# Yet another potty question :)



## kdaly (Jan 31, 2013)

So in some ways Duke (13 weeks; had him for 2 weeks) is doing great with house breaking. He has let me know a couple of times by scratching on our back door. (I've been scratching his paw on it every time we go out). Also, he will pretty much potty on command every time I take him out to his specific spot. I've been using the crate quite a bit for an hour or so here and there throughout the day when I need to get things done and he is in it all night without going outside. However, when he is out of his crate only after he has pottied outside I will let him run around and play with our other dog and my 3 boys. He has found an area in our hallway that he will stop and pee at. Even when we are standing right there with him. It is usually when he's running around and then he just stops and pees. : It is sooo frustrating because I feel like I am doing so much trying to get him trained and spending so much time taking him outside. At least every hour and sometimes every 20-30 min. I'm just wondering what my best option is for stopping this problem before it becomes a terrible habit. I've thought about getting baby gates that would keep him in our kitchen and living room. However, he will probably figure out how to jump those I'm guessing. Is it worth it to keep him away from that area that he is soiling? help :'(


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

Sure you're cleaning with nature's miracle to remove the scent, but if not -- do it!

our guy used to do this too - we had some potty relapses between 13-16 weeks... I think he just got excited during play or being out and didn't want to stop to go outside. Our trainer says pups get full control of their bladder sometime in their fourth month and Wilson is 19 weeks old now - no accident in 2 weeks and I have noticed he has stopped going outside as much as he used to. He used to stop and tinkle every 50 feet it seems, that seems to have diminished considerably. Good luck!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Simple fix. When he goes in that spot, mop it up with a paper towel, pick him up and take him outside to his area. Place down wet paper towel, place down pup and the instant he sniffs it, praise/reward.


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## kdaly (Jan 31, 2013)

I did try that one of the times since the paper towel was handy. Isn't important to get them outside immediately after to show them the correct spot to potty? I guess I can try to leave a roll of paper towels nearby so I can have easier access.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

*Re: Re: Yet another potty question *



kdaly said:


> I did try that one of the times since the paper towel was handy. Isn't important to get them outside immediately after to show them the correct spot to potty? I guess I can try to leave a roll of paper towels nearby so I can have easier access.


Trying something once only with any pup is a waste of time. Nothing will ever be achieved with your pup using that approach. Repetition and consistency is what you need. 

FWIW, the most it has taken me to house train a pup using the above method was 4 days.


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## kdaly (Jan 31, 2013)

I wasn't saying I tried it once and it didn't work...I'm not that naive  I was just inquiring as to if it was as effective if you had to take a moment to get a paper towel etc while the dog waited around instead of taking the dog directly outside.

So I'm assuming I need to have paper towels ready wherever he may be going potty and grab one quickly, sop a little up and do a more thorough cleaning later. 

Thanks.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

kdaly said:


> I wasn't saying I tried it once and it didn't work...I'm not that naive  I was just inquiring as to if it was as effective if you had to take a moment to get a paper towel etc while the dog waited around instead of taking the dog directly outside.
> 
> So I'm assuming I need to have paper towels ready wherever he may be going potty and grab one quickly, sop a little up and do a more thorough cleaning later.
> 
> Thanks.


Sorry, didn't mean to upset you. But when you wrote..... "I did try that one of the times when the paper towel was handy" ...... I just assumed you had only tried it once. Silly me....... 

With this method it is not so much about the timing, but associating the smell with the toilet area and praise/reward. So it doesn't matter if pup did it ten minutes ago and you just noticed it. Go get the paper towel, mop it up, take pup and towel out to area, place down, allow to sniff, praise/reward.


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## kdaly (Jan 31, 2013)

I'm assuming it works with poop too?? *sigh* I was a bad owner and turned my head for a minute and he was pooping in the kitchen! He went a little off his schedule today. I walked back in and saw it and then casually got a paper towel in front of him and took him and the "accident" outside. He didn't want to sniff it at first, but then he did and I praised him. After that he peed and I praised him for that. He really isn't big on praise though. He likes it, but he would rather get back inside! lol


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## Happyhappyhappy (Jan 8, 2013)

Kdaly,

Hi! I also have 3 children and a new Vizsla. Our "Afton" is 11 weeks old. After 2 weeks, I was thinking that, by gosh... He is trained! So, we gave him free reign of the downstairs. He did beautifully for 24 hrs. Then, we saw a pattern of 'oops'. He had found a fav spot in the study.

I thought of it like this: we are trying to define what the meaning of den is. If he thinks that this fave spot is not within his den, then we will restrict his access to it for a bit (unless he has just relieved himself and is supervised by an adult in that area - this amounts to maybe once per day, after the kids are in bed and I'll walk him through before bed).

I may be the one who is being trained... . I followed a tip I had read: to make a simple chart for the first 5-6 weeks, in order to learn about my new pups body schedule, training, and monitor progress. 

Seeing the progress on the chart has really helped me. I currently use an xpen as a gate to restrict access to the living room when my 3 year old is playing "cars" or doing a puzzle - but move it if we are all watching a movie, etc. so, I would have to say that portable gates give me the idea that I am enlarging the den if the supervision is there, reducing it when it isn't?

Afton does sleep upstairs in our beds. He wakes/stirs when he needs to go out - we are still figuring this part out... I am not resting well, thinking my children won't hear him... So, it seems that I am getting up throughout the night to check on him and also possibly disturbing Afton by taking him out when he doesn't really need to go?! Last night, I just put him in with me and we both slept blissfully (hubby was out of town) - the children joined in and we all slept in until 7 am - nobody stirred! Hmmmmmm...


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