How long to housebreak?

[operamommy]

Our pup Moose is a almost 5 months old; we've had him for about 5 weeks. We are *very* vigilant about taking him out and give him a freeze-dried liver treat every time he goes pee/poop. We take him out on the leash, and each time he goes immediately and looks for his treat - so he definately knows what's expected.

However, he doesn't go to the door or ask to be let out. Ever. I "tested" him today after he had his dinner and instead of taking him out right away I waited. Sure enough, he peed on the floor. It's only the 4th accident he's had inside since we got him, but when can we expect him to start initiate going out? Thanks!

[BarefootGirl]

Maybe he doesn't know how to ask. You could try having him sit by the door right before taking him out each time so that maybe he'll sit by the door when he wants to go out. Or just keep letting him out frequently and maybe he'll figure it out on his own. 5 months is still pretty young and every dog is different. I had one who was completely housetrained at 4 months - no accidents and would hold it for a long while. My other dog wasn't completely trustworthy til almost a year.

[Ola_]

Another thing you could try is teaching him to use potty bells. Both of our dogs have signals to tell us they need to go out but it varies by dog. One will actually scratch at the front door, but the other just starts to look a bit anxious - it's pretty subtle and it took me a while to figure out that that's what it meant.

I think a lot of the times at that age, it's just a matter of taking them out on a regular schedule (I'd say 4 times a day or more) and they will adjust to the schedule and then you're all set.

[Oubliette8]

I agree with Ola, mostly its about schedule. My own dog dos not have a set signal, although sometimes she will stand by the door. Mostly, she paces and if I don't pay attention, there's an accident. However, I know her potty schedule and she gets let out at those times so we rarely have accidents.

Some dogs can be taught to use a signal to go out- the potty bells are very popular right now. Be aware though that some dogs will use them constantly whether they need to go or not! They just like to go outside. I've heard of owners getting sick of the constant jingling and just taking them away. And my sister's dog always gets a treat immediately upon coming inside. She's learned to signal that she wants out just so she can come back in and get her treat! When she stays here she is constantly signaling to go out, even if she was out 30 seconds before. Its like a revolving door, in/out/in/out. Makes it hard to know when she really needs to go.

The other thing is that it can really depend on the breed and individual dog. Some breeds are notoriously difficult to housebreak. Hounds and toy breeds come to mind off the top of my head. We had a basset who took 2 years. Honestly, it sounds like you are doing really good for 5 months!

It could be that he just hasn't had the need to discover a cue. He's always been let out on your schedule. If he say, goes near the door, do you let him out? If he scratches the door, would you let him out? It might be a case of waiting for the behavior, and then showing him the consequence. Ie, dog stands by door, you let him outside. Even if he doesn't go potty that time, he'll learn that standing by the door, means you will let him out. The potty bells work on the same principal, only you teach the dog to perform the behavior (ringing the bells) and then give the reward (going outside), as opposed to waiting for an organic signal to occur (scratching the door, standing near the door, whining at the door etc).

[Alyantavid]

We have a 4.5 month old Weimaraner who's mostly housebroken. As long as we make sure to take her out every so often. I've been thinking I need to teach her some way to tell us, but I haven't figured out what the signal should be.

[operamommy]

Thanks for the replies! I might get a set of bells; I'd rather not let him scratch at the door. It's not an issue if he wants out a lot - we have a wireless fencing system that we're going to set up this weekend (he'll still go out to potty on the leash till we know he's housebroken).

I guess we'll just keep taking him out a lot as we already do and as pp suggested look for subtle signs that he needs to go -thanks!

[just_lily]

I've never had a dog that sits by the door or anything like that. They have always just done "the stare". It can also mean they are out of water, or it is time for dinner. But it is hard to miss a 100lb dog standing in front of you staring at you!