About Cathy Johnson Expertise Questions relating to dog behavior, training and care. I've worked with most all breeds. I can provide solutions to destructive, aggressive and unwanted behavior, housebreaking issues, socialization problems, issues with kids, other dogs etc. When asking questions, please include as much information as possible about your dog (breed,age,how long you have had,when problem began,what you have tried - etc). It will assist me in giving you an answer that will help you best.
Experience Many years working with problem and rescue dogs with all sorts of behaviorial issues. I take on the most difficult dogs that need the most rehabilitation. I am a firm believer that there is a solution for EVERY problem and with a little bit of patience and persistance, the problem can be corrected.
Question I am house breaking 2 puppies(Boxers), they are both 3 months old now. I have had them since 7 weeks. The training is going great with one issue...the boy puppy is wetting at strange times. We were taking them out at 2:30am when the vet said to stop, the girl adjusted fine, the boy kept wetting right before the 5:30am time that they go out. So after several weeks we resorted back to taking them out at 3:30am with the intent to move that time back slowly. Well it was fine for 2 days but today we took them out at 3:30am and at 5:30 when we went down he had wet again?
I am unsure what to do, I understand that they are very young, I just want consistency in the training approach. I want to be sure I am doing this correctly to keep the dog from getting stressed. Also could this cause him to wet in his crate and "not mind" eventually creating a bad habit? Again this is the ONLY problem with the overall training. The girl is very good and can even wait if we are a few minutes late getting home, but the boy can not. He just wets, and wets.....please help these puppies are a joy, tremendously loved and I just want to be certain of what I should be doing to handle this minor issue and that he continues to enjoy being in his create which they both do.
Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Maggie
Answer Hi Maggie,
To me, it sounds like you are doing everything right. Hang in there. Some dogs (usually boys) are a little slower at getting the hang of things. They are still very young so I don't think you should worry at all at this point.
It is also possible that the boy is peeing when he hears you coming out of excitement - some people call that submissive peeing. The best way to cure that is to completely ignore it and not give him any reaction. Just take them out as usual with no punishment or anything. You don't want him to think that doing it is getting him extra attention.
Another thing that might be happening -- is when he is outside with his playmate, he might be too busy playing and forget to go potty. It might be a good idea to let them both in, and then let him out for a few minutes alone.
I've had dogs take as long as 6-8 months to really get it, so please be patient and keep up the good work with them. You were brave to take on two youngsters at once. Double trouble.
