puppy/potty question

17 years ago

Hi Everyone!

I have a male german shephard who is 3 months, 1 week old. He's doing well with is potty training when I'm home. He goes to the back door like a good boy.

Currently he cannot "hold it" all night while we're sleeping or while I'm at work and I have not been too worried.

Just curious, around what age should he be able to "hold it"?

Or should I somehow try to train him to hold it?

Thanks in advance!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

mes444
17 years ago
A three month old puppy does not have a big enuf bladder to hold it all day or overnight. When he is large enough physically to go all night without an accident, he will be able to hold it all day as well. Someone should let him out durning the day a few times for potty needs or he may get so confused he will never fully housetrain. Also, he should be let out at night for a break as well till he is bigger. Any time they go in the house, you lose some former training as the confusion sets in.

I'm not a trainer by any means, but my multiple dogs have provided me with this knowledge.
quirkyquercus
17 years ago
I know what you're going through because I had the same question over the summer! I can't imagine having to take the puppy out in the winter.

To answer your Q, I got my puppy at 10 weeks and it took a month for him to begin to hold it so about age 3.5 mos. But, there's a but. He would go some days without waking me up and after a while I just started to ignore the cries and whimpers and took a chance and it was fine. After a few nights of doing that he didn't whine or whimper or bark anymore to go out except one night when he had the runs.
Related Discussions
Another puppy question...what do people who work do with puppy?
Q
Comments (8)
Isn't she a sweetie! My three dogs were all adult 'rescue' dogs so I didn't go through the puppy stage with them. But I did keep them in individual kennels (at home) while I was working for the first few weeks. Then I restricted them to a couple of rooms using a pet gate (similar to what you'd use for a human toddler). I walked them before work, then came home for a late lunch and walked them again, then walked them after work and then once more at bedtime. Now I work full time from home and they spend most of the day in the office with me. They make great foot warmers in the winter :-) We still walk (no fenced in yard) three times a day. Before work (about 7 am), early to mid afternoon (2-4 pm), and before bed (any time from 7 to 10 pm). I think it would be very hard potty training a puppy when you can't stay home with him/her. A rule of thumb is that a puppy can handle one hour per month of age. So a 4 month old puppy should be able to go up to 4 hours without having to go out. A six month old puppy can go up to six hours, and so on. One thing I wouldn't recommend is using puppy pads in the house. I had a dog once, that was trained with puppy pads from the time she was tiny. It was an awful process re-training her, and she would still potty in the house years afterward, if the notion struck her.
...See More
need puppy potty training advice
Q
Comments (5)
I teach dogs to ring the bell when they have to go out. I know that sounds hard but it is very simple. Hang a large bell from the nob of the door you want him to use (I bought a large sleigh bell at the craft store) and hang it low enough that he can reach it with his nose. I also use operant conditioning to train, all positive with click and reward. ok, this is what you will do; have a treat ready, call him to the door, ring the bell and then immediatly open the door tell him "good boy" and give him the treat yes, even though your the one that rang the bell. Do this often. Your teaching him that ringing the bell means the door opens. It took about 3 minutes working with Gus to learn to ring the bell when he was 3 months old. I have a bell inside and outside that Gus uses. I hope that helped you, I know it sounds hard, but it's really not. Depends from dog to dog how long it will take for them to learn this. We don't give them enough credit, they can learn amazing things. Kathy Picture of my dog Gus below Here is a link that might be useful:
...See More
puppy questions
Q
Comments (12)
There are few times when things like this happen that they get shared with so many others. I have a strong feeling this pup was placed in your hands for a very good reason. Kudos to you for rescuing him. He is adorable. You might want to get him set up with some clothing for the upcoming winter, that hair might never grow back. Also protect his skin from the sun when he is outside, they sell t shirts at any pet store. If you are already starting training you are ahead of the game. I would suggest getting Trader Joes canned dog food (it is high quality food at a buck a can) cant beat that. TJs also carries high quality treats. As far as what he is, he is too young to really figure it out. he does have longer ears for his head than normal and look at those paws - YETI FEET.... Will you keep poting pics as he gets settled??? I would love to follow his story. I bet you will never regret taking him home. I vote you Pet Forum hero of the month!!
...See More
Maltese puppy potty problem
Q
Comments (3)
Your dog has missed the "prime potty" training period of his life, which is about 3-4 months. If you are going to fix this, you need to do a few very important things. Keep in mind, that your dog is not going to be considered house trained until he has no accidents (aside from medical issues) for 9 months. You essentially have a 9 month old dog, acting like a 4 month old dog, and that is the way you need to treat him. *Crate the dog when you cannot supervise every second, with a leash. The leash will allow you to grab the dog and go out quickly when you need to. This needs to be done for at least 4-5 months, depending on how much progress dog makes, and how maturing goes. You must catch the dog in the act to correct the problem. Only a few seconds after the deed, dog will not retain why you are upset. When you do catch him, you must get his attention. Yell "NO", clap your hands, anything. Grab the leash, and out you go. When you let dog out of the crate, outside you go. Don't stop to put on shoes etc., dog needs to associate being let out of the crate with going out and doing his thing. *Get him used to potty commands (take your pick), when he goes, give HUGE amounts of praise like he is the best dog in the world, then a treat. Treats should only be given when dog is doing something positive. He needs to associate treats with positive behavior. *Take dog to the same place, always. You should start to see positive results very soon, and can gradually build on this until dog is able to be weaned from the crate with the goal of unsupervised freedom, in about 9 months. *Get the dog on a schedule for walks (at least twice a day, same time, same place) and feeding (twice a day, 12 hours apart, unless vet says otherwise). If dog does not eat within a few minutes of you putting down the food, take it away and don't feed again until the next meal. Good luck! SG
...See More
kelly726
17 years ago
I had been told that not until a puppy is 6 months can you expect them to actually "hold it" for a decent amount of time.
measure_twice
17 years ago
1 hour per month of age is the rough measure
munkos
17 years ago
Is he crated?? In my experience this definately helps because dogs really hate to go where they sleep. It doesn't 'train' them to hold it longer, but they generall choose to hold it because they would really rather wait then wet the bed, until it comes down to it.

We kept our beagle in our bedroom in a kennel at night, and we'd get up when she would whine, and put her out. But it didn't take her long. Her real turning point was when we took her and her crate to visit my sister. We all went out for the day, leaving her in the crate. We ended up being out MUCH MUCH longer than expected because we ran into some problems. We were so worried by the time we got in (abt 9 hours later!! I felt horrible) that she had probably messed herself a whole lot. But she hadn't not once, nothing. That was pretty much the end of her accidents in the house, too. She still had a few, but something clicked in her that day, I guess.
quirkyquercus
17 years ago
6 months to housetrain maybe but the larger dogs should be able to hold it through the night and day much sooner than that. If people had to take off work and not get a good nights sleep for 6 months no one would ever get a puupy.
mazer415
17 years ago
Take your pup out for a late night walk. If you are just letting him outside, you may want to go out with him, when he pee's - give him the command you want - like PP outside...this should help. First thing in the AM, take him out.
spiritual_gardner
17 years ago
I agree with most things said on this, I'll just add a thought.

I rescued a 4 month old Shepherd/Hound last April. The challenge was huge trying to get her house trained.

Pups drink enormous amounts of water, especially after eating and playing. They simply cannot hold it according to the formula 1 hour per month. It would be nice if they did, but,,,,,they can't. I started taking my pup out right after eating and playing, also got her used to the words "go pee and go poop". My two other dogs know this also, it's a great help, especially when the weather is bad and they go out just for a quick one.

SG
Pawprint
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks everyone! So far he does great when I'm at home, so we're on the right track. Just can't remember how long it takes before they can hold it all day like my other big dogs. Thanks for your help!
spiritual_gardner
17 years ago
It could be 8-10 months. It depends on how much the inside of the dog grows.

SG

puppy/potty question

Comments (10)

mes444

quirkyquercus

Related Discussions

kelly726

measure_twice

munkos

quirkyquercus

mazer415

spiritual_gardner

Pawprint
Original Author

spiritual_gardner

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

puppy/potty question

Comments (10)

Related Discussions

PawprintOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Pawprint
Original Author