potty training... what am i doing wrong

Well, what am I doing wrong?

Ruckus is nearly six months old. I have had him for maybe a week and a half now. His owners before me had him peeing on the paper, and poop outside. After he ate a meal they would put him in the pen to poop. Also he was outside in a pen at night, and when they were gone.

He has been using the paper religiously until now. I was trying to get him to go outside so I would stop him mid stream on the paper and put him out. Well, the only thing that did was cause him to not use the paper at all. I was planning on taking it up anyway, but i still dont understand why he wouldnt use it.

So, we dont even use a paper anymore. But listen to this... I caught him in the act peeing in the floor, and stopped him mid stream. I took him outside for a half hour and he didnt do anything! I brought him back in, and then the first thing he did was pee in the floor. I had my bad turned putting up the leash, so i didnt have time to stop him. This has also happened with pooping. I will catch him in the pooping position and take him outside for nearly an hour and he will not poop! So I bring him back in, to turn my head for a second and see he is in the middle of pooping on the floor.

I have put newspaper outside, and thats not working either.

Please keep in mind that this is my first dog. I do work with dogs and spend most of my life with them, but I have never had to deal with any potty issues...

also the times I take him out to potty are:
after eating and drinking, after napping, before and after crateing, before bedtime, and after I wake up (we dont crate him at night because he stays int he bed with us the entire time) and I take him out if he starts sniffing around. I also been taking him out every 30 minutes to an hour, and he still will not go. He will actually hold it until he cannot hold it anymore if he has to potty outside?

Am I doomed to have a paper potty dog only? I dont like the idea of that, but I can live with it. I know they have lots of options out now, and soon I will be moving to chicago, and I bet I will have a high rise apartment anyway.
lol i know that sounded like I am trying to take the easy way out, but I do really want him to potty outside only, and I am willing to work to get him to do that. But i can live with it if he wont do it

He NEVER goes outside...EVER? I think you just need to be consistent...and praise the crap outta him when he does anything outside.. treats, whatever motivates him. Its going to take time, so dogs take to it faster then others...You havent had him long enough to say he cant/will never learn to potty outside!

Thats what I was thinking. He usually poops outside. its the peeing I cant get him to do never ever outside. Well, since I had him he only pooped outside once. and I take him out sometimes for 45 minutes to an hour.

Its just like now he is trying to hid from me and use the potty in the floor. When i would catch him in the act i would just say no and clap to get him to stop, and take him outside. I guess he thinks i dont want him to pee or poop at all

He may think he gets in trouble for pooping/peeing and just won't do it while your watching him. Maybe you should put the paper back out, let him pee on it (don't interupt mid stream)...then slowly move the paper towards the door and eventually outside.

I would do away with the paper altogether. Paper training is what got him into this mess lol...

If it were me, I'd wait for him to potty outside. If he does not potty outside, he goes back in his crate for another 20-30 minutes (Carry him if you have to so he doesn't pee on the way there), and then I would run him outside again (once again carry him if he might pee on the way there). You just have to stick with that. I agree that a week and a half is not enough time to assume anything. You've not had him long enough to successfully change his potty habits. >^^;<

Also, while he's out, why don't you try tethering (leashing) him to you? That way he can't run off and pee out of your sight. I had my corgi pup tethered to me for the first couple of months he was here, and it's a really effective method to keep him from running off. Afterall, you are only human, and humans tend to get distracted by other things... if the dog is leashed to you, it prevents him taking that chance to run off. It also prevents you having to chase him all over the house lmao...

I cant move the paper closer to the door because its directly up a flight of 10 steps
I took him out just a minute ago. He was smelling around and got into squat position, i took him out for a half hour and nothing.
I brought him back in and he peed as soon as he got inside and if i grab him again he will just pee while i am taking him back out.

BTY I did put the paper back out because I got frustrated of him peeing on the carpet. I probably shouldnt had done that, but I just dont know what is the best thing to do. He will hold it the hole entire time until i turn my back to do something! I tryed tethering him to me with no success. He wouldnt even move at all. He would actually lay down and pull and pull until he would cough.

How much does he weigh? You could pick him up before coming back in, and carry him to the crate... I have to carry my 55 lb Border Collie mix to the bath tub lol...

OK--your paper system confused ME, I can't imagine your dog understands it! Either in the house is good or in the house is bad--one or the other. If you want him to go to the bathroom outside, then here is my advice:

Keep him crated or very closely supervised at all times. Every 30 minutes ask him if he needs to "go potty" or "go out" (use your choice of words). Then take him outside. If he goes to the bathroom, then say "good go out, good boy!" and treat (use the same word as before). Make sure you treat him like crazy when he goes outside

If your dog goes to the bathroom in the house, its your fault for letting him. Are you cleaning up his accidents with Nature's Miracle or some other enzymatic cleaner that completely eliminates the odor? It sounds a little bit like he thinks that the house is where he should go to the bathroom.

I've said it about 400 times on here so far and I'll continue to say it: Keep a log book. Every time he goes to the bathroom, right down the time and the event (#1 or #2). Then you will get an idea of how often he has to go. Once you have the log, then you will know when your dog has to go to the bathrooms.

Keep in mind: any accidents are 100% your fault.

Cheetah, Ruckus is 17lbs

Herschel, I took the paper up as of last night and I am not bringing it back out. This morning after I took him out of the crate we were outside for an hour and a half before he went pee. When he went pee I praised him and gave him some cheese. His tail was wagging and he was very happy with that. I know that accidents are 100% my fault. I am a strong believe that anything a dog does wrong is its owner/trainers fault. I am sure you can imagine how hard it is to watch him every second along with two rabbits (not caged, house trained) and just general distractions through out the day, such as getting the phone, answering the door, when I go to the bathroom, etc etc.
I have talked to my boyfriend (I live with him, been dating for nearly six years) and he said that he is going to start watching him better also. He wasn't taking responsibility for the dog because he didn't really want me to have it in the first place, but he is starting to get attached. Thank goodness because its so much easier for me if he is willing to help.
As I am typing this right now Ruckus is sleeping.

Thanks for the help everyone. I just need to be consistent (and I am now) and have more patience

maybe he is uncomforatbel outside. it isn't where he spends most his time. when he DOES go outside praise him. and et excited for him. when he is about to go inside. make sure you atleast tell him off. speak gruflly or soemthing so he makes the connection between misbeahaving and pooing/peeing inside

He just wants to play outside and wait until we get indoors to potty. This morning i took him to the middle of the yard and just stood there until he went potty. There was nothing for him to play with.

If I walk him until he goes potty he will not potty. He will play with leafs, chase bugs, etc.

He is comfortable outside, he just thinks its play time, not potty time. after he went potty this morning I let him play outside for a while as a reward

lol. ok. i only read you first post then answered. so sorry for whatever i got wrong.

btw. ruckus is a beautiful dog.
and i love your rabbits. i have one littel girl. buster killed my other rabbit so i gotta get her a friend. wish i could leave her out in the house. except with four dogs (2 working dogs, a terrier and a american bulldog mix) its not exactly rabbit friendly.

Ruckus loves the bunnies! One of them he will lay next to and nap.
I should get a pic for ya! Thanks for the compliments. Sorry about your other bunny! Thats awful. You cannot blame the dogs, its just instinct, but that would totally crush me

When housetraining your dog, potty time outside should ALWAYS be on leash. When you take him out ON LEASH, say your verbal cue..."go potty" or whatever, and make his potty attempts short 5-10 minutes. If he doesn't go outside, bring him in and crate him again or teather him to you until you try again (every 15 minutes or so) until he goes. Of course wait until he's done and then praise and treat. An untrained puppy should only be either crated (when you can't watch him or teather him), teathered (so you can watch for body language for signs he needs to "go"), right in front of you (while your playing together and he's empty), or ourside (on leash for a potty break).
Any puppy, if given freedom indoors, will have "accidents". He's simply too young for unsupervised freedome of any kind.
general rules about crating - Day time (only crate an EMPTY puppy for 1 hour per month of age) otherwise, teather....
Do you schedule feed your pup? What is his feeding schedule?

Ruckus is Always on leash. our yard isnt fenced and we live on the main highway. He is also never unsupervised indoors, unless i have to grab the phone, answer the door etc, thats when he wants to potty inside.

He is crate trained, he eats at noon

I would maybe just shorten his outdoor potty breaks then so he gets the idea of business first...play later. And grabbing the phone and answering the door is of course long enough, unless he's crated or teathered. Great that he's not free fed. The schedule will help you to predict his potty needs. Do you keep a potty log, so that you're always certain of when he went last and what he did?

Last night I started my potty log.
I think I am getting on the right track now. Sometimes it takes me a couple of days to get serious about something. I am serious about housebreaking him now.

Thanks again for everyone else. There are so many helpful people on this forum!

Having his business on cue really helps me when the dog seems to want to sniff around and play -- I remind him what we're out there for.

If he gets his business done quickly, I praise him and then run excitedly back to the house and his little bag of treats.

This way he gets the picture that we're outside just for pottying, and the faster we get done, the sooner he can get treats. If he tries to go inside before he's finished pottying (has gone #1 but not #2 or vice versa) I have each one on a separate cue. He starts heading for the door, but I'm still standing in the yard. After a few minutes he peeks around the corner to see why I haven't followed him. I remind him to "go potty" or "go poo" and he usually gives me a little "oh okay" grunt and gets to work.