doggonit, he won't learn!!!

[mishymoo37]

i have a puppy that's a beagle mix.  we've tried puppy training pads and whatnot and took him out every 2-4 hours to potty, but he STILL pees and now has started recently pooing in the house!  GRRRRR!!!  he definitely gets disciplined for it and does not like it one bit.  as part of punishment he gets put in his crate for a little bit.  the point does not seem to come across him!  what am i doing wrong!?  any suggestions are more than welcome.

[rapforjane]

If he sleeps in his crate, or is in the crate during the day, he may be confused. For our puppy, we put the poops on the newspaper if she has an accident and the peetowels on the newspaper (kinda like litter training ratties  ). Dogs don't go out of spite, they go because they have to.

[trubandloki]

he definitely gets disciplined for it and does not like it one bit.  as part of punishment he gets put in his crate for a little bit.  the point does not seem to come across him! 

Punishment will not work if you are not catching the puppy in the act of making the mess.

If you find a mess and then punish the puppy all it knows is it got in trouble for doing whatever it was doing when you punished it.  It has no clue you are mad about the pee on the floor.  And no, sticking their nose in it will not make them know what you are punishing them for.  The puppy will only get that you will get mad if they stick their nose in a pile of dog poo, and they already realize that isn't a good thing to do.

How old is your puppy?  Every two to four hours might not be often enough.

Your puppy should go out after every time eats/drinks, after everytime it gets up from a nap, after every time it plays and everytime you take it out of it's crate.  When you are not right with your puppy (so it can not have an accident without you catching it in the act) it needs to be in it's crate.

[heather_nsg]

When he's out, keep him in an area where someone can keep an eye on him, usually they will start sniffing a lot before they actually pick a spot to pee or poo. Anytime he wakes up, or 20 minutes after he's eaten, take him out and use a trigger phrase like "go bathroom" or "go potty". Always use this phrase when trying to teach him where to go. If he does his business where he's supposed to praise him a lot, make a big deal out of it. If he still doesn't go after 5-10 minutes of walking bring him back in and keep a close eye on him. If he has an accident scold him with a deep growly sounding "NO!" or "NHAA!" and he will understand that sound as your being displeased with him. Even if he went on the floor still walk him afterwards to see if he has to do anything else. Then crate him while you clean up the mess using something that will neutralize odors like pet carpet foam or an enzymatic cleaner. This will take a lot of repetition and a few mistakes, but if you keep at it you will have a well housebroken dog. My dog Savannah has not had an accident in the house in over a year. If you are not able to be with him all day, its best if your able to put him outside in a fenced yard/on a runner/in a pen while your gone. Teaching them to use puppy pads or newpapers is teaching them that its okay to use the bathroom in your house which personally I don't think is good. Hope this helps, good luck!

Edited to add, that if this puppy is male, its a good idea to neuter him if he's not already fixed. This will help with the male dog's natural urge to "mark his territory".

[DolciLady]

Crating should not be a punishment.  Dogs are den animals and the crate is for a feeling of security and 'his own space'. 

If an animal does something wrong, it's usually the owner's fault, not the animal's.  When you look at it that way, it tends to help lessen the anger when you see those puppy presents. 

And I agree, when the puppy isn't in your line of site, he should be crated.