Have a 5 month old miniature poodle x pappion male named Mischief (rightfully so). Had him since he was two months old. Delimma is training him. He sleeps on my bed with me at night. Never has had an accident there. Take him out in the am and he does his business. BUT during the day I can take him out and stay out with him for an hour (he is very smart ;) ) can hold it till he gets in and goes on the rug. Have a paper on the floor by the door sometimes he uses it sometimes not. Praise him for the good ignore the bad but still doesn't seem to catch on. Tired of standing outside for mosquito bait and chills from the wind just for him to wet the rug :(. Won't give up but need help, family getting tired of this behavior. Any ideas welcomed.

Have you washed the rug with something that gets rid of the "urine" smell ? Although you wash it with normal washing powders etc the dog may still be able to smell it .
When you say you praise him do you reward him as well ? Although I wouldnt shout as such when he goes to wee on the rug say "NO" and try to put him outside ( if you can catch him quickly enough to prevent a pee trail that is :) ) .
When he does go outside offer a tasty treat and say "Good Boy" or your equivalent.
By the way , do you have a word for when you want him to go such as "toilet" or "wee" or whatever . Might sound daft but some people do just take the dog outside without saying anything and expect their dog to automatically know what his owner wants him to do .
We used the treat and praise method and Gus has been dry inside from 4 and half months ( day and night).
Good luck :)
Lel

lel Thank you for your suggestions, the rug wash I haven't done, am in the process. Have used a product to put on wet spots after I soak the wet up that is supposed to take the urine smell away. Do give him treats when I see him do his business outside and say NO if I catch him trying to go in the house. Have done all the things suggested, ask him if he wants to go out by saying pee outside? and he seems to understand but not fully. Am considering a child safety gate for blocking him the porch when it is after feeding or nap time till he goes outside or on his paper. Won't do this until I get the rug done. Will keep trying see if I get any other suggestions, hope he is not one of those dogs that cannot be trained. I would hate to give him up. Won't give him up. Thanks again.

Dont give up just yet - he's still a baby afterall ! Dog are like children and some take longer than others but they all get there in the end . Make sure you dont shout after he has already done it as he wont associated the telling off with the weeing and it may actually encourage him to hide it .
When you take him out to do his business say "toilet" or your equivalent and say it again outside until he does it . hen he does go say the word again and then treat him so that he comes to associate the word with getting a treat . It will sink in eventually dont worry . Make a real big fuss.
You also mentioned the paper . Where in the room is the paper situated and how many pieces do you have scattered about for him ?
Haveyou tried moving the paper gradually towards the door. We tried this and gradually moved the paper completely to the back door and only had the one piece ( do it slowly so as not to confuse him too much )
Good luck
It wont happen overnight but keep persevering :)
Lel

Thank you again for your input. I do make a big fuss when I get Mischief to go outside, I am sure the neighbors are thinking of getting me committed soon LOL;). When he comes in I say good boy - pee outside and give him his treat ( he knows he has to sit nice to get it so he is smart). One day he went out and ran around the yard like crazy and then came in and sat looking at me as though to say I did something outside now I want a treat - he is so funny sometimes - gotta love him:D. I have one puppy pad in the small porch by the door. This is where I was thinking of gating him in after napping or eating so he can use the pad or go outside (I can leave the door open for him there). He slept from 2:00am till 9:30am so maybe his bladder control is getting better as he gets older. He used to get me up every four to six hours. He also is scratching his ears a lot and shaking his head, could there be something that would interfer with his training if he is not feeling well?
I await your knowledgable reply.:)

Hiya, have you tried feeding the pup treats on the rug? if he associates the rug with food, he won't want to wee there... if you have any other problems, i'd suggest reading 'dogs on the couch' by dr. larry lachman... it's a very good book!!!

Thank you for your help. He always eats on the rug, he takes his food from his dish and takes it in the living room to eat it and his treats he gets he eats on the rug but by the doorways, he has never wee'd there to think of it:eek; I will keep trying and hope for the best, will see if I can get the book around here. Any help is good help where my pup is concerned. Still learning - both of us. Thanks again.

to original post:

definitely not a popular method, but it sounds like you are desparate so here is what i did with mine and it worked WONDERS. my dog's behavior was almost identical to yours. i tried everything. finally i just started peeing on HIM whenever i caught him. i wouldn't make a sound. i would just sneak up on him and pee all over him. he would howl and whine and whimper and get all ashamed of himself but after a while, he stopped going in the house, only outside with lots of praise. again, not a popular method, (especially on this forum). but remember, it is what his mother would have done... now you are the leader, act like it.

good luck.

Is this the Gerrard who's friends told him not to clean up after his puppy and therefore let him, supposedly toilet all over his house!!!

Trip Trap Gerrard.

To the original poster - please ignore this person - they're out to cause trouble.

To Gerard:
Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Thank you! After yesterday's depressing day I needed to read something as stupid as that to cheer myself up!

When are you due back in your sanitorium?
:)

must admit I also burst out laughing JG!! [Not at poor pup of course]. But then I was wondering whether Gerard also cocks his leg? utterly repellent...

I doubt Gerard's old enough to cock his leg...

To Gerard
Funny but I picture you as exactly the sort of person who pees himself too

gerard sure is a laugh a minute.
i didn't see his name when i started reading the post and it did give me a bit of a shock, then i realised!
i hope he is just a weirdo who enjoys posting on forums about which he knows nothing and doesn't actually have animals of his own..

in all the gerard excitement i forgot to say to swinp: i do think it's a good idea to confine him as you suggested, but apart from that perserverance and paitience are whats called for!! good luck.

wonder if gerard has had his bits bitten. i know my pup likes to bite the hose when watering the garden. i also hope hes careful of electrical equipment (or maybe not).
em

lol emma! maybe that's why all the anger! he does seem to have a vendetta against the canine world! on the other hand maybe he's just a total idiot