kristenjpta Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Dozer is now 13 weeks old, and the most lovable little guy! But....house training him is not going so well. I know he is young, but we seem to be doing this wrong. I read up on training methods-scheduled water and meal times, and not letting him have water and food all day. The food part is going great, he eats his meals in about 10 minutes-at that point I pick up his food bowl and only a few kibbles are left. We were doing the same with water, only more times a day-5-6 times a day. He always seemed to want more. Took him to the vet and he had a UTI-so now he gets water constantly as I am afraid of it happening again. While he had the UTI, he couldn't control his bladder, but he has recovered. We grab the leash and call him for "potty time" he immediately goes and sits by the door. He will pee outside, and sometimes poo. Bring him back in and a few minutes later there is a little pile by the door, sometimes puddle too. We try walking him every hour or so, more if he hasn't gone to the bathroom on his last walk. It will start to get better...then another puddle or pile. We tried letting him run in the backyard (fenced) but he doesn't seem to go to the bathroom unless he is on the leash outside. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! It has been 10 years since I had a puppy and I don't remember my GSD having any problems. (of course time makes you forget. lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristenjpta Posted March 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 He is also having trouble with submissive urination with my husband-if he talks to him..we have a few dribbles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthewj Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Hi, Im very new to this, but just like you I did a ton of research before I got my Siberian Husky, mine is 9 weeks and we "almost" have him house trained. I say that because we still have the odd accident. What I read and this did work for me was this As you have already started, keep "potty" times as regular and consistent as possible. We worked out that Loki needs to go within 5 mins of waking up and about 2hrs after a feed. When he goes outside for his scheduled potty time, DONT come back in with him until he has been potty, now this meant on one occasion that I was in the garden with him for over an hour before he went!!, but it was worth it, as now I am able to put him out at potty time on his own and he seems to now understand that he wont be let back in until he goes potty, so depending on his desire to get back in, he normally goes within 10mins of putting him out. This methodh as worked for me 9 times out of ten. We also use the litter pads indoors and these really did work as, if I have not gotten him outside in time, he does go on these, saving our carpets. One thing we were struggling with was having the same consistency with his peeing, but I just saw on your post that you are not supposed to let them have water all day, so I'm going to take your advice on that and only give him water at meal times and when he gets back in from play and see how it goes.....good luck, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazz Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 It also helps to give praise when they potty outside. If they potty inside, do not scold, threaten, or acknowledge. Simply have have the dog removed from the soiled area, and clean it up. If you catch them mid-stream in the house, pick them up and take them outside. It may seem like it's too late, but it helps associate going potty with being outside. At 13 weeks, bladder control is still not at 100%, but it should be improving. The rule of thumb I used for ours was bladder holding time was 1 hour for every month in age. That meant getting up every few hours during the night to take the pooch out for potty time. So at 2 in the morning, I'd be out in the snow taking Zoya on tour through the yard, and hoping she'd go quickly, then again around 4. Some dogs take longer than others to house train. The key is to be consistent, praise upon success, and ignore the failures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I have a problem with limiting a dogs water. Since they, primarily, cool themselves by evaporation having water available for them is a requirement; obviously the hotter / dryer the more important that becomes. Not having water available can lead to dehydration and as you found out, Kristen, a UTI. I can understand limiting water after a certain time in the evening to help with housebreaking, in fact I did that with Sasha when she was messing in the kitchen, but once they're reliable I let mine have access to water 24 / 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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