Housebreaking

[Mainetarr]

Help me out here.  I have a four year old yellow lab and we got an OEM at 5 weeks old.  Milo, the mastiff, came to us early because his mom was not producing milk and we bottle fed him since 2 weeks old.  He is three months old now, 39lbs, very healthy.  When we first got him, we were crate training him when we were not home, but when we were home, he was allowed to roam downstairs.  His crate was upstairs.  At about 8 weeks, we got rid of the crate and let him roam freely.  He only chews toys and was pretty much housebroken.  Well, about two weeks ago, he started having "accidents" a couple of times a day, and it is just escalating.  Now, he is peeing and pooping all over the place.  We always scold him when we catch him and direct him back outside.  He is not "getting it" and I have brought the crate back in. How much do you use the crate?  Pleeeeaaasssee ee, what can I do to housebreak that little rascal?  Our lab, Bailey, was a breeze.  He would go to the door and bark.  Any suggestions would be so appreciated.

[Gypsy Jazmine]

Hello & welcome you & your puppers to BPO!!...It sounds as if you are doing the right thing with Milo when he does potty in the house but I'd advise that you go back to crating until he gets it completely...H ow much to use the crate?....As often as you can't be with him if you are using it for housebreaking purposes...Or, if you prefer, give him a much smaller area like a bathroom, laundry room, or kitchen & baby gate him...He might have too much area if he gets to roam the whole house & might not realize that ALL that is his area & he shouldn't "go" there...both trainers we have used said you have to literally keep the pup with you at all times to successfully housebreak...B oth said to literally leash the dog to you to ensure you can catch them int he act & then Milo must be corrected during the act of innappropriate elimination orwithin a few seconds after or he will not know why he is being reprimanded & the, as you are doing, take him out & use whatever potty words you like...We always used potty outside...When Milo does relieve himself outside then you can say "potty outside...Good boy!...potty outside!" & he should learn to equate the words with the action.
I am wondering if Milo is at a disadvantage because he had to leave his mother too early...Mama dog does the first "housebreaking" by pushing the pups out of the whelping area when they are old enough after they eat, sleep, or play...Same as we do when we housebreak...W e are just following what Mama Dog has already started.
If Milo was reliable to potty outside & then really regressed in his housebreaking I might take him in for a vet checkup to make sure there isn't an underlying health issue such as a UTI...Good luck & keep us posted!
Now I'll introduce myself & my BIG paws...I'm Chelle & I live in Iowa with my hubby, 2 skin, kids, 8 cats, (& one 6 week old foster kitten who might be staying) 2 house bunnies, a guinea pig princess, & my puppers...Sams on is 2 today & Pippin was 1 & 1/2 this past Wed...They are both Great Pyrenees...Rec ently we lost our rescue Kuvasz mix girl...Her name was Rosie & she was probably around 3 yrs. old.
I hope you'll enjoy your time here with us & that Milo "gets it" soon!

[doggylover]

Hi!  Boy this issue is close to home for us right now.  We have a 5 1/2 year old male Rotty (Badger) who only went potty in the house twice.  He is apparently brilliant.  Now we have a 9 week old female bullmastiff puppy (Goshawk) and after one week she was going to the door on her own to go out for potty.  I was sure she was trained.  Then, she had a boo boo on her big brother's bed and I spanked her bottom and took her outside.  I think the spanking was so upsetting to her that she forgot everything she had learned to that point, out of fear (mind you, it was more like a love tap on the muscular hiney combined with my scary mommy voice, but she is sensitive). 
I learned a few things here.  First off, a dog isn't potty trained until it is 100% potty trained, never any accidents (unless medical or old age related), and trustworthy in the house for long periods of time with out a boo boo.  It is actually bad for a dog to have 'too much rope to hang himself'.  I made the mistake of thinking, "she is trained, I can leave it up to her".  She is a baby and she isn't trained until she totally understands everything on her own. 
Personally I wouldn't leave a dog alone in any house without being in his/her crate until around 2 years of age.  Worse things than pee/poo can happen.  Your sweet dog could chew an electrical cord and die, or eat something one time- totally out of character normally but tempting just this once, and die. 
Badger wasn't allowed free run of the house until he had shown us that he could be trusted repeatedly for extending periods of time. 
I would try as best as you can to start over as if training never happened.  Bring the crate back in (imo until the dog is two years old-minimum) and crate him when you can't monitor him.
For me, it is really hard when the dog pees in the house after I thought s/he was trained.  We are smarter than our dogs, so it falls on US to teach them how we want things to be in our home. 
I know this is just SO frustrating, but hang in there...
    

[Gypsy Jazmine]

We are smarter than our dogs

speak for yourself! 

[Lyn]

I agree with what's been said already. Too much freedom too soon. My pup is 14.5 weeks old right now and she is never out of my site. If I need to do something (go the bathroom or start a load of laundry.. etc..) and can't watch her 100% then I hook her leash (which she drags around all day) to one of my kitchen cupboards. It's one of those cupboards that doesn't open, fake cupboard or whatever they call them, lol. I've been doing that since day one so she will just lay down and wait for me to return. We don't use a crate with our pups.. just personal preference though. My hubby doesn't like them.. I on the other hand would LOVE to have crate so I could at least take a bath without having to take her with me. 

By the way Milo is adorable! And welcome to BPO.

Edited because I can't spell.. LOL

[newflvr]

 We are smarter than our dogs
speak for yourself!

HEAR! HEAR!!

[doggylover]

We are smarter than our dogs
speak for yourself!

HEAR! HEAR!!

Well, I mean, not smarter in terms of actual IQ....I meant that we are smarter in terms of being able to open the fridge to get their food (they can't open the fridge door), we can open the front door to let them out, we are able to reach that spot on their back for scratching that they can't reach.  We are smarter in that we can do stuff they can't do! 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHA

[Gypsy Jazmine]

We are smarter than our dogs
speak for yourself!

HEAR! HEAR!!

Well, I mean, not smarter in terms of actual IQ....I meant that we are smarter in terms of being able to open the fridge to get their food (they can't open the fridge door), we can open the front door to let them out, we are able to reach that spot on their back for scratching that they can't reach.  We are smarter in that we can do stuff they can't do! 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHA

I know what you meant silly! But, I do want to add that we have to put a baby gate across our sliding patio door because Pippin learned to unlock it & open it...Then we put a stick in the track & thought that'd fix his little red wagon!...Nope, he learned to take the stick out & then he'd unlock it, open it & let everyone out...I don't know what we'll do if he learns to get that babygate down...but I see him looking at it...Oh yes I do.
Now, back to the thread in progress.

[Mainetarr]

Thank you all so much for the advice, I was really beginning to freak out a little.  I did talk to the vet, who checked for a UTI and he is all clear, no UTI.  We brought the crate back in just like day one and he is doing fine.  No accidents all day, I am happy, he is happy, we are all happy.  The vet explained the whole "den" concept, and it's true, he really does love the crate.  Thanks again to all of you, what a beautiful bunch of babies you all have.  I will keep you posted on the progress he makes.

[doggylover]

OMGoodness!  Me thinks we have another pupper for the now extensive kidnap list!  Milo is one CUTE stinker!  I'm so happy to hear that our thoughts helped!  Housebreaking is the WORST.  When the pup pees on my carpet, I spend the whole time outside with her thinking about the pee draining down into the pad and floorboards.  I LOVE sitting on the floor, and laying on the floor, and I can't stand the idea of it being a giant litter box. 
Good luck and post a bunch of pictures!

[doggylover]

We are smarter than our dogs
speak for yourself!

HEAR! HEAR!!

Well, I mean, not smarter in terms of actual IQ....I meant that we are smarter in terms of being able to open the fridge to get their food (they can't open the fridge door), we can open the front door to let them out, we are able to reach that spot on their back for scratching that they can't reach.  We are smarter in that we can do stuff they can't do! 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHA

Yeah, BIG difference between "smarter than" and "have more opposable thumbs than"--get it straight, woman!   

LOLOL hey opposable thumbs is why humans rule the world, don't knock it!

[Gypsy Jazmine]

We are smarter than our dogs
speak for yourself!

HEAR! HEAR!!

Well, I mean, not smarter in terms of actual IQ....I meant that we are smarter in terms of being able to open the fridge to get their food (they can't open the fridge door), we can open the front door to let them out, we are able to reach that spot on their back for scratching that they can't reach.  We are smarter in that we can do stuff they can't do! 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHA

Yeah, BIG difference between "smarter than" and "have more opposable thumbs than"--get it straight, woman!   

LOLOL hey opposable thumbs is why humans rule the world, don't knock it!

Yeah, humans might rule the world but who rules our lives?...I don't see my dogs picking up my poop, making sure I eat on time, or adoring me while I just lie around waiting on my next treat, meal or belly rub!
Sam & Pippin said we can keep our global ruling & our opposable thumbs & while we are at all that they are wondering if someone can get them a cookie?