# Potty training help...we are exhausted



## joyfulnoise (May 14, 2014)

Hello, I am new to this forum and so excited that I found this forum because I am hoping it will keep me sane......lol. We have a 10 week old cavapoo who is driving us nuts with her potty training. She doesn't do to bad in the house (she is always supervised) occasional accidents, she goes every time we take her outside (no problems there), but in her crate she doesn't seem to have to much problems with peeing in her crate. Her crate only allows room for her to get up, turn around and lay back down. We have her on a schedule, she goes out every hour plays for 15 minutes and then back to crate. She can have a good day with no accidents in the crate and then the next day on same schedule and she will have a accident in her crate. We feel like were always doing something wrong so if anyone has some tips we would great appreciate it so we don't go insane. We want to enjoy her but we are exhausted. Thanks!


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

Your set up and schedule looks great. The only thing to also think about with pups and especially female pups is vaginal infections are possible that will interfere with normal potty behavior control for the pup. especially if she is laying in her urine in the crate when she has accidents. some times pups don't learn to clean themselves as the dam had done while in her care. I keep pups on a schedule and routine for the first year even if they doing well not having accidents.. It's nice that when I have an emergency schedule change they can handle it. New pup I always consider the first year total training mode.


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## WRayet (May 6, 2014)

Hi, Joyfulnoise.  As Patricia stated, your set up and schedule is good. Since she is crossbred (this happens with purebred dogs as well, but is even more common with "designer" mixes), she _may_ have grown up in an environment where eliminating in the area she sleeps was normal. Most dogs do not want to eliminate where they sleep, but if they grow up doing so, it can override that instinct. Another thing to check would be a possible UTI, since she is on a consistent schedule.


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## joyfulnoise (May 14, 2014)

Thanks for your responses.........we did take her to the vet and didn't find anything. We are just frustrated because when we went searching for breeds we were told that she would be easily trainable and we are finding that not so true. We do love her so I don't want anyone to think we don't.......just frustrated. Thanks again.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

joyfulnoise said:


> Thanks for your responses.........we did take her to the vet and didn't find anything. We are just frustrated because when we went searching for breeds we were told that she would be easily trainable and we are finding that not so true. We do love her so I don't want anyone to think we don't.......just frustrated. Thanks again.


Um, puppies aren't really capable of being housetrained until 6 months, due to nerve development. Until then, it's mostly about careful routine.


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## WRayet (May 6, 2014)

joyfulnoise said:


> Thanks for your responses.........we did take her to the vet and didn't find anything. We are just frustrated because when we went searching for breeds we were told that she would be easily trainable and we are finding that not so true. We do love her so I don't want anyone to think we don't.......just frustrated. Thanks again.


She's only 10 weeks old? You've had her for somewhere less than or equal to two weeks, depending on when she was sold to you. Potty training is going to take a while, no matter how trainable a dog is. They might seem to have gotten the idea by a few weeks, but it's really more about consistency until 6 months to sometimes a year, as Amaryllis mentioned. You're going to have to be a lot more patient, especially when that puppy is between 5-6 months to roughly 1.5 years old, when she'll be going through puberty and will likely be ignoring commands and pushing limits.


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## joyfulnoise (May 14, 2014)

Thanks, we know she requires patience and that isn't the issue, just we only had experience with another dog that never peed in her crate so when Gracie pees in her crate and pretty much the only place she does we were confused and frustrated. So I thought I would see if there was a flaw in our training. The breeder we got her from seemed to be pretty straight, we did go to pick her up at their place but we didn't see inside the building where they are kept so that is our fault, just everything else seemed good. So can't say where she went to the bathroom. Thanks again!


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

You didn't see the building where the puppies are kept? The puppies were kept in a separate building and not in the house? What you got is either a Puppy Mill puppy or a horrible Backyard breeder puppy. Well no good breeders would breed a Cavapoo (A Poodle mixed with a something, a mutt in other words) Which isn't really a breed at all, so you have no clue what you actually got. Some poodle mixes are smart, some are dumber then a box of rocks. Remember at 10wks old, expecting a puppy not to pee in the house is like expecting a 2month old child to use a toilet not their diaper. It's not gonna happen.

Pretty much what you have is a dog that was likely brought up in a filthy environment who knows no better. Small dogs have tiny bladders so you'll want to take her out more often then you would with a Lab puppy. Make pottys outside so happy and rewarding and never punish her for a potty in the house unless you catch her in the act, then it's just a "NO!" and right out to go potty. Make pottys outside sound like you win the lotto. I remember getting strange looks from neighbors while celebrating a poop or pee of my puppy. I don't expect a dog to be completely house broken until they are at least 1. I never gave my puppy a chance to tell me she needed to go out until after she was one, and then it was by accident but she let me know.


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

Like everyone else said, you've got a good schedule, and it does take a while. Something that I didn't see mentioned (if it was and I missed it, I apologize, not enough coffee yet lol), clean the crate thoroughly whenever there has been an accident, especially if there is any crate blanket or soft materials. Not just wipe it up and make sure it is dry, and make sure you use an enzymatic cleaner especially for any cloth. Check under the crate as well if there is carpet under there to make sure the carpet hasn't gotten any urine either. Just because you can't smell it, doesn't mean they can't, and if there is a urine smell...that encourages going in that spot again. Also, give treats and make a big deal about going outside. You might be doing all of this, but I didn't see it mentioned, so I thought I'd pipe up and mention it...I'll leave commentary on breeding to the others. Good luck and stay patient....just because you've been told the breed is trainable, doesn't mean that it makes potty training accelerated. There's developmental time to deal with. It'll all be over in no time


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## joyfulnoise (May 14, 2014)

Thanks for your responses and your advice.


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## surlys_mom (Jul 5, 2013)

It took, I'm going to say 4 months of ridiculous amounts of potty breaks and consistency before our pup was fully trained. I know it majorly sucks right now, but frankly it sounds like she is doing fantastic.


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## joyfulnoise (May 14, 2014)

Thank you.


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## doggiepop (Feb 27, 2014)

take her out more often. if you want to enjoy her spend more time with her. she goes out then back in the crate.
your pup has to learn how to behave when out of the crate. keep a close eye on her when she's out of the crate.
take her out often. teach her house rules. teaching her things is good for bonding.

enroll in a puppy class and continue to a higher level of training.



joyfulnoise said:


> Hello, I am new to this forum and so excited that I found this forum because I am hoping it will keep me sane......lol. We have a 10 week old cavapoo who is driving us nuts with her potty training. She doesn't do to bad in the house (she is always supervised) occasional accidents, she goes every time we take her outside (no problems there), but in her crate she doesn't seem to have to much problems with peeing in her crate. Her crate only allows room for her to get up, turn around and lay back down. We have her on a schedule,
> 
> >>>>> she goes out every hour plays for 15 minutes and then back to crate. She can have a good day with no accidents in the crate and then the next day on same schedule and she will have a accident in her crate. We feel like were always doing something wrong so if anyone has some tips we would great appreciate it so we don't go insane.
> 
> >>>>> We want to enjoy her but we are exhausted.<<<<<< Thanks!


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## joyfulnoise (May 14, 2014)

Thank you, we are enrolling in a puppy class.


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## doggiepop (Feb 27, 2014)

the dog i have now was house broken in 11 days. my last dog was house broken in 14 days. they were house broken
within weeks but i continued to take them out often during the day and overnight. if it takes 4 to 6 months to house
train a dog the owner is seriously doing something wrong.



Amaryllis said:


> Um,
> 
> >>>>> puppies aren't really capable of being housetrained until 6 months, <<<<<
> 
> due to nerve development. Until then, it's mostly about careful routine.


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## joyfulnoise (May 14, 2014)

doggiepop said:


> the dog i have now was house broken in 11 days. my last dog was house broken in 14 days. they were house broken
> within weeks but i continued to take them out often during the day and overnight. if it takes 4 to 6 months to house
> train a dog the owner is seriously doing something wrong.


Can I ask how you did it?


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

doggiepop said:


> the dog i have now was house broken in 11 days. my last dog was house broken in 14 days. they were house broken
> within weeks but i continued to take them out often during the day and overnight. if it takes 4 to 6 months to house
> train a dog the owner is seriously doing something wrong.


Define housebroken.

Dog not having accidents in the house, when offered hourly or every other hour potty trips? Dog asking to go out?

Because to me, that's not potty trained. 

That's people trained.

Potty trained to me, and when I say my dogs were trained at 4-6 months is "Dog exhibits understanding of not going in the house by needing to go and successfully holding it until the owner presents the dog with an opportunity to go." Which means frequent trips, preventing accidents, or the dog going to the door and alerting that it needs to go RIGHT NOW isn't potty trained. Potty trained means an unwillingness to go inside and the ability to hold it until they can get out. Also, ideally, that there are MORE than 2-3 hours between most potty trips.

If you're defining it as a lack of accidents then sure. Kylie was potty trained at 4 weeks old and Thud was potty trained at about 12 weeks old (he was sick with intestinal issues when we got him and exploded a couple of times - Kylie never went inside). But for me? Not potty trained. Not until they're capable and willing to HOLD IT rather than go inside. So, for mine in spite of the lack of accidents? That would be about 14 weeks for Kylie (having her for 10 weeks) and 16 weeks/4 months for Thud and having him for 2 months. 

OP, seriously: Housebreaking is just persistence, preventing accidents, and making going outside a habit. That habit forms pretty fast, but the ability to not have to go frequently takes longer, so continuing to prevent accidents so going inside NEVER OCCURS to the puppy as an option is pretty key. Some are harder than others, but the fewer accidents you can prevent the faster it will go. The sleep deprivation and CONSTANT VIGILANCE will pay off in the long run, I Promise.


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## joyfulnoise (May 14, 2014)

We are persistence and I don't expect her to be perfect but the peeing in the crate is what gets to us. We take her out often, she goes out every time we take her, she doesn't have to many accidents in the house, it's mainly the peeing in the crate.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

joyfulnoise said:


> We are persistence and I don't expect her to be perfect but the peeing in the crate is what gets to us. We take her out often, she goes out every time we take her, she doesn't have to many accidents in the house, it's mainly the peeing in the crate.


I can't re-read the whole thread right now, but if you've got anything in there that will absorb urine, take it out. If it's big enough for her to go in one spot and get away from it, make it smaller. The goal there would be to make her cry when she has to go so you know. If that doesn't work, maybe go backward a little and try giving her an x-pen with the crate in it so she CAN leave the crate, go on a potty pad, and as she gets older make the X-pen smaller until she's holding it inside hte crate, so going where she sleeps is a habit that gets broken.


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## joyfulnoise (May 14, 2014)

CptJack said:


> I can't re-read the whole thread right now, but if you've got anything in there that will absorb urine, take it out. If it's big enough for her to go in one spot and get away from it, make it smaller. The goal there would be to make her cry when she has to go so you know. If that doesn't work, maybe go backward a little and try giving her an x-pen with the crate in it so she CAN leave the crate, go on a potty pad, and as she gets older make the X-pen smaller until she's holding it inside hte crate, so going where she sleeps is a habit that gets broken.


Thanks for the tips............don't have anything in the crate, just big enough for her to stand, turn around and lay back down. As for her cue for having to go potty, she whines in her crate all the time so her cue for potty is a little hard to read.......lol. We do have x-pen so will have to try it...........just never wanted to use potty pads.


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