[olivepit]

Hi guys. I rescued a 10 month old female pit. My other pit died and I was so heartbroken I rescued this girl one month later. Here's the scoop. I can't seem to get potty training down with her. The problem is she is incredibly irregular. She will poo and pee first thing in the morning and after that it's anybody's guess. I feed her twice a day at the exact same times. On one day she will poo at 12 noon and then at 6:30 p.m. after eating at 4:15 p.m. The next day she will poo at 10:00 in the morning and then at 5:00 pm. She does not seem to have a regular time when she goes. As a result my family and I end up taking her out almost every half hour starting at 10:00 a.m. Any suggestions?

[Bluefamily]

keep working on the pattern. No telling what type of background she came from, but the key is routine and consistency on your part

[Patch O' Pits]

Originally Posted by Bluefamily keep working on the pattern. No telling what type of background she came from, but the key is routine and consistency on your part

I agree.

How long have you had her?

Does she have a clean bill of health from the vet?

She still may be settling in and stressed. Some dogs take longer than others to settle into a new home.

Also make sure to feed her the proper amount of food . Sometimes too much food will mess with their system. Another thought is to add some probiotics to her food.

I hope everything gets easier for you with her.

I'm sorry for the loss of your other dog!

[Mollie's Nana]

I always advise anyone that has a new dog to take them outside every hour, regardless of whether or not you think they need to potty. Take them out on a leash, walk them around for 10-15 mins, and if they go potty, praise them like they just discovered a bag of gold!! I take Bella out pretty much every hour, or hour and a half. She's pretty well potty trained, but if you don't take her out, she will pee on the floor still. No one else seems to think this is necessary, but then when she pees on the carpet, I'm like "see, we still need to take her out every hour". Mollie will go to the door and sit and bark but Bella hasn't learned that yet. Sometimes, she will go to the back door and sit down, and I'm like "you gotta go potty?" and will put the leash on her and take her out, as soon as she pees, I praise her like crazy. I always use the same word, "potty". Once they finally get it figured out, you can say "you need to go potty?" and eventually, they will start barking at you as if to say "yes!".

Make sure you take her out on a leash, and use the phrase, "let's go potty" and then when she does, praise her like crazy, then bring her in. Don't make it play time, don't stay outside for anything except to potty. If I get the leash, and we go outside, they know the leash, the phrase "potty", and that's usually what they do as soon as they get outside, then back inside. They will associate the word potty with what they need to do when you say that, and it will soon be like when you teach them the word sit, they sit. Mine also get a small dog biscuit when they come inside from potty so they know if they potty, they get a cookie. I usually don't give them a cookie unless they potty. Also, it will take longer for them to find their "spot" to poop, so you may have to walk around for a bit for that.

Usually, they get the pee thing down pat and will pee as soon as they go outside. Be sure to praise for both, and if you want, get a treat jar by the back door, or put one in your pocket, and as soon as you come inside to take their leash off, have them sit and give them a cookie as soon as they come in. Soon they will associate the leash, going outside to potty and coming in as soon as they are done as being "cookie worthy" and they will start doing it everytime. But my best advice would be to take her outside, every hour. She won't poop every time, but chances are, she will pee. Bella pees every time she is taken out, but she usually only poops 3 or 4 times a day... morning, noonish, when I get home from work, and then before bed.

[My pit is Sasha]

Originally Posted by Mollie's Nana Take them out on a leash, walk them around for 10-15 mins, and if they go potty, praise them like they just discovered a bag of gold!!

I think this is so important and so easily forgotten. Never stop praising your dog for doing their business outside. As Mollie's Nana said, even now when she takes Bella out she still praises her for doing her potty. To me it doesn't matter if they've been housebroken for 1 day or 10 years, praise them constantly for good behavior.

I got Sasha when she was 5 months old, she was completely housebroken at 8 months, almost 4 years old now and I still shower her with praise for going potty. I've come home a couple of times to find she had an upset stomach and threw up right by the front door since it was the closest she could get to getting outside while I was gone. No scolding for accidents, just clean up the mess and take them outside as soon as you can. Pee is pretty much first thing Sasha does anytime we go outside, going poo is usually a morning thing. Not all dogs will poo on a schedule, sometimes she doesn't have to go poo in the morning so she has to hold it till I get home.

Unless your pup is taking dumps in the house don't worry too much about when she goes poo right now, as she begins to get better bladder control the rest will fall into place. Sounds like yours is already doing the morning poo which (in my opinion) is the critical one for puppies. If she gets a good poo in the morning then she won't have as much pressing on her bladder during the day making holding her pee easier as she develops her bladder control.

[Mollie's Nana]

Originally Posted by My pit is Sasha . No scolding for accidents, just clean up the mess and take them outside as soon as you can. Unless your pup is taking dumps in the house don't worry too much about when she goes poo right now, as she begins to get better bladder control the rest will fall into place. Sounds like yours is already doing the morning poo which (in my opinion) is the critical one for puppies. If she gets a good poo in the morning then she won't have as much pressing on her bladder during the day making holding her pee easier as she develops her bladder control.

Exactly... you can't scold for accidents... even if I catch Bella in the act, the only thing I do is a loud "ANNNTT!!" and get her and take her out right that second, but I don't yell at her, hit her or rub her nose in it... a huge mistake that people have been taught for years was the way to house break a dog that simply does not work.