Potty Training help!

I posted on the other forum about this, but i thought I would get more specific here.

I'm having a really hard time getting my puppie to grasp the idea of not peeing/pooing in my house. She normally goes outside, when I let her out she goes right away, and I wait around for number 2. I praise her a whole lot. But we will be inside, and ill be in my room on the computer or something, adn when im not looking she will pee on my bed, or hide poo behind my tv. Those seem to be her favorite spots. I've had her for about a month now, and I was hoping things would have gotten alot better. I guess they are much better, but Id like to wrap things up and have her figure this out completley.

I could really use some advice with getting this figured out. When I'm gone I have her in a cage, so she has a chance to hold it in for a long time, and start to learn the use of her muscles and bladder. I thought this would start to show some difference but yesterday while I was subscribing to this forum she went ahead and made a mess on my bed.

I've been told not to screem, or spank but I dont know how else to get the message across. I show her the door, and contantly say "go potty" while were outside, or tell her "lets go outside".

Please help. I could use lots of advice from different people. I know all puppies are different so I need lots of things to try!

Thanks!

I'd start taking the puppy out more often. If she has had a little nap take her out as soon as she wakes up. Before you sit down at the computer or get busy with something, take her out again.
My Gracie is 11wks old, she's doing pretty good, when she has accidents its always when I'm not focused on what she's doing. So far she's never pooped in the house but she'll pee in the office on brand new carpet! Even though you do take her out often, I'd just suggest taking her out more often. She'll get the hang of it.

so the dog will just "figure it out" I didnt know if the dog needed to learn to hold it, but maybe they get that skill as they get older on their own...

How old is your puppy and how often do you take her out?

15 weeks, and every few hours, or less. Maybe thats not enough. When ever we wake up, or before we go to bed for sure, then randomly thorough the day, sometimes i will see her smelling, or i just get a feeling.

They have to learn where the proper place is to potty, which is outside. I'd start taking her out more often. At least every 2 hours. I take Gracie out alot. She is doing great. She doesnt tell me yet when she has to go but today I said lets go out and she got right up and followed me outside. So I think she's figuring out a little. She has accidents but like I said, when she does it's because I wasnt paying attention to what she was doing or how long it'd been since she had went out last. Anytime she has a accident I blame no one but myself. She's a baby. So if your little girl is having accidents, take her out more often.

They will be able to hold their bladders longer as they get older. Right now you are teaching them the skills. Puppies learn so eagerly at that age. I'd take advantage it! Consistancy is very important.

Thanks for your help, I think I just need more patience, and start taking her out more often. She is just such a smart dog, today alone she learned some new commands, she can sit and lay down now. I want to know how to get her to roll over, play dead, or speak, that would be just awesome.

It just takes time. Taking her outside a lot is the best way of getting her to learn : after meals, after naps, after playing. I used to stay outside 10 minutes with Boris, and if he wouldn't go, put him back in the crate then try again 20 minutes later. When he peed outside, I praised him and gave him a treat. When he had an accident inside and I didn't see it, I was cleaning when he wasn't looking. If I saw him do it, I would say no, and take him outside. It took a while, but he's now 6 months and we haven't got an accident in over a month. I even forgot to take him out for 6 hours this week end, and he held all that time. I think he got it around 4 months, we only had a few accidents afterwards then none.

It could be a " hey, I want attention " issue......when you're on the computer put a leach on her near you. This is still a puppy ... she needs attention and education . Do you have a puppy raising book ?

15 weeks??!!

I was just like you... I wanted my GSD trained in a jiffy.

He's 17 weeks today and still has accidents. I hear that at around 6 months it clicks and he usually doesn't have any accidents then. Hence, he's house trained.

Keep doing what you're doing.

Keep up the going after a nap, after he's played a long time, after he eats even, and whenever he whimpers/nips/or sniffs around take him out immediately.

And praise him when he does it.

I don't always have a treat handy so when he's done, use that key word and pet him. Or if you have a treat, use it.

I'm still trying to house train my GSD.

But it really takes a lot of persistance. Good luck.

I just don't have the patience, she just went all over my bed. I shoudnt have, but i let her sleep with me tonight, and i hadnt even fallen asleep and she did it. We went to the bathroom just before that. I guess im stupid for letting her, but it just makes me so mad i guess cause its where i sleep. She sleeps there sometimes too, thats why i dont get why she would do this. She wont do it in the kennel.

First thing I'd do is flip my mattress to hide that scent, then make sure you have plastic linner on the mattress in case she does it again. A mattress pad to protect it. Then I wouldnt have her sleep with you yet. If she goes all night without peeing in the crate, then have her sleep in there. I made a bed for Gracie in a corner next to my bed and use a babygate to keep her in at night. I can reach in anytime I want to pet her and she can see me. I thru old sheets on the floor and 2 old pillows so it's nice and soft. It's funny watching her because when she's ready for bed at night she goes right to her bed without being put there. I'd love to have her sleep with me but I worry she'd chew my blankets if she wakes up and gets bored, or that she'd move to another part of the bed and pee. I dont want to take that chance.
It's really no different than potty-training a small child. You can potty train a 2 year old and they may even be doing great but then they are playing, having fun and all at once forget to tell you they needed to go pee. So even though you've potty-trained that child, you still watch them for signs that they may need to stop what they are doing to go potty.
Dont get to discouraged, your baby will get the hang of it. But if she has certain areas she is always naughty in, avoid her being allowed there. Gracie spends very little time on my bed, period. By the time she is able to jump up on my bed I shouldnt have to worry about her peeing on it.

Well, you better get some patience. Puppies are puppies. My Doberman wasn't reliable until he was about 10 months old! Your puppy is still very young. If you scold and scream, she's not going to learn anything from that. It's only our fault when there's a mistake. You say she goes when you're on the computer and not watching her and she goes behind furniture. There's the mistake: You weren't watching her. She obviously has to be taken out more often and by scolding, she's hiding the fact that she has to go and is going behind furniture. When you scold a puppy for this, they many times think you're scolding them for going to the bathroom...period, and not for going inside. After she naps, eats, drinks, plays for a bit, and many times in between, take her out to her spot. The more "accidents" she has inside, the more set backs you'll have in her training.

This is an ongoing process, both mental and physical in a pup. They don't get it in a few short weeks. It can take lots of months in some dogs and fewer with some.

Put on your patience hat. And watch her like a hawk. If you can't watch her, put her in her crate for a while. Just don't over do the crate. Puppies take up a lot of our time, where we have to put aside many of the things we use to be able to do. That's the price of having a puppy. Eventually, they grow up and that phase passes. Whew...Then there's a whole new set of challenges. But when we decide we want a dog, we should be prepared for those life adustments. Good luck.

There, you have it.

If I were you, I wouldn't let her sleep on your bed at all, at least not until she's older and your relationship is more established. She needs to know that she has her bed and you have your bed. She needs to be confined to a smaller place while she sleeps.

Are you sure she doesn't have a bladder infection? Does she pee often that way....where she doesn't seem to give any indication that she has to go? And then...just goes? Does she seem to go too often?

I was wondering that to about the bladder infection. If that's not the problem then double up, triple time the times you take her out and keep her off the bed. Keep her off the bed, and dont yell at her if she has an accident. Anytime Gracie has had an accident I can tell you it was something that could have been avoided. Maybe your baby drinks to much in the evening. Did she come in and drink alot right after you took her out? I limit the drinking when its close time for bed and no food after a certain time in the evening for Gracie.

Like Doberluv said, patience and consistency is the key to housebreaking puppies I have had dogs that "get it" in a few weeks and others where it took up to a year to become trustworthy. I do agree that your pup should NOT be sleeping in your bed, at least at this age! I have a 10 week old puppy and I try to take him out every half hour. If he has an accident I blame myself for not paying attention, or waiting too long. If I can't watch him, he is in his crate, or in his x-pen, both are things he wont soil, so they work nicely. I would use your crate more in this process, but don't abuse it. The crate is very important for establishing a routine and that is what puppies need so they have a clear understanding of what is expected. Here is an example of a schedule:
Wake up 7:00 am
potty break 7:00-7:10 (praise and reward for going potty)
breakfast (for the puppy) 7:10-7:25
7:25-7:45 play time, stretch etc.
7:45- back out for a potty break!
7:45-8:45 play and cuddle time
8:45 back outside for a potty break!!
8:45-into crate for a rest etc.
9:45-out foor a potty break!!
9:50-play time ....you get the picture.

I also feed my puppy 3 times a day. This way I can monitor when he has his bowel movements.

Another way is to write down the time EVERY time your dog goes pee and poop. Write down when it eats or drinks. Note what he was doing just prior to needing to go out to pee or poop. See the correlation there. Do this for about a week. You'll probably see a pattern. Then you can be more intuned to your dog's habits and anticipate them so that you make fewer mistakes in judging when to take him out.

Thanks for all the help, I think I will just be more frequent with out potty breaks. We didnt have any accidents today, and she and I played alot too, she wasnt pinned up all day. Thanks again.

i take my dog out about every 30 min-1 hour
2 hours is too much, for not-trained dogs.
but if 30 min is too hard, try 1 hr. it's for your dog