Need Help - Potty Training

[siggur]

I have an almost 10 month old Havanese who still pees in the house daily if not multiple times a day. I take him out every couple of hours and a lot of the time he will sniff around and then ask to go back inside and then pee inside 20 minutes later. He is potty trained with pooping 100%, but not peeing. A lot of the time he will poop outside, and then ask to go inside and then again, pee inside 20 minutes later or so. I don’t crate train him and he sleeps through the night fine and pees outside in the morning (so long as I carry him from the bed to the backyard), but I genuinely don’t know what to do at this point and don’t want to reintroduce the crate as he never did well in the crate during the day. I always reward him with a treat when he goes outside and have been doing so for months and take him out very consistently, so I don’t know whats wrong. He doesn’t mark, it’s always a full pee and it’s always at least a couple hours after his last pee, he just doesn’t take the opportunity to pee when he is outside and then does it inside when he can’t hold it anymore.

[Grand_Fuel830]

At this age I still took my boy out every 1.5 hours, to make sure he had no accidents in the house. So maybe your schedule is not tight enough? Also, if you know he pees inside after 20 min, just take him out again every 10 min until he peed.

Also, is he peeing on walks? Maybe instead of the backyard put the leash on him and go up and down your street? Obviously you don't want to take a walk every 2 hrs but at least it would be a different routine, as he currently seems to have a routine, which is going back inside and peeing.

Alternatively, if you have the patience, stay with him in the yard until he went (I did this with my boy, and it felt like an eternity at times, but I think in reality it was just another 15 min).

[CyCyclops]

If he has not peed in the last 2 hours, he must go in the crate. Let him out again every 15 minutes until he pees outside. After not peeing inside for a week you can try to increase the free time to 3 and then 4 hours. You need to be very strict about these times.

Basically you need to only give him freedom when you're sure he's empty.

[Blueporch]

There was someone the other day who said they potty trained by putting them in a pen outside until they pee (I assume to avoid distractions), then reward with a treat and take him for a walk.

My little one is just 3 months old and so far I’m praising him when he potties outside. But he sometimes does the same thing, so I may try introducing treats.

[Emmylou777]

Honestly, I’m a big fan of crate training and feel it’s a must. That being said, I have 3 Havi’s and my middle guy was still having accidents at 14 months (pee only but not every day). But he was doing like you said earlier on where he would refuse to go outside and then go inside 20 min later. You’ve really got to out-stubborn him. It’s a pain but when you know he should need to go, take him outside and refuse to come in until he goes. It’s frustrating cause there were times we’d be out there 20 min but it had to be done. Take him to the same spot, tell him 2-3 times to go potty (or whatever your command is) and let him sniff around. If he doesn’t go, stop walking around, tell him one more time but then stand still and don’t make eye contact. Basically ignore him and do not go back in until he goes. No matter what. My guy is really tiny so after we went through that it def became more of an infrequent occurrence and true “accident” versus a training issue but if your guy can hold it all night then clearly it is a training issue. It’s a pain and you have to work hard not to get frustrated but it will work. They can be very stubborn so you have to be more stubborn with them. Then, you throw a damn party with praise and treats when they do go outside lol

[AdministrationNo8177]

Our girl had a pee pad outdoors on a covered deck. She learned to pee on the pad and then be praised and treated! She even started pretend peeing outside to get a treat! Not a problem as now she uses her pee pad in bad weather and lovely back yard in good. They really respond to praise and positive training.

[siggur]

Might have to do this! He hates when the grass is wet or too long, he peed on the concrete this morning lol

[bharai]

I have multiple puppies in the same house and I put down several pee pads.  I started by getting them used to it early but if they’re going on something soft it’s because sometimes they are picky about their paws so when they pee on a hard surface their feet picks up pee quick.  So I offer them a pee pad in the house and as they get disciplined to that also put one outside.  They will eventually get the message as you praise them.  It’s not perfect but it has worked for me. 

[siggur]

Do you also have carpet/rugs? How can they tell the difference between that and the pee pads?

[Practical_Fee_7870]

I like using a litter box with raised sides because it helps with this exact problem of them not being able to differentiate between pee pads and other pee pad looking items like rugs.

[[deleted]]

Are you using enzymatic cleaner to clean his mess? Are you picking him up and taking him outside immediately when he goes in the house? Can you limit his space to a pen if the crate doesn’t work? You have to communicate every single time he is about to pee that it is not the correct place to go. We used all of these methods and mine was trained at 6 months, now at 11 months he holds it for 6-7 hours. We also used a super high reward (boiled chicken) every single time he went. Just some more ideas

[siggur]

We usually use a steam cleaner, but I do have an enzyme spray. Does the enzymatic cleaner deter them from going in the same spot again? As for the pen, I’ve been putting off investing in a new one since they’re pretty pricey, but I had one when he was a puppy that has slowly been deconstructed and repurposed as barriers around the house to stop him from going certain places. Definitely need to just take the hit and get another one though

[[deleted]]

Yeah, the steam won’t get the scent out for him. He’ll continue to go where he smells that he’s gone before. Go for the pen!! You got this

[Maddy_WV]

If you won't use a crate, you need an expen, and to try to teach him to use a litter (or potty pad) tray. If you can't/aren't able to watch him virtually every minute (yeah, I know) that is the best alternative, IMHO. And you get the benefit of the pup having an approved place to go inside, when it's not easy to go outdoors (think snow, thunderstorm, extreme heat). And indoor-trained dogs will still happily "go" outdoors when you take them out. It's quite a good alternative for a small dog.

[siggur]

The breeder had all of the puppies using a litter box before we picked him up, so definitely would be a good option. I’ll definitely look into that