Answer

 

Amanda:

 

That's good that you take him out often. I think that you either need to watch more closely or to use a crate for his naptime so you don't have to watch all the time. If he's peeing in the hallway after he awakens and drinks and you miss it, he basically thinks the hallway is a safe place to potty. Make sure you clean the hallway well with an enzymatic cleaner so that the smell of urine is gone.

 

So the trick is to get him to take his naptime in a small place - such as a crate (if he falls asleep outside of the crate you can gently pick him up and move him into the crate - if he wakes up, ignore him and he will tend to fall asleep again in the crate). Dogs tend to not want to eliminate in the place that they sleep. You are correct in that 9 weeks is young to be able to "hold-it" for long. The recommendation during the day is that a puppy can only be crated for his age in months plus one (thus, your puppy can only hold it for 3 hours at the most during the day). At night, if they are asleep, they can often hold it for longer. It definitely helps to have a puppy sleep in a crate at night (thus, if he wakes up and has to go, he will tend to cry, whine or get restless, thus, letting you know he needs to go out).

 

To teach him to indicate that he needs to go out, the crate can help if he learns to whine when he has to go. Be careful to not let him out of the crate if he is barking or whining to be let out when you know he does not have to go. You know he has to go when he's been asleep in the crate and then wakes up and whines. Furthermore, you can teach him to ring a bell to ask to go out. Hang a large craft bell or sleigh bell on the door you take him out of and each time you take him out to eliminate, ask, "do you want to go out!" as you place his nose near the bell and you gently tap it with your hand. If he ever, even accidentally, rings it on his own, ask if he wants to go out and take him out.

 

That's great that he is going outside when you take him - make sure to praise him and sometimes even have a small treat outside with you to give to him. A very important part of housetraining is teaching a young dog that outside with you watching is a great place to go. You want to build up the outside rewards prior to correcting going in the wrong places (it's best to supervise inside more than punish - and the punishment should never be harsh and never be sticking his nose in it).

 

Following is some additional advice concerning housetraining a dog:

 

Take him out on leash to the area that you wish him to potty in. Puppies tend to have to eliminate anytime when they change activities so you need to be able to guess when he has to go, take him out on leash then and reward him with praise and a treat for going outside (bring the treat out with you instead of bringing him back in for the treat).

 

A crate is a management tool to help teach your puppy how to "hold it". If you are not using a crate you will need a room with no carpet where he can safely be gated when you cannot watch him. Feel free to place some puppy pads or papers on the floor if you have to be gone for too long for him to hold it (i.e. over 3 hours for a 9 week old pup)

 

To work on housetraining him, during the day you need to develop a set schedule (it can vary some if your schedule has to change - but it does have to be a daily schedule). There are times that you know he will have to go, for example, first thing in the morning, after waking up from a nap, a certain period of time after eating or drinking, after playing. Keep a small notebook as a journal to get an idea of his schedule and when he has been successful in going outside and when he has had accidents.

 

The first most important part of housetraining is to take him out on leash so he cannot become distracted from the task at hand and so you can condition the area where you want him to eliminate in. Bring small yummy treats in your pocket. When he does squat, put a word to it such as "hurry" or "get busy" - at first say the word AS he is eliminating, then start to say it a bit sooner in time - i.e. as he is sniffing. When he is successful outside, praise and then give him a small treat. As I mentioned before, it is important to treat him outside and to not bring him back inside for the treat. So your job outside is to build a "bank account" of successes. We want him to really be praised and rewarded for going IN FRONT OF YOU outside.

 

A mistake people make is to catch the dog on mistakes too often inside without rewarding enough successes outside first and having the dog figure out that the solution to the riddle is "human present versus human absent" instead of "outside versus inside". Unfortunately, it is very true that it is always "safe" to go when a human is not around.

 

When your dog is inside and loose in the house, you need to be constantly watching him. Meaning do not take your eyes off of him for a second. It helps to keep him in the same room as you with a gate or closed door or to tether him to you via a leash and walk around with him tethered to you. If you cannot supervise, that's where the crate (or gated area) comes in. During the day a 9 week old puppy can hold it in the crate for his months of age plus one (meaning your puppy can be in the crate during the day for no longer than 3 hours at a time). At night pups can hold it for longer if they remain asleep.

When you catch him in the act of eliminating inside, say "ah ah" and take him outside.

 

You do not want to come down too hard and scare him, but you do want to educate and startle him enough that he stops in mid-stream or mid-poop! The best learning experience is when you catch him inside and the "ah ah" stops him and then you take him out and he continues the job outside for praise and a treat. If when you say "ah ah" you are having trouble catching him, then leave a line attached to his collar so you can grab it and go. Never leave the line on him when you are not supervising (actually until he is housetrained you must always be supervising anyhow). If somehow he has an accident that you did not see happen, just clean it with a good odor eliminating enzymatic cleaner (I do not let the pup watch me clean it up), but yell at yourself for not supervising, not at the puppy since you missed it.

 

How is he doing at night? Where does he sleep at night? Is he holding it all night? If so, that is great. If not, it does help to teach a puppy to sleep in a crate at night (the crate can be in your room near your bed).

 

It is very very typical for a puppy to be outside - even for hours at a time - and then come in and pee. The pup just does not yet understand. And if a pup is out for a long time, then outside becomes a place to do more than his business. It becomes a place to hang out, to rest and to play. It's best to have a puppy out less and teach the puppy that outside is for doing business (play with the puppy inside during supervised inside time). I don't mean to not take a puppy out at all for fun - definitely get the puppy socialized and okay with being outside - start to take short leash walks in the neighborhood. But do not confuse the potty area with the resting and play area. Oftentimes a puppy will be outside resting, playing and getting distracted and be too busy to stop and pee. When they get brought back inside they settle a bit and realize that "oops" I have to pee now - and the carpet looks like a fine place to go.

 

Remember that housetraining is about education, not about punishment. Your goal is to build up a "bank account" of successes going in front of you outside, catching him in the act of making a mistake inside and saying "ah ah" and redirecting him outside. That is how he will learn that housetraining means inside versus outside (and that it has nothing to do with whether you are present or absent).

 

For further info on housetraining check out my web site at http://www.personalizeddogtraining.com/ and click on the house training button.

 

Hope this is helpful. Good luck with your new puppy!