5 month forgot her potty training??

[lanovoa]

Hi!
We rescued Coco when she was around 3 months old, she's a terrier X shih-tzu mix. We started paper training her because we live in a condo in the 6th floor with no real access to "outside"... it was working fine, the accidents were less and less every time!!
BUT NOW, she's 5 months old and she seems to have forgotten!!! She pees and poos everywhere in the house except the paper... HELP!

This is what we do... in the condo: we have two places with paper for her to go, when she's left alone she stays in a room by herself, no crate, there's paper in that room but she rarely uses it. We take her outside min. 2 times a day, morning and afternoon. When we go outside she goes and everything runs fine... but we can't just be taking her outside every couple of hours, overall at night...

It seems to us that since we started taking her outside (after her shots and spaying, around the 4 and a half months) she totally forgot about the paper! Could it be possible?
HOW COULD I TRAIN MY PUPPY TO GO BOTH OUTSIDE AND IN THE PAPER WHEN SHE'S INSIDE... or is she just in "the annoying age"??

Thanks for your help

[DoubleRR]

Honestly don't know what to tell you. When I train a pup--I take it out on a strict schedule and never allow it to "go" in the house.
You can only 'rescue' if you are set up to do so-----
The reason she is ignoring the paper is they do not like to eliminate in the same well used spot--if you clean up a spot, they will use it again as there is a faint odor still. If you do not clean it enough, they will look for another spot to "scent" with their urine or feces. She has not forgotten anything--you have only had her two months and she does not understand what you want. Now that she has become used to eliminating indoors you will have some issues in retraining. Look into providing a spot that is set up like a piece of lawn for indoors. They make potty stations that drain through fake grass and entice dogs that like to go outside to use them instead of the floor. Google it. Good luck.

[MyBirdIsEvil]

DoubleRR is right. You've allowed her to eliminate places you don't want her to so many times that she now doesn't know it's not ok. 5 months old wasn't the right time to give her free roam of a room to herself. Many dogs aren't completely potty trained until a year old or more, and that's if you've been working with them since 8 weeks or so. You can't allow her free roam of anything just because she's stopped having accidents for a short amount of time.

You will have to restart training by supervising her when she's not crated and not allowing her to eliminate in those spots. Clean the places she's had accident with an enzyme cleaner to completely get rid of the smell. Reward her with treats in praise when she does go where she's supposed to.

At night she needs to be crated so she doesn't have access to the places she's not supposed to go.

[Marcha]

Have you changed her eating and drinking schedule or location? Are you still systematically taking her out or bringing her to her elimination station 10 minutes after each meal, drink, sleep or play session and not going anywhere until she's gone potty?

Do you keep her attached to you with a leash while you're home so that you can keep an eye on her every move?

Has your pup ever been in a crate? If not, what are your reasons for not getting her used to a crate? (and yes, crate training and potty training are related.) If yes, why did you stop?

[Dog Dancer]

I honestly don't understand why you want her to go inside anyhow, other than being too lazy to take her out. Sorry if that sounds rude, it's not meant to be. You said you walk Coco in the morning and in the afternoon. What about after dinner in the evening?? Do you have a balcony that you could put your papers on to encourage her going outside rather than inside? The other info you have here is wonderful. If she is doing her business all over the place while you are home then you need to use the umbilical cord method and attach a leash to her and to yourself. Keep her beside you at all times so that you can stop her from doing business anywhere she wants. Redirect her to the appropriate place, or rush her outside and reward her. I truly believe long term outside is a much better idea for her (even if you live six floors up).