She doesn't understand where to go!

by Kim
(NY)

I have a 7 month old silky terrier puppy. I have tried everything to potty train her, but she still doesn't understand that she can't go in the house if I have not taken her out.

I tried crate training and she just kept going in the crate so i had to take it away. I tried taking her out every 30 min to an hour and praised her a lot everytime she went. But no matter how much i praise her she still decided to pee on my floor if i didn't take her out. how or when will she know to tell me?

I want her to be able to let me know when she has to go. I take her out a lot throughout the day, but sometimes i wait a little to see what she does, or sometimes she has to go before her walk and she does on my floor. What else can i do ?


Hi Kim
At 7 months old, your puppy should have reasonable bladder and bowel control, so unless there's a physical problem somewhere, I would say she just hasn't really totally understood where she's allowed to eliminate.

If you haven't tried crate training for a while now, I'd suggest getting a crate that is the right size - only big enough for her to sit down, stand up, turn around and lay down, no bigger. Take her out everty30 mins to an hour, and gradually increase the period between potty breaks as she becomes accustomed to this.

It may also be worth having your veterinarian check her out to make sure she doesn't have a urinary tract infection, or anything that could be interfering with her bladder control.

DO NOT allow her free access to your home, unless she's being closely supervised, and watch for body language that indicates she needs to 'go'.

Circling, sniffing, and of course squatting, are all signs she needs to go outside now!

You can find tips and advice on potty training and crate training here:-

Potty Training

Crste Training A Puppy

Use an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle (find the best products on my DOg Urine Cleaning Products page) to clean areas where she's eliminated indoors. Regular cleaners and disinfectants won't remove all odors.

Some dogs never learn to actually tell their owners when they need to go, but she should learn to hold it until you let her out, as long as you don't wait too long.

If you're still having problems after this, you may want to consult a dog behavioral specialist or your veterinarian for more advice.

Best of luck!