Hello,

Our Rat Terrier puppy is a little over 3 months old. We've had him since he was 7 1/2 weeks old. He's a bright puppy and learns most things well but the second he drinks water he starts peeing. We let him out and he goes a little bit. Then we let him in and in ten minutes he pees again. Ten minutes later, there he goes again!

We reward him with praise and treats when he goes outside and scold him (very conscience of his age) when we catch him in the act. We brought him in to see the vet and they did a test to see if he had a bladder infection but they said he did not....to the tune of 140 bucks. Money's not the issue if there is really something wrong with him but we can't be plunking down money like that for nothing.

Does anyone have any ideas or hints to help us? We love him and he's fast becoming part of our family but cleaning up pee every ten minutes is getting old. I really don't want to see the 'negative' start out weighing the 'positive'.

I should mention that we also have a two year old Rat Terrier and he is perfect in every pee and poop way. They get along tremendously!

Any feedback is greatly aprreciated!

Tripper

 

Are you also crate training the puppy? The crate training gives him a safe place to go when you can't watch him and it helps with housebreaking. With a proper sized crate, he should not pee in the crate. It should be big enough for him to turn around and to lay down on his side with his legs outstretched and no bigger. If its too big, he will be able to pee on one end of it and lay down on the other end. He and the crate are plenty small enough to carry it to the SAME door every time and around the same times of the day. Make him stay outside until he goes. At 12 weeks he should be able to hold it for about 2-3 hours but since a problem already exists, you need to make trips outside every hour whether you think he needs to go outside or not. If you can't watch him, he should be in the crate. When he is out of the crate, really keep an eye on him and learn to read HIS signs on when he has to go. Don't use the crate to punish the puppy. Most puppies are pretty accident free around 6 months of age. It took me about 4 months to finally get a full nights sleep.

 

Different dogs, different problems. My Husky/Malmute took about 4 weeks to realize that going in the house was a no-no. I got him when he was 7 weeks old. When he started to go in the house I picked him up, said NO in a loud voice and took him outside. Being in his crate did not stop him from going. I just watched and did the same thing as if he was loose in the house. Made a big deal when he peed outside. POTTY PARTY.
I now have a Lab that was "dropped off" at about 5 or 6 weeks. Went through the same regimine and in 3 weeks he was barking if he had to go.
Your dog may have a urinary tract problem. If you haven't already, take him for a vet visit. I limited water intake for both puppies (did not leave water dish out all the time) until they got to telling me they needed to go. Good luck.

 

your pup sounds like our now 7 month old Fudgy. He would drink and pee at the same time. we laid down waterproof crib sheets to catch it when we didn't see it. After he was about 5 months old he finally out-grew it. I think it had to do with the small blatter and having to go and not realize that he was full before drinking. They will get it sometimes later than sooner. Our kids also have their own door to use and I love it. Helps them train faster I think. They get the clue it seems overnight when they are potty taining. SOme it takes the potty party others it takes yummies. Our youngest goes out uses the potty and comes running in to get love for going out like a big girl. Loves being called a big girl.