My Coton is almost 2, and despite all of the "best" training methods, still cannot be trusted not to pee in the house.

He was really difficult to housetrain, will pee and/or poop in any other house we visit (except my Dad's, who had a dog) and recently discovered how to go downstairs, so will now go down and pee or poop in the basement instead of coming to tell us he needs to go.

We've had him checked by a vet, and done everything -- clicker training, a bell on the door, taking him on a schedule, keeping him tethered to us when out in the house (he peed 2' away from me in March). He is crate trained, and will whimper or bark if he needs to go when in his crate; otherwise he goes and stands at the door, and if nobody happens to see him, will just go somewhere else.

I'm afraid my husband is on his last good nerve with this dog, and we will have to give him away. My daughter will be heartbroken.

I need help!

Comments for My Coton is almost 2, and despite all of the "best" training methods, still cannot be trusted not to pee in the house.

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Jul 27, 2014
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Training help NEW
by: BB

My Coton is 5 years old and I he is just recently letting me know when he has to go out. After ruined carpet, pillows,etc. I finally realized it was the owner, myself) who was not trained. I made up my mind to stay with the proven methods, as related on the site, and conquer the problem. It worked. He was telling me before, but either ainwas too busy or did not pay attention to him. All is wonderful now. He even looks at me like he is smiling. If I could read his mind, he is problling saying, "Thsnks, you finally got it, dummy!"
Good luck. Do not give up. I'm sure you can fo it.

Jul 31, 2013
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Not to pee in the house NEW
by: Iris Miller

I hope you are reading all of our comments, we all want to help. I am looking forward to seeing your response and hope things work out for your family and your Coton. Good Luck,
Iris and Tuffy

Jul 30, 2013
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Potty training methods NEW
by: Anonymous

Im scratchn my head at most of these comments, and the hard time you all are having with potting training. Funny too, our cotons name is Bentley, hes such a good boy, and luckily it didnt take long for us to get him into a routine. All dogs are unique in this way. I will say we are lucky to have a coton as a pet, they are routine animals, and all they want is to please,and be loved. They will never leave your side and always enjoy it when you smile, and talk to them. Ours has a very distinct way of letting us know its time to go, its a subtle but noticable grunt, and then his gaze at you to indicate its potty time. In the beggining, it wasnt like this however. It took alot of attention and awarness, and (and I cant say this enough) Praise, treat, Praise, treat, PRAISE.!! - Always praise, when they have an accident, quickly indicate how displease you are, (like you would a 4 yr old) and take them outside. the pads work pretty well too. Also, kennel training works real well too - We just use it for night time, I feel comfortable that knowing that my dog cannot last the night accident free. So kennel is where he goes, and during the day he is watched by somone in the house. Please dont give up your Coton because of accidents, it takes time, love and patience. Trust me it will pay off!

Jul 30, 2013
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Potty training NEW
by: Iris Miller

Your dog sounds very smart, and sensitive. he is trying to get as far away from his living quarters by going to the basement because he can't get out to go potty when he needs to.No dog wants to soil the spots he eats and sleeps in. They really live to love and please us. I know my own dog felt very upset when he had no where to go. I actually had to un-train him and train him back on pee pads in the house, near the door, because I was bed ridden and could not take him outside Now he does both, so a pad is always available at the door, and I have to assure him that he peed on the pad, GOOD BOY! When we go in the car he understands when I have the keys in my hand, he'd better go pee/poop first or he does not go with me. How smart is that? .We can't expect them to communicate like a human baby, who by the way, is harder to rain than a dog and we are usually too late finding out the baby already soiled their pants. We just need to be aware of our dog's eating and eliminating habits. My dog usually has to go about 20 minutes after he eats and especially very soon after he drinks a lot of water. The best thing to do is walk him often to find their favorite spots and give them the opportunity to get all of it out. Good luck and God Bless. May your husband also be blessed with patience and love for your Coton, the best breed there is when it comes to love and loyalty.

Jul 30, 2013
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100% Pee Pad Trained NEW
by: Anonymous

I have a 2 year old named Gino and he does not like to be outside except for a few minutes, he's my little home body (but he LOVVEESSS bye bye car.) Sometimes when I would take him outside he would do nothing for what seemed like forever and I would bring him in and he would eventually end up going in the house. I was advised by my breeder and vet and other Coton web pages to buy pee pads to train. I bought x-large size pee-pads on Amazon to train him (the regular or small pads allow him to miss the pad to often and sometimes leak on the floor.) Gino then started using the pads but would still sometimes go pee on a rug or on the bathroom floor. In less than a few month, he became completly potty trained on the pee pad and pee pad only. So if it's raining or is especially cold out or is late at night, no need to worry, Gino knows just where to go and only where he is allowed to go. No matter where I put a pee pad in the house, he knows the white pads are his dsignated allowed area. I keep the pad near the back door, Gino is now a fully trained pup and has not had any accidents anywhere else. I have had many other breed of dogs before and I must say, Cotons are smart, smart animals and learn very fast, just so long as they are being trained properly and consisteny. It amazes me every day all the thingsGino is learning and what a fantastic dog he is. He is my blessing.

Jul 30, 2013
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housebreaking NEW
by: Moonpie

Get a "belly band". Here is a link. I know these are good ones and the ones at Walmart fall apart.http://www.pekeatzurescue.com/bellybands911flannel.htm
My daughter's Groodle (1/2 brussels griffin 1/2 poodle) has to wear one 24-7. While not ideal it is a Solution better than getting rid of your furbaby. I prevents wee accidents on your floors and carpet. You can keep working with training and not worry about the mess.
Our vet told me about them and said ALL her dogs wear them while in the house. Bill uses his pad in bad weather, when I am gone or if the grass is wet and too tall. I do put one on him when we go to stores are others houses and he is a dog and where there are or have been other dogs the temptation to mark is big. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Jul 30, 2013
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potty training NEW
by: sherry cotton candie

If he is going to the door then he does know what to do. When we got cotton it was time consuming but I took her out about every 30-40 minutes and when she did anything, I praised and praised.
Felt silly out there saying "good girl-go Pee" but seemed she caught on really fast. If she did nothing - then we came in and went back out again in a few minutes.

I have to say that I love pee pads. We bought them and placed them by the door and in the extra bath. (she would go there at times) We still keep them there for emergency use if we are gone.

She does go to the door to be let out but if we are not watching she will growl and look at us until we pay attention......She used to pee on the carpet when we would leave her alone - and when jealous after we got Candie but she has not done that in a long time.

Could you put a pee pad by the door and see what happens?

They are smart and he sounds like he knows what to do, just keep taking him out and praise praise praise. Good Luck as I know this is so frustrating. There is hope so please do not give up. Candie was 4 when we rescued her and not potty trained. It was months of messes and pee but she finally caught on. Yours will to.

Jul 30, 2013
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Consistency Is Key! NEW
by: Coda's mom

Our Coton is 1 year old. For the most part, she is 99% potty trained. When she has the occasional accident, it is typically our fault for not paying attention or forgetting to walk her. Here are some things that worked for us:

1. Crate train, crate train, crate train. We never let Coda loose in the house for extended periods of time...even now!
2. Don't free feed or give snacks until housebroken. We feed Coda at the same time every day so she has a more predictable poop schedule.
3. Walk regularly and only for the purpose of going potty. As soon as Coda relieves herself outside we praise like crazy and take her right back into the house.
4. Buy a "potty patch". When Coda was a puppy, we bought the fake grass "potty patch" (Petco) and put a soiled pad underneath it so she would associate it with going potty. She figured out how to use the patch in about two days. We first used it indoors and when she was going on it consistently, we moved it outside onto our patio. This helped her associate grass with going potty and worked out really well!

Best of luck! The key is consistency. If you are militant about the walking, feeding, crating schedule, you will be successful.

Jul 30, 2013
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Getting pup to pee outside NEW
by: Sandy

Pixie is a year and a half. I still have to stay outside and say "go potty", and "go some poo" and wait until she goes before I let her back inside. We haven't had any accidents in the house since I've been doing this.

Jul 30, 2013
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Potty Training NEW
by: c

When I got Jasmine she was 15 months old and fully trained to go outside. I live alone and I am in a wheelchair, it was nice the first few weeks, but I was scared to go out there in the middle of the night alone! My sister in law gave me a spray that she purchased in Pet Smart. Per her suggestion I put down two potty pads only, sprayed them with this spray. In a matter of days she no longer asked to go out side and only went both poop and pee on the pad.
I never crated her from the day she came to live with me, she understands where she is allowed to go to the bathroom. If she is in another part of the home or if we have company, she will go right to that pad, do her business and go back to what ever she was doing!
Even when we are asleep, she will get off my bed, go to the pad and come right back to bed.
I know this is not the solution you are looking for, but trust me they are a very smart breed, and are very easy to train.
Good luck and please please don't get rid of the dog!!!

Jul 30, 2013
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potty trainning NEW
by: Anonymous

I agree with the crate method. Our little girl did the same and i was thinking she d never get it. a vet told me to restrict her to only the kitchen (so we used baby gates or chairs to block her in there)..when she learned to ask for the door (the door is connected to my kitchen) we gave her a bit more freedom..no access to bedroom...and so forth..she finaly got it. Plus i followed her outside and repeated the words : go potty outside..the minute she did i would reward her with a treat OUTSIDE. I had made the mistake to treat her inside and the vet said i was confusing her. by giving it to her outside she understood..she did something good out there. when i started to pay attention and do everything i was supposed to she got it really quick. so dont give up. Ours is now 2 and a half and is the best dog i ever had!

Jul 30, 2013
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Housetraining
by: Nicki and Della

Della does the same thing unfortunately the best thing I can tell you is set a specific place in your home where you don't mind cleaning up after him. We went to Meijer and bought puppy training pads and we keep them in the bathroom since that is where she likes to pee the most. She uses those regularly now and has stopped marking the rest of the house. Also a bissell spot bot has been a life saver for us as well. I would never think of getting rid of a dog just because they aren't house trained. Della is perfect in every way except she just won't pee outside but she will poop on our walks. Good luck and I hope you find a solution that works for you.

Jul 30, 2013
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Serious
by: Anonymous

Since you indicate that he will signal his readiness while in the crate, then you have to get tough and keep him crated for as long as necessary for him to "get the message" that the business gets done outside. In the crate, signals he has to go, take him out, praise him, a little freedom, then back in the crate.

Also, you may need to pay attention to how long it takes him after he eats that he has to defecate, and change the feeding schedule if necessary.

I know it's hard on you because you want a companion, but if you give him away, you won't have a companion either. If you give him away and he isn't housetrained, then the new owners or a shelter will eventually just put him down, and you don't want that either, do you?

Are you walking him, morning and evening? it may just be frustration.

Best of luck,

JW

Jul 30, 2013
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Mine too!
by: Fenway

I wish I could help you out. My dog is doing the same thing and he will be one year old next week. I love him to death but he is driving me nuts! My carpets are ruined despite all the cleaning I have done! I will let Fenway outside and he will be out for 15-20 minutes, and then come in and poop on the carpet! I'm desperate!

Jul 30, 2013
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Potty training
by: Carole

We also had a terrible time housebreaking Bentley. He was 8 months old and still would have accidents. Now Bentley is 2 and still will potty on the carpet. In fact, I'm going to use my steam cleaner to go over the carpet today. I can't even think of getting rid of him. He's funny, cute and loving. My husband knows that my dogs are here for their entire lives. He also knows that He would be put in the dog house before the dogs.

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