Could be misinterpreting, but there is one more thing to add to the fantastic advice here: It's preferable to potty a puppy this age ON LEASH. No cooing or playing or much of anything until after the deed is done....THEN a quick reward/play session.

This way, you can see for yourself that the puppy has done its business, and reward in a timely manner. It also helps condition the puppy to go potty quickly after being taken/let outside.

Just remember the following:
Eating/Drinking produces urine (walk immediately following)
Play produces urine (walk immediately following)
Sleep produces urine (pick puppy up and take outside immediately following)

If there are any accidents, get a newspaper, roll it up, and whack yourself on the nose with it three times.

Enjoy your puppy! Sounds like you all are on the right track!
Tracy

Also, consider starting to use a potty on command word. By saying "go pee" or whatever words you choose right at the moment the dog starts to pee or potty and doing this everytimethe dog will eventually go on command. (may only take a few days, may take months)
We just had a thread proclaiming the usefulness of this training!

I read somewhere that a puppy can hold it equivilant to its age. i.e. at 3 months, 3 hours is the max time you get, up until those muscles are developed at 6 months or so. (just what I get from all the books ive read, and trust me, I've read what seems to be hundreds now )

Also, a lot of dogs go during play time. To avoid accidents, you could hold all play sessions outside. The release can happen so suddenly that its as much of a surprise to your dog as it is to you. Its all about being in the right place at the right time (as opposed to the wrong place at the right time or the right place at the wrong time.)

I also taught calypso to go on command. When she'd go out, I'd wait for the signs she was about to go, and i'd' catch her right before and say "calypso, get busy, get busy" then mark the behavior.

I also read or heard that after 2 weeks of 0 mistakes that your dog then knows it needs to go outside. And you mentioned your dog maybe didn't like the bark of other dogs. When I first got calypso, any noise movement or distraction of any type and i knew I was going to be outside for at least 20 minutes until she forgot about it. She just had no focus.

Good luck,
Jacob.

Thanks Jacob, he needed me to walk around with him for a while becasue he was getting distracted by other stuff!

Hello all, thank you for the wonderful support thus far, this is an amazing community. My puppy is doing behavior and obedience training AMAZINGLY! He is sleeping through the night for 7-9 hours with no accidents. However he is still having a pee accident in his crate at over 2.5 hours during the day, afternoon, and early evening????? Ideas? Advice? My trainer thought too big of a crate (which I fixed) and letting him out too often.

Also, training related.... He is doing a good job heeling, retrieving, and giving without any food or clicker based training. Obviously I want to reward this training very intensely l, how can I incorporate the clicker and treats? When I have he is confused and thinks we are training sit/down/stay and will not retrieve as he smells the treats with his darn bloodhound nose (mom was full bloodhound, dad was GD and black lab)

 Quote: michael stroozas

Hello all, thank you for the wonderful support thus far, this is an amazing community. My puppy is doing behavior and obedience training AMAZINGLY! He is sleeping through the night for 7-9 hours with no accidents. However he is still having a pee accident in his crate at over 2.5 hours during the day, afternoon, and early evening????? Ideas? Advice? My trainer thought too big of a crate (which I fixed) and letting him out too often.

Take him out of his crate 2.5 hours after putting him in. He is showing you he needs that break, regardless of what your trainer may think. JMHO. If you are at work and unable to do so, I'd personally arrange for someone to come by and let him out. The more he pees in his crate, the more of a habit that becomes.

In regard to what your trainer said about taking him out too often... I don't think you potty train a pup by "making them hold it" - I think you potty train a dog by making sure that every time the pup has to void, he is outside. You want to set him up for success and TRAIN him where he should go potty, not try to TRAIN him to hold it. Does that make sense? The pup is already showing you he is willing to pee in his crate, so he doesn't get the vague concept of "holding while in my crate".

 Quote: Michael Stroozas

Also, training related.... He is doing a good job heeling, retrieving, and giving without any food or clicker based training. Obviously I want to reward this training very intensely l, how can I incorporate the clicker and treats? When I have he is confused and thinks we are training sit/down/stay and will not retrieve as he smells the treats with his darn bloodhound nose (mom was full bloodhound, dad was GD and black lab)

Do you mean he goes through his whole bag of trcks when he knows its clicker time? If that's what is happening its a great thing! It shows he is engaged with you.

All you have to do is mark the behavious you want, after showing him what you want. Only mark the behaviours you are going for in that session.

You guys are well on your way
Awesome!

Hi Michael,
I am a big "clicker" fan, but at this point, using your voice to mark a behavior ("yes!", or some other sound of your choosing), and rewarding with a food treat should be sufficient. A clicker is just one extra thing to juggle in your hands at this point, and the precision it provides isn't really necessary (ie: to train a basic retrieve).

Many people say that a verbal marker is a kitchen knife, while a clicker is a scalpel. For all intents and purposes, a kitchen knife will get most jobs done just fine.

How to begin? The simple way is to remember to mark a behavior you like, the moment it happens, and then give the dog a reward. It's especially helpful for the retrieve and "out", because the dog has to give up the toy/ball/object in order to eat the food.

If you'd like really specific guidance, the best dog-training bargain on the planet is a DVD you can order here. I think it is called "The Power of Training Your Dog with Food" with Michael Ellis.

Best,
Tracy

 Quote: barbara schuler

 Quote: michael stroozas

Hello all, thank you for the wonderful support thus far, this is an amazing community. My puppy is doing behavior and obedience training AMAZINGLY! He is sleeping through the night for 7-9 hours with no accidents. However he is still having a pee accident in his crate at over 2.5 hours during the day, afternoon, and early evening????? Ideas? Advice? My trainer thought too big of a crate (which I fixed) and letting him out too often.

Take him out of his crate 2.5 hours after putting him in. He is showing you he needs that break, regardless of what your trainer may think. JMHO. If you are at work and unable to do so, I'd personally arrange for someone to come by and let him out. The more he pees in his crate, the more of a habit that becomes.

In regard to what your trainer said about taking him out too often... I don't think you potty train a pup by "making them hold it" - I think you potty train a dog by making sure that every time the pup has to void, he is outside.

Your trainer is wrong about this. You do NOT want the habit to have to start, which is what's happening at 2.5 hours.

SO much easier to have the dog never even be presented with the need and never have to do it than it is to try to re-train once it has started.

I'm not even adding "JMO" --- I've house-trained so many dogs, including adults who were never pottied outside before, that I know Barbara is 100% correct.