Hi Rynn01: A few tips I read & tried on my kid. She was potty-trained when she was 3 1/2 months old. Children are different from each other, some are potty-trained much earlier, like an orphan coming from China, was potty trained at 1-year old. That orphan is now a great gymnast .. she's fearless. Some kids are more timid and need more positive encouragement. Lecturing and forcing kids doesn't work. What worked for my kid was some tiny books, which I put in a basket next to her potty. She was too busy reading those books ... so it's NOT a forced procedure. She became a great reader later, now is in the gifted program in middle school. Some other tips that worked for other parents: Buy some cheap toys, wrap it up in tiny packages, and your kid can only open if he/she went potty. When I rewarded my kid with M&M candies, it was so much easier. Positive psychology works better than harsh discipline. My sister is a strict & harsh mother... no amount of yelling and forcing could make her 4-years old go potty. Finally she let him chooses some nice undies with cartoon characters that he likes. He didn't want to dirty his fav. cartoon characters, so he was motivated to use the potty. No one can make anyone else do anything .. it's best to have a "payback", or make it enjoyable, so the kid will unconsciously do that herself/himself, rather than being a "second-rated" option. I hope that helps. I'm in mid 50's, and my Mom had 13 children ... we were all potty-trained at 2, since that was the only choice we had.

First of all you need to rule out a UTI. This could be part of the problem. It does not matter that she can hold it over night, she is not stimulated when she is sleeping. You need to realize that not all dogs are the same in this category. Some get it within a week or less, others take longer. *Pick a system, any system so you and pup wont get confused. This one has a good success record, and it will give you a good start. System. *EVERY SECOND (donÂt argue)! supervision is a must when pup is not crated. Have a leash on her so you can easily grab her and take her out when you need to. Set a timer so you can take her out about every 30-40 minutes, then GRADUALLY (over the course of a few weeks) increase the time you take her out by about 20-30 minutes. Increasing the time by to much confuses the dog. This is a MAJOR mistake lots of humans make when trying to house train a dog. *Immediately after she comes out of the crate, take her out. Stopping to put on your shoes is a major mistake. Get pup used to the commands "go poo" and "go pee". These commands should be a must, they are incredibly helpful when the weather is bad. *If dog doesn't do anything, that's fine, if it does, give tons of praise and give a "quality" treat, preferably one used just for training purposes. Consistency is the key. Dogs are creatures of habit and depend on a repetitive schedule. This is no time to skimp on excessive praise and treats when you are house training. Pup needs to associate being let out of the crate with yummy treats doing itÂs thing and huge amounts of praise. Boiled or baked chicken liver is a great training tool, dogs crave it and you really have their attention when you use it. *Daily walks at least twice a day (about 20-30 minutes each in the same area) are essential for dogs and getting them house trained. Walking gets things moving, dogs love it and it gives them something to look forward to. Try and feed a pup prior to the walks. Never free feed unless your vet says to. Pups have a high metabolism. Soon after it eats or drinks, it will need to go out. *Pups drink huge amounts of water. In theory yours should be able to hold it for (one hour for each month) up to about 9 months. In reality, if a young pup has been playing, it will gulp down lots of water, and just won't be able to hold it for that long. After pup drinks, keep an eye on it. Take it out in about 5-10 minutes and offer it relief. *You are making a very bad mistake being mad at your pup. When dogs do something wrong, itÂs the fault of the human in charge, not the dogÂs. You are going to traumatize her, make things worse and never get this under control. She simply does not know why you are mad. If you cannot catch her in the act, scold her and take her out, you might as well clean it up. Just a few seconds after the deed, she will not retain why you are scolding her. Using the crate for punishment is another mistake, it will confuse pup because this is supposed to be her safe sanctuary. You need to dig in and decide that you are going to get this under control, and do what ever it takes. Lest, your life will become very difficult. *Your pup won't be considered house trained unless it has no accidents for at least 9months! Also, there is a HUGE difference in a dog that is 4-6 months old and one that is 9-10 months old. They grow inside and out. Once they reach 9-10 months, their bladders are larger and able to hold it longer. Good luck! SG

gpwuster-Let me ask you a question and I don't mean this in a hateful way.Can YOU "hold it" for 9 hours? To answer your question,yes,you are expecting too much of him to hold the poop and pee that long! First of all,Monty is still a puppy.I think it is unfair to the dog to keep him crated for 9 hours without a break. That's just my opinion.Could you possibly have someone come in during the day and let him out or maybe you or DH could come home for lunch and let him out? Also,small dogs should not be going 9 hours without food because of blood sugar issues.They need to eat several small meals during the day. Another solution would be closing off an area with a puppy gate (not a closed door).Maybe a laundry room,bathroom or some other small uncarpeted area in the house for him during the day.Place the opened crate,(prop the door open with something heavy) food,water,a few favorite toys and a puppy pad in the enclosed area.I know there is a lot of negative advice about the puppy pads,but when the choice is for the puppy to be locked in a crate for 9 hours a day as opposed to being in a secured area with a puppy pad,in my opinion the puppy pad is better.If he can hold it all night and has never peed/pooped in the crate at night I don't think he will start.I know that all dogs are not the same but I have a 13 year old female Chi that potties on puppy pads when we are not home but when we are she runs to the door and bounces around when she needs to go out.She doesn't pee anywhere else in the house.She doesn't use the puppy pad when someone is here to let her out so that kinda debunks the theory that they will think it is ok to pee in the house if they are pad trained!LOL I am at this moment training a tiny 7 week old Chi-weenie (less than 1 1/2 lbs) to go on the puppy pad.I have had her 3 days and she is already going to the pad by herself to pee.We are still working on the poop thing but she is learning fast.We also take her outside and she does her jobs as well.I am disabled and can't take her outside.She only goes out when DH is here to take her,so pad training is the only other option.She is crated only at night and when we are going to be out for a few hours during the day.She has never peed or pooped in her crate.I'm not saying this is the greatest solution or that I won't be here tomorrow with the same problems others are experiencing.Just that this is what is working for me,so far!LOL

I think it's a case of owners coddling small-breed dogs. It's still a dog, all manners and obedience rules still apply. I think people are simply hesitant to discipline a small-breed dog. But still yes, the small bladder can lead to a greater chance of accidents. Once a dog of any size has gone in the house a few times, it can be very hard to break the habit. That's why vigilance is key, don't let a problem start. Just be aware of where the dog is and what it is doing at all times until it is old enough to be trusted. This is why crate training works so well, because sometimes you need to run an errand. Any accidents must be cleaned up very thoroughly; dogs will go again where they have gone before, and just because you can't smell it doesn't mean pup can't smell it with that wonderful nose, way down under the carpet padding (enough repeats and you WILL smell it, or at least your guests will.) I speak from a lot of reading about and observation of dogs. I am also a professional housekeeper. Many of my clients have dogs and it is interesting to see how rules, methods, and successes vary from household to household. Just my two cents' worth.