# PLEASE HELP - puppy will not stop peeing/pooing inside



## chuuuu (Apr 9, 2017)

I'm at a loss here I really don't know what to do. 
Two days ago I adopted a 9 week old female German Shepherd Husky mix puppy.
She will not. Pee. Or poo. Outside. 
On the first day I got her she seemed fine, the previous owner told me she knew how to go outside.
I noticed her jump off the bed and run to my door that leads to the backyard, but I didn't open the door for her because I didn't know she had to pee. Well, she did. Right in front of the door. I didn't think anything of it, I thought to myself well it's fine, I don't mind cleaning it up, so I just cleaned it up. I fell asleep after, and she was running around the room all night long, PEEING EVERYWHERE. She pooped once. Holy cow what a night. 
Next day, (yesterday), same thing. All day. The door is always left open for her after that night for her to go outside and go to the bathroom. If she peed in the room I wouldn't do anything but pick her up and take her outside to her spot where she is supposed to go potty, but she would literally immediately run back inside to her pee or poo spot and sniff. So as last night we put her outside to sleep, she has a doggy house, and a bought her a nice pink mat she could sleep on as well as her stuffed animal and toys. 
This morning i cleaned the entire room with Boots & Barkley Odor Eliminator that is supposed to get rid of the urine scent so she doesn't think that is her pee territory anymore.!I checked on her and she was sleeping in her house, she looked comfy. I looked at her potty spot and she pooped twice there. She got up and ran over to me, and I looked inside her house and she peed EVERYWHERE inside it. But yet she still has no problem sleeping in it, she's actually in it right now sleeping. Sleeping on pee. I closed the door this morning and I had a treat in my hand to give it to her if she peed or pooped outside. There was a weight scale by her poo spot and ended up pooping on it when I was out there with her. I gave her the treat because hey, at least it's outside. I cleaned up all the poop then (after much flinging and snagging the paper towels and poop away from me). I thought she made her new spot there as she was going there all night long. Nope. Peed and pooped again. Everytime she peed my boyfriend would smack her nose or butt a little bit and tell her a firm NO. Now she's terrified of him and everytime she's in the room and sees him look at her she will literally pee herself from being scared or excited. I went to the store and bought puppy pads for her afterwards, and placed them on the places she's peed and I have tried to run her urine scent on it, but she pees anywhere else. I don't know what else to do here. She pees or poops wherever she pleases and will literally go halfway outside and will pee inside as her front legs are out, then walk back in the room. Or if I think she's going to pee and I place her to her outside spot she will immediately run back inside to pee inside.

PLEASE HEP ME I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO :'(


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## np307 (Feb 22, 2017)

Your pup is young and adjusting to a new life. You need to actively take her outside a lot. Our pup is almost 5 months, and when he was 10 weeks old I was taking him outside every hour. He still had some accidents and it took him a little bit to learn where to go. 

I'm not quite understanding how the dog is running back inside. Are you leaving the door open? If so, don't. Make her stay outside to use the bathroom, and then reward and praise her like crazy. 

Do everything you can to help her succeed. Anything that makes it easier for her to learn what you want her to learn will be to both of your advantage.

Edit to add:
Also, you need to be very careful about physically correcting a puppy this young. It's a very stressful event for her. She's only been with you for a couple of days. She is in a new environment without mom or siblings, with new people. She probably has no idea why your boyfriend corrected her, that's why she is afraid of him now.


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## chuuuu (Apr 9, 2017)

Sometimes I close it sometimes I leave it open, because I don't want her to pee or poo outside when it's her only option to go. I feel like it's not going to be teaching her because it's her only option she doesn't have a choice but to go there. It doesn't teach her anything


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## np307 (Feb 22, 2017)

chuuuu said:


> Sometimes I close it sometimes I leave it open, because I don't want her to pee or poo outside when it's her only option to go. I feel like it's not going to be teaching her because it's her only option she doesn't have a choice but to go there. It doesn't teach her anything


It will teach her because you are going to take her out there a lot and reward her for peeing or pooping out there. Don't give her a chance to fail. She doesn't need choices, she needs structure.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Tether the puppy to you, do not allow her to run free around the house without supervision. She is a baby baby. You have had her for 2 days. Give her a chance to adjust and figure out the rules of the house. You are expecting an awful lot of a baby.

Get a crate, google crate training. Let this puppy succeed. If she has an accident at this stage of her life, its YOUR fault. YOU need to be paying attention, you need to be actively watching and making sure she gets out and rewarding when she goes outside.Its takes a few WEEKS. Not a few days.

Dont leave her outside by herself, she is a baby, she can get stolen, she get eat things that get stuck or poison her. You wouldnt leave a toddler outside at night by itself because it wasnt potty trained. Give this poor baby a break and tell your boyfriend to stop hitting her. Jimminy, would he hit a 2 year old child for pottying in his diaper? This puppy has no concept of what is acceptable, you can not punish what is not known. You cant.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

You could start by ... not smacking her on the nose for something she does not understand. It's a baby and she needs to be "Trained" and doing that with a puppy means your not going to be getting a full night's sleep for a couple of weeks. 

She needs to be out of the bed and in a Crate and you need to set a timer so you can take her out every 3 to 4 hours or so. A puppy is a lot of work if your not prepared to deal, then she should consider rehoming her and getting an already done older dog. 

But assuming your kinda new at this ... here is some of what you need to know. :






Others with more recent puppy experiance than myself will chime in ... "Welcome Aboard."


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

Don't let the puppy jump up or off the bed or anything else for that matter - she is too small for this.
Do not leave her alone outside, anything could happen to her. 
You need to think of her as a baby who doesn't know anything, you are there to teach her what is right and what is wrong. Anything she does wrong is because you haven't taught her what is right. 
Don't smack/punish a little puppy.

Get her a crate (a small one, that has just enough space for her... research the correct sizes online) to sleep in so you can keep her locked up at night (inside next to your bed or near you) when you are sleeping and can't watch her. Set your alarm to wake up every 3 hours to take her outside to pee. Stay with her outside... when she pees/poops name it... I say "toilet" and then give her a treat/lots of praise as soon as she is finished before going back inside. Puppies can hold their bladders for their age in months plus 1... so 9 weeks is 2 months plus 1 so she can hold for the max of 3hrs... this is a generalisation and does not apply to all puppies... you need to see what works for her.

During the day she can also nap in the crate. Get some baby gates or an ex-pen so that she doesn't have full access to the entire house. You should have your eyes on her at all times when she is loose in the house. Take her outside every half an hour when she pees/poops name it... I say "toilet" and then give her a treat/lots of praise as soon as she is finished before going back inside.

Eventually you will be able to say "toilet" and she will do her business because that is how you've trained her.


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## thegooseman90 (Feb 24, 2017)

gsdsar said:


> Tether the puppy to you, do not allow her to run free around the house without supervision. She is a baby baby. You have had her for 2 days. Give her a chance to adjust and figure out the rules of the house. You are expecting an awful lot of a baby.
> 
> Get a crate, google crate training. Let this puppy succeed. If she has an accident at this stage of her life, its YOUR fault. YOU need to be paying attention, you need to be actively watching and making sure she gets out and rewarding when she goes outside.Its takes a few WEEKS. Not a few days.
> 
> Dont leave her outside by herself, she is a baby, she can get stolen, she get eat things that get stuck or poison her. You wouldnt leave a toddler outside at night by itself because it wasnt potty trained. Give this poor baby a break and tell your boyfriend to stop hitting her. Jimminy, would he hit a 2 year old child for pottying in his diaper? This puppy has no concept of what is acceptable, you can not punish what is not known. You cant.


Op, in case you skipped this the first time read it.


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

You need to go outside with her, at least every 2 hours, probably more frequently. Make sure she does her business and reward her when she does. Make a big thing of it. Resign yourself to the fact that you have a new baby in the house and you aren't going to get much sleep for several weeks. 

Take her outside after she eats or drinks, when she wakes from a nap, after she plays, and regularly all during the day AND night. This is nothing she will figure out on her own. You have to teach her. 

Never punish her for making a mistake. She doesn't know what the rules are and punishment will only confuse her. She has to learn the rules first and that's your responsibility.

As others have said, get a crate and teach her to be happy in it. But a crate is not a place you can stash her so you don't have to get up with her. You still have to do the work it takes for her to figure out where the bathroom is.

House training a puppy is big and exhausting job. It's a major commitment and responsibility, but it will pay off if you do it properly. It will go more quickly if you do it right the first time.


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## chuuuu (Apr 9, 2017)

You guys are literally telling me everything I'm already doing. You act like we're beating her and we're not, it was literally a tap, and no we don't hit her. I have tried crate training her and she will soil her bed and she doesn't mind sleeping in her own pee. She doesn't let me know when she needs to go, she just does. When I take her outside every half hour to an hour, she will run around digging holes or something and as soon as I open my door she runs in and does her business...... and when I put down a puppy pad for her I tape it down to the ground (because she previously just eats and plays with the pad regardless if I smeared her pee on it first or not), and she will rip off and play with the tape and when I try to tape it back down again she constantly just jumps all over me, so please tell me what I'm supposed to do on that. Whenever she comes in the room she will run around the entire room peeing everywhere. And since her pee leaves her mark I have to scrub scrub scrub at least 8 times a day, each for about 20-30 minutes to get all the smell out.
This is my first puppy. I love her to death. We don't hit her, and we don't make her suffer.
We have tried EVERYTHING. I do not know what to do. I really don't.

Edit: so she's never aware of her going potty in the room? (according to you) . interesting, is there anything dogs are aware of then? they're not dumb.


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## np307 (Feb 22, 2017)

chuuuu said:


> You guys are literally telling me everything I'm already doing. You act like we're beating her and we're not, it was literally a tap, and no we don't hit her. I have tried crate training her and she will soil her bed and she doesn't mind sleeping in her own pee. She doesn't let me know when she needs to go, she just does. When I take her outside every half hour to an hour, she will run around digging holes or something and as soon as I open my door she runs in and does her business...... and when I put down a puppy pad for her I tape it down to the ground (because she previously just eats and plays with the pad regardless if I smeared her pee on it first or not), and she will rip off and play with the tape and when I try to tape it back down again she constantly just jumps all over me, so please tell me what I'm supposed to do on that. Whenever she comes in the room she will run around the entire room peeing everywhere. And since her pee leaves her mark I have to scrub scrub scrub at least 8 times a day, each for about 20-30 minutes to get all the smell out.
> This is my first puppy. I love her to death. We don't hit her, and we don't make her suffer.
> We have tried EVERYTHING. I do not know what to do. I really don't.
> 
> Edit: so she's never aware of her going potty in the room? (according to you) . interesting, is there anything dogs are aware of then? they're not dumb.


If you stay outside long enough, she will use the bathroom. Then you reward her for it. You keep taking her out frequently and making sure she uses the bathroom. 

Whether it was a smack or a little tap, she doesn't understand correction yet. Like gsdsar said, this is a weeks long process. You will not train her in a day. Of course she doesn't let you know she needs to pee - she doesn't know she's supposed to. 

Understand that she is young. Keep taking her outside. It will take time, but she will eventually get the picture. 

You mentioned that this is your first puppy. This is what you should expect from a puppy. They are babies.


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

Puppies are not dumb. But neither are human babies. They are just completely uneducated and don't know right from wrong. They also have little capacity for bladder or bowel control.

Your job is to educate your pup. Stay outside as long as it takes for her to pee. When she does, reward here. She will learn that this is a good thing. Don't tap her or scold her or do anything when she messes up inside. Just take her outside and keep her there until she does the right thing. Then make a fuss over her.

She has no idea that she should let you know that she needs to go outside. Until you got her, she went to the bathroom wherever and whenever she needed to and that was fine. She may know she is doing it, but it's never been a problem before. Now things have changed and she doesn't know any of your rules. She doesn't yet know the difference, but she can learn with some diligent work on your part.


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## kimbale (Mar 7, 2017)

I have a 9 week old puppy and am going through potty training right now. I take him out every 15 to 30 minutes when he is being active in the house. Any time a puppy is playing or being active inside, they will need to go more often. When the puppy sleeps or is napping, make sure you take it outside as soon as it wakes up. Same goes for eating, take it outside right once it's finished eating.

I know it's mundane, but you need to stay outside with the puppy as long as it takes for them to go potty and praise the puppy like crazy for doing the right thing.

Don't leave it to wonder around your room or house when you're asleep as it can get into all sorts of trouble, moreso than just having accidents in the house. Never let the pup out of your sight unless it is crated and do not physically correct it as the pup is a baby and doesn't understand.

At night, take the pup out every three hours to do its business then put it back up to sleep.

It is a mundane, never-ending chore but this is how you potty train a pup. You sound like you think the pup should automatically know these things, but it's a tiny baby and you need to be the parent and teach it.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


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## thegooseman90 (Feb 24, 2017)

chuuuu said:


> You guys are literally telling me everything I'm already doing. You act like we're beating her and we're not, it was literally a tap, and no we don't hit her. I have tried crate training her and she will soil her bed and she doesn't mind sleeping in her own pee. She doesn't let me know when she needs to go, she just does. When I take her outside every half hour to an hour, she will run around digging holes or something and as soon as I open my door she runs in and does her business...... and when I put down a puppy pad for her I tape it down to the ground (because she previously just eats and plays with the pad regardless if I smeared her pee on it first or not), and she will rip off and play with the tape and when I try to tape it back down again she constantly just jumps all over me, so please tell me what I'm supposed to do on that. Whenever she comes in the room she will run around the entire room peeing everywhere. And since her pee leaves her mark I have to scrub scrub scrub at least 8 times a day, each for about 20-30 minutes to get all the smell out.
> This is my first puppy. I love her to death. We don't hit her, and we don't make her suffer.
> We have tried EVERYTHING. I do not know what to do. I really don't.
> 
> Edit: so she's never aware of her going potty in the room? (according to you) . interesting, is there anything dogs are aware of then? they're not dumb.


Lol comes here for help because dog of two days isn't house broken. Gets mad that people tell her to stop letting her bf hit the dog and claims to have been doing all of this all along. Look op, it doesn't happen in a couple of days. If you're doing the things that's been suggested the puppy will housebreak in time. Not one or two days. 

But you aren't. You've already said you leave her to roam the house unsupervised and she has accidents. As others have said the failures of a 9 week old puppy is on YOU. Take the time to teach her right and you'll have a good dog


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

gsdsar said:


> T*ether the puppy to you, do not allow her to run free around the house without supervision. She is a baby baby. You have had her for 2 days. Give her a chance to adjust and figure out the rules of the house. *You are expecting an awful lot of a baby.
> 
> Get a crate, google crate training. Let this puppy succeed. If she has an accident at this stage of her life, its YOUR fault. YOU need to be paying attention, you need to be actively watching and making sure she gets out and rewarding when she goes outside.Its takes a few WEEKS. Not a few days.
> 
> Dont leave her outside by herself, she is a baby, she can get stolen, she get eat things that get stuck or poison her. You wouldnt leave a toddler outside at night by itself because it wasnt potty trained. Give this poor baby a break and tell your boyfriend to stop hitting her. Jimminy, would he hit a 2 year old child for pottying in his diaper? This puppy has no concept of what is acceptable, you can not punish what is not known. You cant.





Pawsed said:


> Puppies are not dumb. But neither are human babies. *They are just completely uneducated and don't know right from wrong. They also have little capacity for bladder or bowel control.*
> 
> Your job is to educate your pup. Stay outside as long as it takes for her to pee. When she does, reward here. She will learn that this is a good thing. Don't tap her or scold her or do anything when she messes up inside. Just take her outside and keep her there until she does the right thing. Then make a fuss over her.
> 
> She has no idea that she should let you know that she needs to go outside. Until you got her, she went to the bathroom wherever and whenever she needed to and that was fine. She may know she is doing it, but it's never been a problem before. Now things have changed and she doesn't know any of your rules. She doesn't yet know the difference, but she can learn with some diligent work on your part.


Please pause, and take a minute to re-read some of these posts. There are some very good recommendations here from people who want to help. It's only been a few days. It takes time and patience to raise a puppy. 

*Stay calm, stay patient, expect accidents, and expect mistakes.*

This is a very young dog that doesn't understand how your world works, yet.


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## NerdicEclipse (Feb 20, 2017)

chuuuu said:


> You guys are literally telling me everything I'm already doing. You act like we're beating her and we're not, it was literally a tap, and no we don't hit her. I have tried crate training her and she will soil her bed and she doesn't mind sleeping in her own pee. She doesn't let me know when she needs to go, she just does. When I take her outside every half hour to an hour, she will run around digging holes or something and as soon as I open my door she runs in and does her business...... and when I put down a puppy pad for her I tape it down to the ground (because she previously just eats and plays with the pad regardless if I smeared her pee on it first or not), and she will rip off and play with the tape and when I try to tape it back down again she constantly just jumps all over me, so please tell me what I'm supposed to do on that. Whenever she comes in the room she will run around the entire room peeing everywhere. And since her pee leaves her mark I have to scrub scrub scrub at least 8 times a day, each for about 20-30 minutes to get all the smell out.
> This is my first puppy. I love her to death. We don't hit her, and we don't make her suffer.
> We have tried EVERYTHING. I do not know what to do. I really don't.
> 
> Edit: so she's never aware of her going potty in the room? (according to you) . interesting, is there anything dogs are aware of then? they're not dumb.




We struggled a bit with Minka's potty habits when we first got her too. Before it was all said and done I ended up going out with her about once an hour every hour (even at night) for a few days. Puppies especially shouldn't be free roaming or anything like that at all. Take her out frequently, reward and praise her when she does it right. Since she should never be free roaming and should *always* (at this age) be with you dragging her leash or in her crate - it should be relatively easy to spot when she needs to go. If she happens to start, interrupt her and immediately take her outside, praise her for finishing there. 

You said that she runs around digging holes (shouldn't be, at this age and for quite a while after, shouldn't free roam at all - always on leash, always with you. Always in the room with you dragging the leash or in the crate when in the house). Minka's thing was eating rocks (yes, literally chewing and attempting to swallow them). Don't let her dig, and when you take her out each hour, half our, two hours, whatever you choose - she should not come in until she does her business. Whether that takes 10 minutes or 3 hours (it won't). And again, since she should be leashed at all times except when inside her crate, interrupting bad behavior should be pretty easy. What's her feeding and water schedule like? Do you keep a pretty tight schedule? Does she get to graze? Is the water out at all times? Another thing we had to do - Minka had to be fed at specific times, and her water had to be rationed as well so we could get her on a potty schedule until she learned.


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

I'm not quite sure how you have tried everything if you've only had her for 2 days. Toilet training takes time and patience and won't happen in two days... some times a puppy can be 5 months old and still struggling with toilet training. Most of all you need to be consistent!!

Perhaps her crate is too big which is why she goes to the toilet in there. Or perhaps she was left in there too long and she couldn't hold it any more.

Watch her, have her next to you all the time during the day, if she squats like she is going to pee, pick her up and run outside, and then praise for doing it outside.
Spend time playing with her outside, keep the door closed so she can't go back inside. Stay outside until she goes to the toilet, the reward and praise.

If she whines and cries and won't go near your boyfriend then even a little tap is too much for her. Some puppies only need you to look at them angry and that is enough of a correction/warning.

I gave up with puppy pads... I also found that Kaiser thought they were more for playing with than peeing on. If I had to leave him alone for a few hours I would shut him in the bathroom with a babygate across the door and I would just scrub the tiles when I got home again. I never had success with puppy pads.

She won't let you know she needs to pee until she understand better what is expected of her... my guy is 6 months old now and he still doesn't make a sound, he will go sit by the door quietly, until someone notices... which sometimes can be ages.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

That seems to be a reoccuring theme "I already tried that and it didn't work". Lots of times for anything to work it must be done over and over and over again. 

And this puppy is very nearly an infant. Very VERY little control over her faculties. Someone else mentioned, even if the puppy just pottied, if she then played vigorously or got excited or woke up from a nap, she might have to go again. Basically, the beginning and ending of everything is a pleasant trip to the correct potty.

I'd be setting an alarm all night long (that's what I did with my pup) to take her out on a schedule. Every 30 mins or an hour if that's what it takes to get her not to mess her crate and sleep in it. Literally whatever it takes. Because the more she sleeps in it the less she cares and the harder it is to fix.

And about the boyfriend, you said the puppy was now terrified of him, so you can't come back and say it was only a tap and no big deal. It was a big deal to the puppy. It has to stop. If you aren't willing to stick up for the puppy then I recommend rehoming her.

The puppy's success at this is 100% dependent on you, her owner. She can NOT figure this out on her own without having it properly explained and reinforced. 

She should be on a leash 100% of the time when out of crate. Practice super short cratings where she does not have a chance to have an accident. If she begins to potty on the floor while out on the leash, try to interrupt her without frightening her. Just say uh oh, no-no puppy, try to hustle her out and get her to finish outside and heap on the praise for finishing in the right place. Better yet, interrupt JUST before she begins to go inside. Keep pushing it back until you see her circle and sniff and you know it's coming and then you say "gotta go out?" and merrily escort her outside.

Forget the potty pads, that isn't going to help.

It will take time

Here is how overnights went with mine: night one he would doze of for 30 mins to an hour and then wake up and whine. I took him potty every single time he woke up. About night 3 he was getting more comfortable and not missing his littler so much and sleeping longer. Then I set alarms to take him potty but I honestly can't remember how often. This pretty quickly and naturally progressed into no alarms but he would whine to be taken out. I took him out every single time he asked, made it as boring as possible, did not pet him, did not let him kiss me, boring boring boring, very quiet good boy when he pottied outside and then straight back to his crate with no fanfare. He figured out real quick that waking me up didn't get him anything except the ability to empty out. So he let me know when it was a real issue and held it a little longer and a little longer each night until he slept through the night. He never had an accident in his crate. It was grueling, but I feel it was worth it.


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## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

Please remember this is just a little baby! If she were a human infant she'd be in diapers. Just like you have to potty train a human you have to train a puppy! Some are easier and some are harder but they all have to be taught. It won't happen overnight and it can be a lot of work. Keep puppy outside until puppy goes potty, praise and let back in. Take back out later on and keep out until she potties. I'm not fond of puppy pads because it seems like you are just teaching them it's ok to go in the house as long as it's right there. It's an unnecessary crutch. You have to be vigilant, keep and eye on puppy at all times and crate at night. Any accidents a puppy has are the owners fault not the puppy. My puppy had very few accidents but the feels that happened were definitely my fault for not paying attention to her.


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> Here is how overnights went with mine: night one he would doze of for 30 mins to an hour and then wake up and whine. I took him potty every single time he woke up. About night 3 he was getting more comfortable and not missing his littler so much and sleeping longer. Then I set alarms to take him potty but I honestly can't remember how often. This pretty quickly and naturally progressed into no alarms but he would whine to be taken out. I took him out every single time he asked, made it as boring as possible, did not pet him, did not let him kiss me, boring boring boring, very quiet good boy when he pottied outside and then straight back to his crate with no fanfare. He figured out real quick that waking me up didn't get him anything except the ability to empty out. So he let me know when it was a real issue and held it a little longer and a little longer each night until he slept through the night. He never had an accident in his crate. It was grueling, but I feel it was worth it.


My nights were very similar the first 3 weeks I had my puppy at home, which wasn't long ago (December 2016 actually so I still remember it clearly). I was extremely tired with very little sleep, but it all paid off and he's never had an accident in his crate.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

this is how to use the "tap on the nose" or "smack with a rolled up newspaper" technique correctly. If the puppy potties in the house under the boyfriend's watch, immediately pick up the newspaper and whack him as hard as possible on the head and say "BAD HUMAN!! Bad human, not supervising the puppy" 

This method also works well on teenagers.


As others have said, it's all on the humans if the puppy potties in the house at this point. Take her leash and tie it to your belt loops. She is never out of your sight, in the house or outside. If it would be dangerous to have her tied to you or you have to shower/other activities that you can't watch her, put her in her crate.

The fact that she will potty in there means 1 of 2 things: either she is being left in there so long that she has no choice but to potty and then lay in it OR that she has been left there too long in the past. Time to start from square 1 with crate training either way.

Personally, I don't do the "stand outside until they potty" route. I take the puppy out on leash, stand in 1 spot and wait for them to go. If they haven't gone in 15 minutes, back inside. Puppy is crated or tethered to me. In 15 minutes (or if puppy starts to sniff the floor and circle), we go back outside. Reward with a tasty treat and praise and follow by a short play session.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

In order to get my overnight potties to not be rewarding except for the relief of emptying out (which was the goal--so he would not wake me up for fun) here are some other things I had to do:

-I had to stop carrying him to the door. I could not prevent him from kissing me all the way there and this was too rewarding. So I kept his leash by the crate and clipped it on and walked him to the door (no dilly dallying so he can't potty on the floor)

-once he started walking himself to the door he would sometimes pounce on treasures along the way---his toys or anything else that was laying around. So I cleared a path to the front door each night to make sure there was nothing he could play with in the middle of the night


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

chuuuu said:


> She will not. Pee. Or poo. Outside.
> On the first day I got her she seemed fine, the previous owner told me she knew how to go outside.
> I noticed her jump off the bed and run to my door that leads to the backyard, but I didn't open the door for her because I didn't know she had to pee.


She tried to tell you, but you didn't understand - that's not her fault! ANY time a young puppy runs to the door, you let it out. Every single time. 



> I fell asleep after, and she was running around the room all night long, PEEING EVERYWHERE. She pooped once. Holy cow what a night. Next day, (yesterday), same thing. All day. The door is always left open for her after that night for her to go outside and go to the bathroom.


You left her loose in the house while you slept? Of course she peed everywhere. She was unsupervised and she had to go, so she did. Leaving the door open so she can come and go isn't going to help matters because she doesn't yet understand that she's supposed to potty outdoors. You need to teach her that. 

Leaving her outdoors at night so she doesn't pee or poop in the house while you're asleep is also not teaching her anything. What she needs is to be reinforced for doing her business where you want her to (praise and a treat, over and over and over again), and managing her environment to minimize her opportunities to eliminate inappropriately. And in a few weeks, or even a couple of months, she'll be housebroken. Patience and consistency are key. 

There are reasons that human babies are in diapers for as long as two years - they are too young to have developed bowel and bladder control, so when they need to go they need to go NOW, they aren't capable of holding it. They can't reliably recognize that they need to go before they do. They're too young to understand that they're supposed to potty in a toilet, and couldn't get themselves there in time even if they did. While puppies are not human babies, there are developmental parallels. Punishing a 9 week old puppy for peeing in the house would be the equivalent of punishing a 6 month old child for messing in its diaper. Of course, nobody would do that because they understand babies can't control their elimination yet. But for some reason, many people expect puppies to come pre-programmed to know that they're only supposed to potty outside, which completely defies logic. 

What you need to realize too, is that when your boyfriend taps her on the nose and says "no" when she goes in the house she doesn't understand that she's being punished for WHERE she's going, not that she's peeing or pooping in general. She pees, she gets yelled at and smacked (your word). She poops, she gets yelled at and smacked. For performing a normal and necessary biological function! No wonder she's afraid of him. YOU know that it's because she's doing it in the house instead of outside, but how could SHE possibly know that? And until she fully grasps that concept, which is highly unlikely at this point with such a young puppy that you've only had for 2 days, you cannot expect her to reliably alert you that she needs to go outside. Because she doesn't know that she does need to, she just knows that she's about to pee or poop, and so she does.

You or your boyfriend need to be watching her every second that she's not confined in a crate, and that means eyes on, not just in the same room as you. If you can't actually see the puppy, you're not watching the puppy. At times that you aren't able to supervise her that closely, put her away in a crate until you can. And stop punishing her for peeing and pooping, regardless of where she's doing it. You're not only not helping, you could be actively setting back your efforts and making it take even longer than it would have if done correctly.


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## TayciBear (Mar 26, 2017)

I stand in the grass so my puppy will follow me to the grass and pee there. She's 10 weeks almost 11 weeks and still doesn't make it to the grass and will pee on the patio. Sometimes even if the door is open they can't make it to the back door because their bladders are tiny.


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## Dori (Apr 30, 2017)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> That seems to be a reoccuring theme "I already tried that and it didn't work". Lots of times for anything to work it must be done over and over and over again.
> 
> And this puppy is very nearly an infant. Very VERY little control over her faculties. Someone else mentioned, even if the puppy just pottied, if she then played vigorously or got excited or woke up from a nap, she might have to go again. Basically, the beginning and ending of everything is a pleasant trip to the correct potty.
> 
> ...



I am so jealous of you seasoned professionals. I am here to learn before I bring my puppy home ( in 2 more weeks) and I read a lot about "ignoring" pup during certain times in order to better train them and it's going to be SOOOO hard! I have to remember not to succumb to the cuteness. I have to stay strong!  I have no doubt you all here will help keep me straight!


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