Beagles Unlimited Forums banner

How long should 10 week old be able to hold it?

7K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  oldhounddog 
The general rule I've followed is an hour per month of age, and by ~6 months a full overnight hold should be expected.

I agree with OHD's advice above, limiting water 2 hrs before bed, and using the same spot for potty.
Using specific words for potty activity work well; establish the relationship between the words at the exact time of release, and the dog will always understand what is expected with those words (ours is "hurry up" to go out to go, and "good hurry!" at the time of her release)

We also hung some bells by the back door, and made a point to ring them every time we went out to hurry. After the first month, we made her stand on her back legs and took her paw in hand and batted the bell before going out. She learned this quickly, and by 6-8 months old she would ring the bell on her own when she wanted to go out.
Now at almost two years old, she hasn't had an accident in over a year, and always rings the bell to go out. Even if we are in a strange place, she will stand on her back legs and paw at the door to go out, even if no bells are present.
Repetition and praise were the motivators in our case, no treats were used for this training.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top