# In need of some housebreaking reassurance!



## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

Honey, you are absolutely right and your mom is wrong. In essence, your pup is not six months old...in housetraining terms she's only four months old, because she didn't even start learning until she came home to you.

I'm sure that if you explain it to your mom this way, she'll understand. 

I hope she's very proud of you, because you're responsible, sensitive, and kind.

P.S. Sending you a hug...


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## Rumple’s Mom (Apr 1, 2015)

I fully agree with Noreaster, you are doing everything right with her. She IS learning, but no one ever said a puppy housetrained over night. It takes a lot of time and patience. 

Your mom sounds like she has the old school thinking of the "rub their noses in it" mindset, which no one recommends doing. I'm sorry that she's stressing you out so much, and as hard as it is, try not to let her get to you too much. You're doing the right thing with Mayla.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Big hugs!!!! Potty training is HARD! 

I just got a four month old puppy and we've been really lucky that we've only have one pee and one poop accident in the house. In the almost week we've had her. 

When I was potty training my Bear, I remember it was all about preventing accidents with frequent potty breaks and lots of praise for eliminating in the proper areas. 

I'm hoping my 4 month old learned her lesson when I scooped her up mid-pee and mid-poop and deposited her outside and told her to pee/poop there. And when she did I threw a party. 

Don't let your mom get you down. If she's upset about the accidents, recruit her to help make sure your puppy gets taken out more often. And that she's watched with a lab eagle eye in the house.


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## BuddyinFrance (May 20, 2015)

You're doing great! Just make sure when she does get it right outside that you make a big fuss and use the same expression each time.. ours is "YEAH you did a peeeeepeeeee!" We still say it everytime he goes now out of habit even though he has been clean for 3 months and he is still just as proud of himself! Be patient but firm... and know that once she finally "gets it" she will probably go from accident prone to toally clean overnight. And one other thought, they are sensitive souls so if your Mum is getting on at you and you are feeling upset your pup will feel it too. So keep calm, you have got everything Under control, all you need now is patience! Keep us posted.


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

You have only had her a month and a half, you are making huge progress and you are an awesome mum. Puppies are like children and some get control earlier and get the hang of what you want quicker than others. But they all get there in the end. Someone once said to me, when we were housetraining our children, "no-one goes down the aisle in a nappy, so they must get there in the end".


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## Coopsmom (Jan 13, 2015)

you are doing great and your mom is wrong.... (tell her we said so!) Hang in there and keep up the good work!


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## Simona Arian (May 13, 2015)

Thank you all so much for your encouragement! It means so much to me and Mayla. We're going to keep working hard and let you know how things go!


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## DJdogman (Apr 23, 2013)

You will always have non-dog people tell you their mostly ridiculous methods of training dogs. They think they know everything about them! Sounds to me like you're doing an awesome job, keep it up


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## MercyMom (Dec 19, 2011)

Oh sweetheart! I'm so sorry about how devastated this must have made you feel. You have done such a good job working with her patiently. I think she is making progress considering that she was a non-housebroken rescue. She is not a hopeless case. She is progressing nicely. Your mom should not have doubted you like that. What matters is that you believe in her. Hang in there and don't give up!


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Simona Arian said:


> Mayla just had an accident earlier today in our hallway. I don't ever get worked up about these since when we got her at 4.5 months she wasn't potty trained at all, and she is still only 6 months old. The first 2 weeks we had her she peed inside at least four times a day, but for the past month, she has just one accident every 7 days (making progress, I think)
> 
> I usually live alone but I am with family right now since it is summer, and my mom is driving me crazy...........
> 
> Please help!


This may not be a popular response but here we go.... First, your mom _is_ wrong, Mayla does not need more discipline - your response sounds text book correct. 

I do have a couple questions, you say "WE" got Mayla a month and a half ago, but then you say "I" usually live alone. Who owns the home where Mayla is having accidents every week? Is Mayla your dog and you are home visiting family and in your mother's home right now? Because if that is the case, I absolutely sympathize with your mother that she has a 6 month old dog urinating in her house. 

When I have a 2 month old puppy, he is confined to my kitchen with baby gates and our family spends all our time in there with him, on a hard surface with the throw rugs taken up. It's a small amount of urine if an accident happens because it's a small puppy. Pretty easy to clean. A 6 month old is a bigger dog and it's a bigger accident and I sympathize with your mom - this is her home. I am a major dog lover, I will clean 'upset' stomach accidents with patience, but urine is a different story. A urine accident can happen in a split second when your back is turned and if it happens on carpet it can easily dry without ever being discovered. It can really ruin a home if it's not found and cleaned immediately and I understand your mother's upset.

Mayla absolutely should be treated like a little puppy and as such, it is unfair to expect too much, too soon. However, if that is the case, she should not have wide enough range in the house for her to be having a pee accident in the hallway or anywhere else. She should be contained in a small area (you hang out with her there or she is crated while you're busy) where accidents will do no damage and are easily cleaned leaving no trace. That is fair to the dog and to the homeowner. Until Mayla has been consistently reliable with NO accidents for a couple months, she should not be free in the house to make a mistake, especially if you are not the owner of the home. 

If you set a simple egg timer and remind yourself to take her out on a regular schedule and crate her if you can't watch her it will hopefully speed the process and at least protect your mother's home. You can also try attaching her leash to your belt loop and tethering her to you. You are doing very well, don't give up, keep going outside with her every single time she goes out to potty and give her a treat and a party every time she potties outdoors. You will get there and she will master this. It's just going to take a while. The longer you are 100% consistent, the greater chance she will be a 100% reliable adult with understanding that she is not to potty in the house, ever.


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## Our3dogs (Apr 3, 2008)

As mentioned above by everyone, you are doing a great job with her. I know for myself, as they had fewer accidents in the house, I would become a bit more lax on taking them outside to pee/poop on a regular basis. This would lead to an accident in the house - totally my fault. Just keep up the good work and continue to take her outside on a regular time schedule. This helps both of you to remember - you to take her out and her to reinforce where she should go potty. She is still learning so you might not see her clues that she needs to potty until it's too late. Staying on a regular time schedule for the next several weeks will help keep things on track. Like you say, she is still a puppy. We forget this when we look at them and see an "adult" dog.


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## BuddyinFrance (May 20, 2015)

nolefan said:


> This may not be a popular response but here we go.... First, your mom _is_ wrong, Mayla does not need more discipline - your response sounds text book correct.
> 
> I do have a couple questions, you say "WE" got Mayla a month and a half ago, but then you say "I" usually live alone. Who owns the home where Mayla is having accidents every week? Is Mayla your dog and you are home visiting family and in your mother's home right now? Because if that is the case, I absolutely sympathize with your mother that she has a 6 month old dog urinating in her house.
> 
> ...


Good points! I didn't read it that way. I can just imagine if I was in my Mum's house. She is so houseproud with beige pile carpets wall to wall and is not a dog lover lol!


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

01 VeterinaryPartner Home Page - VeterinaryPartner.com - a VIN company! has good house training articles


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## Simona Arian (May 13, 2015)

I definitely hadn't thought of it that way! Thank you for your input, I've had Mayla on the egg-timer for two days now and she's doing very well


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## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

How goes it??? It has been a couple of weeks since you started with the egg timer and sometimes it is easy for us humans to drop off on our dedication to these things. 

One thing I do want to add about house breaking any puppy or young dog is that in learning to "hold it" they have to be forced to hold it. So be sure to have a crate and make sure that your puppy spends a couple of hours in the morning in the crate and then a couple of hours in the afternoon in the crate. She needs that time for her bladder to fill and for her to know what a full bladder feels like AND that she has to wait to empty it. This is an important element to housebreaking that needs to happen for everyone to be happy.


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## Simona Arian (May 13, 2015)

Hey everyone!

I didn't want to jump the gun and post about this beforehand, but Mayla hasn't had a SINGLE accident since I posted this. We started her on the egg timer and set up a bell at the door which she rings when she wants to go out. While those two things helped a lot, I think what really got her to stop having accidents in the house was me and my mom being on the same page with her housetraining. All it took was some communication and a strict schedule. She is very well behaved around the house (no jumping on the couch or chewing) and now that she is consistently not having accidents we have been able to let her have some more freedom! We still keep the egg timer on though so that we don't get too lenient.

Thank you all for your help!


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## BuddyinFrance (May 20, 2015)

It's always nice to have follow up on a thread.. so thank you!! Hope it continues!


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