# New potty training dilemma



## Smurfette's Mom (Jun 9, 2013)

Pooh will go potty outside but she will not tell me when she needs too. I ask her and let her out then she cries to get back I'm the house once she's done. What advice do you have? 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Pups take a long time to have enough control to know they need to go, to remember that they need to tell you, and then to hold it until they are in the right place. You need to take her out very frequently and very regularly, going with her so that you can reward her when she pees or poos in the right place. She is still a baby - if she does remember to tell you, reward her profusely, but I wouldn't expect her to tell you routinely for many months yet!


----------



## cookieface (Jul 5, 2011)

How old is she? If she's young, she may not realize she needs to go. It can take a few months (~6) for dogs to develop the ability to know that they need to go, and then a few more months to learn to alert someone to take them out. Also, some dogs don't seem signal that they need to go - ever. 

One idea is to get your dog on a schedule and stick to it, thus eliminating the need for her to tell you she needs to go. If she's young, you'll need to take her out frequently, but as she gets older you'll be able to cut back on trips outside.


----------



## pgr8dnlvr (Aug 7, 2011)

Just wanted to say don't give up or feel all is lost. I've had dogs all my life and instructed MANY people on how to successfully potty train their dogs thus felt I could train MY toy poodle with no problem. I always thought that all the people I heard of with toy dogs that would have frequent accidents inside were just not dilligent enough, then I got MY toy poodle... Lol 

I knew she had all the good opportunities and training from practically day 1 (we chose her at about 10 days old and visited two to three times weekly). She still took until a year and 2 months to be "trained". (Have no accidents in the house for more than a month straight). She wasn't going all over the place or running rampant with the issue, but it was difficult to get through some days without a little pee "accident" somewhere in the house.

I've heard all the regular arguments as to why toys in particular may have issues with potty training, but I'm just not sure as to what the real reasons are with the majority taking so much longer to train than bigger dogs, but I really and truly believe that there are a number that have SOMETHING in their genetics that seems to make them more of a challenge to potty train.

Good luck and keep at it! It'll come EVENTUALLY if ya keep working at it 

Rebecca


----------



## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

To OP, you need to take Pooh outside (not let her out, take her) and say pee pee time. Keep saying it until she pees and keep saying it during she pees. Take her out once she wakes up in the morning then every hour after that then every 30 min after eat and play.

Seriously though, it took that long! Wow!! This means Edison has a long way to go. He is 5 months old and not train yet. Charlie was potty train by that age but Charlie does have other problems which Edison seems to be born with. Go figure, right? *sigh*


----------



## pgr8dnlvr (Aug 7, 2011)

Lucy was EXTREMELY fast to learn to go on command with the methods above. I think by 9 or 10 weeks old she would almost always squeeze somthething out even if she'd just gone 20 minutes or so earlier. I can even ask for a specific action, ie. "Do your pee pee" for pee (lol) and "Do your business" for poop. 

I absolutely agree with "taking" your dog out and not "putting" them out. I have a nice big fenced yard, but now have to have a longline stored by the back door and a pair of oversized shoes I can slip on. Even on the rainiest or snowiest days out I go with her. It's not for just bathroom reasons though. She is a "reactive" barker and the best way we have to deal with that is have her on lead so if she hints at barking we can give her a tug or touch her body somewhere to stop the barking before it starts. Now at 1 year and 5 months I'd say once or MAYBE twice a week I can just open the door, ask her to go do her business and she'll successfully do it and pop right back in for her "jackpot" reward. Every now and then though she'll start to bark, so I quickly slip on the shoes and simply go catch or touch her. If I just yell to tell her to be quiet I know I'll just add to the noise and if I ask for a come and she ignores I worry about "tainting" or making the word "come" useless. 

Poodles are so smart for sure and quick to pick up things they want, but with those smarts can come a certain "stubborn streak" that might take some ingenuity on our part to overcome  lol! 

Rebecca


----------



## Smurfette's Mom (Jun 9, 2013)

Pooh is 12 weeks old. She does good one day and forgets the next

Pooh Bear's mom


----------



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Im in total agreement with the others, you MUST stay with her till she goes, using a command phrase, then the nanosecond she starts to go, throw a party! Get so excited and tell her how wonderful she is. My three will squat to go even if nothing comes out, just to show me they don't have to.


----------



## cookieface (Jul 5, 2011)

She's still far too young to be reliable. At her age, potty training is more about preventing accidents and throwing a *huge party* when she goes outside. She needs to not have the opportunity to go inside and learn that going outside is the most wonderful thing in the world. Keep your eyes on her at all time (she could be baby gated, in an ex-pen, tethered to you) and go outside with her out regularly - some people set timers as reminders.

At 12 weeks, she doesn't have the capability to know she needs to go, much like a human infant. She may have some great days and then seem to regress. That's how learning happens and how her body is developing. Small changes in routine, teething, over excitement, or seemingly minor things may throw her back a few steps. It's all normal.


----------

