# How long did it take to house train?



## sadethegolden (Nov 17, 2015)

Hi everyone!!! My Sade is 9 weeks old!! I have a potty bell at our back door. Sometimes she's good with it. I am wondering how long did it take to house train your puppy? I thought Sade was doing good with the house train but she had an accident today. In the beginning I would take her on a leash and take her outside to potty. But maybe I was to excited and thought she was getting the hang of it and let her go without a leash. She usually does pee as soon as she goes outside. And I do take her out after she eats and when she wakes up from a nap. And every hour to be safe. I think maybe I was getting to excited and let her have more leeway. I do nt notice any signs of her wanting to go potty. Sometimes I will get lucky and she rings the bell. Maybe she whimpers every now and then. Just wondering how long did it take for your puppy to get the hang of it. At how's many weeks did they get it.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

It takes 2 months of zero accidents before you can absolutely say your dog is housetrained. If your dog has an accident, the 2 months countdown starts all over again.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Chloe had the most accidents within the first two weeks. She didn't have a lot because we watched her like a hawk. After that it was maybe one a week for awhile. She had her last accident at 3.5 months. At four months it all clicked and she started going to the door everytime. At around 12 weeks you will notice your pup holding it longer. I think your right you got to lax and let up.


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## BeehiveGolden (Oct 4, 2015)

For 9 weeks she's doing wonderful! Top of the class for sure. 

At that age I was taking Barkley our every 30 minutes. Or less if he looked like he had to go. He had an accident maybe every other day (at 9 weeks). But there were a few times he'd have no accidents for several days and then 4 the same day  By 14 weeks things had really clicked and he could hold it a bit longer and had started "asking". The asking was very slight and could have been easily missed if I wasn't in tune to him by then (panting, glancing at the door, seeking added attention). Now at 19 weeks he can go about an hour and a half during the day but I don't push it past that. I still take him out when he wakes up, after activities, after eating and such.


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## MoltenGirl (Aug 4, 2015)

Took me less than a month. But we were diligent about getting up in the middle of the night regardless of the weather and there was absolutely no use of Pee pads anywhere in my house. 

I don't like the potty bells because first, I find them annoying and second, many dogs will ring those bells just because they enjoy being outside as opposed to having to use the facilities, if you know what I mean. 

My Mozart is now 4 months and hasn't had one accident in the house. He's excellent because if he has to go and I can generally read his body language, he will sit by the door and whine and wait for me to take him out. He's gotten so good as a matter fact, that I can even let him out without a leash to do his business but he needs treats to come back because the grass distracts him!


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Generally the light bulb comes on around at around 4 months. That's when it finally dawns on them that there's a correlation between asking to go out, going potty and being praised. Our girl (lab) is 4 1/2 months old and she's pretty much housetrained now. If she has an accident, it's our fault for missing her signal or not getting her out immediately when we get home, but even those accidents are becoming few and far between. Each dog/puppy will develop their own signal. Our girl will go to the back door and then come over to me (never my husband, wonder why?) and stare at me.


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

I agree with the 2 month rule - you can't say they are fully potty trained until they go at least 2 months without an accident. I thought Noah was at 6 months old - he was very easy to potty train, and then on a visit to my parents, he proceeded to squat in the middle of their living room - no sign given (and they have no dogs themselves - so he didn't smell urine there). 

That was in July and that was his last indoor accident.


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## MyMaggieGirl (Nov 12, 2008)

Reading your pup's body language is very important in successful training. We've notice that Mandy will get a little nippy (looking for attention) when she has to go, in addition to sitting by the door. She's 4 months now and has been sleeping through the night since about 10 weeks but during the day, she goes out every couple of hours, especially after naps or a busy playtime. In other words, she has US trained!


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## cinder (Dec 8, 2013)

You're doing great!

Dixie had her last accident at 11 weeks old. We were hyper vigilant and took her outside every 20 minutes during the day. Her little lightbulb went on when she was about 10 weeks old. Even now at 9.5 months, she rarely whines to go out – she just stares at the door.


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## Jim18655 (Dec 4, 2015)

Teddy is at 4 months and we still don't trust him. He's starting to give a sign he wants to go out but I think he's training us. Some times he'll give a little bark. The female we had was trained in about 2 weeks. No accidents at all after that. She was the smartest dog I ever had. The vet told us that males seem to take longer.


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