# Potty training



## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

I don't have a toy or mini - I have a standard, but I do have a toy breed - Havanese (Louis). Smaller dogs may take more effort to potty train, but I don't think it's entirely impossible. I got Louis as an adult who was not potty trained, and after several months of intense focus from me - he is doing really great! There ARE small dogs out there who are good with potty training. Maybe we just don't hear about them because people like to complain about the horrors of potty training a small dog. I feel like it's up to the human to set the rules of potty training and enforce them. A lot of times we let little accidents here and there slide because it's "only a small mess." I do feel small dogs "forget" potty training sometimes and they need to be reminded more than bigger dogs.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I agree - I suspect small dogs take a bit longer to gain full control, but I am sure a lot of the problem is that it is more difficult to spot the signs in a tiny pup, easier for them to temporarily vanish under furniture, and easier to clean up after them. All of which tend to lead to more "accidents", and therefore slower and less reliable house training.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

My mini was litterbox-trained (located out on the balcony) and bell-trained within a week. It took another week or two for him to be reliably housebroken.

Toys may take longer but I agree with fjm and tokipoke, it's more like a human factor and patience and consistency can definitely help.


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## shadow mommy (Jan 6, 2012)

fjm said:


> I agree - I suspect small dogs take a bit longer to gain full control, but I am sure a lot of the problem is that it is more difficult to spot the signs in a tiny pup, easier for them to temporarily vanish under furniture, and easier to clean up after them. All of which tend to lead to more "accidents", and therefore slower and less reliable house training.


I agree. My toy caught on to going outside to potty after a week of taking him out on a consistent schedule. He caught on so much so that he refused to use his peepad anymore, would shred it whenever I put it in his play pen and wait until i let him out. However, since he is small it was hard to tell when he had to go to the bathroom sometimes and until a certain age they are just not capable of holding it as long as a big dog so he did have an accident here or there until he was a certain age but not many and this was more my fault than his.


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

I do not think it takes them longer to learn. The problem lies in "our" training and how quickly we pick up on the signals. I get tired of people telling me the little ones can't hold it as long. That just is not true. Their bladders are tiny but they also don't drink as much water as a big dog so I Am pretty sure the ratio is the same. They are harder to figure out though as the signals get missed more easily in a tiny dog. 


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## kailyn (Mar 22, 2012)

I am with some others here. I have never had a prolonged issue potty training, and my latest I did living on the 21st floor of a highrise! you just have them glued to your side basically (leash), until they can be trusted and no earlier. taking them out every couple hours helps a forgetful pup, but my toys/mini can hold it my whole work day and always have been able to(so I don;t believe the little bladders theory).


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

I have a terrietoypoo. He is 5.5 months (9 lbs) now and he is incredibly easy to potty trained. He learns so fast. We did have a hiccup the day after we groomed him, he was 4 months then. He was completely scared of something that he peed everytime we approached him. Luckily, a really long walk makes him forgot the grooming experience. 

He pees inside on his wee wee pad and outside also. He uses the pads less and less now. Although his signal that he wants to pee is pretty dim almost non-existence. That is our struggle currently but as long as there is a wee wee pad inside, we don't worry about accidents. So far so good with Charlie.


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## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

Cali is an mpoo and she has been exceedingly challenging to potty train. She is now 10 months old and is down to about one accident per month (always pee, has never pooped in the house). 

I've housebroken a 9-month old Papillon, a 10-month old Rottweiler and a 2 year old Rottweiler, all of which had never been in a house before I got them. None of them took more than two weeks. Cali was 4 1/2 months when I got her and wasn't housebroken but I wasn't worried because I'd had no problem with all the previous older puppies (and one full-grown dog). It took me a full six weeks with Cali before I even felt she was starting to get the idea of what was expected! To be truthful, to this day, I'm not sure that she's potty trained so much as I'm getting really good at reading her signals and knowing her timing. 

Since Papillons are small dogs and I had no problem housebreaking mine, I don't think you can generalize as to size. I guess it's more the individual dog.


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