So, we’ve had this new puppy for about two months now, and the house training regimen doesn’t really seem to be taking. I’m forever cleaning up puddles of dog urine, and she has utterly failed to grasp the idea of using the little pads or waiting until we take her outside. She’s only about four months old, so there’s still hope, but I’m starting to wonder what I’m doing wrong here.
It’s getting to the point where we’re thinking about basically starting over and crate-training her.
It takes about 4 months typically.
What kind of routine do you have? Are you constantly watching her (as much as possible)? It’s important to catch her in the act.
I freelance, so I’m home most of the day. I’m basically watching her and praising her when she whizzes on the pads or when I take her outside, and scolding her when she does it elsewhere. But, because I have to work, I can’t watch her constantly, so there are plenty of times when she goes and I don’t catch her.
We do have a crate, which we use when we both leave the house, but I’ve been reluctant to use as recommended to me, where she basically lives in there except when I’m able to devote my entire attention to her. I also have another dog who is housebroken, and I guess I was hoping the other dog might learn a little from observation, like cats do. That’s not happening.
We’ve only been at this for about two months—maybe not even quite that—but for some reason I was thinking this was like a two-week process. Reading online about it last night, I discovered that it’s not uncommon for a dog to be not fully housebroken for six months to a year, which is a little depressing. I’m tired of stepping into random puddles of dog urine.
Call me crazy but my first dog was a male and I’d walk him on a leash outside and take a whizz myself in the yard. He soon figured out that peeing outside is a fun and postive way to be part of the “pack”.
If he had an accident inside, after cleaning it up, I’d sprinkle a bit of chili powder on the spot. They usually come back to spots that smell like them. It sounds cruel, but it only takes one or two times for him to stop using the inside of your home for a pee party.
Call me crazy but my first dog was a male and I’d walk him on a leash outside and take a whizz myself in the yard. He soon figured out that peeing outside is a fun and postive way to be part of the “pack”.
If he had an accident inside, after cleaning it up, I’d sprinkle a bit of chili powder on the spot. They usually come back to spots that smell like them. It sounds cruel, but it only takes one or two times for him to stop using the inside of your home for a pee party.
Nope, I peed in the yard too. It seemed to help him realize that this was the place to do his business. And no, the chili powder method isn’t cruelty at all. It’s an effective teaching tool. I dump loads into the holes my dogs compulsively dig.
