How to Train Your Dog to Not Pee in the House

Hello Ashley, Thunderstorm phobia is unfortunately a common problem for many dogs. To help him remember to not pee in the house I would begin by making him a safe enclosed area in the house, where he can feel secure and have a potty area on the pee pad close by. Many dogs feel safe in closets or bathrooms or inside of their crates during storms. Pay attention to where he tends to go when scared and if possible set up an area for him there that includes a pee pad, a bed, and something he can hide under, such as a crate with a blanket over it, a cardboard box, or a piece of furniture. Keep this area separated from the rest of the house so that he is less likely to eliminate in other places that are further from the pee pad when you cannot pay attention to him. When you are with him you can distract him from his fears by playing with him or having him perform his tricks for food, if he is food motivated. It is important to act confident, calm, and happy around him when it is storming, pitying him or acting angry can encourage him to be more afraid. Once he is acting happier and more relaxed, take him to his pee pad and encourage him to go, if he does give him another treat or play a game. Pay attention to how long it has been since he has eliminated last and if enough time has passed then take him to his pee pad area again and encourage him to go and reward him. You may need to help him relax right before with training rewards and play. If you work on telling him "Go potty" every time you take him to the bathroom when it is not storming, and reward him for going then, then you can use that phrase when he is on the pee pad during a storm to remind him what to do then. Some people also find success using the Thundershirts for dogs, or talking to their veterinarian about medication that can be used during a storm for severe anxiety, or by getting a dog use to the sounds of thunder gradually ahead of time by playing a recording of a storm very quietly and rewarding with play or treats and very gradually increasing the volume over time if the dog is relaxed. I hope Bentley feels better during storms! Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Zak, At four months Parker is struggling because he is only able to physically hold his bladder for about five hours during the day, and that is assuming that he completely understands that he is supposed to hold it while inside, which he may not. A general rule of thumb is that puppies can hold their bladder for as many hours as they are months in age plus one. So being four months old, Parker can hold it four hours plus one, equaling five hours. Because of this, the only way for him to learn at this age is for him to be taken out before he reaches five hours. Dogs naturally will try to keep their crates clean if the crate is small enough that they cannot eliminate in one end and then hang out in the other end without touching the poop or pee. After dogs have been forced to eliminate in their crates too many times many dogs will loose that instinct to hold their bladders while in their crates. If that has already happened then potty training will take longer, if it has not happen yet it is essential that you hire someone like a dog walker to let him out to go potty midday to prevent that from happening. If he is crated with an interesting chew toy such as a kibble and peanut butter stuffed Kong that has been frozen overnight, then he can self entertain and sleep in his crate throughout the day, and will likely attempt to hold his bladder until the dog walker takes him to go potty. This will encourage him to only go outside. He needs to build a habit of peeing outdoors. The more successes he has outside and the less accidents he has inside, the quicker potty training will go. Crate training and finding someone to let him out will be the quickest way to train him, the other option is to teach him to potty in a designated area inside and then transfer that area outside later, when he can hold his bladder for longer. Since I am guessing he is a small dog, you can use an exercise pen, also called an X-pen, set up in a circle somewhere without carpet, such as a kitchen or large bathroom. Connect his crate to the X-pen wall securely so that he can go in and out of his crate from inside of the X-pen, or place his entire crate inside the X-pen if it will not connect securely. Now create an elimination area inside of the X-pen, away from the crate. For a dog this size I actually recommend using an open cat litter box with a layer of grass sod or kitty litter or other natural, but non toxic, material that can mimic the outdoors but be scooped or changed as needed. You can also place a puppy pee pad in there. Pee pads work well for attracting a dog to that area to eliminate but do be aware that because of the material that pee pads are made of some dogs will also learn to eliminate on other fabric type material such as door mats or even carpet. This is not all dogs but there is the risk. When you are home, work on walking Oliver on leash over to his X-pen toilet area at a time when he is likely to go. Puppies typically need to go if it has been a couple of hours since they last eliminated, if they have just woken up, if they have been playing or getting excited, have just finished eating or dranking water, or just finished exercising. After he has just woken up from a long nap in the crate that would be a likely time. When you have directed him to the area on leash gently, then tell him "go potty" while he is standing there, and give him time to sniff around. If he goes then praise him and offer him three tiny but tasty treats, one at a time. If he does not go, place him back in the crate and try again in thirty minutes. Repeat this process until he goes there. You can also further encourage him to go by spraying a special spray that smells like urine onto the bottom of the toilet area right before taking him over or placing one of his own small feces from outside, to make the area smell like a toilet to him. It sounds gross but it can really help until he learns. Most large pet stores will carry the spray, you can ask the store clerk where to find it. Once he is regularly eliminating there, then when he is older gradually move his toileting area closer and closer to where you want him to be eliminating outside, until you can remove it entirely. After he learns to go in his potty area, then any time when you are home do still take him outside on leash to eliminate so that he will be learning that as well to help the transition later on be easier. When you take him outside, repeat the same things you did to teach him to eliminate in his potty area. Lead him to where you would like him to go on leash, to prevent him from becoming distracted, tell him "go potty" to teach him to go on cue, and when he goes praise him and deliver three small treats, one at a time. It will help to keep a container of small treats by your exit door, so that you can grab some every time you take him outside while teaching him. For the peeing while excited or scared. That is what is called excited or submissive peeing. Many young dogs go through a period where they will do that. The best thing to do is to come in the house very calmly and ignore him until he has calmed down. Take him potty without speaking to him or getting excited and then once he has gone potty and calmed down then you can love on him and say hello. Many dogs will grow out of this behavior if you can prevent it from turning into a habit. To prevent that, you simply help him remain calm during times when you know it will be hard for him to hold his bladder, such as after you have been gone all day and he is excited to see you and his bladder is full. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Dianne, you are probably right that June was never taught to pee outside. She could have also been improperly taught to pee on puppy pee pads, but it was not done correctly so she associates peeing with the indoors. I would treat her like a puppy that has never been housebroken. First you will need to clean all of the areas that she has previously eliminated on with a pet specific enzymatic cleaner. Look on the bottle and make sure that it says that it contains enzymes, because it is the enzymes that actually break down the protein in the poop and pee that the dog can smell even when we humans cannot. Also be sure to avoid any cleaners containing ammonia because ammonia smells like urine to a dog, and can actually encourage them to eliminate in the cleansed spot again. Once things have been cleansed, create a small enclosed area for June to be in whenever she cannot be completely supervised. A crate is the best place because it will utilize a dog's instincts to hold their bladders while in their den. The crate will need to be small enough that she cannot eliminate in one end and sleep in the other. but large enough that she can stand up and turn around comfortably. If you have a large crate already, you can block off part of it the make it the correct size. An exercise pen with a crate inside or a small room like a gated off bathroom without any rugs or carpeting may work if she tends to hold it in areas that size also. While she is in this space you can provide her with puzzle toys with kibble inside or with Kong chew-toys stuffed with food to keep her entertained. She will need to be taken to go outside very often at first, as often as every two hours if someone is home with her and able to supervise her completely while she is loose in the house. While crated she may be able to hold it for as long as five or six hours, but the more times that she successfully eliminates outside, the quicker this process is likely to go. When you take her outside, take her on a leash to an area where she has eliminated in the past so that the smell will encourage her to go. Tell her "Go Potty" or a similar simple word or phrase that she will learn to associate with going. Stand still and give her time to sniff around and think about what to do. If she just sits, then you can take a couple of steps every time she does it to get her interest again, but then stand still again and let her sniff. If she goes, praise her enthusiastically as soon as the finishes and offer her four tiny but flavorful treats, one at a time. Taking her on leash will help her to not get distracted while outside. Once she has eliminated she can go play if you would like, but not before. If she does not eliminate while you are out there after seven minutes, then bring her back inside and put her in her small area for forty five minutes. After forty five minutes try taking her outside again. Repeat this until she eliminates outside. If you try to enclose her in the small room or exercise pen instead of a crate, but find that she eliminates there too, then she will have to be in a crate for this to work. You can experiment though. The idea is to teach her that eliminating outside is very fun while also teaching her to hold it while inside by utilizing her instincts to keep her den area clean. The more times that she eliminates outside and less times that she eliminates inside, the quicker the process will go. It takes several times of eliminating outside to make up for one mistake inside, so if you do not feel like you can be vigilant watching her while she is loose in the house and taking her out every two hours, then either utilize the crate or have her on a leash that is attached to you so that she cannot sneak off while she is learning. Many dogs prefer eliminating on rugs and carpeting because it is absorbent so be especially vigilant around those. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Stormy, Did your puppies come from somewhere where they were kept in a kennel or crate a lot? When a puppy or dog is kept in a confined space for longer than she can hold her bladder or bowel movement for, then she is forced to eliminate there and over time will loose the desire to hold it in such spaces. It's possible that was the case with your puppies before they came to you or there are also rare dogs that simply do not care. It sounds like you have tried most of the usual things, so I have a couple of more creative suggestions that you may need to try. For the first suggestion, they will need to wear what basically amounts to doggy diapers while indoors. This will hopefully take away the comfort of peeing inside and remove the continual smell they are adding to everything, and will break the habit of eliminating on items in your house. You can buy Belly Bands for boys and menstrual cycle diapers for girls, and place doggie feminine pads, which can be purchased at the pet store, inside, or you can even use human Maxie type pads for absorption. You can buy both disposable and cloth versions, your dogs will probably be less likely to eat the cloth type and it will save you money. At first you may need to have them wear Elizabethan collars to prevent them from tearing the diapers up. With your dogs outfitted, you will need to get a good pet odor eliminating spray. It needs to say that it contains enzymes. The enzymes are what break down the poop and pee enough for the dog to not be able to smell it. If your dog can smell it, the smell will encourage your dog to eliminate where the smell is over and over again. You will also need to take your dogs outside to potty as frequently as possible, ideally every hour and a half while teaching this, if you have that option. Be sure to take off the diapers and Elizabethan collars and to walk them on leash to a soft, ideally grass, spot. When one of them goes potty outside offer five treats, one at a time. The more accidents that you can prevent inside and the more that you can reward outside, the quicker your dogs will become potty trained. The second option that you can try is another type of indoor potty that resembles the outside environment more. To create this, enclosed your puppies in an exercise pen or very small room with a baby gate at the entrance, such as a half bathroom. Set up a no chew, non absorbent bed area. I recommend purchasing PrimoPads online, or something similar, for this. Then, on the opposite end of the enclosure, place a doggie toilet. You can either create a toiet out of a wooden or plastic box with a piece of sod grass wedged tightly inside, or you can try using a litter box with cat litter in it to train them. You will need to use an open top type litter box. You can also purchase spray that smells like pee to a dog. If you spray this spray onto the toilet area it will encourage your dog to go there. If you catch your dogs using the toilet area offer them a treat and gently praise them. Be careful not to startle them though. Once they are toilet trained in that area, if you do not want a doggie toilet to remain in your home you can gradually move their enclosed area closer to the door to outside, and then move the actual toilet gradually outside, and then deconstruct the toilet until your dogs are doing their business on the ground outside. If you have ever watched one of those movies where a dog owner, with a notoriously hard to housebreak dog, ends up getting their dog to pee outside by gradually transferring the dog's favorite peeing chair or pillow to a grassy spot outside, it's a bit of the same idea, as goofy as it may seem. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Nic, Atticus might be peeing on the carpet because the fabric type material reminds him of the pee pads. Some dogs will make this mistake, so it is best to remove the pee pads like you are planning on doing before that becomes a strong habit. There are a few things that you can do to remedy the situation. The first is to clean all carpets that he has eliminated on with a pet safe cleaner that contains enzymes. The enzymes are very important because without enzymes to break up the protein in urine and feces, your dog will still be able to smell it even though you will not. The remaining smell will encourage your dog to eliminate in the same spot over and over again. Also avoid cleaners containing Ammonia because Ammonia smells like urine to a dog. Once you have cleaned the areas then there are a few other things to do. For next week while you are away, you can create a potty area that resembles your yard better and eventually move that potty area outside. To do this I recommend getting a cat litter box tray or something harder that your dog will not chew up, if he will chew that. Fill the tray with a piece of sod grass, or if your dog will eliminate on it, cat litter. The idea is for the "Pee Pad" toilet area to no longer look like fabric but like something that your dog will only find outside. The grass will also smell like outside which will help later. Place the toilet area inside of the Pen area with your crate. Your dog can stay in his pen while you are gone from eight to four. Be sure to also give your dog interesting toys to keep him entertained. I highly recommend stuffed Kong toys, or something similar, because it keeps your dog entertained for longer and discourages barking while you are away. Your dog cannot chew and bark at the same time. When you are ready to begin Potty Training outside then I would use the Crate Training Method and The Leash Method to teach your puppy to eliminate outdoors. To do this, place your puppy inside the crate whenever you cannot directly supervise him. Be aware that at three months of age he will not be able to physically hold his bladder for any longer than four hours during the day, even in the crate. If you force him to hold it longer than he is able to inside the crate, and he eliminates in the crate too often, then he will eventually loose his desire to keep his crate clean and you will no longer be able to house break him with the crate. With your puppy staying inside the crate, take him outside to go to the bathroom, on the leash, every one and a half hours whenever you are at home for a month. As he learns to go potty outside and is no longer eliminating inside at all, then you can gradually increase that time. When you take him outside, tell him "Go Potty" and let him sniff, and when he eliminates outside, then praise him and offer him several tiny treats, one at a time. If he does not eliminate, then bring him back inside after seven minutes and put him in the crate for thirty minutes. When the thirty minutes are up, take him back outside on leash to try again. Repeat this until he goes potty outside. After he goes potty, then you have two options. You can give him freedom in the house while watching him closely for forty-five minutes. After the forty-five minutes, put him back in the crate until it is time to take him again, so that he is not loose with a full bladder. Your other option is to attach him to yourself with a six or eight foot leash, so that he is always supervised and cannot sneak away to eliminate on the carpet. I suggest this method in your case, so that you will be very attentive to his signals that he needs to go outside, so that he cannot sneak away to eliminate on the carpet, and so that he will be with you at all times to help him learn how to alert you when he needs to go outside. Watch for any signs that he needs to go, such as trying to sneak away, circling, sniffing the ground, whining, pawing at you, or barking to get your attention. In general the more accidents that you can prevent inside and the more successes that you have outside, the quicker house breaking will go. It takes several successes outside to undo one mistake inside. The hard work will pay off with a well trained dog down the road, and you are obviously looking ahead to plan for success which is great. Best of luck with training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Miodrag, He might have originally chosen to pee in there because of all the interesting smells in the workshop, and because of bad weather or wet ground outside that he wanted to avoid. Now that he has done it several times, his own urine smell is attracting him to the area again and again, and he has developed a habit of going in there, making it harder to break. You will need to remove all of the previous urine scent from the workshop by using a pet safe cleaner which contains Enzymes, in order to break up the urine, at a protein level, well enough for him to not be able to smell it still. Also, if you have any products in the workshop that contain Ammonia, such as cleaning solutions, then they are probably encouraging him to eliminate there also, since Ammonia in cleaners smells like urine to a dog. If the workshop is made out of unfinished wood or other absorbent material that is hard to clean, then removing the smell well enough is probably not possible, and it will need to air out over several months. If there are every any animals in or around the workshop, such as cats, rats, or raccoons, then their own urine and feces will encourage him to eliminate there. In order to teach Vuki not to eliminate in there, you would also need to supervise him very carefully every time that he goes inside the work shop, to prevent him from having anymore accidents, to take him outside frequently, on a leash to ensure he goes potty, and to praise and reward him with treats for eliminating outside, so that he will want to eliminate outside in the future. Since eliminating the smell and supervising him as closely as you would for potty training in a house might not be an option, the next best thing is to teach him to avoid the workshop altogether, to break his bad habit of going potty in there and to give him more opportunities to eliminate outside. Work on boundary training with him, to teach him to avoid the workshop perimeter. If you cannot supervise him while he is outside and teach boundaries using your body language, supervision, and rewards, then you will probably need to purchase invisible fencing, and create a "fence" around the workshop, and go through the process of training him how to avoid the area using the electric collar that corresponds to the fence. It would be the same idea as an invisible fence for your yard, except instead of keeping your dog in somewhere, it would keep him out of somewhere, in this case the workshop. You can also purchase a device called a "Pet Barrier Transmitter" that will emit a signal that corresponds with a collar, to teach him to avoid the area. I have not personally used those though, so I cannot speak toward their safety. Another option is to purchase a high quality manual electric collar or remote vibrating collar. Good brands are: Dogtra, Sportdog, Garmin, or E-Collar Technologies. If you choose to go this route, then you will need to hire a local dog trainer with experience using electric collars, to help you use the electric collar properly for electric collar boundary training. A good trainer will only use the collar on the lowest settings that your dog responds to well, that correspond to what he finds your dog responds to best when he carefully tests the levels on your dog. He or she will only use a high quality brand, not something inexpensive and dangerous from a website being shipped from China, and he will have lots of experience using electric collars. The training should also always be paired with great communication, so that your dog understands what he is supposed to be doing and avoiding, and lots of rewards for getting it right. I recommend only ever use an electric collar under the supervision of a qualified trainer, because when used wrong they can be dangerous, but they are extremely effective when used correctly and paired with great communication. Last, you could simply place a physical, wooden or metal fence around the workshop, or block off entrances into the workshop, so that your dog does not have access to the building. This last option is probably the simplest solution. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Autumn, There are a few things you can look into to see what the problem is. The first is to check what type of cleaner you are using to clean up any accidents. It should contain Enzymes, only enzymes will break down the protein in the poop and pee enough to eliminate the smell enough to not encourage your puppy to eliminate there again. Also avoid cleaners with Ammonia, Ammonia smells like pee to a dog. Second, look at your schedule, until a puppy is fully potty trained with no accidents for at least a month, she needs to be taken out very frequently. Every two hours for two weeks would be ideal, but definitely no more than four, unless she is crated. If she is crated then at seven months she should be able to hold it for six, possibly seven hours, but four hours would be much better. Crating encourages a dog to naturally hold their bladders for longer, because dogs do not want to soil the area where they sleep or eat normally. If she has had enough accidents in the crate, she will loose that instinct though. The crate needs to be large enough for her to stand up, turn around, and lay down, but not bigger than that. Extra room can encourage her to eliminate in the crate while still learning. Whenever she is free she still needs to be supervised. Only give her freedom in your home when she has eliminated outside during the two to three previous hours. All other times she should be confined to a crate when you cannot supervise her. Do this until she has gone one month without accidents, and is alerting you every time that she needs to go potty. Only increase the freedom gradually, and only continue to increase the freedom if she is remaining accident free. To ensure she stays with you you can tether her to yourself with a leash if she will not pull you over. Third, if she seems to be peeing very frequently, get her checked out with your vet for a urinary tract infection. That can cause urinary incontinence and frequent accidents and your pup will not be able to help it. Also, if she is on any medications like steroids, certain medications will cause urinary incontinence, so ask your vet about that. Last, if she is not eliminating in front of you easily when you take her outside, then the punishment for eliminating inside could be to blame. Some dogs will respond to certain forms of punishment by avoiding going potty in front of you anywhere, and by sneaking off to find somewhere to potty when you are not around. If you are not taking her out on a leash, but simply letting loose into your backyard, then she might be getting distracted and not eliminating while outside. The solution then would be to take her out on a leash or follow her, so that you can see when she goes. When she goes tell her "Go Potty" so that she will learn to go in the future on command when you tell her "Go Potty". If she struggles to alert you when she needs to go outside, then teach her how to ring a bell when she needs to go outside, and reward her for going potty when she does so. Check out these Wag! articles on how to teach that. https://wagwalking.com/training/got-potty-with-a-bell https://wagwalking.com/training/with-a-bell Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Antonea, For the potty training, probably the most effective thing to do is to crate train him and to use the crate for potty training. Here is an article on how to teach that: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Use "The Crate Training Method" in the article linked above, and follow the instructions as if Rahlo is a puppy just learning. Because he is older you can experiment with only taking him outside every two hours when you are home instead of every one, but it is important to do it frequently still. If he is doing really well then you can increase it to every three. The key is for him to not have free access to your home unless he has peed outside in the last two hours, to ensure that he does not have an accident. It will probably take longer, so I recommend crate training first, but "The Exercise Pen Method" should also work quite well. That method can be found in the same article that I linked above. Again, it will limit his freedom in your home while he learning, encourage him to eliminate outside by rewarding him with treats, and provide him with a schedule. Be sure to clean up an accidents with a pet safe cleaner that contains enzymes. Only enzymes will actually break down pee and poop enough to remove the smell, so that you dog cannot still smell it and be encouraged to eliminate in that same spot again. Pay special attention to any rugs or mats that might have urine soaked through them and still smell like urine to him. Also avoid using cleaners with Ammonia in them on your floor because Ammonia smells like urine to a dog. For the disobedience and the aggression I would suggest implementing all of the methods from this article with him: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-doberman-to-listen-to-you I would recommend focusing most on "The Working Method" though, to adjust his attitude and build respect for you. I would also encourage you to purchase a basket muzzle for him and get him comfortable with wearing that. A basket muzzle will still allow him to open his mouth inside the muzzle, and you can still reward him while he is wearing it by dipping a straw in soft cheese, peanut butter, or something similar that is dog safe. You can poke that dipped straw through the muzzle holes to let him lick it as a reward. To get him used to wearing the muzzle show him the muzzle and give him a treat, let him touch the muzzle and give him a treat, place it on his face and take it off and then give him a treat, put it on and buckle it and then give him a treat, and have him wear it and poke the food covered straw through it to reward him. Practice all of this over the next couple of weeks until he is comfortable wearing it. Work on one step at a time with him until he seems more relaxed, before moving onto the next step. For example, focus on just touching him with the muzzle and giving him a treat over and over again, until he is comfortable with that, before moving onto placing it all the way onto his face. When he is comfortable wearing the muzzle then leave the muzzle on him when you are at home so that you can enforce your house rules, be firm, and consistent with him, and him not be able to bite you when you do so. Many dogs form a habit of biting because they learn that when they bite they do not have to obey and people leave them alone. Essentially biting works so they continue doing it. He needs to learn that he no longer controls things with his mouth, and that you are going to require that he follows through with whatever you have told him to do, and he cannot use his mouth on you. When he is behaving respectfully and obediently then you can reward him for his obedience, but he also needs to obey you simply because you told him to even when there is no reward involved, and he needs to have fair consequences for his disobedience, such as having to leave the room if he is being pushy, not being allowed on furniture at all if he is being possessive of it, or having to obey a command five times in a row if he chose to ignore you the first time. Give him structure and make sure that he follows through when he is told something, and have him wear the muzzle so that he cannot bite you when you go to him. If he dislikes being touched then also work on desensitizing him to that by touching him in an area and then rewarding him with a treat. Do that with every part of his body, such as his ears, paws, tail, belly, and back. Every time that you touch him then give him a treat or let him lick the straw through the muzzle. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Krista, Once Arizona is off of the antibiotic give her access to water every time you feed her, which is probably three times a day. If she is eating only two times a day now, then give her just water a third time also. Also give her water after any exercise, including playtime, training sessions, outings to places, and walks. Also give her water whenever she is spending time outside in the heat. You can give her water very frequently, but let her take a drink and then put the water up again. To sum things up, give her access to water no less than three times per day when she is not active and not in the heat. If she is active or in the heat, then give her access to water even more. Some puppies do fine with continual access to water and will only drink when thirsty, which makes it fine to leave water down. Others on the other hand, find drinking water fun, and will drink all day long just for the fun of it, so need designated times for drinking. I do not know what Arizona is sick with, but if it is a urinary tract infection, then that condition will cause her pee very frequently. If that is the case, then the antibiotics should resolve it, but if it does not improve after she finishes the course of antibiotics and she is still peeing frequently, then return to the vet and make sure that the antibiotic actually cleared the infection. If the sickness is something else, then disregard that last statement. Also she is beautiful. I hope she feels better soon. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Vela, At eight weeks of age puppies can only hold their bladders for two to three hours. Before they understand the concept of holding their bladders until they get outside, I recommend taking them outside every hour at this age unless they are in the crate, in which case they should not be left without a potty break for more than two and a half to three hours. Puppies can generally hold their bladder for the number of hours they are in months plus one. Meaning when Felipe is three months of age he will be able to hold it for four hours during the day. At night time puppies bladders also go to sleep and they can hold it for longer. The more accidents that you can prevent and the more successes outside that you can facilitate, the quicker he will learn, but all is certainly not lost! He is young and no matter how vigilant you are, there will be mishaps from time to time. Simple learn from his mistakes, and make adjustments to your routine and training as you learn what he needs. When he starts to have an accident, whisk him outside right away and encourage him to finish peeing there, even if his bladder is empty by then. Do not punish him if you catch him in the act, but you can surprise him and hurry him outside. Clean up the accident with a pet safe cleaner that contains enzymes, which will remove the smell completely. When you take him to go potty, when he goes then give him five small treats, one at a time. Do this to encourage him to hold his bladder until he gets outside, so that he can exchange his pee for treats out there. If he tends to wander off and pee, then clip his leash to yourself so that he has to stay with you while you walk around or sit down in your home. If he is simply walking too slow in order to get outside in time, then clip a leash to him and quickly walk him outside without stopping, so that he cannot stop and squat to pee. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Brandy, Because Baby has had so many accidents in the house she needs to be very strictly crate trained for potty training. Only give her freedom in the house when she has peed outside during the previous two hours. After those two hours are up, put her back into the crate until it is time to take her potty again. At her age, I would suggest taking her outside to go potty every four hours when you are home. She should be able to go seven to eight hours without peeing when you are not home if she is in the crate, but taking her every four hours when you are home will give her more opportunities to learn to go potty outside and will give her more opportunities to earn freedom outside of the crate. The carpet will need to go and the area surrounding it be cleaned thoroughly with a cleaner that contains enzymes. The enzymes will break down the pee to the point where she will not still smell it and be re-attracted to that area. Have a dog walker, like a Wag! Walker come to your home midday to take her outside to go potty. Ten hours will be too long for her to hold her bladder every day. The walker can also get some of her energy out for you. While she is learning all of this, spend sometime in the evening putting some of her dog food into a bowl, covering it with water, letting it sit out until the food turns into puffy mush, and then mixing a bit of peanut butter, liver paste, or cheese into the food mush. Next, stuff the mush into several large hollow Kong toys and put those toys into a bag and freeze them overnight. When you put her into the crate and when the dog walker puts her back into her crate after taking her outside, then grab one of the pre-made Kongs from the freezer and give it to her in the crate. The Kong will melt slowly and give her something pleasant to do in the crate. She will spend most of her time sleeping while you are gone though. In the crate she should be able to hold her bladder for the entire day with a midday walker if you take her outside right before you leave and make sure she goes potty, then have a walker come by to take her potty then put her back into the crate, and then take her back outside yourself as soon as you get home. The objective is to limit her freedom whenever her bladder is not empty so that she can no longer have accidents in your home. Once she has developed a habit of peeing only outside, then you can gradually increase the amount of freedom you give her being outside of the crate between potty trips, as long as she remains accident free. When you take her outside to go potty, tell her to "Go Potty" and bring several treats with you and give her those treats, one at a time, after she goes. This is to motivate her to want to pee only outside because she only gets treats there. This should also help her to learn to go quickly when you take her and tell her to "Go Potty", and to learn to let you know when she needs to go out. Here is an article with more details on how to train her. Follow the "Crate Training" method from that article. Because she is older you can take her outside every four hours when you are home and give her two hours of freedom inside after she goes potty outside, opposed to the shorter times the article describes for a puppy. While you are gone she should be able to hold her bladder in the crate for up to seven hours, but only if she is in the crate because the crate will help her to want to hold it. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Lauren, I would absolutely teach Admiral yo ring a bell. Here I'd a link to an article on how to do that: https://wagwalking.com/training/ring-a-bell-to-go-out Teach him how to ring a bell and after he knows how to do that, whenever he rings the bell and then goes potty outside, even if you instructed him to ring the bell before you took him out, give him three of his favorite treats, one at a time, for going potty. Also, attach one end of a six or eight-foot leash to him and attach the other end to yourself between potty breaks when he is not crated. This will prevent him from sneaking off to go potty inside until he learns to use the bell. When you feel like he understands the bell and wants to ring it to go outside, then let him off of the leash to test whether or not he will ring the bell on his own. If he rings it to go out, then great! If not, keep him on the leash for longer and test him again in a few days. Make sure that you are cleaning up any accidents with a cleaner that contains enzymes. Anything else will not remove the smell enough for him to not be attracted to pee or poop in that same area again. That goes for high-end cleaners too. Also avoid using Ammonia containing products in those areas because Ammonia smells like urine to a dog and will encourage him to pee or poop there. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Lucy, If she will tolerate an Exercise Pen, then I would suggest using an exercise and litter box training her using the "Exercise Pen" method from the article that I have linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/litter-box-train-a-chihuahua-puppy To encourage her to be quiet in the Exercise Pen leave a food stuffed Kong in the Exercise Pen, on the opposite side of the pen from her litter box. To stuff a Kong, place her dog food into a bowl and cover it with water and let it sit out until the food turns into mush. When it turns into mush, mix a little bit of peanut butter with it, and then loosely stuff a medium or large sized Kong or other hollow chew toy with it. Place the stuffed toy into the freezer and let it freeze. When you leave her in the pen, give her one of these stuffed chew toys to focus on so that she will be less likely to bark. You can also purchase a device called AutoTrainer or PetTutor, that will automatically reward her with pieces of dog food when she remains quiet for a certain amount of time. When you purchase peanut butter make sure that it does not contain Xylitol. It is extremely toxic to dogs and a common sugar substitute. If the Exercise Pen is not an option, then you will need to deal with the barking so that you can crate her. To do that you will need the help of a professional dog trainer who has experience with electric remote training collars. She will need to be taught the "Quiet" command, introduced to the crate with the door open and treats randomly left inside for her to find to get her used to going in there, and then crated with a Kong. While she is crated with a food stuffed chew toy, then with the help of the trainer, you will need to set up a camera, go outside, and correct her with the collar for barking. This needs to be done very carefully so get help with this. The collar needs to be fitted correctly, be the right type of collar, and be set to the level that is appropriate for her, and that level is different for every dog. When she becomes quiet, then you can go back inside, calmly reward her, and after ignoring her for a while, let her out while she is calm. If she tries to rush out, then quickly close the door. Practice opening and closing the door until she will wait inside the crate patiently. When she is waiting patiently, then tell her "Okay" and encourage her to come out. Coming out of the crate calmly sets a precedence for being calm in the crate and respectful of you out of the crate. Let the trainer help you pick out a remote training collar. Many of the cheaper ones are dangerous. Sportdog, Dogtra, Garmin, and E-collar technologies make good quality collars. You will need one that is rated for small dog also. E-Collar Technologies mini educator collar is rated for dogs 5lbs and up. Your final option is to take her to doggie daycare during the day if you can find one in your area that will work on potty training with her. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Alanna, If you did not use a cleaner that contained enzymes, then the smell of Milo's urine left behind was probably the main reason that Jasper started going potty inside. The first step is to purchase a set safe cleaner that contains enzymes and clean up both dog's current and prior accidents with that as best as possible. Your home needs to no longer smell like urine or poop to the dogs. Only enzymes break down urine and poop at a protein level, fully removing the smell for dogs' sensitive noses. Unfortunately, not all pet cleaning products contain them. If there is a particular rug or item that the dogs pee or poop on often, then remove that item for now also. Once you have eliminated the urine scent, then go back to the basics with both dogs. Ideally, crate train both and treat both like they are puppies on a strict potty training schedule. Do not give them any free time outside of the crate unless they have gone potty outside during the hour prior. When they are out of the crate, either supervise them closely, or if they tend to sneak off, attach them to yourself with a six or eight foot leash while you are home. If you do not want to supervise them or attach them to yourself at some point, then put them in a crate. If both dogs will hold their bladders while in an Exercise Pen between potty trips, then you can also use that instead or in addition to a crate, but only if they do not have accidents in it. When you take them potty outside, take them on a leash, tell them to "Go Potty" and then give them each five treats, one treat at a time, after they go. Your goal is to completely break the bad habit that has developed by removing any lingering pee scent that is encouraging them to go potty inside, by limiting their access to the house so that they cannot have an accident, and by rewarding them for peeing outside and showing them where to go. The more strict you are with all of this, the quicker the results should be. It will be inconvenient but it should be worth the effort and less work in the long run to be strict for a little while. Follow the crate training method or Exercise Pen method from the article that I have linked below. Since your dog's are adults, they should be taken outside every two to two-and-a-half hours while you are at home, but they can probably go up to eight hours in a crate while you are gone if needed during the day. The more frequent potty breaks while you are at home are to ensure that their bladders are never full while they are loose in the house and to give you more opportunities to reward them for peeing and pooping outside. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Steviea, Does she ever pee a tiny bit in her crate after it has been a long period of time? The first thing to do is to determine why she is peeing just a little bit sometimes. If she is peeing in similar locations then those locations' smell might be the issue. Purchase a cleaner that contains enzymes. Only enzymes remove the smell or previous urine and poop completely for dog's sensitive noses. Clean the area thoroughly with that spray. If the item can be washed, you can also purchase detergents with enzymes and wash a small rug in that. If the area cannot be cleaned but can be moved, then move it for now. This will mostly apply to larger rugs. If you have cleaned up current and previous accidents well with an enzymatic spray and her accidents are still occurring, then pay attention to when they are happening. Are they happening when she is excited? Right after you just got home? Or when she gets in trouble? If so it might be excited or submissive peeing, which should only be an issue while you are home and not gone, and will not effect her ability to be free while alone. When you return home ignore her for a few minutes, and especially do not touch her, until she has calmed down enough for you to leash her up and take her to go potty outside. Once she has peed outside, then you can greet her while she is outside. The key is to keep things calm during times when she is likely to pee out of excitement or submissiveness because that type of peeing is mostly habitual by three years of age and you want to break the habit by preventing accidents from happening and calming her down. Is there another dog in the home that she competes with? If so she might be marking. If that is the case, then work on her respect for you so that she is not trying to be so dominant at home. You want her to view you as in charge so that she is not trying to be. You will also need to keep her crated until you deal with that underlying issue or she will continue doing it. If the issue seems to be competition and respect related, then check out the article on listening that I have linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-doberman-to-listen-to-you Finally, the issue could be anatomical. She may have an anatomical condition that causes her to leak a little bit of urine out. Unless your vet recommends surgery, there is little you can do about it other than manage it. To manage it get her used to wearing a reusable fabric diaper. If she is only loosing a tiny bit of urine, then a fabric diaper with a pad on it for absorption should be able to catch any dripping and keep your home clean. You will need to get her used to wearing it while you are at home and teach her to leave it alone by interrupting her whenever she tries to bite at it and praising her and giving her treats whenever you put it on her. When she first wears it around, distract her with fun and games so that she will get used to how it feels without thinking about it. If he can learn not to take the diaper off, then you can leave it on her while you are gone, but you will have to be careful to make sure she is not likely to eat it while alone. Once you tackle why she is having accidents, then try setting up a camera and leaving the house for ten to thirty minutes while spying on her from the camera outside where she cannot see you. You can use two tablets or smartphones with Skype or Facetime on mute as a camera. Other good option are video baby monitors, video security cameras with phone apps, and GoPro cameras with the Live app. Any video monitor on mute will work. You may need to confine her to one main room, like your den, to make sure you can see her with the camera at all times. Spy on her a couple of times over the weekend and if she does well start to give her ten minutes of unsupervised free time after you get home in the evening. Go for a short walk or somewhere close by. When you return, inspect everything and see if she did alright. If she does well for a week, then increase the time to thirty minutes. After a week of that, then leave her for one to two hours. After a week of being alone for two hours without issue leave her alone for four hours. If she has an accident or destroys something at any point, then she is not ready for freedom, go back to using the crate for three more months and then try again then. Nine hours is a long time to go without peeing, especially if she has an anatomical bladder issue. Not all dogs will be able to go past seven or eight hours without peeing. Being in the crate asleep or calm makes it easier for her to hold her bladder so she is less likely to have an accident in there. I would recommend hiring a dog walking to come once a day, four to five hours into the day to make her more successful with potty training and freedom in the house. Once you have ensured that she can be trusted alone in you home by gradually testing leaving her alone for longer and longer, then you can leave her for the full nine hours with a walking coming by to let her out midday. When the walker comes, instruct him or her to ignore Molly until she calms down a bit to prevent potential submissive or excited peeing. Once she is calm, then the walker can leash her up and take her outside to walk and play. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Christian, There could be a number of reasons she is doing it. I would suggest crate training her and crating her whenever you are in the bedroom without her. If you can also try blocking off her access to that area near the door, then you might be able to leave her out of the crate, but only if she will not pee anywhere else when you do that. Three basic things need to happen. The peeing habit needs to be broken by preventing her from doing it again, she needs to be rewarded when she pees outside to motivate her to hold it until she goes out, and the area needs to be thoroughly cleaned with a cleaner that contains enzymes. Only enzymes will break down the urine at a molecular level and remove the smell so that she cannot smell it, with her sensitive dog nose. If she can smell where she peed before, then every time she is there and smells it she will be encouraged to pee there again. Not all products that advertise that they are for pets contain enzymes, it should say that it contains them in the ingredients or on the bottle somewhere. To break the peeing habit, keep her from accessing that area by blocking off the area or crating her when you are in that room. Do this for at least one to two months. After one or two months you can give her access to the door again when you are in the bedroom and set up a camera to spy on her to see if she tries to pee there again. If you see her start to pee, then quickly leave the bedroom and interrupt her peeing and immediately take her outside. After you do that, block the area off again for a month, and then try again in another month. You can use a baby video monitor, security camera, GoPro with the liveApp, or two smart phone or tablet devices with Skype of Factime on mute, to spy on her with a camera. Any camera that will let you view her live, silently from the bedroom will work. When you take her outside to pee, go with her to make sure that she is peeing, tell her to "Go Potty", and then reward her with three treats, one at a time, right after she goes. Do this to motivate her to ask when she needs to go outside. You want her to "Save" her pee for going outside so that she can receive treats. If she is saving her pee, then she will want to pee outside more than inside. If all of this fails, then you might be dealing with Separation Anxiety. If the issue is Separation Anxiety, then she will probably pee in her crate too after being in there for a short amount of time when you crate train her and try putting her in there. To treat Separation Anxiety I recommend hiring a professional trainer to help you. Several things have to be addressed with Separation Anxiety. Including her response while confined or excluded, her general confidence level and respect for you, and her ability to be independent. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Octavia, After Orea has just peed outside, give him forty-five minutes to one hour of free time outside of the crate, but attach him to yourself on a six to eight foot leash. After the hour is up, put him back in the crate until it is time to go potty outside again so that he will not be free while his bladder is full. Also keep him in the crate when you cannot supervise him and have him attached to yourself. While he is with you give him his own toys to chew and work on teaching him the rules of your home. When he starts to let you know when he needs to go potty outside, then you can increase that hour to four hours very gradually over the coming months. Only increase it if he remains accident free though. If he has an accident take away time until he is not having accidents anymore. Being with you when you can supervise him and his bladder is empty should give him opportunities to learn house manners and how to hold it inside without letting him learn bad behaviors from a lack of supervision. When he can be well behaved on the leash attached to you and is not having accidents in your home, then you can take him off of the leash but keep him in the room with you by blocking off exits. As he improves, gradually increase how much of your home he can get to. Don't rush this process. It is very important to prevent bad behaviors from becoming lifelong bad habits in the first year or two of your dog's life. Limiting his freedom, being able to show him what to do and not do, and preventing him from getting into things can make the rest of your dog's life easier. If you prevent most bad habits from forming and work on instilling good ones during the first year to two years of his life, then he will outgrow a lot of his destructive tendencies and be more trustworthy and be able to be given more freedom as an adult because he has not turned those puppy behaviors into lifelong habits. If he tends to chew on leashes, then look up VirChewLy leashes. They are chew proof. Also, here is a link to an article with are additional tips on potty training with tethering. A combination of tethering and crate training is most effective. Check out the "Tethering" method. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Meghan, Try the following routine with her instead. Wake up: take her outside to go potty on a leash. Tell her "Go Potty". When she goes, give her four treats, one at a time. Bring her inside after she goes, feed her breakfast, then take her back outside thirty-minutes after breakfast to poop. If she poops, give her two hours of supervised freedom, out of the crate, if you are at home. If she does not go potty, then put her into the crate, but give her a food stuffed chew toy to make the crate pleasant. In an hour, try taking her potty again. Repeat the trips outside every hour until she goes, putting her back into the crate in between if she does not go. Once she goes potty, then you can give her her two hours of supervised, non-crated freedom. After the two hours of freedom, put her back into the crate for another two hours, making it a total of four hours since she last went potty outside. When you take her outside after four hours, then clip her leash onto her and hurrying her outside so that she does not have an accident on the way. Tell her to "Go Potty" once outside. Slowly walk her around to get things moving, and encourage her to sniff. Keep her on task. If she goes, then give several treats, one at a time and praise her for going, then give her two more hours of freedom. If she does not go potty, then back into the crate for an hour, and try again after the hour. Repeat this every hour until she goes potty outside. Do all of those things the whole day, all day long. The goal is for her to only be free when her bladder is completely empty so that she cannot have an accident. After four hours, she should need to go potty again, increasing your chances that she will go potty outside when you take her. Don't punish her when she has an accident, especially if you do not catch her mid-pee stream. If you catch her mid-pee, then clap your hands loudly to surprise her and run her outside to go potty there. If she has an accident and you do not see her, then make a mental note not to give her so much unsupervised, un-crated freedom next time when he bladder is that full. On days when you cannot be home, she can be crated for up to six hours as long as her crate is the correct size and she has not learned to pee in it from too many accidents in there before. The crate should be big enough for her to lay down, stand, and turn around. It should NOT be big enough for her to pee in one end and then stand in the other end, away from her pee. She will not be motivated to hold her bladder in there if it is too big. If your crate is larger, then you can block the back off with a metal divider for wire crates, or put something chew-proof in the back of the crate to block part of it off. Whenever you are home, practice the schedule I mentioned above, taking her potty every four hours though, to give her more opportunities to learn and succeed outside. She should not be outside of the crate for longer than two hours after peeing though, or you run the risk of her having an accident. The more accidents she has, the harder the training will be and the longer it will take, so putting in the extra effort and sticking to the schedule religiously now will save you a lot of work and frustration later. Don't skip the treats and the "Go Potty" command, those will help her learn to go potty faster when you go take her in the future. Put the treats somewhere out of her reach right by the door that you take her through, so that you will remember to grab them on your way out. Also, resist the temptation to just let her out into the fence to do her business, if you have a fenced yard. She will likely get distracted and never go potty, then when she comes back inside she will have an accident. Plus you will not be there to teach her "Go Potty" and reward her. You also need to be there and she needs to be on a leash to keep her from playing until after she goes. After she goes, then you can take the leash off if your yard is fenced, and let her play as a reward. Eventually, if you do this, then you can transition to simply letting her into the yard to do her business by herself, if your yard is fenced. She will know the "Go Potty" command by then, so you can simply tell her to "Go Potty" on her way out the door and she will understand. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden