I live in Maine. If you didn't know, we have a lot of snow here. It starts to melt away slowly but always returns within a few days. Well anyways. Meeko is having some problems with doing his business outside. The back of my house/yard is all snowed in so I can't take him there. I have to take him out front where there is a a little walkway and then the road (it's not like a main road, just a side road). I have tried to take him onto the side of the road, but the on coming cars are startled him. He refuses to step paw onto the tar. I feed him when I usually wake up (school days at 6:45 am ish and on weekend around 9:00 am). He eats his dinner at about 5:00 pm every night. I can never tell when he has to go to the bathroom. He's always leaving me little "gifts" on my bedroom floor or downstairs. He is always in my sight. If not it's because he is downstairs with the other dogs playing. He doesn't venture far from me. The house is mostly carpet, so him peeing everywhere/pooping is a great deal to clean up. I swear we are always running out of paper towels... We crate him when I go to school and when no one is home. The last few times when I have returned home I have found him dampened in his own urine. He had made a mess in his crate. Meeko is eight weeks and 6 days old.
I have no idea what to do.
Can someone please give me some advice?

He's just a baby so you certainly have a ways to go yet. How deep is the snow in your backyard? Is it something that you can shovel to the side so that your pup has some "ground" to potty on? I'd try that since the traffic on the road out front is obviously scaring him.

It is completely normal for young pups to be nervous about going outside, even wolf cubs stick very close to their den at that age and don't venture out much. Your house is pretty much Meeko's "den" and where he feels comfortable and safe, venturing outside is a scary thing. You will want to make outside experiences wonderful and encouraging. That's one of the reasons I would try shoveling and clearing at least a small area in the backyard that has less scary distractions like cars, dogs, people, etc. Plus, your yard is likely to be healthier for such a young pup as there is less chance of picking up disease assuming it's not public property with lots of traffic.

How often are you taking Meeko outside to do his business? For potty training I would take them out every hour (or more if necessary) and make sure he is always supervised. If you cannot watch him then put him in his crate. I understand he urinated in his crate but how long was he left in there? Such young pups cannot hold themselves very long so it may not have been his fault, it could be that he simply couldn't hold it. Don't give him the opportunity to toilet in the house, when you're home you can tether him to you so that you can watch for signs that he needs to toilet and take him out straightaway when he shows possible potty signals. Limit his free run areas in the house to smaller areas with hard floors to make cleaning up messes easier, even then keep a close eye on him. It's vital to pay very close attention and catch him in the act so you can teach him to potty outside. Make outside time super fun and rewarding, and when he does go outside treat and praise him like he just won the lottery. Just be sure you are rewarding the right thing, don't reward him for being nervous and scared outside, reward him when he's exploring and making steps in the right direction.

Be patient and give it time, Meeko is just a baby and potty training for most is not an overnight thing. Make the commitment to get him out every hour if possible and set him up for success, your attitude throughout this is crucial as well. If you're upset or annoyed about having to go out every hour and getting impatient about him not progressing, Meeko will pick up on that and it could very well make progression slow or even stop. So be positive and extremely patient!

Most of us have been where you are now, you'll get there!

I have started to notice when he has to go potty. He was dead asleep. He got up and sniffed the rug. I immediately rushed him out the door. It took him about three minutes to urinate on a pile of snow. I told him he was a good boy. I don't have any treats at the moment.
I usually don't know when to take him outside because I don't notice his signs that show he has to go potty. Like you said, I will now start taking him outside every hour or so.
What about on school days when no one is home. He is usually in his cage for about six to seven hours, that being the normal school day length. I have a feeling even if I take him out in the morning before he is put into his crate he will still make a mess. I'm just glad I found a forum like this. I would be lost without the help.
Thank you for the advice.

There is no way he is able to physically hold his bowls for 6-7 hours at 8 weeks old. Is there no one who can let him out during the day?

The main thing is to avoid having him mess in the crate, that defeats the whole purpose. If there's no one to let him out I guess I would pen him up in a part of the house, put his crate there, leave the door open and put puppy pads down outside of the crate.

There is no one.
We have actually talked about getting puppy pads or diapers for when we aren't home. The next time we go to Petco I'll have mother buy some.

Could your parents come home at lunch time or so to let the dog out while you're at school if they rearranged their normal lunch plans?

I agree with Kristina, there is no way a puppy can hold it for that long and it's unfair to make him lay in his own mess when his humans are the ones to blame. If it absolutely is impossible for someone to be home with him (this is really something that should have been figured out before you brought a puppy home) to let him out, I would gate him in an area without much stuff that can be damaged, huskies can be quite destructive when left to their own devices for such long periods of time. I would not even advise getting a pup if they are going to be left alone that much, but that's water under the bridge.

You could set up an X pen somewhere in the house or use pet/baby gates to confine him to a room and leave his crate, bed, plenty of toys, chews, puzzle games, kong, etc for him to occupy himself with while he's home alone. I'd also put down several puppy pads for him to eliminate on as that is just inevitable, or you could also buy one of those potty patch things that is like faux grass that dogs can eliminate on and the urine goes down into a tray which you can empty. There's different brands but here's one example: Potty Patch *Click*

Just remember, when you use puppy pads that often makes house training harder because the pup learns to potty on the pads and then you have to re-train them all over again to only go outside. From the sounds of it, you won't have any choice in the matter but just be aware that it's something you will have to deal with soon enough.

No, they can't come home.
I'v thought about it and I'v decided that he will be kept in a certain room while we aren't home. I'll lay down puppy pads and such.
I'll make this work.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Good luck with it!

Not much more to add here other than good luck! For a frame a reference, puppies are only able to physically hold it as many hours as they are months old. He's 8 weeks (2 months old), so that means that he can only hold it in for 2 hours before his bladder is too full and he physically HAS to go. If no one is home at all during the day with him, you're not going to have a fully house-trained dog until he is at least 6-8 months old.

Just something to think about for the future as it seems like you and your family were unaware of this when you got a puppy

Keep us posted!

itstashie wrote:

No, they can't come home.
I'v thought about it and I'v decided that he will be kept in a certain room while we aren't home. I'll lay down puppy pads and such.
I'll make this work.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

we did this with embry when he was a puppy, not going to lie it did make potty training a ton more difficult when he was allowed to go potty on the floor on the pads for the 8 hours we were gone a day. and it also ruined the carpeting and it had to be replaced.

Quote :

we did this with embry when he was a puppy, not going to lie it did make potty training a ton more difficult when he was allowed to go potty on the floor on the pads for the 8 hours we were gone a day. and it also ruined the carpeting and it had to be replaced.

That's what carpet cleaners are for! In my luck, we have one.
No, but. Meeko has been going outside every hour now. I'm doing good.

Make sure you get an enzyme cleaner for the carpet like Nature's Miracle. There are others too, but the names escape me as of right now.

Koda wrote:

Make sure you get an enzyme cleaner for the carpet like Nature's Miracle. There are others too, but the names escape me as of right now.

My recs for pet stain carpet cleaners are:
Get Serious!

Spot Shot Pet

We actually use this nature/organic spay for dog spot cleaning. It works quite well.
Now when Meeko goes outside for his hourly potty. He runs (yes, runs) up the pathway and to his special place. He even did number two! I was at awe. What a good little boy. I'm surprised how just one day of doing this is working so well.

itstashie wrote:

We actually use this nature/organic spay for dog spot cleaning. It works quite well.
Now when Meeko goes outside for his hourly potty. He runs (yes, runs) up the pathway and to his special place. He even did number two! I was at awe. What a good little boy. I'm surprised how just one day of doing this is working so well.

In general, training is all about making your dog feel confident. My guess is that he wasn't going out often enough to feel confident about what he was doing. He was trying to hold it, couldn't, then got yelled at for going and was feeling quite insecure. Just a few hours of getting the opportunity to succeed, and getting praise for doing so, can really make a difference in his confidence level. Keep it up!

Not much to add but, keeping on a set routine really helps, making sure you are doing all the same things with him at the exact same time everyday can help him learn quicker. Consistency helps them to know what to expect and when to expect it, and really helps to set them up for success.

FWIW when Konrad was a puppy there were a few times when we had to leave him alone for 6-8 hours, when we did we would close him in the bathroom with some toys and a puppy pad and his water bowl. I think after the second or third time we did this (this was a once every two weeks-ish thing) he would start going into the bathroom when he had to go, so we knew when to get him outside, and if he did make a mess it was easier to clean off the tile. Just make sure not to leave a towel hanging where he might be able to get it, or he probably will (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything )

Hello everyone, I have the same problem with my boy, except he's about a year old. he will not go outside. You can walk him for two hours in the morning, but as soon as he gets home, he pees/poos. Rarely, he pees outside, and is praised for it immensely.

We've had him for two months now. For the first week, he asked to go outside by standing by the door. However, he needed surgery, and it was so hard and painful for him to move, he started peeing inside (it was a real mess with the cast). Now the cast is off and he can move, but he still won't go outside. Advice would be appreciated. thanks.

Is he crate trained? Mickey decided he didn't like to go outside anymore about a year ago. I would walk him and then bring him inside and put him in the crate. 30 minutes later take him out to pee/poo (just for a few minutes) and if he didn't, right back in the kennel. I gave him 3 good walks a day but refused to let him out of the crate while in the house unless he had gone to the bathroom on our last outing. Didn't take long. He hates being out of the action.

arooroomom wrote:

Is he crate trained? Mickey decided he didn't like to go outside anymore about a year ago. I would walk him and then bring him inside and put him in the crate. 30 minutes later take him out to pee/poo (just for a few minutes) and if he didn't, right back in the kennel. I gave him 3 good walks a day but refused to let him out of the crate while in the house unless he had gone to the bathroom on our last outing. Didn't take long. He hates being out of the action.

he is not crate trained yet. i was afraid he would hurt his leg at the vet's office, five minutes after they put him in a cage, he had ripped up all the newspaper, towel, peed, and was screaming bloody murder the whole time. this might have to do with his history (he was kept at a shelter for 9 days without medical treatment after he got hit by a car). im not sure if his separation anxiety will get better either.

Then I would tether him to you in the house, or confine him with baby gates to the kitchen or a small room. I think the effect would be much the same. You need to try and catch him before he goes and like Kristina said, when he goes outside, let him wander around the house for a bit.