# Potty training 3 month old Dachshund frustrations



## tehbeast87 (Jan 16, 2012)

Hey all,

My fiance and I adopted a 3 month old Dachshund and have had him for two weeks now and feel potty training is not going well at all. When we take the puppy outside any and everything is a distraction. Leaves, sticks, rocks, glass, anything that's there he wants to put in his mouth. We know when he has to go because he starts pacing and eating at the carpet. However we take him out and can stand there for 20-30 minutes and he does nothing so we bring him in and less than 2 minutes later he pees. He was doing OK with going outside and only gets treats for going outside. It's extremely frustrating trying to potty train him seeing how easily distracted he is. I have tried pads which are hit and miss unless he is confined. He has no problem going on his own bedding if we crate him. We use no negative punishment and say "NO" when he is doing something he is not suppose to. We just feel like he isn't understanding and I know he is so young still but he seems really smart. Ultimately I do not mind if he learns to go on pee pads because we as humans have the luxury of bathrooms to relieve ourselves. I'm not sure if I missed any important details but I just don't know what to do. I feel like it will just take time and it's hard to understand that and maybe I just need to hear it from others who have experienced potty training in it's fullest. Thanks all and I look forward to any and all help/criticism.

- Ethan


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## chubby (Aug 18, 2011)

Everyone who's had a puppy can attest to the mounting levels of frustration you feel when it comes to housebreaking - My Butters is now 7 months old, and JUST getting the hang of housebreaking. She didn't mind peeing in her crate. She didn't know the difference between grass, concrete and soft surfaces. She went anywhere, everywhere, all the time!!! It is part of the housebreaking process. Here are some things that can help you:

1. You need to crate train him - he doesn't mind soiling his crate now, but if you take away the bedding, eventually as he grows older he will not want to soil his crate. Just the other day Butters actually held in her poo whereas before she would poo in her crate! Take the bed and blankets away until he's crate trained to keep his den clean. crate training just basically means to teach your dog that the crate is his den, and he can be really comfortable and happy in it because it's his own special place. Introduce the crate slowly. Feed meals in the crate. leave tasty treats in the crate for him to discover. Praise him when he goes into the crate voluntarily - and never use a crate as punishment. There are plenty of posts on how to crate train you can check out 
2. Keep a record of when he needs to do #1 and #2 - eventually a pattern will come out and you can better predict when he needs to go. For now, he should be let out every 1 hour. If he doesn't go within 3 minutes, back into the crate he goes! If/when he soils his crate, clean it REALLY well. If he's crying/whining in the crate after being silent for a while, he probably needs to go.
3. Don't use pee pads indoors. Grass is THE easiest way to potty train a dog. They instinctually prefer to go on it, and the urine will scent the grass, making it increasingly more obvious to them that it's time to go potty each time they're placed on it. Use the exact same area of grass each time, don't change it up - you can generalize later on once they get the hang of it.
4. Always always always must pee and poo before going for a walk. Don't take them for a walk in the hopes they'll pee because they'll hold in their pee until the walk is over and just go in the house.
5. Never ever ever leave him unsupervised!! If you take your eyes away from him for a second, he will have an accident. If you can't watch him, tether him, or put him in the crate. 

It's okay to feel frustrated!!! Just be patient and know that all your hard work will pay off soon  And plus, they don't get bladder control until after they are a few months old, so at this point, expect accidents, and try to clean it up while they're not watching, using a really good enzymatic cleaner designed for dog urine.

Good luck!


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

housetraining is why i don't do puppies. chubby has great advice and there are stickies here as well, but 3 months old and housetrained? that's expecting a miracle no matter how smart he is. he won't be reliable for months to a year. all puppies are distractable. that's normal. my 3 year old dog can get distracted out of pooping by car doors, house doors, cars, dogs barking and the wind. then it's walk around even more and hope for the best.


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## DustyCrockett (Sep 24, 2011)

I see a couple tweaks to your program that might help:

You're outside with him for 20 and 30 minutes, watching him goof off. Use that time to play with him. Chase, tug, whatever. You have a puppy, there's no need to be bored. When he's ready, he'll stop what he's doing to pee -- he does it inside, right?

If you don't want to play with him outside, bring him back in after only 5 minutes, or 10 minutes or whatever, and try again later. No matter how hard you try, you'll never having him peeing on your schedule. Not till he gets older, at least.

You bring him in and he pees 2 minutes later. Don't let him pee in the house. Watch him like a hawk and when he starts, back out you go. If he didn't pee outside, you know its coming, so it shouldn't be a surprise.

You know he's going to pee when he wakes up, either right away or very soon thereafter. Use that to your advantage. Every success brings you that much closer to your goal.
You know he's going to poop after he eats, within 15 minutes. Maybe 20. Full belly puts pressure on the bowels. Unless he went right before eating. 

Stick with it, consistency, persistence...he's gotta be almost there.


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## tehbeast87 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thank you all for your posts. My thoughts were exactly what you all stated and I think I just needed to hear it from other multiple sources rather than reading a random internet article on it. We will be getting him into classes soon to socialize him and get some basic tips and training. Thanks again, cheers!


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## tehbeast87 (Jan 16, 2012)

Just wanted to show what my wifey made for the pup.


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## DustyCrockett (Sep 24, 2011)

On the outside potty breaks, are you distinguishing between those which he asks to go out, and those which you take him out unrequested?

He sure poops a lot!

I especially like the way you documented his nap from 10 to 11:30 right before going to bed -- that is so dog.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Dachshunds have a reputation for being difficult to potty train! 
Prevention is the key. Anything you can do to PREVENT accidents will help. If you take away his opportunity to have accidents inside, pretty soon he will forget all about going inside, and only go outside.

When he is out and about in the house with you, watch him 100% of the time. If you can't, because you have to shower, or cook, or do chores, stick him in the crate for a few minutes. Otherwise, eyes on him, you see the signs, and you take him out, thereby preventing accidents.

Puppies should go out after waking up (even from naps), after eating/drinking, after playing/exercising, and every 1-2 hours besides that, AND any other time they show signs of needing to go, because their bodies aren't great at following our schedules yet.

When you take him out, take him on a leash, say the same exact potty words each time, and only stay out 5 minutes. Otherwise, he'll get distracted, forget about going potty, and start exploring. So, stay out 5 minutes. If he doesn't go, take him back in for 5 minutes. BUT, watch him like a hawk, because it's likely that, AS SOON as you bring him in, he'll remember he has to pee, and he'll try to do it inside. So, watch him, and take him back out the second he shows signs of needing to go. 

Basically, alternate, 5 minutes out, 5 minutes in, until you get him to go pee/poop outside. The thing is, he needs to understand, when you take him out to potty, it's not play time, it's not exploring time, it's potty time, and if he doesn't get down to business, you go back in, and try again in a few minutes.

But, prevention is certainly the key!


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## tehbeast87 (Jan 16, 2012)

Outside is only designated as potty time right now. The weather here has been pretty cold and rainy at times. I'm actually surprised he makes it through the night without needing to go but goes almost every hour when awake. I also noticed he poops often but it's not oddly colored or anything so I'm not sure what to make of it .


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

tehbeast87 said:


> Outside is only designated as potty time right now. The weather here has been pretty cold and rainy at times. I'm actually surprised he makes it through the night without needing to go but goes almost every hour when awake. I also noticed he poops often but it's not oddly colored or anything so I'm not sure what to make of it .


What are you feeding him? I noticed with my own dog (not a puppy, so maybe this is different) that grocery store brands had him pooping 3-4 times a day, whereas Wellness had him pooping only once, maybe twice, a day.


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## tehbeast87 (Jan 16, 2012)

Amaryllis said:


> What are you feeding him? I noticed with my own dog (not a puppy, so maybe this is different) that grocery store brands had him pooping 3-4 times a day, whereas Wellness had him pooping only once, maybe twice, a day.


His current diet is 1/2 cup twice/day of PRECISE Small & Medium Breed Puppy Formula.


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## chubby (Aug 18, 2011)

That chart is great!!! Fantastic idea


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

tehbeast87 said:


> Outside is only designated as potty time right now. The weather here has been pretty cold and rainy at times. I'm actually surprised he makes it through the night without needing to go but goes almost every hour when awake. I also noticed he poops often but it's not oddly colored or anything so I'm not sure what to make of it .


Oh, our boy could make it through the night at about 9-10 weeks. Lots of puppies are better at night; the reason is, bodily functions shut down for the night. Breathing slows, heart rate drops, blood pressure goes down. So, less urine is produced. Now, some pups do need a middle of the night bathroom break, but not all. 
Anyway, at night it's usually much easier, since their bodies are not working at full capacity. During the day, there's a lot more going on, digestion is back up to speed, too.


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## LenaCara (May 11, 2011)

I love the chart. When we were potty training, my bf and I would make it a point to look at each other and say, "It's 7 oclock and she peed or pooper" That way we both knew when an hour had passed and we needed to take little butt out. That chart would have saved a lot of double trips when one of us had forgotten to tell the other  Mine pooped alot when she was little to but it seemed like every few weeks the numbers went down and now she only poops twice a day. I think it's just extra puppy processing


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## tehbeast87 (Jan 16, 2012)

Right now it's looking like play time is the most difficult to know when he needs to go potty. If we take him out too soon he just plays and grabs things off the ground. If we wait just a minute too long he squats and does his business inside. Luckily he hasn't been going in the same spot but spreads it around so all the carpet feels loved. The inventor of the SpotBot is a genius! We blot up the pee, spray it with the urine cleaner, then 10minutes later use the SpotBot with just hot water. Seems to work really well since he isn't going in the same place every time .


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