Potty training my young Husky puppy: Is it behavioral or too early?

If your Siberian is as young as the information states, he is far too young to be away from his mom and littermates. Puppies learn valuable socialization lessons from their siblings during the time from five to eight weeks of age. If possible, please reunite him with his canine family until he is at least eight weeks old. Yes, it is cruel to keep such a very young puppy confined for long periods of time. I usually recommend that people who work all day get an older dog rather than a puppy. If you would like to discuss this (I've had over 40 years in SIberians), just click on the prompt to initiate a consult.

It sounds to me like you're doing all the right things - every once in awhile there is a dog that is just difficult to house train! I would advise you to avoid negative reinforcement - this can sometimes lead to the dog just waiting until you're gone to urinate. You could try a 'potty training boot camp' for a weekend: keep Belle tethered to you and keep an eye on her at all times for a full weekend. Any time she seems like she is searching for a place to urinate, take her outside immediately and give her a treat and praise. It can help to have her meals on a schedule, and you could even put water on a schedule as well - as much as she wants every 4 hours. Make sure you have cleaned all urine spots in the house well with an enzymatic cleaner and confirmed that they are clean with a UV light (these things are available at pet stores). If you're still struggling see if your veterinarian can refer you to a behaviorist for help. Good luck!

Puppies learn to explore with their mouth. Luckily she is young and can be trained with patience and consistency. First, make sure you have lots of treats handy. Second, have lots of toys handy. When you are playing with Luna and she starts to bite you, make a high pitched squeal. When she stops biting, tell her good girl and give her a treat or toy. When she chews on the toy, tell her shes a good girl. She will get the hang of it. For the crate, you need to get her used to it slowly. When you are home, feed her in there without closing the door. Put treats and toys in there so she can come and go when she likes. Slowly build up to closing the door for short periods. Give treats when shes calm inside the crate. At night, put something in there that smells like you. Be tough, don't crack before she does. Basic training at PetCo is a great idea! Good luck and congrats on your new baby. Sending kisses!

I generally recommend crate training for bigger dogs for house training as it helps establish a routine and a safe space for them. Make sure the crate is big enough for him to stand up and turn around but not much bigger than that. Try to keep to a schedule in terms of taking him outside, feeding him, and putting him in the crate every day. Huskies can be kind of vocal so he may protest a little bit at first. Having the radio or TV on to provide some background noise may help make him feel less alone.

The best way to potty train a puppy is with a crate: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-crate-train-your-puppy-or-older-dog/ At this age, Sophie should be able to hold her urine comfortable for 6 hours. If you must be gone longer than that, I recommend to try to have someone available to let her out to relieve herself. This will speed up house breaking. I hope this helps.

Small breed dogs can be very stubborn with house training. If you haven't tried the method of crate training it may be time to switch methods and try this. Crate training is where she is in a crate when y'all aren't at home and during the night the crate only needs to be big enough for her to stand up and turn around. MOST dogs do not want to pee or poop where they sleep so this teaches them to hold it. I usually do not put puppy pads in there unless you will be gone for several hours and unable to let her out. I also do not put water in there because they tend to drink then they inevitably have to urinate. You will likely need to get up once in the middle of the night to let her out as she is too small to hold it all night. When you get up or get home you will immediately pick her up and take her outside to the designated potty area. If she doesn't pee put her back in the crate for 5 minutes and try again. If you ever catch her peeing in the house in an unwanted area, you can tell her a firm no and then take her to the designated potty area outside to help her with the association. If crate training isn't something you want to do they yes, you may have to be more patient. Pee pads can take longer to house train and sometimes they never become 100% potty trained a lot of people recommend to move the pads closer to the door. You can also try to train her to use a bell to signal that she wants to go outside. You place a small bell hanging from the door and every time you go outside you ring the door bell. Be patient with this little munchkin. She will eventually become more potty trained. The key is consistency.

I see that Mabel is only about three months old - it's completely normal for her to still be having accidents. Remember, she's just a baby. It will take quite a while for her to be reliable in the house. Most dogs are at least 6-8 months old before they can be trusted without supervision in the house. At this age, you should be taking her outside every 20-30 minutes if she is awake and active. Make sure that you go out with her for potty breaks, and reward her with a rest as soon as she potties outside. This will help to ensure that she goes to the bathroom every time you take her out, which will help to keep her bladder empty and prevent accidents. She should also be supervised at all times in the house, and confined to a crate or puppy-proofed room when you're not home or unable to watch her. We have an article in our database with more details about how to house train puppies that you may also find helpful. You can read it here: https://www.petcoach.co/article/7-rules-for-effective-housetraining