housebreaking puppies?

Question

I have a 4 1/2 month old bichon/yorkie mix and a 3 1/2 month old maltese/yorkie mix. I am having a terrible time with the housebreaking. They are practically living in a crate, except for the time out to eat, drink, and eliminate.I will take them out and they will pee then come into the house and pee within 5 minutes. Yes, I keep them out long enough and they usually squat at least twice. I give them such praises when they do go, I am sure the neighbors think I am crazy. If they do what they are supposed to do, I make sure they have play time and give them lots of attention. If not, it is back in crate for another 1/2 hr. I thought we were getting somewhere when I had 2 days with no accidents, but today it has been accidents all day long!!! I spend more time outside than I do in. They have been vet checked, so no physical problems. I cant understand why one minute the puppy will go to kitchen and look at door (like he is getting it) and the next time he will just squat on floor and go

I take them out every 45 minutes to 1 hour maximum! Yes, they have been checked by my vet. We have discussed this issue.

Answer 1

are you taking them out often enough? their bladders are a lot smaller than you probably think they are. have you taken them to the vet to see if they have a urinary tract infection?

Answer 2

are they in the crate all day while u are at work? I have a english bulldog pup and she rarely pees in the house but I'm home all day with her to take her out immediately when I see her start to squat. If you see that they are about to go make a loud sound to get their attention which help them to stop eliminating and look to see what is going on and then quickly pick them up and bring them outside to finish their business.

Answer 3

So that you can have your pups out of their crate more..get each of them a body harness and a 5-6 foot leash...attach each leash to your belt so they go wherever you go and are within sight... whenever you see either of them eyeing, pawing, circling (whatever it is they do before they go)..immediately walk them out where you want thwm to potty..use a command word while they go (be consistent) and treat immediately.

Another thing to consider is did you take too much on by having two new pups at the same time? You might consider rehoming one of them to give the right amount of time, attention, and patience puppies require.

Answer 4

Try hanging bells on the door handle. Ring the bells before you take them out, or better yet have the pups ring them somehow. In a short time they will realize when they ring the bells, they get let out. (Make sure they can reach them.) Also, they need the opportunity to ring them, so try gating them near the door if it's practical. I hope this helps, good luck.

Answer 5

It sounds like you're doing everything right...You might try taking them out a little more often. I know it sounds like a lot, but you have to keep in mind that these are small breed dogs, so they have much smaller bladders than other dogs. Maybe you need to restrict their water intake until they learn to hold it a little better. They're still pretty young, too, just hang in there.