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HELP ! We have a 18wk old golden pup. We potty her outside every 1 1/2 hrs in daytime. We praise her for going outside. She is STILL having accidents inside though,sometimes only 1/2 hr after peeing outside. She'll sniff around and then pee on the carpet. I immediately say "NO" and put her outside. This is a daily occurence though, that she has these accidents. I use vinegar and water to clean the spots... maybe should get the enzyme stuff? But seems to me by now she should know to go to the door when she needs to go? She also was defecating in the house but hasn't now for a week (thank goodness...)HELP if you have any hints on how to make this easier! Our carpets are getting trashed

>>HELP ! We have a 18wk old golden pup. We potty her outside every 1 1/2 hrs in daytime. We praise her for going outside. She is STILL having accidents inside though,sometimes only 1/2 hr after peeing outside. She'll sniff around and then pee on the carpet. I immediately say "NO" and put her outside. This is a daily occurence though, that she has these accidents. I use vinegar and water to clean the spots... maybe should get the enzyme stuff? But seems to me by now she should know to go to the door when she needs to go? She also was defecating in the house but hasn't now for a week (thank goodness...)HELP if you have any hints on how to make this easier! Our carpets are getting trashed >>>>>>>>>>>>.

You need the bacterial enzyme odor eliminator product, yes. In the future if you use vinegar, use it straight without water. It needs to be full strength, and it will only work if used immediately after the accident. If the urine dries first, vinegar will be useless. At this point, your dog's sniffing indicates you need to treat the carpet with the bacterial enzyme product. It will need to go very deep and be kept moist for a long time--several hours. This is also the only way to save your trashed carpets!

When the dog goes outside, you need to go with her so you can praise her and give her a treat when she gets it right. She will never understand why you want her to potty outside. Right now the smell in your house is making her instincts tell her overwhelmingly that INSIDE is the RIGHT place to go! You need to treat that area quickly!

I'm not keen on teaching/expecting the dog to ask to go out. This puts a huge responsibility on her, to realize enough in advance that she is going to need to go, to get your attention, to persuade you to let her out, and to hold it all this time!

I much prefer putting the dog on a schedule of me taking them out a little (or a lot) more often than they actually HAVE to go. I want to hit the target! I don't mind taking the dog out and having them not need to go. What I want to avoid is missing the time they DO need to go, by my not taking the dog out often enough.

During the hours of being at home and awake, a good schedule is to take your dog out about once per hour until she's fully housetrained. For a Golden, she's probably too young to have complete bowel and bladder control yet.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

You might have to decrease the amount of time you wait before taking her out until she gets used to the idea of going to the door. This will be a triumphant day in your household I am sure.

Good luck, and post pics!

Thanks for your responses Appreciated. We will be taking her out every hour during day now, to try that, AND when our snowy weather is gone I'll be in search of the enzyme "stuff" to get the smell out of the carpets !! Aah the pleasures and perils of pups !! I will figure how to post a pic, I have a cute one!
Cheryl