# Potty Training Issues with 5 Month Old Puppy



## jcm3 (Jul 15, 2016)

We got our sweet girl from a breeder at about three months. She was crate trained, and also went through 5 weeks of training since the first customer backed out. She's a great dog!

We didn't crate train her that long when we brought her home since she'd been crate and potty trained by the breeder, and she's been great. We usually keep her on our side yard/dog run with our other dog when we're not home, and when we're home we alternate with the dog run or in the living room on her pillow (leashed) with some bones to chew. She very rarely had an accident in the first few months, and when she did it was usually our fault.

She's peed in the house at least three times in the last week or two. It's really pissing us off! (no pun intended)

It's usually after she's been on the side yard for a while, and has been a pretty small puddle, which tells me she doesn't really even need to go. So, back to crate training. We do crate her in the living room so that she's still part of the pack, not away from the family in another room.

Since we didn't crate train her much, she really hates her crate (except for at night, for which she'll usually go in on her own), and barks constantly. We got tired of it so we bought an e-collar and spoke to the folks at the pet store on how to use it. It's been working, and we can control her barking. 

I would be interested in any input, but am probably more venting at this point. I feel bad, because she had it going pretty good. She wasn't in her crate much at all, and had a pretty good little life for a puppy with some freedom and lots of interaction with our other dog. Now, she's kind of in solitary and is getting the treatment when she barks, so I might feel a little bit bad for her. But, peeing in the house is a no no, so she's going to have to work her way out of it.

I'd like to teach her to ring a bell to go out, so will do a bit more research on that.

Thanks for listening! :grin2:


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## carlock (May 2, 2016)

Go back to step 1 with crate training and potty training. Outside regularly, treat when she goes. I'd have her crated when I wasn't able to watch her. The barking is probably because she knows if she sits in there barking long enough she knows she'll get some attention and maybe get out. I wouldn't use an e-collar on a 5 month old puppy. Go back to the basics and you'll probably be able to eliminate the inside peeing, barking, and hating the crate. You may have given her too much freedom too early.


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## jcm3 (Jul 15, 2016)

carlock said:


> You may have given her too much freedom too early.



Thank you. This is exactly what we were thinking also!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

It's not uncommon for females to have UTI's at this age and break the house training. Before you get angry with her, restrict her free access and have a UA done. I like to keep D-Mannose on hand for puppies and for myself. Sometimes it's not a full blown UTI but just an irritation from lack of water or something silly.


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## Deb (Nov 20, 2010)

I wouldn't be getting angry with your puppy. She is a puppy. Annoyed? Yes. Angry, no. She is still going to go through stages where you'll want to pull your hair out, but you just need to be patient and remember it all will pass, eventually. I agree with Jax08, rule out anything medical. Personally, I wouldn't count so heavily on training between age 7 weeks and 12. There's still a lot of puppyhood to go through. Try to focus on the good things she does.


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## jcm3 (Jul 15, 2016)

Jax08 said:


> It's not uncommon for females to have UTI's at this age and break the house training. Before you get angry with her, restrict her free access and have a UA done. I like to keep D-Mannose on hand for puppies and for myself. Sometimes it's not a full blown UTI but just an irritation from lack of water or something silly.



Interesting, I didn't know that. We'll take that into account and keep an eye on it. We try to stop water after 8:00pm or so, but she's usually on the side yard if not in the house with a few bowls of water available.



Deb said:


> I wouldn't be getting angry with your puppy. She is a puppy. Annoyed? Yes. Angry, no. She is still going to go through stages where you'll want to pull your hair out, but you just need to be patient and remember it all will pass, eventually. I agree with Jax08, rule out anything medical. Personally, I wouldn't count so heavily on training between age 7 weeks and 12. There's still a lot of puppyhood to go through. Try to focus on the good things she does.



Yes, it's definitely more of an annoyance. The pissed thing was more of a poor pun joke. We don't show any emotion when she does this, just walk her outside and go back in to clean up. We're frustrated at having to clean up a huge pool of pee, but not directed at her nor do we get mad at her. I'm almost more frustrated that she's lost her freedom than the peeing in the house, I guess, even though I understand the value and importance of training. I feel bad for her as it's pretty clear she's hating the crate and wants to be hanging out with the family as she's been able to do for about two months now.


She's 22 weeks old now, btw.


Thanks for everyone's responses.


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## jcm3 (Jul 15, 2016)

Jax08 said:


> It's not uncommon for females to have UTI's at this age and break the house training. Before you get angry with her, restrict her free access and have a UA done. I like to keep D-Mannose on hand for puppies and for myself. Sometimes it's not a full blown UTI but just an irritation from lack of water or something silly.


I tried to edit my post to ask a question, but I guess it had been more than 10 minutes.

Do you think that if she had a UTI that she'd have a hard time holding it at night? We usually put her in her crate or let her chew a bone before going into her crate at 10-ish pm, and I wake up and take the dogs outside to pee at around 5:30am. On the weekends we sometimes sleep in until 7:30 or 8:00am, and she can usually hold it without complaining.

Thanks for your thoughts.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

My girl had a UTI when she was a pup. The only indication was an inability to housebreak her and she drank a lot of water. She was crated at night without issue. It was when she was up and running around that she would pee. A round of abx stopped the peeing.

For $30? Take a sample in and get it checked. And go to a local health food store for D-mannose. It's a sugar derived from cranberries that will kill e-coli. Get the UA checked before giving her the d-mannose or it could hose the results.


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## jcm3 (Jul 15, 2016)

Jax08 said:


> My girl had a UTI when she was a pup. The only indication was an inability to housebreak her and she drank a lot of water. She was crated at night without issue. It was when she was up and running around that she would pee. A round of abx stopped the peeing.
> 
> For $30? Take a sample in and get it checked. And go to a local health food store for D-mannose. It's a sugar derived from cranberries that will kill e-coli. Get the UA checked before giving her the d-mannose or it could hose the results.



Great info, thanks!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I used the d-mannose on my male when he was young too. Same scenario as you. Housebroken and then suddenly having accidents. The problem is once they do it once, it quickly becomes a habit. So check for a UTI, give the d-mannose anyways because it does help and back up the training to restart.


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