Help! I have totally screwed up potty training

My poor puppy. She must be so confused. This is my first dog and I am just crazy about her but potty training is getting the best of us.

She will not go outside but she will go inside on a puppy pad occasionally. The other times, she gives me no warning and out comes the poop or pee. LOL. I have totally confused her because I want her to be able to outside and in one designated spot inside and I don't think she knows what to do. I am using cue words and taking her out as much as I can but when we come back in is when she does her business.

I crate her at night from 9:30 pm and she usually wakes me about 4 am to pee. She is 4 months old. I am not always able to take her outside due to an illness I have so I want her to be be able to go both inside and out. Is that too much too ask?

Also, I crate her all day while I am at work. She never messes in her crate and I take her outside immediately but she actually holds it until we get back inside to do her business! I know this is totally my fault because I obviously don't know what I am doing.

Can someone guide me? Also, do you all really get up in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning to take puppy outside to potty??

Thanks for any advice.

Vy

yes we do get up in the middle of the night and way early in the morning to take puppy to potty.

I must be fairly lucky then because she doesn't start waking me until 4:30 am.! I am so new to this so I am learning all kinds of new things. I just want to get her on the right track before she gets much older.

when she gets older she will hold it through the night. so its not perminate.

I cannot help you with the potty training on both paper and outdoors. maybe you should pick just one or the other if possible. how much does she weight? what breed?

She weighs 4 pounds and she is a Maltipoo! She is so sweet and loves everyone including all animals!

I think you have your answer- if she doesn't go to the bathroom in the crate than I think you should use the crate more during the day for potty training.

If you take her outside and she won't go potty then she goes right back into the crate when you get back inside till she asks to go out again. The good news being that she doesn't mess in her crate and you can use that as a training tool more.

I know it can be hard but you may just have to keep doing the crate/outside routine till she starts to understand where she needs to go.

Giving her positive praise for going outside can help too. Try giving her treats and lots of praise after she does her thing outside.

I'm not sure about training her to do both inside and outside potty that may confuse her and could cause alot more accidents. I wish you luck, puppies are cute, but require alot of care

someone might slap me for asking..
but since she is so small and you have medical problems why not have her just using a paper?

If you can't take her outside you might as well teach her to go on papers or a litterbox. I don't normally think that's a good idea but if it's something you can't work around then you should choose one or the other (inside or outside), anything else will confuse her.

Other than that you need to go back to the basics and stick with them until she gets it. This is a good, clear post:
http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showpost.php?p=49374&postcount=6

at 3-4 months they have to go to washroom very often, calbee went every 2-3 hours non stop. at 6 months Calbee would go 3-4 a day only.

Ditto! You need to pick one thing and stick to it! Whichever one you pick be consistent, and praise praise praise when she does the right thing.

You will probably have to start from the beginning (kinda sounds like you are close to it already). Good luck!

This is a great idea! I didn't know why I didn't think of it. She does excellent in her crate. It really baffles me because sometimes she has to hold it for a long time.

Thanks for the advice!

someone might slap me for asking..
but since she is so small and you have medical problems why not have her just using a paper?

I won't slap you. This is a very good question. I do have puppy pads out, but like I said, it is hit or miss. How do I keep her going on the pad? Sometimes she just goes right where she is and she can be right in my site and I can't get her to the pad quick enough. I really do prefer to train inside as getting out during the evening and middle of the night, etc. might become a problem for me, but will I have to have puppy pads all over the house? How do I get her down to one pad?

Everyone is giving me great suggestions! Thanks!

Oh and someone mentioned praising her and giving her treats. That is a whole other issue. I praise her wildly but she is so finicky about her treats. One day she LOVES them and the next day she doesn't want any of them. Did she get so finicky because I have given her different flavors to try?

you will just gradullay have to take away pads. if she misses, then you moved to soon.

When you cant watch her and get her in the act, crate her. When you do get her clap your hands, or make a loud noise so you stun her to stop. Then pick her up and put her on the pad. Give her the command "go pee/potty". When she does praise her and/or give her a treat.

For some dogs praising them is enough. Others are more food motivated, you have to see what works best with your dogs. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Okay, this is what I did this weekend.

I started early in the morning with Gracie. I fed her and then outside we went. First we took a walk down the street and then I just let her sniff around the yard. We did this for 25 minutes and nothing, so we went inside and in the crate she went.

Thirty minutes later, I took her back outside in the yard and she just wanted to play. I gave her the go potty command continuously and waited 15 more minutes. Nothing.

This went on for several hours. All the way up until 7 pm. This puppy held her bladder that long! She was fed two more small meals during this time too! She stayed in the crate the whole time we weren't outside. Anyway, by 7 p.m., I gave up and let her off of her leash in the living room. All the rooms are blocked off so that is the only one she could roam around at the time. I have a puppy pad out and she went straight to the middle of the floor and did her business!!! Grrrrrr.....

I clapped my hands to startle her and ran to place her on the puppy pad but too late.

Do I just keep doing this until she gets it?? I can't believe this tiny 4 month old puppy held her bladder and bowels that long! LOL

Vy

Okay, here's my suggestion. If you're going to have problems taking her outside in the future, then get her to go to the bathroom inside.

Use a litter box, a large one, and that will be her place to go.

For training her, use the puppy pads, and slowly move them closer and closer to the box as she uses them. If she won't go on the pads, follow her around the house with a pad in your hand, and when she squats to do her business, quickly stick the pad underneath her. Then take that pad, and put it with the rest of them.

Make sure you have cleaned your floors really well so that she can't smell where she went on the floor before. Otherwise, she'll just go there again.

Hope that helps! I wish I could use that method, I have it down perfectly. But my baby's going to be too big to go inside.