[amoseley]

We have 2 poodle girls leah (11 weeks), and mocha 12 weeks. Mocha understands ringing the bells to go out and has not had any accidents. Leah has rung the bells a couple times but keeps wetting in the house. I have now gone back to having her in her crate or on leash at all times since she can't be trusted to signal. Today has been the worse.. leah normally goes out when we take mocha but today is rainy and more accidents.Any other suggestions? I feel bad her friend gets freedom and she doesnt...

 

[PeggyTheParti]

I generally confine unless tethered or closely supervised until we've had at least a few weeks accident-free. So that would apply to both your girls right now. The method I use is explained in detail here:

https://www.dogstardaily.com/files/downloads/AFTER_You_Get_Your_Puppy.pdf

Keeping detailed track of daily schedules (including accidents) is a good way to spot patterns and trouble shoot.

 

[cowpony]

I agree with Peggy that you will benefit from getting them on a schedule. It helps get their sleep cycle under control as well as the potty cycle. That helps a lot when you just want a quiet hour to sort through your kids' winter clothes without canine interference.

Dogs vary in how fast they get the housebreaking concept under control. I think 11 weeks makes Mocha a prodigy. (My boy Galen is still working on inside vs outside at 6 months.)

I have bad news for you. Just about the time when you finally feel it's safe to stop buying enzymatic cleanser by the gallon...they are going to start teething. 😵 I kept Pogo and Snarky locked in our puppy proofed sunroom any time we couldn't supervise them for much of their first year.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Peggy still spends time in her indoor exercise pen when she needs a little extra help settling. She turned 1 on May 26th.

I think that preventing mistakes is key. It's just so much easier to teach yes than no. The "no" possibilities are endless!

With this approach we've had only a single indoor poop accident, a handful of pees on soft things (until we smartened up and temporarily removed the soft things), and not a single piece of furniture or cherished belonging chewed on.....so far.

We've also had to occasionally take a few humbling steps backwards, like when she suddenly seemed to start teething again around her first birthday. But we just restricted her freedom back to puppy-proofed spaces for a week, and the phase passed quickly.

Peggy's taught me so much about being flexible, as well as the power of setting a puppy up for success.

 

[Dechi]

No 11 weeks or 12 weeks old puppy should be trusted to give signals to go outside. Not before a long time still. They need to be both on a schedule if you want to be done by the time they are 10-12 months old. Take them out every time they eat or drink, after a nap, after playing, after waking up and every 2 hours if none of those occurred.

It‘s very simple.