Housebreaking...Am I expecting too much?

[Doodlesmom]

Hello all!

Our puppy is going to be 4 months old on 07/27/07 and we've had him since the end of May. We're doing the crate training, (Love It) but we are still having accidents. Usually it's in the evening when we are home and he's having free play time. We've been leaving the door proped open during play time and he does go outside to do his business, but every now and then he will just squat in the house. He's a smart dog and seems eager to please. I'm just at my wits end about what to do about this. Is this normal for his age? Are we giving him too much freedom during play time? At what age should I expect him to be potty trained? (So I can rent a steam cleaner, lol) Any suggestions would be wonderful! Thanks!

 

[bubbatd]

I never crate trained ..... does he go in his cage ?? Each case is different ... depends on the breed and the time put into p0tty training . Golden are easy to train . I wish I had suggestions except to start over . I personally feel that the night training is so important . My grand-dog Seger at 8 weeks slept with his " parents " ...when restless they took him out , by 10 weeks he slept through the night . He learned to hold it . Sure , there were accidents during the day ....but it was a case of just not watching . Good luck !!

 

[Saje]

Sounds like you are doing everything right except the free play time. He can't have any unsupervised play time in the house until he's been 100% reliable for awhile.

So, to nip this in the butt you need to keep him under your control while he's in the house by either having him in the crate or try tying a leash to your waist to keep him in sight. For free play take him out in your yard if you have one or get a long line and take him for walks with it.

Also, to keep this from becoming a habit use an enzyme cleaner to clean up all the spots that he's gone before. It may smell clean to you but if he can smell it he will continue to mark there long after he's grown.

Hope that helps!

 

[girlbuffalo1]

Agree with Saje--until he has been accident free for a few months NO free play time--you seriously have to be staring at him pretty much. That way if he goes to squat or starts to go you can pick him up and take him outside to finish and praise him then. This is the only way it will work!
You also can get used to what he does/looks like before he usually goes...so you can tell warning signs!

I would say by 8 months Wrigley had had a total of 5 accidents in the house (since we got him at 10 weeks) and I considered him to be completely trained (as he hadn't had an accident for the past two months)--he could finally go around the corner by himself--and I could finally use the bathroom by myself! LOL

 

[Charliesmommy]

Also make sure you are giving TONS of praise when he does go outside. By leaving the door propped open for him to go outside on his own, is he going out by himself and therefore not getting praised?

 

[CrusMomma]

Cruiser was completely housebroken at about 4.5 months. At 4 months he was having about one accident a week, usually because I didn't get up fast enough to let him out after he asked to go.

Give it some time, use LOTS of praise and take him out after eating, playing and sleeping...and AS SOON as he asks to go out or starts making "potty circles" inside.