My three month old Beagle refuses to get potty trained.

[Ophelia Trelawney]

We take him at the designated spot but he does not pee there. He pees/ poops as soon as we leave it wherever he wants. I need help

[Adrienne]

Hi there!

Welcome to the forums,

Beagles are generally more challenging to be potty trained compared to other dogs. I will need a little more information to better understand what may be happening.

Are you potty training him on pee pads? Or outside in the yard?

Is he crate trained? 

Where are you keeping him during the day? 

Are you home most of the day? 

These extra details will helpful.

 

[Ophelia Trelawney]

We're trying to train him in the loo but we want to start taking him out in the yard. He doesn't seem to like his crate. He pees in it even though we take him out every half an hour. He roams around and then ends up peeing as soon as he's back in his crate. We keep him in his crate when he's asleep. He has a room where he's allowed to roam about. He also runs around the house when we let him. I'm at home all day. He's very naughty and stubborn but he's a huge sweetheart too. 

[Adrienne]

Awww, what a cutie, reminds me of Snoopy:)

We can take several steps to make him like being in the crate, but we need to go very gradual though as there is a thin line between making the crate a great place to be and creating negative associations while enclosed there due to boredom, fear or feeling a sense isolation if crated away from us. In general, if he is crying in it or pawing to get out most of the time, that's a sign that he's struggling with it, so we need to go very slowly in the process and try to help him out. 

Here you can find some exercises to help a dog love the crate:

Love the Crate – Brain Training for Dogs

 

Love the Crate – Brain Training for Dogs

 

 

Here are some more ideas:

-Make sure your beagle's needs are met before being crated. Make sure he has exercised, has eaten, drank, played, did fun brain games etc. 

-Make sure he has gone potty before placing him there so that he's empty. If he is crated after being outside, you have the odds against you and a high probability of peeing in it.

.-Make sure the crate is of the correct size.  I can't tell from the picture how big it is,  but bigger isn't necessarily better when it comes to crates for potty training. Rather, you may want to go on the snug side if you don't want to lose its potty training potential. A correct-sized crate should be large enough that your puppy  can sit, lie down and turn around, but not that large as to allowing him the freedom to pee in one corner of the crate and sleep comfortably on the opposite side. Some large crates come with a divider that you can use to make it more snug. Alternatively, if you already purchased a crate and you know it's too large, you can place a box in it and then expand it by using a smaller box as the puppy grows.The correct size of the crate is therefore important considering that the crate's  main purpose for potty training is to teach the puppy to hold it so that he doesn't soil his sleeping area (which is an instinct that most dogs naturally have).

-Consider that peeing on its own is a strongly self-reinforcing behavior. The dog feels pressure building up in the bladder and desires to get rid of the sensation. In other words, peeing just feels good. These feel-good sensations therefore will prompt the dog to want to repeat it in the future. Therefore, because peeing in the crate feels good, it may become an established behavior along with him thinking that's his bathroom. Sure, dogs may not like feeling wet after the fact (and some may never really get to feel much discomfort if you line the crate with absorbent materials), however, some dogs can habituate to the feeling if it happens often. In other words, you don't want your dog to sit in his pee or poop too often as this goes against facilitating good potty training habits. So it's important to take steps to prevent this from happening.

-Keep your puppy near the door and provide ample of opportunities to pee outside if your goal is outdoor elimination. It sounds like you are doing well on this in taking him out. Young puppies may need to go as often as every 30 minutes to an hour their first weeks, They more they go outside and you praise them and give them a treat, the more you help establish correct habits so that they can make the connection that outside is the place to go. Once this connection is made, your dog may begin to alert to go out.

-Make sure to take your pup outside right after eating, upon waking up from a nap, after playing vigorously, once or twice a night and right before bed time.

-Clean the accidents in the crate with an enzyme-based product that helps remove traces of any residual smells. Beagles have strong noses so if you use the wrong products, they may think of the crate as their bathroom if they detect scent of previous accidents there. 

-In some cases, it may help removing any absorbent materials from the crate. Sure they help make the job of cleaning up faster for you, but because these absorb urine, your puppy never gets to fully experience the discomfort associated with laying on their mess. 

-Do not give your dog the full run of the house until he's proven to be fully potty trained. When not crated and you know he isn't due to pee or poop any time soon, contain him in a room with clear views where you can play with him but also watch his every move. If you ever notice signs he has to potty, quickly escort him outside without frightening him. 

-Keep a journal of your dog's accidents in the crate/home and at what time they happen so that you can aim to taking him outside earlier to prevent such accidents.

-If you must keep your puppy alone in the crate for more than he can hold it, skip the crate and keep your puppy or dog in a play pen/exercise pen or safe small gated area of the home where there is a washable surface and where you can place on one side his food and water bowl, bed and some toys, and on the opposite side some pee pads where he can eliminate without making a great mess. This as well to inculcate the instinct to pee away from where he eats and sleeps. 

-Every time you take your puppy outside, aim to teach him to go potty  on command. This may take some time to teach,  but it's worth it in the long run. Here's how to train it. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/

I hope this helps,

There's a lot to cover when it comes to potty training dogs, and every pup may come with his own sets of challenges. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. 

Best,

Adrienne