Hey everyone,

I'm in a bit of a suckish situation, Orion is 4 months old today. Everything so far is going well and he's making a huge progress, and him peeing and pooping around the house is becoming more and more rare.

However today he managed to get behind the couch without us knowing, that's where my dad's photography stuff - bags and backgrounds - is. He peed and pooped all over it.

My dad saw it and obviously got extremely mad, but now he's telling me that I'm gonna have to go a little harder on Orion.

Here's the thing:
My other dog, Mindy, when we first got her she was 6 years old, and terrified of everything, she didn't know our house, so she peed everywhere. Eventually my dad threw a shoe at her and rubbed her nose in her pee. NOT something you should do. She was scared of him for a few YEARS after that, and my dad believes she 'learned' not to pee because of that. When we first got Orion and he peed and I was bringing him outside, my dad said 'no don't do it, just rub his nose in it and he'll learn'(obviously he got a big lecture from me about how you shouldn't be doing that).
Whenever Orion did something he isn't supposed to, a few times my dad raised his shoe(not to throw it but to scare him off) and when I told him not to do that because it'll just make Orion scared, my dad said, 'but he'll learn.'

And now he says 'go a little harder on the dog'. I'm sorry but if this is what he means then there's no way I'm gonna do it his way.

I tried to tell him that it's normal for puppies but no,
he says, 'I understand it's a puppy, but he just has to stop,' which obviously won't happen immediately. Another thing I told him, that it won't take two hours.

Agh... any advice?

Hey Orion,

I think you explained to your dad good stuff. Boy pups are more difficult to potty train, from what I have read. At this point he should be able to go every four hours. I would try every three hours, that means someone has to take him out every three hours and encourage him to potty, when he does reward him. That will eventually click that he potties outside he gets rewarded and when he goes inside he doesn't. If you catch him going inside, immediately pick him up with a firm no, and take him out and use the command you choose, go potty, even if it's a little bit outside reward him. Rewards can be a simple a face rub with happy good boy, small treat with good boy. Tethering him to you in the house makes it easier for you to keep track of him. Do you crate him? and can the rest of the family get on board with this? Repetition, consistency, patience.


Btw, your dad is on the old fashion training scheme, it's understandable, but huskies are sensitive little buggers, yelling or punishing makes for either a fearful dog or an aggressive/disrespectful dog, either way you don't want that.
Let us know how it goes.

Renee

That's what I do, and he's starting to get it. I will try the every-3-hours thing tho, since I did it every time I saw him sniffing around(at first it was every hour, tho.)

Thank you <: I will try to get it to work.

Orion, Rule of thumb is one hour for every month old, after they eat and/or drink, after they wake up from naps, after they play. They go a lot. crating him may discourage since they should not to go where they sleep, so after he's been in the crate, go out and when sniffing around, go out. It does take time. we need more pics please, lol Good luck and keep us up to date

I did the every hour per month age too and it worked amazing for our boy. I also would take him outside, tell him he needs to pee or poop and not come in until he had walking him back & forth in his "bathroom" area in the yard. Now I can take him anywhere and tell him he needs to pee and he will go even if it's just a bit. I would make a big fuss over him when he did go as a pup telling him what a good boy he was and give him a big hug. No food rewards as I didn't want him getting hooked on expecting treats all the time. It takes time but consistency is key and will pay off. Good luck to you both. Pretty soon this struggle will be a thing of the past

All good advice.  Only two things that I think I  can add.

1) Your pup will probably have go poo about 15-30 minutes after he eats.  I know mine is extremely regular. Having him wait the hour may be tough.

2) If you pup is playing with something or otherwise engaged, be it with a toy or a person, and he stops and losses interest.  Take him out immediately.  It usually a sign that they need to go.  If you wait until they sniff around it may be too late. I have saved many an accident this way.

Good luck.

The four dogs I have potty trained have all been trained in a few weeks. I don't agree with your dad's approach, but I can say that any puppy not potty trained should not be able to go out of sight. You can tether the dog or use baby gates and such. For me, I crammed pillows between my end tables and couch so my puppies couldn't go behind couches. When you can't monitor fully, then the crate should be used. You still let them out often, but I find catching them in the act is the key to success. The quick pick up and take outside in the middle of their business. Then lots of praise when they finish going outside. When you pick time out or take them out, no yelling, no anger, no rubbing of faces.