I need a little advice. We have a new puppy. About 20 weeks. She ...

[Whiskeytide]

... easily learned to take her Тяцмрs outside, but still pees on the kitchen floor occasionally, and my wife is getting impatient.

I think she will eventually get it, but I admit that I’ve never had a dog resist housebreaking quite this long. I have housebroken quite a few dogs over the years, but my “secret” was taking them out regularly and on schedule, praising their work, and just waiting on them to figure it out.

We scold her (mildly) when she wets the floor, but we seldom catch her in the act as I suspect she knows she’s not supposed to do it and sneaks around. She is very smart, but she’s a democrat and seems to resist authority.

Any suggestions or reassurances would be appreciated.

[secondwind]

1. How long have you had her?

[Whiskeytide]

2. Since 5.5 weeks. Also, we have a well trained lab mix in the house. She's really his dog. n/t

[BusyBeingBest]

3. Need to confine her till she gets it sorted out.

I've always had more trouble housebreaking female dogs vs. male dogs because females are not territorial pissers. But 5 months is still pretty young, I'd be patient. Edit to add: she isn't resisting authority and she doesn't "know" anything except people get mad and yell when there is urine on the floor.

[Whiskeytide]

6. Oh I know. I was being facetious. She is ...

... pretty confined to the kitchen and washroom. But it’s a pretty large area. She sleeps gated in the washroom and she doesn’t wet there. It’s always somewhere in the larger area when we look away for a minute. I think she thinks that’s where she’s supposed to go, and I can’t figure out how to break her of that. Maybe we should keep her in the washroom most of the time until she sorts it out? But that seems like it might just reinforce the notion that the kitchen is “outside” of her area.

[BusyBeingBest]

10. I would not enlarge her free-roaming area until you can trust her not to have accidents.

She has to get out of the habit of pissing in the house, so that means less freedom (washroom), at least when you guys can't watch her like hawks. It's temporary, but necessary. Make sure she goes out more often (4-6 times a day), make sure where she goes outside is the same place every time (so she can smell where she peed the last few times), and it's where she feels safe and comfortable going, too. Also use an enzyme type cleaner like Out or Nature's Miracle on the floor so there is zero residual urine odor. My female dachshund took a little while to get housebroken reliably, but it will happen if you are consistent! Good luck with your pup! One more thing on edit--my female also preferred being in a decent-sized crate in the middle of the living room with everyone else/other pets as opposed to being shut away behind a closed door, I think it lessens the "punishment" feel of having to be confined if she can be near the pack.

[Whiskeytide]

19. That's all great advice. Thanks. Our lab is very much ...

... a pack oriented dog. He loves his people. His crate is in our den but he accesses it from the kitchen. He likes being in the room with us, so he spends a lot of time in his crate voluntarily. We have never used it as a punishment. But I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I need to figure out how to get her crate in that doorway as well. Thanks.

[BusyBeingBest]

22. Sure! Ours hated having her crate away from every one, she would

cry and I would feel terrible. None of my dogs ever really minded their crates and would sleep there voluntarily as well, it stinks like them and makes them feel safe

[BusyBeingBest]

24. Also wanted to add: Humane Society and others advise against using ammonia

to clean up urine. Supposedly makes the dog want to pee inside even more because ammonia smell = piss to them.

[Whiskeytide]

25. Wow. I haven't heard that. Maybe I've been the problem all along. Please don't tell my wife. n/t

[BusyBeingBest]

26. LOL--ammonia smells like piss to me too, being that piss is made of ammonia, but

my mom AND my mother in law both still use it to clean sometimes--it's like a generational thing. Highly recommend an enzyme pet-stain cleaner to really break down and eliminate urine odors.

[mopinko]

4. put her food bowl where she pees.

works. my 3 yo dog took to peeing in the house when things got nuts in the hood here.
idiots were shooting m-100s, and i went to war w them. he didnt want to go out in that, and he didnt want to leave my side, either.

when things settled down and it didnt stop, i started putting his dinner where he had peed, and w the towel i used to wipe it out.
3 days later, no more.

this was a dog whisperer suggestion.

[Whiskeytide]

7. Now that's an excellent suggestion. Thanks. n/t

[mopinko]

5. and yeah, if you scold her after the fact,

she will just hide it better.

[Frustratedlady]

8. Even if you "think" you've cleaned up after her, she can still smell the urine. You need to get a

good cleaner that will remove more of the odor. My daughter had that problem several years ago and she went to a store that sold janitorial/home cleaning supplies (pet stores should also handle remedies). After a couple of weeks, the pup ran out of places where she could pick up the odor and "grew up" with her choices. Of course, it helps if you take her out in shorter periods of time between walks or rush her outside to finish her spurts. A dog's sense of smell is much higher than ours.

Two homemade remedies would be equal portions of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. Mix and put in a spray bottle. Spray linoleum or tile area and let sit. Or, you can use oxygenated water and a little soap. Wash area and let sit. Either can be used on hard surfaces, but I would try a small area to be sure, since there are so many different types of flooring. Not sure I'd use on carpet.

On the other hand, some dogs urinate when they get nervous or are too tired to care. Most are raised in pens where they are able to go whenever the urge hits them. They usually prefer to please their owner, but sometimes they just can't hold it any longer.

Good luck!

[Whiskeytide]

12. That has also been one of my tricks. We have ...

... a deodorizing spray, and then I put a little ammonia down as most of my experience has been that they won’t want to hit that spot again. And she usually doesn’t return to the same place - she goes to another corner or under the table, etc...

And she’s not a nervous dog. Very active, but seems well adjusted in every way - except her bladder. Never caged as a puppy, although she has a crate In the washroom which she loves.

Thanks for the wish of good luck.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. I've found it takes females longer than males to gain bladder control.

[happybird]

11. What is the volume like?

As in full-sized, bladder emptying pees or smaller puddles?
Even though it’s not common, dogs that young can get crystals in their bladder. That would result in small volume pees. Certain breeds are more likely to have issues with crystals.

From DVM360:

“What kinds of uroliths occur in immature dogs?

Urolithiasis most commonly causes illness in middle age to older dogs. However, 1.2 percent (2,102 of 181,386) of the canine uroliths analyzed at the Minnesota Urolith Center from 1981 through 2002 were obtained from dogs that were less than 12 months old. It would be logical to expect that the type of uroliths most commonly encountered in immature dogs would be those linked to congenital or familial predispositions.

For example, a predisposition to calcium oxalate uroliths has been identified in several breeds including Shih Tzus, Lhasa Apsos, Miniature and Standard Schnauzers, Yorkshire Terriers and Bichon Frises. Likewise, some Dachshunds, Newfoundlands, English Bulldogs, Mastiffs and Staffordshire Bullterriers are predisposed to cystine uroliths. However, in our series of uroliths retrieved from immature dogs, only 5 percent were calcium oxalate, and only 2 percent were cystine (Table 1). However, 57 percent were composed of magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite).”

It would be worth a trip to the vet for a urinalysis if the puddles are small. My (now deceased) lab had ongoing issues with struvite crystals from a young age and, at first, it was so frustrating trying to figure out why she would occasionally pee in the house.



If it is a house training issue, I would try cleaning an enzymatic cleaner to remove all (undetectable to a human nose) urine scent. Scrubbing with dish soap and then a paste of baking soda and peroxide also works. It’s cheaper but more labor intensive.

I hope you can get it figured out!🤞

[Whiskeytide]

15. Interesting. She's a miniature schnauzer. I'll ask her vet to look at that. n/t

[The Jungle 1]

13. Lesson

Take her to the pound and let her hang out awhile.

[MFM008]

14. Hopefully

Wife wasnt this impatient with the kids
You cant take them back.
Some creatures need more time to adapt
To rules and schedules.

[Whiskeytide]

17. Nope. But she has quickly become ...

... like a child to my wife. Our daughter is off to college next year (pandemic willing), so this dog is kind of an advance replacement. My son (13) REALLY pushed for this because he knew that when his sister cleared out, mom would be all up in his business. Smart kid.

[OriginalGeek]

16. My daughter's little puppy is 15 years old

and does the same thing - she'll trump outside but apparently any available floor is pee ok.

she used to always let us know when she needed to go out but i guess in her old age she ain't waiting. We do a lot of mopping.

And by "we" I mean "our daughter". It's her dog, her mess. (our daughter is 30, by the way. She can handle it)

[blueinredohio]

18. I hung a bell on the door knob. Every time I took her out I rang the bell and said "potty"

Now she rings the bell when she wants to go out. Sometimes its not to potty but to play but she didn't pee in the house. Good luck.

[Whiskeytide]

20. Great suggestion. Thanks. n/t.

[mopinko]

21. that's a great idea. it never worked for me, but...

i've had some hard headed dogs.
they have a dog door, anyway.

[LisaL]

23. We used to have a little dog who took a really long time to go potty only outside.

She did eventually learn but as I recall she was over 1 year old when she finally learned.

[oregonjen]

27. I would be sure to rule out a UTI, just in case

Take her to your vet and have a urinalysis done. She may not be able to control her pees because of it and it’s quite uncomfortable, if not painful.

[Whiskeytide]

28. I will ask about all of that next week when she gets a checkup. She ...

... doesn’t seem to have a problem or be in distress. She usually goes when we take her out - same spot. 5/6 times a day. We can’t leave her in the back yard right now because Sally took down part of our fence and materials are scarce right now. I can’t get the wood. So she’s not getting as much outside time as she may want. And she loves it out there and easily gets distracted. Maybe she’s just forgetting to go until she gets back inside. Thanks.