Hello!

I have a 6 month old male husky, Magneto, who has been so difficult to potty train!!! I also have a 2 year old male husky, Titan, who was fully potty trained by 5 months and is an excellent example.

Magneto is on a proper feeding schedule, breakfast and dinner are fed at the same time everyday. We have a potty schedule that my husband and I live and breath by. Magneto goes potty right when we take him outside and we priase him and give him a treat - he is very food motivated. We also limit his water intake because he is a guzzler and will finish and entire bowl if we let him, and then of course instantly go to the bathroom on the floor.

Magneto has good days and bad days. Sometimes he won't have an accident all day and he will alert me to when he needs to go out by sitting by the door (I work from home a few times a week). Other days he is a nightmare. He will pee immediately upon coming back inside from his walk - where he just peed multiple times. He will pee mid-play, or he will even stand up from where he was laying and immediately pee with no warning.

He sleeps in his crate at night and is fine - he holds it all 7-8 hours and sleeps through the night, so we know he can hold it for longer than an hour or two during the day. He is not crated during the day - I agree that crate training is awesome, however we live in an apartment and Magneto constantly howls when he is in his crate during the day and we're away at work. Of course our neighbors always complain and we get fined for our noise complaints by our apartment complex. So we stopped crating him during the day because we cannot be fined all the time.

I don't know what to do. I need help. I know he is a smart pup and understands potty outside is good. I just don't know how to make him realize potty inside is bad.

Has he been checked for a UTI? That can make him pee a ton when he is out, also drink a ton because UTIs are brought on often from dehydration and they will try to drink a lot to make up for what they have lost. It sounds like he can hold it if he is concentrating well, but when excitement hits or he just wakes up and might still be a little fuzzy with sleep his concentration will slip and it just happens.

@TwisterII, I had not thought of a UTI.  That is a good avenue to explore, thanks!

Any other tips on how to get him to hold it for more than an hour or two during the day if he doesn't have a UTI?

Some people tether. Leash or long line him to your belt loop so that you can give a correction instantly, from across the room even, if he goes to squat.