Housetraining NOT working!

[MassMomofTwins]

I'm sure this has been posted a thousand times but I still have questions. Bella gets to hang out in the house with me and my kids all day. I take her out at regular intervals and she does her business and then still comes back in to do it in the house again! We have been going to puppy classes and are using the clicker training method. She does great, responds to many commands and is even off leash outside. I am just wondering if letting her have the run of the house is too much? When she walks around I am getting up and following her all day. It's exhausting on top of the two kids. We also put a bell hanging off the back door and she hits it with her nose to go out. Sometimes she hits it after shes gone in the house and I'm starting to think the jokes on me! Should I crate her even though I'm home all the time? I need some help! Sorry for rambling.
Heather & Bella

[Dillydoodle]

Heather,
How old is Bella now? I would say that you should definately crate her when you can't watch her every second.. the run of the house is too much if she is still peeing in the house. Dillon did not get run of the house while I was home all day until he was about 9 months old. He stopped having accidents by 4 months of age, but i still only gave him a little at a time. So for example, when he first came home he had his crate and then we gated off the living room kitchen area for him so after he was in his crate for a bit, we would take him out, he would pee, then we would come in and play a bit out of the crate, and then he would be back outside again for a few for him to go again, then back in his crate, eventhough i am home. The only time i would take him out is if i could give him 100% of my attention . Until they are really consistantly going potty outside you should keep on using the crate or gates. Crate really is best as they dont want to soil that. then gradually increase the amount of space they get and the amount of time out of the crate... I am sure others will voice their opinions soon, hopefully you can get some good suggestions.

Emilie

[corgimom]

Heather,

I looked back at one of your recent posts and it looks like you have had Bella for about 2 1/2 weeks and she is just over 3 months old now? Cody was 11 weeks old when I got him and he was not potty trained in two weeks. He had some accidents, but it was because I was not paying attention and catching his signals. He only had access to our main level of the home, but I watched him as consistantly as I could and in the beginning I was taking him out every 1 to 2 hours.

You mention you have kids, and I can't remember how young they are, but add to that puppy training and it can be exhausting, but you have to be consistant and try to keep the same schedule each day in regards to feeding her and taking her out potty; and also after play time and when she drinks lots of water. You may also want to tie her leash onto you so you can keep a better eye on her and watch for cues that she needs to go, but I think it is going to be quite a while yet until she can be trusted in the house to not go.

Really, in time she will catch on; it really has not been long enough for her - Try not to get too frustrated; with consistency she will come around.

[Chip's Mom]

Chip was five to six months old when I could declare he was completely housetrained. We fixed him a 4 x 4 ft playpen and put his crate in that with peepads for him to use when we were not home or could not supervise him. It is a long haul. I am sure some of our pups were housetrained earlier and some later but it does take quite awhile. Just hang in there and be persistent and eventually yours will be pottytrained too.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by MassMomofTwins

Bella gets to hang out in the house with me and my kids all day. I take her out at regular intervals and she does her business and then still comes back in to do it in the house again!
<snipped>
I am just wondering if letting her have the run of the house is too much?

If she's having accidents in the house then yes, she has too much freedom. Anytime you can't physically watch her then she should be in a crate or puppy pen.

Or if you're overwhelmed with the kids then she should be in her crate for awhile.

Hang in there, as spring comes along it should get a bit easier and she can spend some of her time outside.

Even if she is responding in puppy class I would not have her off leash outside yet. She's too young to be really "trained" and reliable at coming when called. And puppies go through "make me" stages. You don't want her to learn that she can get away with not coming or being caught if she doesn't come.

Peggy

[Dillydoodle]

I remember the "make me" stage - I was so shocked when i called him and he just looked at me and kept sniffing around like he hadn't heard me and knew that i could not call him again, so i went and got him but i was mortified - he was about 8 months old when he first challenged my recall. I just stepped up practicing the recall and we got through it, though i still worry from time to time that he might revert back to that, and there have only been a few times that he has refused the call.
Emilie
Emilie

[LittlePonzo]

We used a 6 ft pen with Ponzo with Puppy Pads in it when we couldn't watch him. He would stay in there during the day, then play in the living room for a while, then back to the pen while I did dinner, then back out to play. We would put him back in the pen to use the pads when it looked like he needed it. We didn't train him to go all of the time outdoors until he was 4 1/2 months, which he picked up right away. HOwever, he did have two Make Me stages. One at about 5 months the other at about 8 months. The were pretty much "make me go outside to use the bathroom." I nipped that by giving him immediate treats when he relieved himself outside. Both times it was gone by the end of the week. Just stay consistent and you will see results soon.

[MassMomofTwins]

Thanks to everyone that has replied. The thing is, I do watch her every second and do sense her signals. I have clapped to distract her and even picked her up to bring her out. It just seems I remember my last Corgi being trained sooo quickly. But I guess it's just like kids. I am a little frustrated. I will start crating her more tomorrow.