Housebreaking Help

[gojulie]

Hello,

I just adopted Yoda on Sunday. He is a very sweet little do but he pees EVERYWHERE. I am trying to catch him in the act to correct him but so far he has been sneeky. He does pee when we walk him (and praise him a lot) but it gets a little frustrating when he pees on the bed or randomly on the floor, like he did 4 times last night. I would like to completely housetrain him (no pads at all) if possible and have a pee pad as a last resort or for training. Anyone have a game plan? The last dog I had was when I was little and my parents housetrained her.

Also, If you lock them in the cage during the day, do you put the pee pad in there? How do you show them the pee pad?

HELP!

Julie

[alibuch]

I had the same problem with Louise when I got her from the shelter. She peed on my bed and everything. I crate trained her. So far... no accidents in a long time. I took her out as SOON as I got up in the morning. She was in the cage while I was at work and as soon as I finished I took her out again. I have sleeping troubles and am up until 3-4am so I would take her out two more times before bed and then she'd sleep in the cage. I did this for two months until I felt confident to start leaving her out for small amounts of time. She peed on my bed again and I did one more month crate training. She's been fine since.
The key is to be consistent... take him out at the same time everyday if you can, feed him at the same times each day. No pee pad in the cage. Dogs usually have enough sense to not pee/poo where they have to lay (though Louise had a few accidents in her cage).

It's harder, I think, training a shelter dog because they're used to just going to the bathroom wherever they want. Just be firm. Give him those little training treats everytime he goes to the bathroom outside and praise him.

It can be frustrating but it's worth it in the end. Louise is out of her cage all the time now (well, she's caged when I'm at work while she's in heat cause she pulls the diapers off if she's not). She cuddles with me in bed and I have no worries about accidents.

Best of luck! :)

[Ryan]

First of all, is Yoda a puppy or full grown? or somewhere in between? What is his age? As for cage training, it is pretty simple. You don't need a pee pad in your crate (you should use a carrying crate, not a cage, because the dog gets the feeling of a bed, which is the last place that they will soil). So, you should put a pillow that the pooch uses in the crate, along with anything else that may make the pooch feel comfortable (fav. toy, etc). Also, keep the food and water in there too. I usually put it right at front, which helps to prevent clawing at the front gate, and it seems to help a little with whining also.

It is pretty simple. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you should do is take the pooch outside (before anything else). This is especially important for puppies, because their bowel controls are a lot less than grown pooches. Carry them out if possible, to prevent the dog from going anywhere unwanted. When you come back in , keep the dog in an area where you can see all the time. Then an hour or two later, after you feed it, take it out again, then put it in the cage for a while. (whenever not at home, it should be in the cage until well trained) Basically repeat this process throughout the day. Think of it as morning routine, afternoon routine, evening routine. Remember, anytime after sleeping, eating, and exercise/playing, the pooch should always go outside, as these are the three things that encourage the puppy to go potty.

This is a very brief explanation. I am enclosing a website that has a lot of good pointers for housebreaking puppies. I hope you find use for it.

R

http://leerburg.com/housebrk.htm

[gojulie]

that is some great advice, thank you both. I have a nice small crate that I made a little more homey. He likes it in there and doesn't seem to pee when he is in there so thats where he goes when the by or myself are out. We are still working him peeing in the other places, but with time I hope he will get better.

He is 7 years old, or so says the vet. We got him from a foster mom, who got him from the Daejon shelter. He has a really small bladder and pees quite a bitfor a 3kg doggie!

[Misslizzy3107]

How long does it usually take for them to get use to the crate? Right now I am overwelmed with 3 pups (2 are mine and one is waiting to go to Canada) and it seems as if all I do is clean up puppy puddles. This morning is a perfect example. I woke up at 0430 to take them out. At 0640 I got up, went to leash them and while I was filling up their water bowls ALL three made messes (both 1 and 2s).

It had only been 2 hours since I let them out. I can understand when there are messes when I get home from work. But two freaking hours?!?!?

I spend about an hour a day scrubbing floors only to turn around and have them messed up 30 minutes after we get back from a walk.

So although I feel bad about crating them (I know I shouldn't) I have to. I just want to know how long until they get use to it and stop crying the whole time? My neighboors already don't like dogs (Koreans) and I hate to give them real excuses to.

[red dog]

I don't know what to say, but I'm getting worried because Bangsiri has been backtracking on her housetraining quite a bit lately. I made her spend some time in her crate last night, but crating her while I'm at work seems excessive because I'm away for such a long time.

She was doing so well too ... I'm really not sure why she's taken a step backward.

[Paul and Amy]

hahaha... is she part yorkie? yorkshires are notorious for being hard to house train... I'm still cleaning up after Tank. Well, because he is so small, I think I'm going to keep him on pee pee pads (oh I know, the crime against nature... He's awesome when I'm in the room with him but as soon as I leave, there's pee pee everywhere. It usually helps when I spend time with him on the weekends. Then he'll be good for Monday and Tuesday then... kind of regress on Wednesday... lol. I'm just here for emotional support because I'm kind of going through the same thing.. but yeah, does anyone have advice? ;)

[Misslizzy3107]

I wish pee pads were a training option for me. But for one they don't hold enough for Soju's 12 gallon pees and 50 lbs poops. Plus he LOVES to "kill" them. Then I get to have fun and clean up shreded pee strips.

Its really stressful. I am not sure what I am going to do if and when I have children.

[red dog]

Bangsiri may be part Yorkie, but I'm not sure ... she's definitely got some Chihuahua in her, but she's much furrier than a Chihuahua in her natural state and some people think she's a Yorkie.

She made a lot of messes when I first brought her home in February, but within a short time she seemed to have mostly trained herself. I didn't really know how to go about housetraining her, and I didn't have a lot of time, but I used the crate more often in the beginning and then gradually gave her more freedom. I've never taken away the pee pad, though, because it seemed unfair to make her hold her bladder all day while I was at work. I guess that could have contributed to the problem.

She had surgery last week to remove a benign tumour from her toe, and I had someone come over to clean the apartment yesterday when I was at work, so I guess she's been under some stress lately. Hopefully we'll get back on track soon.

[luvadog]

Right now I am overwelmed with 3 pups and it seems as if all I do is clean up puppy puddles...It had only been 2 hours since I let them out...I spend about an hour a day scrubbing floors only to turn around and have them messed up 30 minutes after we get back from a walk.
My friend who has a sharpei puppy says she was told they were marking..even puppies...even females. They will eventually stop. And remember, they have small bladders. Have you got a cage with a wire bottom that can be used as a potty? Not the crate. My yorkie used to pee in the bed because she's just too little to get down. I began putting her in the cage first thing in the morning whether it was 4 or 7am getting up to shower or to go pee myself. She did it in the cage and I praised and praised. (no punishment at all) She just learned it. Now she lets me know any time of the day or night and I put her in the potty cage and she does her trick. The others are learning too. I was amazed this morning when I took the 2 other yorkies out of their crates and put them on the floor. Each ran separate ways...one(CheonSa) to the bathroom and the other (Punky) to Lassie's cage to pee. I wish I had a video! (BTW, I don't normally keep the yorkies crated but right now they are both recovering from kennel cough and pneumonia and I keep them in it with a cover at night. Punky was in an incubator for a week. And Lassie has the run of the apt even though she has a cage where I feed her and it's her space. If I don't cage everyone during feeding time, Maggie steals everybody's food in about 3 minutes flat.) Also, have you tried doggy diapers? You can use baby diapers for dogs with no tail or cut a hole for the tail. And you can make your own cheap male doggy diaper by cutting a strip of pee pad and taping it around his waist over his "thingy." Works great! I got the idea from a male diaper I bought from PetsMart for $10.00. It has velcro to slip on and off. Haven't seen them here but maybe you can order one.

[red dog]

I took a look at the Ed Frawley link, and that guy sounds extremely strict with his dogs. Is it really necessary to be that strict, especially with rescue babies? He doesn't even let his dogs sleep in his room ... I'd have to put Bangsiri out in the kitchen if I followed his advice. (She's out of my bed for at least a week, though.)

[LolaMarigolda]

I took a look at the Ed Frawley link, and that guy sounds extremely strict with his dogs. Is it really necessary to be that strict, especially with rescue babies? He doesn't even let his dogs sleep in his room ... I'd have to put Bangsiri out in the kitchen if I followed his advice. (She's out of my bed for at least a week, though.)

Honestly, Frawley sets dog training back at least 20 years (and don't get me started on Milan). I know of very few people who use that train of thought now days. I can accomplish much more, much faster by using positive reinforcement. I do however, believe NILF (nothing in life is free) also works great for rescue babies, in the beginning since you can use it to show them exactly what good things (food and physical love) come from people.

On a personal note, I do control access to the kitchen while I'm cooking. If I'm using the stove, neither dog is allowed past the doorway. It is for their own protection. The reminder, "I"m cooking." is enough to stop them and they will then lay in the doorway until I can ask what they want/see to them.

[sarah24]

i dont remember where but i saw this thing online somewhere that keeps a dog from peeing usually male, its like a wieght lifting belt but for dogs it goes around thier waist and pressses against thier 'thingy' so they have to hold it..

[Karen]

For housetraining I followed the Humane Society's "rules": make a routine, supervise constantly, confine when you can't supervise (up to (#of months old +1) hours, but usually 4 hours max). More details on their housetraining approach is at the first link, here (http://www.animalrescuekorea.org/links/browselinks.php?c=7).

[luvadog]

i dont remember where but i saw this thing online somewhere that keeps a dog from peeing usually male, its like a wieght lifting belt but for dogs it goes around thier waist and pressses against thier 'thingy' so they have to hold it.. The one I got at PetsMart allows them to pee but catches like a diaper. Toby only marks at the vet, and he's very aggressive with it so I have headed home with a smelly diaper in a bag many times. I know-I know...I know...I'm supposed to hold him!

[red dog]

Thanks Karen, that sounds like a good strategy. I'm just worried that confining her while I'm at work would be counterproductive because she might pee in her crate. (She's done that a few times.) Plus it's hard for me to do much because by the time I see the accident, she's already forgotten it. I'm trying to praise her more when she goes to the bathroom outside, and to bring treats with me ...

I also stopped by the vet's office on the way back from our walk last night, and the vet said it could be stress from her recent operation, the heat, etc. I guess I could be stressing her out unintentionally as well.

[Misslizzy3107]

Soju-Panda hates hates the crate. I put all 3 pups in the crates last night and he cried or barked for AN HOUR! So much for puppies getting tired of making noise.

What do yall think of using baby gates to make a pen? I don't want to separate them while I am gone all day. But cleaning up one small area rather than the whole balcony would cut cleaning time. I looked at a wire pen at emart . . . but they weren't big enough for half of Soju's body.

Peeing isn't a problem for Soju . . . he hasn't peed in the house in weeks. It’s the pooping. In fact this morning I took him out at 4 am where he did do his business BUT at 0530 he crapped all over my shower and then again when we went out 10 minutes later.

Do they make butt plugs for big puppies?!?!?!?!

[Paul and Amy]

hahahahahahahaha.
They sell wire grates for dogs - not the small crates but the 6 panel gate thing... this website has them.

http://www.dogcafe.co.kr/productDetail.php?mainType=00&subType=132&UrlCode=0013006&page=1&productNum=31040

in korean it's called chul-jang. chul meaning metal and jang meaning place.
it's usually around 20,000W. I think baby gates cost more? I know for a fact that lotte mart sells them - emart probably does too. also, you can link more than 1 set of them together to make a huge pen. You can also unfold them to make a gate.

[Paul and Amy]

Also about crapping. I would feed them less. Puppies probably need to poop around 3 - 4 times a day. Some dogs will obviously eat more if given. My vet told me when I first got Tank that I should monitor his poos - they should be straight (it shouldn't curl), of a firm consistency.... She told me that if he pood more, then I should cut down the amount I give him. As he gets older, she said he should poop less, maybe 1 to 2 at most. Some dogs she said poop every other day when they are mature.

[red dog]

Bangsiri seems to have more of an appetite these days as well ... I just assumed that was a good thing. I always let her have as much food (kibble) as she wants since she's not overweight ... but now that I think of it, she probably is pooing more than before.

[Misslizzy3107]

oh wow that does make a lot of sense. Soju gets to eat as much as he wants and I have yet to see him poop anything really solid. It is always like soft serve at best. This morning it was liquid.

I suppose he won't starve to death if I feed him once or twice a day.

Thanks alot guys. I will start looking for the gate. At least I can put paper under the metal and Soju can't eat it.

[LolaMarigolda]

Also about crapping. I would feed them less. Puppies probably need to poop around 3 - 4 times a day. Some dogs will obviously eat more if given. My vet told me when I first got Tank that I should monitor his poos - they should be straight (it shouldn't curl), of a firm consistency.... She told me that if he pood more, then I should cut down the amount I give him. As he gets older, she said he should poop less, maybe 1 to 2 at most. Some dogs she said poop every other day when they are mature.

With the foods I'm seeing for sale over here, I don't see how a dog would only be going every other day. The only decent food I've found (Evo by Innova), I had to e-mail the company about and they had the local rep e-mail me back. Going grain free and 1/2 RAW has my two going once a day (and it is nice and small).

[Misslizzy3107]

what do you feed them on a raw diet?

Right now I am feeding them Iams (I get it on base) but am interested in seeing if raw works. I am actually in process of going raw myself.

[LolaMarigolda]

I'd suggest (for anyone) wanting to feed raw that they either join the yahoo raw group or read a couple of the main Dogster threads in their Raw forum. The second link has info on the magic spreadsheet. You plug in how much the dog weighs and it calculates how much meat, bone, and organ you need to feed.

So You want to feed RAW (http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_Diet/thread/431875)

Personal Raw feeding guide (http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_Diet/thread/491589)

My little guy eats cornish hen quarters (one hen makes 4 meals), occassional chicken legs (I'm picky about his meat not having chemical flavor enhancers/extra sodium), rabbit (when I can get it), lamb, various pork, venison, bison, cow. He can't actually eat the larger bone, but the gnawing process cleans the teeth. He eats the smaller boned stuff bone-in. Dogs that don't get enough bone on the diet can get calcium deficient, plus it can make the meat give them the splarts. I generally feed his organ mix once a week. I still feed kibble because I haven't been completely happy with what is available (meat wise) over here.

I've been ordering food in for the last 6 months. Shipping fees are killing me, so I was happy to find the local evo dealer. I'll still have to order the occassional bag of Orijen6 Fish and Taste of the Wild.

My big girl has been pretty limited on RAW. Chicken leg quarters are the smallest that she can have and getting non-enhanced meat is hard. Turkey didn't agree with her. She's been fine with beef, but we are slowly adding the pork since it seems to be the splartiest. We don't have the wide selection of meats available that we had in the US, which is driving me crazy.

[luvadog]

[QUOTE=Misslizzy3107;5834]oh wow that does make a lot of sense. Soju gets to eat as much as he wants and I have yet to see him poop anything really solid. QUOTE]

Yeah, same here. Monday, Dr. Umm at Macro told me to first try cutting the feed of the ones who have had diahrea (Lassie and Maggie.) I let the little ones eat as much as they want except my first yorkie, Umbee who's a little pudgeball. Umbee uses the bathroom in the cage faithfully now.

[luvadog]

Well, I can say the vet's advice to cut back on food has worked. Lassie is very normal again from being a cow poop machine. Maggie still has some diahrea, but Maggie was the only one with a high fecal bacterial count which was very active...probably due to the dirty conditions at the shelter. I'll wait another day then have her checked for that again. She's also in heat right now so that might contribute to the diahrea.

[red dog]

This link may be helpful for some of us:

http://www.ontariospca.ca/2-behavtips-dog4.shtml

Bangsiri is getting back on track. I think her gums and toe were stressing her out.

[gojulie]

I am not sure what to do. We have tried all of the following:

1. We tried to train him in the big wire crates. He pees all over whenever he is in there and we had to throw out a few sets of doggie blankets/towels and beds.

2. We tried the smaller cage, he really freaks out when he is in this one and pees all over himself within a couple of hours.

3. We bought pee pads but he ignores them.

4. We moved his food and water to places where he pees often, but normally he will just pee right where he eats, once in a while, over his food and water dishes.

We try to discipline him when we catch him peeing on the floor, but with teaching during the day, we don't always catch him. We take him out in the morning, noon, in the evening and at least twice during the late evening. He still pees within 2 hours of going out and having a pee outside.

I am not sure if this is relevant but he is a REALLY high strung, shakey, whiny little dog. He goes whiny and crazy of you even touch your coat or move towards the door.

My husband is at wits end, we don't know what to do. We have tried everything we can think of. I don't want to get rid of the little bugger, but it has been 8 months and I can't seem to get anything to work.

Any suggestions would be wonderful!

[luvadog]

I really sympathize with you because Maggie did and still does the same thing peeing on her blankets, beds, etc. She's also blind so when she's out of the cage, she will poop and walk thru it and I come home to a mine-field in my living room. When she's in the cage, she poops and steps on it and gets it all over and I used to bathe her almost daily. And trying to clean a blanket with poop all over it before putting it into the washing machine, was no fun. I was so happy to get her out of the shelter and into a nice place with a comfy blanket/bed. Thank Goodness though she has improved and is now low maintenance (compared to before.)

I'll try to answer each of your Q's 1-4.....

[QUOTE=gojulie;7870]I am not sure what to do. We have tried all of the following:

1. We tried to train him in the big wire crates. He pees all over whenever he is in there and we had to throw out a few sets of doggie blankets/towels and beds.

Don't throw them out. Cut up some quilts and keep washing them. (You can also get some small rugs for about 2000 won.) But don't leave them in there all the time. I had to give up on giving Maggie a comfy bed. She went back to sleeping on the wire bottom, but she was happy just to be with me.

2. We tried the smaller cage, he really freaks out when he is in this one and pees all over himself within a couple of hours.

Keep him in the big wire cage, no blankets for a while (When dogs are boarded this is how they're kept. I left Toby at the vet for boarding and left a blanket with him and when I picked him up 5 days later, he and the blanket smelled like urine. You can't avoid it.)

You will also have to tape some cardboard (or clear plastic if you can find it) on the sides because the boys pee out the sides of the cages all over the floors and walls.

3. We bought pee pads but he ignores them.

I wouldn't use them just now. Let him pee thru the metal bottom and clean the poop as soon as possible. You may have to bathe him a lot. I hope he's small! Try using the small cage for a potty after he starts controlling himself.

4. We moved his food and water to places where he pees often, but normally he will just pee right where he eats, once in a while, over his food and water dishes.

Feed and water him at a specific time and make sure he's hungry. Don't give him free reign of the home at any time. Don't leave dry food out for him to pee in it. Just during feeding. So have a wire fence for feeding. Give him about 10 minutes to eat and drink then put him back in the big wire cage...24/7 for a while. You need to do this for your nerves and for him, so he can stay with you. Remember, it's only temporary.

Eventually, you can use the small wire cage for a potty. When you come home, take him out of the big wire cage and put him in the small one (with cardboard around the edges so he doesn't spray the walls.) When you get a routine going, he's stopped peeing in the big cage, then you can start giving him blankets in the big cage.

We try to discipline him when we catch him peeing on the floor, but with teaching during the day, we don't always catch him. We take him out in the morning, noon, in the evening and at least twice during the late evening. He still pees within 2 hours of going out and having a pee outside.

Keep him caged. You can also use a cage and fence to give him more room when you're gone a long time. Then you just clean it up and go from there. No punishment if it's already done. My idea of discipline is scolding and making them ashamed of what they did. I think if they're spanked, they get scared and angry and just do crazier things. Another good way is scaring them with noise. To make mine quiet now, I hit a 2 liter water bottle on the wall and they hate the noise. The surprise makes them stop what they're doing and stand at attention. ha! You can try this for his whning. It worked with mine instantly.

I am not sure if this is relevant but he is a REALLY high strung, shakey, whiny little dog. He goes whiny and crazy of you even touch your coat or move towards the door.

Probably. One of my yorkies is that way and she's good about peeing in the bathroom or pee pad but immediately pees little spots all over the place, like she's marking. With her, I have been using diapers/pants so she can be free. I don't let her in my loft (bedroom) without strict supervision though. She pees on my bed every time.:(

I think Chunsa will eventually calm down and stop doing this. My feeling is that if she wasn't directly abused, some young child was allowed to treat her like a toy and throw her around. With a LOT of attention and very calm love/petting, she has gotten better. But when we go out, she loves to run like the EverReady bunny!

My husband is at wits end, we don't know what to do. We have tried everything we can think of. I don't want to get rid of the little bugger, but it has been 8 months and I can't seem to get anything to work.

Keeping him caged 24/7 for a while is better than giving up on him.

Any suggestions would be wonderful!

When you're home, and want to leave him loose, diaper him by wrapping a strip of pee pad around his waist and taping it. Boy dogs are good with this cheap method.

Good Luck !! You need a vacation! :o

[luvoboe]

With my 4 month old Shih-tzu, I made it my mission for him never to have an accident in the house. That way, I wouldn't have to worry about breaking that habit. So, in order to keep accidents from happening, I kept him on a leash next to me at all times.

The first week I had him, I took him out ever hour. At night, he slept with me with the leash still on. That way, if he tried to jump out of the bed, it would wake me up. The second week, I moved it to going out every 2 hours. The next week was every three hours and after a month we were up to 4 hours.

After a month of no accidents and holding it for 4 hours during the day, I thought it was safe to let him off the leash but still where I could see him. I kept it at 4 hours for 2 weeks and moved it up an hour. I could have gone faster, but I didn't have any reason to rush so I went super slow. During this time, he was never left alone. I didn't work and had a bag that I'd put him in whenever I had to go somewhere dogs weren't allowed.

I was actually planning to keep him in a crate when I left him, but he had horrible horrible horrible separation anxiety so I just took him everywhere. I eventually trained him to hold it for 12 hours. It's a bit extreme, but I did it so that I know he will be ok if I have to go out and miss his afternoon walk.

The whole process took about 4 months and he had one accident which was actually my fault. So, my advice is to not let him have any freedom until you can trust him. It's not a bad thing to keep them confined. When you're not home, keep him in a crate. When you are home, keep him on a leash and take him out a lot. Make it so he doesn't have any accidents in the house.

When you get to where he holds it for as long as you want him to, wait a week or two, and then give him some freedom. It took a while before I could trust him at night out of his crate, but now he's totally trustworthy. Even when I'm not home I could keep him out of the crate. I still use the crate, though because he and the big dog run around like a bunch of wild hoodlums ripping up everything in sight. But that's a whole different problem....

[luvoboe]

It also sounds as though you may be dealing with some separation anxiety. One of the ways our shih tzu would act out if left alone would be to go to the bathroom. He would just be so nervous about being alone that he would pee and poo and bark nonstop. He would get so nervous that he would have the runs for a couple of days after he was left alone.

I don't have any advice for separation anxiety. We tried everything, leaving the tv on, giving him his favorite treat only when we left him, leaving him for only 5 minutes and building up to longer times, (we never could get past 5 minutes), video recording me talking and playing it for him while I was gone and probably more things that I just can't remember. He would happily chew on his toys until we left and then he would freak out and do all the stuff he normally does.

With the videos, he would just bark over it. We video recorded him to see if he ever calmed down and he barked and scratched and was crazy the whole 4 hours he was alone. He also went to the bathroom repeatedly. We finally just gave up and got him his own pet dog. That solved that problem, but created another one because our big dog likes to chew up our floors and walls while we're gone. Good luck if it is separation anxiety.

If not, just try a set routine and limit his freedom and see if he starts holding it on his own. If you put him in a crate everyday and take him out to go to the bathroom everyday at the same time, at first he may go to the bathroom in his cage, but after a while he'll learn that he will have access to a bathroom and will start holding it. They really don't like going where they sleep so it doesn't take long. But, the cage, at first has to be a little small. Just big enough for him to lay down, stand up, turn around, and sit down.

Since you're able to get home to walk him at lunch, I'd say it doesn't need food or water. Just take him outside as soon as you get home. Then give him food and water right away and then walk him one more time right before you put him in the cage. When you're home, watch him like a hawk and take him out very frequently at first. It really helps to keep him on a leash. That way if he starts looking like he's going to pee, just take him right outside.

But if he just came from outside, try to distract him and make him hold it. You want him to get into the habit of holding it and not just going whenever. Make his schedule super regular and predictable at first so he learns the schedule and starts holding it.

Also, if you have a couple weeks vacation coming up, spend that time training him. It actually doesn't take that much time to housetrain a dog,( with my first dog I took things extra slow and spent 4 months training him but the other two were trained in less than a week and one was a rescue dog who was trained to go to the bathroom inside the house. In fact, she'd hold it outside and wait until she was back inside to go!!!), but it does take some effort to make it so they don't have any mistakes in the first place.

It's really hard if you're working, so during vacation time is the best time to do the hardcore training. During vacation, work on training him to hold it for however long he would have to hold it during work weeks plus an hour or two.

[LolaMarigolda]

Luvoboe, that is about the best way to accomplish it. I'm a firm believer in setting a schedule (including only feeding at specific times) so as to facilitate quicker housebreaking. Between crating and umbilical tethering, people can learn those subtle signs that dogs give when they need to potty.