I'm struggling to housebreak my 9 week old puppy. We have had him 2 weeks now and he's not even close to being trained

He's 9 weeks old. That is way too early to expect him to be housetrained. Have you ever had a puppy before? I think you need a little more patience.

Plus, he was taken from his mother about 2 weeks too early... PLUS, since he is from a pet shop he is most likely a mill dog so probably did not have the best start. In the future please do not support pet shops.

www.prisonersofgreed.org -- Go here to learn about where pet store puppies come from. Animal Planet, Cesar Milan and Oprah all recently had specials about it also.

Again, I think you are expecting way too much at only 9 weeks. I recommend picking up "Before & After Getting Your Puppy" by Dr. Ian Dunbar and "The Power of Positive Training" by Pat Miller, I think they will help you. Good luck and try to enjoy your puppy, and remember to be patient. :)

Kolbe answered on 7/2/09. Helpful? / 0

Most dogs are not housetrained until about 6 months old and that is pushing it. You can't expect him to even be close to housetrained at 9 wks old. I have 33 dogs and never have I had a dog housetrained that early. Please be patient and remember to take him out to go the the bathroom as soon as he wakes up from a nap and after he 's been playing. Also alot of dogs wil potty in their crate until old enough that they know how to hold there bladders. My Jack russells would go in there crate until they were about 6 months old. Even at a year old they still would have accidents. So just give him more time. He will come around.

Conway answered on 7/2/09. Helpful? / 0

I got Ace when he was 8 weeks old. By 10 weeks he was house broken, and I didn't use any puppy pads either. I just took him out often, asked him if he wanted to go outside and do his potty. Then I would let him walk out behind me, and I would carry him down the steps. I took him out probably every 45 minutes, or whenever he woke up. When he did his potty, I would praise him like you do. Potty training a pup has to be consistent. Anytime he is walking around, ask if he has to go potty, and take him out, even if he doesn't have to go potty he will. Then he will associate that word with going to do his stuff. It is possible to train a pup young to go outside. Sometimes I would take Ace out and he would stand there and look at me, then sniff around. At times I would be out there for 20 minutes. Then as soon as I was sure he was done, I would bring him back in. He figured it out quick. Your dog will too if you just keep at it. Good luck!

Ace answered on 7/2/09. Helpful? / 1

I would say that the age he was taken from his mother is of no factor (mine was only four weeks old and was a breeze to train). Keep in mind however that you must take him out everytime he wakes up and anytime he seems to be sniffing around. As far as the kennel goes, its great that you have one since they are a lifesaver during training but a good rule of thumb is that a puppy can only hold it one hour more than how many months old they are ( i.e. your 9wk old puppy should not be expected to hold it longer than 3 hours) be patient with him and you should see great improvment by the time he is about 3 1/2 months old.

Sebastian answered on 7/2/09. Helpful? / 1

The only schedule that works is the puppies schedule. You can learn more about reading your puppy at www.dogster.com

Yes pet store puppies too often have been trained to live in their filth. The sooner you get a puppy out of such a environment, the better. The age has nothing to do it. I have done a new puppy every year since 1991, and most of them were weaned by 6 weeks or sooner and were about 7 weeks old when I got them. I have never had much of a problem housebreaking, but they get above average care before 7 weeks.

Aster answered on 7/6/09. Helpful? / 0