# potty trained puppy forgot training



## Hodge's_Buddy (Jul 20, 2011)

I have a 5 month old chocolate lab who seems to have forgotten his potty training. We got him at 9 weeks and at 11 weeks he was house trained. He whined when he had to go to the bathroom but we still kept him in a crate at night next to our bed.

At around 14-15 weeks we started letting him sleep on the floor in our bedroom. He would wake me up at 4 am every morning, but it was to go to the bathroom so i didn't mind. The last couple weeks he started going to the bathroom in the morning before waking me up, but still whined during the day so we would let him out to go to the bathroom.

Last week he just started urinating in one spot in the house right in front of us. I kept my cool for a while and just cleaned it up and didn't say anything to him and ignored him a while. But this has gone on for over a week now and I'm starting to get a little ticked off.

Any advise?


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

I don't consider any dog 'housetrained' till they're around the 6-7 month mark and haven't had any issues for months.

It sounds like he needs to go back to being in a crate and taken outside more often, first thing in the morning for sure, and that the spot he's using needs to be blocked off, or if he goes to it then he gets taken outside right now. If you get mad at him you can create a stress reaction where he'll pee MORE in the house etc. so don't do that. From here on if he does pee in the house, take him outside, THEN clean up the mess while he's not looking/watching. Make sure you use an enzyme cleaner so there's no pee smell there, you can use eucalyptus oil or something to deter him from the spot too. And rather than waiting for him to ask, set a timer and take him out before he 'needs' to go, so he's more likely to go outside. 

Lana


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I totally agree with Bordermom. In fact, I'd go a step further and say some dogs aren't truly, completely potty trained til a year old. The reason for this is, up til a year, lots of developmental things happen with puppies that can very easily cause setbacks in potty training. So, early success doesn't mean you won't have issues as your pup continues to develop! 

Also, the thing about having early success, like you said you had, at 11 weeks, is that THAT usually has more to do with the people being successful than the puppy being successful. Does that make sense? It means YOU are really good at reading his signs, and that YOU were really good at getting him outside to pee/poop on a schedule, so he kind of goes with that.

But, there's a physical thing here, too, and that is that a puppy doesn't gain full physical control of their bladder until about 6 months, give or take. That is just a physical fact. Very young puppies don't even know they have to pee sometimes, it just happens, as with a human baby. As they develop, they learn what needing to pee feels like, and, thanks to you, they learn what to do when they have to pee. BUT, and here's the kicker, even though they KNOW it, they can't always control it, because, as I said, control of the bladder is a physical thing. 

Some things that can cause setbacks in potty training for puppies are: teething, illness, change in routine, change in environment (this can be anything from moving to just rearranging furniture, seriously, or getting new furniture, because it changes how things look and smell), fear stages, etc.


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## BerniesMama (Jul 10, 2013)

I'm having a very similar issue. I have a 7 month old lab/whippet that I got from the shelter at about 3 months. She was a breeze to potty train, mostly because I have a very set schedule where I work so she has a very regulated routine that we do every morning. But I live in Ohio where it has rained for the last 10 days my yard is a swamp! So my little diva has decided she does not like the wet or the mud and is down right refusing to go off the back step. After fighting with her for 10 or so minuets she will do it just to get out of the rain I think. Yesterday she has two accidents in the house, one pee one poo but I'm thinking she is doing this to get out of having to go outside and do her thing. Any advice?


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Keep at it. Take an umbrella, and wait it out. She will likely learn that she gets to go in out of the rain sooner ir she just potties.


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