18-month old Daschund not potty trained

I have a 18-month old daschund who is still not potty trained. My wife

shelly...

Good! I thought he probably had some sort of signal. Sniffing is
probably the most common in dogs that aren't house broken, and it's
probably the easiest for owners to interpret. One question,
though--are you just letting him out, or are you accompanying him?
He needs you to go outside with him, so that you can reward him for
his good behavior.

shelly...

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with having a baby
and puppy at the same time.

stays home so my dog is not crated during the day. Ever since he was a
puppy he has gone away from us to pee and poop. He very rarely has

shelly...

Don't let him do that. He needs to be closely supervised so that he
cannot sneak off and pee/poop in the house.

ever got caught going to the bathroom in the house. Every time he goes
to the bathroom outside he gets a dog treat right away. He still does
not let us know when he has to go and we take him outside frequently.
Even first thing in the morning he sometimes will not poop. I don't

shelly...

What do you do in the mornings? Do you go out with him? Do you
actually walk him? Exercise will help stimulate him so the has to poop.

know what else to try with him. I know it is my fault he is not potty
trained but I wish I could get him to let me know when he has to go.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Paula...

If you have a stealth pee-er, as I call them, it is really important
not to let him be on his own. You praise him when he goes outside,
but all that means to him is that it is a great place to go. He
doesn't get from that that it is the only place to go. So when he has
to go and he isn't outside, he goes in the house. If he has a
favorite place, block it from him so he can't keep reinforcing that as
a preferred potty spot. Make sure that anywhere he has an accident is
cleaned with an enzymatic cleaner that actually breaks down the
residue. Just because you can't smell it doesn't mean he can't, and
he'll go back. If you ask for Nature's Miracle at any pet store, they
will have a whole aisle of cleaners like that so you can get the NM or
try another one if that doesn't work well for you. You can also get a
black light on that aisle. If you shine it around the floors of your
house, you will see exactly where any old and new spots are and make
sure you get rid of them completely.

As for not letting him on his own, you need to tether him to someone
responsible whenever he has access to anything larger than a crate. If
your wife is home during the day, she can have a leash on the dog with
the leash hooked on a belt loop or a wrist. The dog won't be able to
get far. He can't sneak off to pee or poop somewhere. She can keep
an eye out for when he starts sniffing for a good spot or squatting or
lifting a leg or any other sign and interrupt him (I say a non-angry
"uh-uh") and take him out. Not only will she stop accidents, but she
will be able to learn what signs he makes when he needs to go out. He
will also always need her help to be able to pee because he can't just
wander off and do it himself any more. That is a good thing to
ingrain in a dog you want to come tell you when he's gotta go. It may
seem like a pain, but it is well worth it and takes less trouble than
cleaning up after accidents. Put in the concerted effort now and you
won't have to deal with it in no time.

By the way, I have young kids and have worked with dogs since they
were really little. It might seem weird at first, but it really is
easy to keep a dog tethered to you and keep a watch on it that way.
The kids even join in the game. I've had them ask if they could have
the leash on their wrist while I cook or whatever instead of having me
put it on my waist. I don't leave them in charge of keeping an eye
out since they aren't that observant or reliable, but I would let them
hold the leash while we are together and I can still keep an eye out,
or let them keep an eye right after a pee and poop when I'm pretty
sure they don't need to have an eagle eye on the dog.

shelly...

House training and telling you he has to go out are really two
different things. I would concentrate on getting him solidly house
trained before worrying him telling you when he has to go out. In
fact, I would bet that once you start paying closer attention to
him, you will find that he *does* have behaviors that signal that he
has to go out, but that you just aren't recognizing them. Sometimes
they're subtle, but they're usually there.