Housebreaking Anxiety

[SoapySophie]

Hi all,

Up until this point we've religiously been taking Sophie outside every 1.5-2 hours (more often in the younger age, of course), and just realized "how are we supposed to know what her signal might be to go out, when we don't even give her the chance?" Derp.

I recall advice about slowly extending the amount of time between outings, so we're trying that now. (She just turned 5 months.) She is already able to go overnight with no problems, and when we're both working I come home to take her out for a break at lunch.

Hubby stayed home today so he was able to try something with her at lunchtime. After being in her crate as usual from about 7am-noon-ish, he let her out but kept her in her room, which has laminate flooring. He played ball with her (just rolling it and kicking it gently around the room) and then he went upstairs for a minute (baby gate prevented her from joining him on the carpeted floor). She ended up curling up on the floor and going back to sleep!

After a short while she woke up again and he decided just to ask her if she wanted to go out, like we usually do when getting bundled up to take her. She picked up her bone and went to sit by the side door. Then she gave a couple of whines, which is a first, and he put his coat on quicker to let her out. Once they were out the door and on their way to open the gate to the yard, she squatted and peed on the walkway! Hubby was soooooo impressed that she did not go in the house if it was that close a situation! Yay, Sophie! Lots of praise for that one.

Later, I still took her out after she ate her dinner...especially since we always add water to the bowl of kibble. That was just after 5pm and she's happily chewing away on one of her pressed pork bones at the moment. It's my turn to see what she does when it's time.

I wish we had a door that led directly to the yard...it would be so much easier on all of us! Getting long-johns, snow pants, scarves, etc. on before even opening the door is a huge PITA.

Wish us luck. It's -22C with the wind chill here. Brrr.

Jen

[barry581]

Sounds like she is on her way to being potty trained!! Just keep doing what your doing. I'd still take her out as soon as she wakes up, eats, etc, just to reinforce the behavior.

[Labradorks]

In my opinion she is too young for proofing and you still need to be setting her up for success. She's still gaining muscle as far as holding her pee, and growing, and sometimes they drink more with the weather or when she's had a day where she can't sit still -- she's still going through those phases -- so it's not always going to be easy. And, so much distraction! It gets worse from there and lasts at least a few months. One second they are playing, the next they are running to the door peeing. Just like a first-grader! By proofing her so soon, too soon, you can really shake her confidence in potty training. You'll know soon enough what her signs are as you continue to figure her out and she continues to mature. If she does well for a week or two or three you will gain a false sense of security and when she does have an accident, you will be disappointed, perhaps even punish her, which isn't fair. When the truth is she's a five month old puppy, which is basically a toddler. It's too much too soon.

[SoapySophie]

Ok, fair enough...tonight we waited until 9pm for a sign from her (I didn't see your post until now, Labradorks), but she had just received a brand new bone to chew on so nothing else mattered. I took her out anyway and she had a good pee in the yard. I understand what you're saying and appreciate the advice. We want her to be successful, too.

We know not to punish for accidents so we're ok there...instead of taking her out every 1.5-2 hours like before, we'll slowly increase the time instead of waiting for a signal for now. Thank you again. This is as much about training US as HER. lol

[doubledip1]

She's definitely her way. Good girl!

If it helps, Luna's signals now are a squeak at the door, licking your hands, or just staring you down with "poo eyes". You'll learn. They find ways to tell you.

[sarah]

I wish we had a door that led directly to the yard...it would be so much easier on all of us! Getting long-johns, snow pants, scarves, etc. on before even opening the door is a huge PITA.

Wish us luck. It's -22C with the wind chill here. Brrr.

just wanted to say I feel your pain. We have to take Sam around the side of the house to the fenced yard too. The basement walks out into the fenced yard, but the goofball refuses to go down the basement stairs. Sam just doesnt understand why I dont wanna go play in the snow with him in the 3 degree weather.

Its nice to have to take him outside though since we are forced to keep an eye on him. No digging, no barking at the neighbors, no eating of found treasures in the yard.

Good luck on the potty training. It sounds like you're well on your way!

[SoapySophie]

sarah, are your basement stairs hardwood (not carpeted)? We had a section of stairs like that and Sophie would not go up or down them, even though she could go up and down the carpeted stairs. We ended up cutting 8" x 24" strips of leftover carpet and stapled them to each step. INSTANTLY, she was able to use them. Thank goodness, because she was getting WAY too heavy to carry down them to go to the door at 5:45am!

Re: playing in the snow...if you're dressed for it, it's quite fun.

[sarah]

sarah, are your basement stairs hardwood (not carpeted)? We had a section of stairs like that and Sophie would not go up or down them, even though she could go up and down the carpeted stairs. We ended up cutting 8" x 24" strips of leftover carpet and stapled them to each step. INSTANTLY, she was able to use them. Thank goodness, because she was getting WAY too heavy to carry down them to go to the door at 5:45am!

Re: playing in the snow...if you're dressed for it, it's quite fun.

yes, they are wood. Plus they're narrow. We live in an old house and the basement is like a dungeuon. So i cant decide if its the stairs or the scariness of the bottom of the stairs that kerps him at the top Carpet is a good idea though!

I do like playing in the snow with The doggy. Just not when it feels like -15 outside