puppy potty

Question
We got a Min-Pin about a month and a half ago. She is a little over 12 weeks old and refuses to go potty outside. We have tried crating her for 10min then bringing her back out. We have a bigger crate and a small one. She goes poop and pee in both of them and lays in it. We have tried puppy pads and no luck. We are getting to the end here and do not know what to do anymore. What else can we do? please help:)

Answer
It sounds like you either got her from a pet store, or from a breeder that did not keep her area clean.

How big is the smaller crate? Many times, this problem is because the crate is too big. Take out any bedding material that's in either crate, as well. Often, dogs and puppies will potty in their bedding and use the bedding to cover it up. When the bedding is removed, the dog usually stops pottying in the crate.

At just 12 weeks, she's still not got her bladder and bowels under full control yet. Since what you're doing isn't working, I would suggest that you keep her on a 6 foot leash attached to you whenever she is out of her crate in the house. This way, you can keep an eye on her and immediately get her outside as soon as she starts to show signs of needing to potty. If you catch her in the act of going potty in the house, clap your hands, say "ah ah," or make some other kind of noise to startle her so that she stops what she's doing. Then quickly get her outside.

When you take her outside, always go to the same spot in the yard, and tell her to "Go potty," or "Hurry up," or whatever phrase you want her to associate with going to the bathroom. Repeat this phrase as she potties, and when she has finished, praise her, saying "Good potty!" or "Good hurry!" etc. in a happy tone of voice. Then, if it's safe to do so, you can let go of the leash and let her run around and play for a few minutes before going back in.


She should only be crated for a maximum of 3 hours straight during the day, and probably can go 4-5 hours at night without a potty break. With puppies, the general rule is that they can go as many hours as they are old in months. 12 weeks is 3 months, so that's where I got 3 hours from.