I have a 3 month old Jack Russell puppy. We have him pretty well potty trained but there are times when he cant hold it. I would like to have him trained to use pads when we are gone for long periods of time or over night when he cant hold it. He is just so stubborn! He will use it one time then the next time he will pee on the floor. When we catch him peeing on the floor and take him to the pad but he wont pee on it even if he just dribbled a little on the floor. I know he has more in him lol. He waits 10 mins and starts peeing again. We try not to scare him or anything. Its just getting really tiring. We even catch him peeing on it and give him rewards but he still isnt getting the point! Any tips? I know there are people who say dont use pee pads but sometimes we are gone for awhile and he cant hold it forever.

At 3 months old your jack should be doing is business outside if not when you feed him time him so you no when he's going to his potty and take him outside on his leash to the same spot if he wont do nothing after 2min take his potty mat outside next time round make sure he's already urinated on it so he picks up his scent tell him GO ON HAVE A WEE praise him well if he does eventually eradicate the potty mat plus don't give him access to water all day mainly when you feed him or every 3-4 hours. On the subject of him holding it in overnight i kept my jack in a small cage it was just big enough for him to sleep and nothing else he didn't like it for the 1-2 night but eventually he got use to it the principle was its his bed for the night and he didn't want to lye in his own buisness all night waitin for me to get up so he would hold it in, has dogs get older they have better bladder control goodluck.

There are several points here that I disagree with. First of all, not allowing any dog access to fresh water at all times is just cruel to me. I'm sorry but I don't just allow my dogs to have water when it's convenient for me to clean up after them, should the need arise...mine have fresh drinking water 24/7! Everyone may not agree with my thoughts on that but it's ok...Sybil will agree I'm sure

Secondly, most dogs cannot "get" potty training down until around 6 months or so. Yes, the earlier you start the better but they are little guys and thus have little bladders and small digestive tracts. A good rule to remember is according to age. At 3 months, he will need to go out every 3-4 hours; 4 months, every 4-5 hours and at 6 months, he should be able to hold it for 6 hours or overnight. I think that using pee pads and trying to teach outside potty habits at this age is too confusing and he is too young to learn both at the same time. You need to find one method and stick to that for now.

Why is it that he is left alone for so long? Puppies require a lot of time with their owners and time for training. The crate should only be large enough for him to turn around and lie down, not have a pee pad where he can get to it and if you are gone, he needs to be in the crate for safety reasons. There is no reason for him to use a pee pad when people are home to let him outside. If people are not home to take care and train him, maybe a dog is not the best pet. Can someone like a friend, neighbor or family member come and let him out when no one is home?

Maybe others will be along with better advice but I don't recommend trying multiple methods with such a young pup right now.

Best of luck!

try tying a bell, like a cat bell you can buy at the store, to a piece of string and connect it to the knob of the outside door and teach him to ring it to let you know he wants to go outside. you can teach him by putting the bell on his nose before you go outside and tell him "good dog,ring the bell" and give him a treat before you take him potty. after he goes potty outside tell him good dog in a nice voice. if he goes potty inside tell him bad dog in a bold voice, then take him to the outside door and put the bell on his nose and tell him ring the bell, then take him outside for while but dont leave him.

Not to change the focus to me, but this seemed to be the appropriate place to ask.. If my dog still isn't understanding to go potty outside, is it a good idea to start the bell process? He will only potty outside when i watch him till he is pacing and then take him outside. He is a almost 5mo yorkie. Thanks :D