housebreaking problems

so my puppy is about 10 weeks old & an australian shepherd. i'm working on housebreaking. i watch her all the time and take her out at least every 1/2 hour when not sleeping & after food and water. she's being crate trained too and never had an accident in there (even when she was in the crate for 5 hours). when she's out of the cage, sometime she pees, even 5 minutes after she has been outside and pottied. she gives to warning whatsoever that she has to go. she doesn't sniff, cry or wait at the door. when she has an accident, it's usually not very much. how can i teach her to hold it? it's like she doesn't realize that she can't just go whenever when not in the cage.

I'm going through that too so you're not alone! My pup is the same age and she will have an accident right after going outside. Sometimes she gives a warning but sniffing or crying and other times, zip! I've read that pups cannot physically control their bladders until they are at least 12 weeks old. When we catch her, we take her right outside. This site has some good tips: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/housebreaking.htm

You're on the right track. It just takes time. Don't expect too much at that age. You'll just be disappointed And remember to be consistent.

When I have such a young pup, my main goal is preventing accidents. It would be very unusual for a puppy this young to tell you she needs to go- she probably doesn't know herself until it is almost too late

There are two techniques that help a lot with such young puppies- umbilical cord training and the puppy airlift.

"Umbilical Cord Training is a housebreaking method that's pretty much what it sounds like... your dog is attached to you with a cord (his leash) throughout the day. It is a supervision-based program that requires vigilance but yields excellent results with just about every dog or puppy. This method works well in conjunction with other methods, such as crate training or indoor potty training. It is also an excellent alternative for those who spend a lot of time at home and prefer not to use a confinement method like crate training."

Puppy Airlift

"...he's very likely to try to go potty any time his feet touch the ground. So, for the first few days, you might want to try having his feet touch the ground in his potty area only. We want his feet on the ground only in areas where it's okay for him to pee and poo. If you're teaching Fido to go potty outside, you can play with him and let him walk around outside only."

Either of these two methods might work well with your puppy. The puppy airlift is extremely effective (very few pups will pee on their owners :lol-sign but only works with fairly young, small puppies. As they get older it ends up being too much restriction and they don't like being carried anymore. Umbilical cord training isn't as effective at completely stopping accidents, but, most puppies don't want to pee right next to you and where you both are sitting. They prefer to wander off a bit before they potty, so it does create a little inhibition. The main benefit is that you will be really vigiliant about watching and your pup won't be able to learn to sneak off and potty.

Accidents are not such a bad thing if you see them as they are happening and stop the puppy. But, uninterrupted accidents are terrible! Pottying is inherently rewarding (imagine the relief you feel when you empty your bladder), so you do not want to let any accidents get by you in the beginning. Good luck and have fun with your new baby!

You are on the right track. 10 Weeks is too early for them to be able to hold it long. Watch for the signs that she is about to go such as sniffing around or circling an area.
Make a big deal after she goes potty outside so she knows she has pleased you, reward her for it.

Oooo! I'm glad I found this thread! My Molly will be 10 weeks old on Monday. We are working hard on potty training. I am a teacher so Molly is home with the rabbit for several hours, too long to be in a crate. So I decided to start with paper training. I read where you start by papering the whole room and then slowly eliminate papers they aren't using. Her room is about 30' by 20', with two big windows and an outside door. Now we are down to papering about a five foot square and she keeps all her messes in that area of the room. The only time she misses the paper is when she gets creative and rearranges the papers, dragging them all over the place. So I started using multiple layers and that gives her something to play with and something to poo on. Of course, she has lots of toys to play with but there is nothing better than the crackling sound of fresh news print!

We are also working on outdoor pottying when I am home. I take her out every 15 min or so. She seems to be recognizing the word Outside. If she perks up when I say it then we run for the door and it is always a successful trip. She still has lots of accidents in the house but if I can keep it down to one or two per day, I feel really good about that!

just so you know, paper training makes switching to all outside pottying more difficult.

It also teaches them to toilet on newspaper - even the pages you haven't finished reading and just left laying on the couch. And it stains the floor when they pee on it.

Potty pads are a much better option. They even have pads that are sticky on the bottom so you can stick them to the floor and your dog can't "rearrange" them.

Here is where I went to get information on potty training. I don't have the exact page but when you go to http://www.goldenrayyorkies.com you have to go to the information page. This worked for me but I know mine sure didn't let me know at 10 weeks yet.

Using FOOD REWARDS for all outdoor elimination, and giving functions a name can really help. Dogs do what WORKS for them, so make POTTYING OUTDOORS work really well for your dog. DO NOT say your potty word unless the potty action is happening for the first 2 weeks. As the dog urinates, say, for example, GO PEE PEE while she is urinating. Keep repeating as urination is happening. Promptly food reward and praise afterwards.

I recommend you getting a super large crate or an exercise pen for a confinement area inside your home instead of using a room. In this way the dog is much less likely to make mistakes, and does not feel shut off from the rest of the home. Set the pen up NEAR THE DOOR, so that as the puppy gets older and more reliable, she will make her way towards the door when she needs to go out.

Thanks for posting that, Red

Tallulah's having some problems with the whole outside thing - I think it stems from having spent way too much of her life in a kennel (one of the reasons the vet techs were so anxious to get her into a home). I just put a batch of biscotti made for the dogs in the oven, planning to use them mainly to reinforce her successful outdoor potty trips.

You let me know I'm on the right track - I'm much relieved.

Okay, this is the actual site where I got the information about paper training.

http://www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html

It is a common misconception that a paper trained dog will use any papers laid down in any room. That simply isn't true. That is why you have to paper the entire room in the beginning. Dogs that go outdoors to potty all the time will tend to use the same area of the yard. This becomes their favorite potty area. In the same way a paper trained dog will choose the same area of the room to eliminate. Now with a puppy it may take a few weeks to determine exactly where the choose spot is. But within a couple of weeks it should narrow down to a smaller area. Also, if your dog chooses an area you would not prefer you can't simply move the papers and expect the dog to go in the new area. They will continue to eliminate in their chosen area, papers or no papers. The purpose of the paper is not to be a training tool but rather to ease the cleanup and help you to identify the chosen area. If you are worried about stains, lay down a trash bag under the paper. Pee Pads are great but very expensive.

So far, my puppy has been very successful with both paper training and outdoor training. Actually today we have had no accidents on the carpet! Yeah Molly! After all she is a poodle and poodles are very smart.

Huh, well, I guess that's the problem - all of my clients have "dumb" dogs.

LOL you're so funny!

For me personally, I do not recommend paper training any dog if it can be avoided. Teaching the dog that it is ok to eliminate inside the house can be very hard if not impossible to undo. Others who are saying this, like me, probably have some experience either training dogs, advising others to train dogs, or both.

Expecting a dog/puppy to hit a small area of papers each time it needs to eliminate is not, IMO, reasonable.

IMO it is setting the dog up to fail.

I prefer to hedge my bets towards the SUCCESS department, so if I HAD to papertrain a puppy, the elimination area would always be inside a barrier. In this way the dog can learn that when he is inside the (crate, expen, box, whatever), that this is where he is allowed to eliminate. This way there is no confusion for the puppy, less frustration for the owner, and more opportunities to REWARD YOUR DOG for the correct response.

Which of course ensures more correct responses in the future.

^^^Agreed.

HA! Mine are very careful to make their way around the perimeter. Kharma, in particular, is downright obsessive about it. She seems to pace off from her last pile, leaving them very close to being mathematically equidistant She does that at home, she does it along the boundary between the back of the store and the railroad.

No going in the same spot for any of mine