# Potty pad training going south



## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

Poppy was doing so great using the potty pad ... until yesterday. Today he has peed every single time on the floor, carpet, rug.

He was using the potty pad in his pen just fine, until we started introducing him (slowly) to part of the rest of the house. I had put a potty pad in the back bedroom (the only one with carpet, that he likes to do zoomies in) and he seemed to like to do his business back there on the potty pad better. He would be playing and then run back there and use the potty pad. Good boy! I 'thought' all was going well.

This morning I take him back there and put him on the pad and say 'potty, potty' .... he jumps off and starts running, like it's a game now. Then I grab him up as he's peeing on the carpet. I say Bad Poppy as I grab him up and sit him on the potty pad. Later he pees 2 more times out in the family room on a large rug. Grrrr!!!

He has now not pee'd or poo'd on his potty pad in his pen at all. He lays on it like it's just another bed .... or he starts pulling on the edges and barking his fool head off. For such a sweet little dude, he sure does have some vocal cords.

So, at 14 weeks, is he marking? Or is just trying to push every button with me? Should I use a belly band ... which I have no clue about.

On a side note, I do know that he is pushing my buttons with the crate training. He sleeps in it great at night (so far) and I have been putting him in it for 2 hours each afternoon this week, to get him used to it during the day while I am here. He was doing great until today. I seriously doubt he slept for 45 minutes today, as he was very vocal in letting me know he wanted out. I did take him out twice to see if he had to do his business, but he just plopped himself on the floor as if to say I am fine napping here thank you very much. I quietly picked him up and put him back in the crate.

I am going to try and go back to him being in his pen until I see a pee, and then he can have run of the house fun time .... but seeing that he has now stopped going in his pen, I'm not sure what to think. If I leave him in there and say 'potty, potty' he just either barks until the whole house starts drinking (LOL) or he starts attacking the pad.

Any thoughts?

Thanks and big HUGz! Jules


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

If he is urinating more than normal he should go to the vet to be checked for a urinary tract infection. 

You've hit the precise problem with using that pen method. Your dog has been going when he pleases, not learning to hold it, and not being rewarded every time for the right potty. Now, your dog very well may be identifying the pen as his area and not want to go potty in it. That is a GOOD thing! That means he wants to keep his area clean. 

My advise to you would be
1. Put him on a schedule for eating, potty, etc. YOU take him to his potty spot every time with a leash on and reward him with a treat and praise for going. If he does not go, back in his confinement area (smaller area of pen or crate) and try again in 15 minutes. Repeat. NO freedom off that leash until he goes. 
2. Work on teaching him to hold it. This is essential for running free in the house. So leave him in his confinement area for a few hours at a time (go run some errands). His body has to learn how to hold his urine and your method thus far has not encouraged this. 
3. No free roam of the house, even if he went potty. Use a baby gate to confine him to one room or have him drag a leash so he can easily be controlled. Remember how much space he has in his confinement area...now look at one room of your house. It is a HUGE area. Freedom must be given in small increments. 
4. Potty trained IMO means perfect potties for 3 weeks minimum. Adding space to his freedom area means no mistakes in that space for 2-3 weeks. Then you can add a little more room. 

If you are having trouble with the crate, I think Susan Garret's Crate Games is a lot of fun. Feeding him in the crate, tossing toys in it, etc. will all help. Many dogs will carrying on knowing you are in the house (yes, they know), so you have to slowly get them use to it starting with seconds, working up to minutes, starting in the same room, working up to leaving the room.


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

JMM thank you from the bottom of my heart. Right after you posted last night, I read your post twice, and then had hubby read it twice.

Poppy has only been in his walk-in harness twice and never on a leash. But, we put the harness on him (it's a XXS but still too big, but we'll use it) and took him back to the potty pad on a leash. He wrestled it, chewed, it, etc. and so we took him back to his pen. It took 3 tries, but he finally peed on the pad.

I did the same thing this morning after he got up, and he peed again.  

I took him back about a 1/2 hour after he ate to see if I could get a pooh out of him. Boy, he fought me, but I eventually got a pooh. YeeHaw!

I have now moved the gates around, and his run and play time will be in the kitchen until we get the potty thing down on the potty pad.

So much of what you said really hit me in the face. It has been 10 years since I've had puppies, and I worked then, so they had no choice but to deal with being confined, and then going potty on command when I got home. I realize now I gave him too much space too fast, and therefore set him up for failure. I really appreciate your post!!!

Big HUGz! Jules


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

You are doing FINE! It is always much harder to see what we are doing wrong ourselves. It is much easier to call the shots from afar LOL That's why I pay for instruction! Keep up the good work. He will catch on in no time.


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## maltlovereileen (Jan 19, 2009)

QUOTE (NekkidFish @ Feb 6 2010, 02:54 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=882583


> JMM thank you from the bottom of my heart. Right after you posted last night, I read your post twice, and then had hubby read it twice.
> 
> Poppy has only been in his walk-in harness twice and never on a leash. But, we put the harness on him (it's a XXS but still too big, but we'll use it) and took him back to the potty pad on a leash. He wrestled it, chewed, it, etc. and so we took him back to his pen. It took 3 tries, but he finally peed on the pad.
> 
> ...


Your post truly hit home with me... glad you and your husband are on the same page. My husband thinks it's mean to crate them or even pen them so much when "they have so much fun playing" (we have two puppies and a rescue now). This is making it super difficult for me  JMM gives excellent advice. I keep telling him "it's only for a short time and then they get to be freer in the house" but so far it seems to be falling on deaf ears. He tells me I'm torturing her when I hold her in the side yard on her leash where I want her to go and what I am doing will make her not want to go there (one has already learned to use the doggy door on her own and loves going outside...sure wish her sister would just copy her) *frustrated sigh*


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

Two days now with all pottys done on the pads and on command. Thanks again JMM!!! :wub: 

Big HUGz! Jules


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## littledog (Dec 7, 2006)

QUOTE (NekkidFish @ Feb 8 2010, 01:00 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=883062


> Two days now with all pottys done on the pads and on command. Thanks again JMM!!! :wub:
> 
> Big HUGz! Jules[/B]



Wow! only 2 days???? I will have to sit down and read (memorize) that post and get hubby to also. I am having the same problem with my little Sunny. He is 4 months now and I guess I made the same mistake as you -- I let him have too much space. He has a nice sized pen and does not go in there, but when I let him out he goes pee on the pad as I suggest, but poo, well just like little boys, he loves to find a new hiding space for that. He circles and I know it is time and I go running for him and he runs off and at 64 I just can't get to him quick enough. He either gets distracted and quits or drops it on the way down the hall to the pad and I step in it myself. I am a failure at the potty training! I hate to pen him up too, but I guess that's what I need to do. I need to work on the leash idea too as he won't wear it at all. He sleeps with us at night and holds it all night long very well so I know he can and does. He just loves to do it wherever for fun. I guess he doesn't seem to get the idea he should hold it when outside his pen.


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

Okay, another question .... Poppy went for 2 weeks in the kitchen and doing all of his business on the potty pad. Good boy!!

I was hoping by next week to expand his space, but now over the last 4 days he has peed 3 different times on the rugs. :shocked: 

What would make him back slide? I use a good quality odor eliminator, and he did not pee in the same spot, but in 3 different spots each time.

Should I consider removing the rugs, since he has not peed on the tile floor for 3 weeks?

Thanks bunches!! Jules


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

Okay, now I am rethinking this .... just thinking out loud.

I really don't want to remove the two rugs. Our house is on a slab, and this time of year, the tile floor in the kitchen is cold. The rugs are where he lays and plays.

So, I am thinking I should start feeding him in the kitchen on the rugs. Up to now he has been fed in his pen, which he keeps clean. Maybe it is time to start feeding him in the kitchen, so it becomes part of his clean space as well?

Okay, I'll quit talking to myself now. :biggrin: 

HUGz! Jules


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Another problem with leaving a dog to its own devices to potty. That's why I prefer crate training. 

You can leave food bowls and toys on the rug and see if that helps. Otherwise you need to not give freedom when you are not actively watching.


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

QUOTE (JMM @ Feb 23 2010, 02:06 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=889465


> Another problem with leaving a dog to its own devices to potty. That's why I prefer crate training.
> 
> You can leave food bowls and toys on the rug and see if that helps. Otherwise you need to not give freedom when you are not actively watching.[/B]


Oh JMM< I can swear to you that I am actively watching. When he is in the kitchen, I am in the kitchen. I live in the kitchen! LOL

He is just so close to the ground, and does not give a good sign when he's going to pee ... and by the time I grabbed him up and put him on the potty pad, he had already gone a little bit.

He gives the usual, wonderful sign when he has to pooh .... circle, circle, circle ... but pee's are a different story.

I think I'll mix up our feeding habits, and start feeding him in the kitchen. Further cornfusing my other dog, but heh, it's all for the cause.  

HUGz! Jules


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

LOL He's got you but good! You might try setting a timer for 15-20 minutes and taking him to potty each time it goes off. Playful pups can go every 15 minutes. I live with a timer attached to me when I have a pup. Its just so easy to be doing something and look up and the time has passed. If he doesn't go potty and you suspect he needs to, put him up and try again in 15 minutes.


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

JMM, I'm glad you can laugh with me over this.  

It has been 10 years since I've had a puppy, but part of me just thinks he's being stubborn. Seriously. The last oops ... he walks onto the potty pad and I say 'potty, potty' as usual. He stands there and walks off the pad, so I don't think he has to go. He walks one foot to a rug, and then I realize he's peeing. :shocked: 

It's like now when I point my finger at him and say 'no' when he's doing something he's not supposed to ... now he jumps up and down like a bunny and tries to bite my finger. It's just like when kids do something bad, and you want to crack up, even though it's totally unacceptable behavior.  

HUGz! Jules


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