# When will a dog be fully toilet trained? (how old?)



## Gypsy22 (Feb 17, 2008)

Is there an age (by a year?) when your dog will be full toilet trained 'generally?' I know all dogs are different. Are there life stages when puppy should be able to 'hold it' x amound of hours...by six months will you expect her to hold it all night (6-8 hours?). I'm curious how your doggies did or are doing.

Luna is only about 13 weeks and can go for as much as 4 hours without going out. Then it's poop/pee eat and out again for poop/pee within 45 minutes or less..


----------



## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

A general rule of thumb is that a dog's age is months is roughly the number of hours a pup can "hold it." That does mean a 12-week old pup can hold it for roughly 3 hours. The dog needs to be let out with that frequency or there WILL be accidents and we are setting the dog up to fail. They cannot be punished when they do, because it's not their fault.

It does NOT mean that a two-yea-old dog can wait 24 hours.

Beyond the dog's physical ability to control his bowels and bladder, it is a matter of training, medical condition and - to some extent - the temperament of the dog.

Oh, yeah, they need to go out after eating and we are way ahead if we don't wait for them to ask. Just take them out and praise them extravagantly when they go.


----------



## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

What RonE said. The other factor is sleep. While sleeping, everything shuts down so, puppies can go all night without having to go. I say CAN depending on the amount of water before going to bed and whether they can truly sleep all night without being awakened. 
Outdoor dogs will eliminate every 70-90 minutes when they are awake so, that's a rough guide to use for initial potty training until the puppy learns to hold it.
Most dogs need to eliminate within 1 hour after eating. Some have slow metabolisims and go later.


----------



## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Snoopy is 9 months old and still isn't 100% house trained. Just yesterday he pee'd in the kitchen after being taken out about 2 hours earlier and after we had just played with him. I think he is house trained but he just doesn't know how to tell us he needs to go. He is a small dog, as yours is, so I believe that general rule is shorter for smaller dogs as they have smaller bladders.


----------



## triaxle32590 (Feb 19, 2008)

My 12 week old puppy has been doing really well with holding his for the night .... But as soon as I get up he runs to the door and I better let him out or he will have an accident....But it did take allot to get him to this point.... The first week I had him I would get up every two hours ..... then every three.... Then we moved up to 4 hours at night ... Now he can go about 7 at night and 3 hour during the day.... And I keep a close eye on him at all times ..... He has had a few accidents... But has been because I was side tracked........ I hope this helps....


----------



## AkiraleShiba (Dec 9, 2007)

My shiba puppy was 100% potty trained at 9 weeks he has not had a single accident since then and he's not crated since he's 3 months. Even home alone there were no accidents.

The cairn terrier puppy is well a terrier  to be 100% trained we had to wait until he was at least 6 months old.


----------

