Cant potty train stubborn 5 month puppy

[lordylordy]

I have an american pit bull terrier, she’s a 5 month female. I’m having a really difficult time training her, it’s been 2 months since we got her and she still isn’t potty trained. I have 2 other dogs and they use the dog pads I lay down for them. I take them out 2 - 3 times a day so they play on the grass and go potty.

This puppy refuses to listen to me and pees EVERYWHERE I’m doing the same thing I did with my other dogs, which is catching her in the act, yelling no while I clap my hands and then placing her on the pads while saying “go potty on the pads” so she can associate having to pee on the pads and not on the floor when she needs to go and I’m not home. I live in a high-rise apt and taking her out on time is pretty hard bc we pretty much never makes it on time before she pees in the elevator.

It’s been 2 months of this and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Can someone give some advice to help me teach her to go on the pads or at least not on the elevator? It’s honestly very frustrating because she drinks a lot of water and usually pees around 10+ times a day all over the house.

H E L P

 

[eront]

@lordylordy A lot of dogs don't understand pee pads, they learn that they can pee in the house and that's that.

You should never ever ever punish (yelling/clapping/etc) accidents. You should immediately bring them where you want them to go.

It sounds like you really need a schedule.

 

[lordylordy]

@eront I agree about putting her on a schedule and yeah, I’ll just keep trying and no more clapping. I’m not trying to frighten her or anything. Just trying to make her understand that there’s a designated area where she can go if she can’t wait for me to take her outside.

 

[eront]

@lordylordy You just silently take her over. No clapping, no shouting, nothing. Because, all you're doing is creating a dog who will go without you present, because potty + you = startle.

 

[lordylordy]

@eront Yeah, I’ve noticed that she’s now doing it when my back is turned or I leave the room. Then I’ll just turn around and step in it

 

[inquirer2016]

@lordylordy It seems highly likely that she's a sensitive pup and you're teaching her the pads are a scary place by startling her and then bringing her to them.

You also mention what you've been doing to correct accidents but not what you've done to train her. What has that looked like?

 

[lordylordy]

@inquirer2016 I never thought about it that way!

She knows how to sit and stay which she learned pretty easily. Leave it and lay down weren’t that successful and I’m still working on it with her. She always comes when called and is very playful. I’ve been waiting for her to get all of her shots so I can take her to puppy training clases since it’s a requirement. Her 3rd round of shots is in 2 days.

 

[inquirer2016]

@lordylordy Not training on other commands. What have you done to train using the pads. Do you take her to the pads at set intervals, give a potty command, and give praise and treats for successes? What have you been doing to teach her where the right place is to begin with?

 

[discussdocs]

@lordylordy Don’t get discouraged by everyone who will say bad things about pee pads. I trained my pup fine on it and we transitioned outside fine.

My pup hasn’t had an accident since he was 10 weeks old and I was trained that for dogs, it’s the concept of “rooms” rather than material or area. Hence, I put my pee pads in a large litter pan so he learned he needs to go AFTER his 4 paws are inside.

Are you still treating heavily for every good potty moment? I treat my dog every single time despite it having been over 2 months since our last accident. I don’t plan on stopping for the rest of his life.

 

[lordylordy]

@discussdocs Thanks my other 2 dogs use them just fine. I lay them out just in case they can’t hold it if I’m not in the apt. The large litter pan is a great idea and yes I always treat her and tell her she did and amazing job and what a good girl she is but she goes on the pad like 1 in 25 times lol at least it’s something. I see people are telling me not to clap my hands and yell no when she has accidents so I’m also gonna try that from now on

 

[jesusismysavior]

@lordylordy Get rid of the puppy pads Bc it’s confusing for your dog and only reward good behavior. You need to immediately bring your pup outside when you notice she wants to go and throw a whole dang party when she does! Literally neighbors caught me outside dancing many times w broken up treats. Also, if there are any older dogs around w all their shots, I would let her spend the night w one. That sped up my process tremendously even at 9 weeks w a friend’s dog. And put her on a schedule!

 

[patjrooney]

@lordylordy Even if you are using pee pads you still need to follow a schedule. Bring her there every hour. And after every nap, every meal, every play session. The training method is the same is if you were training her to go outside. You can't give her the chance to potty anywhere else at first because you should be preventing accidents before they happen.

I used pee pads at first with my puppy and he got it only after 1.5 months. Then I started to notice my high-rise apartment was a bit smelly even if I changed the pads constantly and decided to transition outside using the same method. He's 5.5 months now and I take him down 36 floors every 4hours - on the clock. It is annoying and gets boring very fast but that's what he needs and he was house broken in 2 weeks. At first I needed to hold him in my arms or otherwise he would do it in the carpeted corridor but that only lasted for about a week until he learned to recognize where we were going and wait.