the house. some dogs are harder to house break then others. dont give up. always watch him, crate him if you cant.
pay close attention to your dog. every dog does something specail before they "go"

[Southpaw]

Lucy is 9 months old and is no closer to being housebroken than she was at 12 weeks old. I definitely feel your frustration.

I can't really offer any suggestions because, obviously, nothing has worked for me. But at only 14wks old I'd say it's too be expected that it'll take a little while longer. Do you give him treats when he goes outside? That's supposed to help, hasn't worked with Lucy but I'm convinced she's just weird. ;)

Keep a constant eye on him, perhaps keep him on a leash all day so he's always by your side. Maybe then you'd find something that he does before peeing?

[Doberluv]

We got Otto at 8wks and he's now 14 wks and still not housebroken

That's like saying of a human baby, "My baby peed her diapers when she was born and she's now 6 months old and she's still peeing her diapers! Imagine that!" LOL. Average is about 6 months. My Doberman wasn't reliable until he was about 9 or 10 months old. Some dogs I've had were earlier. They vary. Your puppy is still a very young baby.

I recommend that you read up on puppies and their development and dogs in general. You can browse here on the forums...there are tons of housebreaking tips and other training help. There are books too which are great. There's even a thread about owner's favorites.....(owner's favorite books)

Don't scold your pup even if you do catch her. There are all kinds of horrible side effects to harshness when training a puppy. (I know you're not, but I'm just reiterating) Your puppy doesn't know. It's your job to supervise adequately (as in like a hawk) so you don't cause accidents from your pup and it's your job to show her where to go, praise and give a treat the second she's done going and don't take your eyes off her in the house. Check around the puppy and training forums for additional tips.

[Amalthea]

I would also reccommend tethering him to you with a leash, I've found this can help a lot with a dog that is difficult to housebreak, he doesn't have a chance to go out of sight and pee... when you see him start to squat, take him out and reward him with a treat and praise when he does go outside. Using the leash to keep him at your side I think makes it easier to not miss any accidents and get them outside before it's too late, and it also helps them learn to get used to walking with you on a leash!