# Potty training a 11 week old puppy



## ellasmommy (Oct 28, 2012)

I've been lurking around this forum for some time now. Before getting a puppy and since to familiarize myself with the potty training and house training.

We just got a new puppy (Shih Tzu / Maltese mix) a week ago and have been potty training. So far he has had two accidents. Both times I feel like it was my fault. Right after his nap, my daughter let him in her room (he isn't supposed to be there) and I guess he got very excited on top of his bladder being full and started to pee on her rug. I immediately said no, and took him outside.

Today (2 days later) another accident . this time around he went under dining room table and as I was trying to tell him to come to me to go potty (the word potty might've triggered his action) he instantly started to pee on the rug. So I said No and quickly picked him up and took him outside where he finished his business.

Am I failing at this? I mean 2 accidents in a week, is that bad or quote normal?

How many accidents did your dog have before he or she was fully potty trained?


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## Nil (Oct 25, 2007)

Sounds like he has too much freedom. Puppies need to be contained pretty much 100% in order to manage them. Now, contained doesn't necessarily mean a kennel. 

1. Tie a leash to his collar and the other end to your belt buckle loop. Voila! An umbilical cord so you always know where he is and you can watch him for signs of pottying

2. Set up a playpen type setup when you can't actively keep your eyes on him. Let's you know he's safe and let's you know where he is so he can easily be taken out for pottying


Ultimately the mistakes are yours, sorry. I would stop saying no. It really means nothing to him and it can easily be used in a way that can scare a dog, ie. "I said NOO!". I'm not saying you are yelling, but "no" is kind of a useless word. If he pees just say "oops" and whisk him outside. No hard feelings. It's just humans like the word no but don't really realize it means nothing to a dog. So I guess use it if you want, but just be aware no means nothing to him so don't expect him to stop something if you say no. Make sure to clean up accidents with an enzymatic cleaner too! The enzymes in dog pee says "pee here!" and if you don't get those up he might pee in those spots again. 

I got my dog as an adult but accidents in puppies do happen. Especially while they are new and getting used to a schedule at the same time you are trying to get used to the schedule. Keep in mind puppies need to pee after they eat, after they drink water, if they woke up from sleeping, if they are running around, and generally every hour/every 45 minutes. I know, it's a lot, but hang in there! Accidents happen but it sounds like you are doing great. 

Make sure that if he does go pee/poop outside it is a PARTY. Treats, toys, running around, clapping, etc. Neighbors will think you've been licking too much paint but it really helps the dog to learn "peeing outside=treats/good stuff" and "peeing inside=nothing".


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## 101naturelover (Jul 31, 2012)

You can try putting your puppy on a schedule. Trust me.. it works wonders. http://www.bettsenterprises.com/Schnauzers/Puppy Schedule.pdf <-- I used this as a guideline for housebreaking my 6 month old. It didn't work much for me because his bladder was practically fully developed, and he could hold it for much more time.

Like the comment above, puppies usually need to potty after nap times, meals and drinks, and energized playing. And warning, when they get excited, they will also pee upon touch. (Mine, at 9 months now, will pee when holding him after being away from home. ) If you catch him in the act, a sharp "Shh!" or "No!" would be good, because if you just stand there and watch without a word, he will think that it doesn't matter. (I use it for mine. It's just telling your puppy that he has done something bad-- and that would encourage him NOT to do it again. My dog would poo on the floor, and pee on the carpet at first. We finally managed t o catch him once, and then he stopped, and started peeing on the tiles instead. Lol. Then finally, he began to eliminate outside. It's a controversial thing (Not all people may believe "No!" command. It's your choice-- but I encourage it. Also, don't yell it to your dog. He will start doing it behind your back because he is actually scared of the HARSH discipline. )

Yes, so really, all I can advise you is to not leave food and water around-- only at a certain time of the day, two times a day. Leave him in a crate if you are to leave the house, and buy a special type of cleaning product that is SCENT PROOF. I know that Arm and Hammer stuff smells wonderful on your carpet, but most scents in that cleaning product smell like pee to the dog, and will encourage him to pee there. If your dog starts to sniff around a lot, starts whining, sitting by the door, or circling around, it's probably because he needs to potty. Give him a yummy treat as soon as he eliminates (As soon as he finishes eliminating completely. Some dogs are known to pee a little bit, and hold it in just to get a treat quicker. ) 

I though giving treats after potty-ing was a stupid thing, really. I also though a schedule was dumb, too. After 2 months of of having Vuitton, his progress still hadn't changed. Desperate, we tried the whole schedule thing first, and then combined the treats. The treats were definitely the strongest tactic. though, the schedule ensured us more control.


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## Nil (Oct 25, 2007)

101naturelover said:


> If you catch him in the act, a sharp "Shh!" or "No!" would be good, because if you just stand there and watch without a word, he will think that it doesn't matter. (I use it for mine. It's just telling your puppy that he has done something bad-- and that would encourage him NOT to do it again. My dog would poo on the floor, and pee on the carpet at first. We finally managed t o catch him once, and then he stopped, and started peeing on the tiles instead.
> 
> (Not all people may believe "No!" command. It's your choice-- but I encourage it. Also, don't yell it to your dog. He will start doing it behind your back because he is actually scared of the HARSH discipline. )



I am one of those that would respectfully disagree with this. Every dog is different but I think reprimanding a puppy for eliminating inside can be damaging. You can end up with a puppy who will be afraid to pee/poop in front of you leading to hiding and eliminating. Or, having a fear of eliminating in front of you altogether, even outside in "ok" places. Also, I don't believe it achieves anything. It doesn't make the puppy think anything but "Oh no...human is mad!" and have a negative association with you. If you reprimand and the puppy disregards the reprimand entirely...well then, that's not really a reprimand...it's just noise the puppy tuned out. 

However, it is your dog OP and so you can decide what you try and what you don't. This forum is filled with differing opinions and for the most part, each opinion is respected as long as here is some valid information to back up that decision. This method may work for lots of dogs...but potential damage can take a long time to fix if your puppy is one of the one's that can't handle it well. No offense meant 101naturelover. Just my 2 cents on it and my reasoning for that opinion.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

2 accidents in a week for a dog that age is pretty normal, especially since you know what caused it. My 12 week old will go for days without an accident, then one day we'll be slow with taking him out and he'll pee. Every time it's our fault, so oh well - we clean it up and move on. Puppies at that age really have no warning that they need to go, so if you're not taking them out all the time, plus the times when they'll need to go (after naps, after play, etc) there are bound to be accidents. 

Don't bother telling him "no" or doing anything other than taking him out when he goes inside. It will either do nothing (because he doesn't understand you) or it will create a dog who won't pee in front of you because you yell at him, which means he'll wander off and pee somewhere else in the house.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I also agree with not using "no", for two reasons: right now, at 11 weeks, the puppy has little to no control of his bladder. That's a physical thing. There are times he may seem ok at holding it for periods of time, and there are other times when he just can't. That's normal for their development. It's like a human toddler, mama asks if they need to go potty, they say no, but 20 seconds later they've peed their pants, because they don't have a concept of how long they can hold it yet.
So, at this age, saying no or scolding isn't going to help, and may cause them to think going pee AT ALL is bad, so they should never do it in front of you. Dogs don't make the same connections humans make, so if you scold when they pee, you, as a human think they will get this: "oops, peeing inside appears to be bad" when they puppy really may make this connection: "yikes, this guy really hates pee, I better not let him see me do that again, it makes him mad."

Second, "no" is pretty useless. It's so overused in our society. How many times do you say it? In any situation? Let's see: 
"No" I don't want more scrambled eggs.
"No way!" when you don't believe someone.
"No" when your husband is putting on a tie that does NOT go with this outfit.
Just to name a few.

Also, we humans know that "no" is always negative.Always. You never say no when you are agreeing. Dogs don't know that. So, we sometimes say "no" to our dogs, in several different settings, like "no" when they pee inside, and "no" when they chew the woodwork in the house, and "no" when they pull on the leash, and "no" when they jump up. That isn't specific enough, with dogs you have to be very clear.

Now, of course, you can use "no" as a simple interrupter word, just to get their attention. The problem with that is, when we humans say "no" we automatically associate it with a negative, with the fact that we are try to teach our dogs that thing they just did was wrong. That's because we, as humans, KNOW it's a negative word. Dogs don't have that background with the word no. 
If you want to use an interrupter word, you can just as easily use "hey" or "oops". And, neither of those words have as strong a association to us humans as no.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

doxiemommy said:


> I also agree with not using "no", for two reasons: right now, at 11 weeks, the puppy has little to no control of his bladder. That's a physical thing. There are times he may seem ok at holding it for periods of time, and there are other times when he just can't. That's normal for their development. It's like a human toddler, mama asks if they need to go potty, they say no, but 20 seconds later they've peed their pants, because they don't have a concept of how long they can hold it yet.
> So, at this age, saying no or scolding isn't going to help, and may cause them to think going pee AT ALL is bad, so they should never do it in front of you. Dogs don't make the same connections humans make, so if you scold when they pee, you, as a human think they will get this: "oops, peeing inside appears to be bad" when they puppy really may make this connection: "yikes, this guy really hates pee, I better not let him see me do that again, it makes him mad."
> 
> Second, "no" is pretty useless. It's so overused in our society. How many times do you say it? In any situation? Let's see:
> ...



The information about no being overused is so, so true. I started with an 'Eh', but at this point it's become a very specifically trained 'stop' which means 'quit what you are doing, look at me and don't move'. It's sort of a 'stop/stay' command, but it works so much better because it's still telling the dog what TO do (look at me and freeze in place) rather than not what to do. There are altogether too much broadness in teaching what NOT to do, even if dog brains worked that way - and it's pretty good psychology for ME too. Much more managable for me to think of teaching them to do SOMETHING, than to try to make them quit doing other things. Keeps things positive, frustration lower, and everyone happier.


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