need a little help potty in the house-NO!

My fiance and I went and got a pup about 2 and a half months ago. When we got him... he got sick 5 days later because the girl we got him from is a scam artist trying to make some money by selling inbred dogs, sick dogs, mean dogs ect. He got parvo and so I think that may have delayed him from getting potty trained. I know it's not an excuse... my fiance is telling me that he will be gone in 2 weeks if I can't house break him! I am trying everything! I take him out frequently... I give him lots of love when he goes outside, I have put his poo outside with him if he does go in the house! A little advice???!!! He's in his kennel at night and a little bit throughout the day, but how much can a pup really be locked up? HELP!

My baby (ha! he's 10 1/2 now, a king shepherd, so hardly a baby) also came down with parvo and spent the first week he was with us at the vet's. I wouldn't have traded him for anything in the world, he was always a problem (ate the couch--yes!), but I love him to pieces.

You and your partner have to remember that this is a baby, and just like a human baby, it's going to take patience and time before he "gets it." Ultimatums won't work, and discarding a dog because he isn't housebroken within a time limit is--sorry, but--irresponsible. Sam took forever; I never believed in kennels but I was working fulltime outside of the house and finally got a crate and he was in it whenever I couldn't be around. He got used to it, even reached the point where it was the place he would go if he was frightened (now he considers under my desk that spot). They say a dog won't go where he has to sleep, but let's face it, if you have to go, you go. The kennel was easier to clean than carpet.

I don't know what breed of dog you have (that could affect his ability to catch on--let's face it, some breeds are sweet but dumb), so some of this may be beyond your pup, but here are some things I've done that have helped:

- I hung a bell by the back door, and taught him to ring it by touching it with his nose or batting it with his paw whenever he wanted out. Yes, he learned to do this. And every single time he rang it, we promptly let him out, so he knew this would always get the same result.

- I always praised him and gave him a cookie when he went outside, saying something like "Good potty *outside*!" When he boobooed inside, I would talk gruffly and say "bad" and "no" and put him outside, saying "good potty here." He loves to be told he's good, so he caught on. I also did this with my other dog, who is a LabX, and I'm pretty sure the other part is beagle, because she's not the brightest lantern in the rafters, but she caught on PDQ. Never hit (yelling doesn't help either); just prause and let him know when he's made you unhappy with your voice. 

- when we moved to the new house I wanted them to go in only one area of the yard, so same thing, I would walk to that spot with them, making it fun and upbeat by saying "Let's go potty! Oh boy!", praise and cookie them right away when they did their thing in the right spot, but simply turned around and wordlessly returned to the house with them if they didn't. They figured it out within a week.

Anyway--patience, patience, patience! And let him know you love him. He'll try as hard as he can to please you.

I agree that patience, consistency, and love are the keys - and there is no set timeline - different breeds and different puppies of the same breed learn at different rates. 

Crates are really important for the safety of the puppy - and depends on the age how long the pup can be in the crate between walks.  Puppies require a LOT of interaction for them to be healthy and happy and well-adjusted - so no, they shouldn't spend the bulk of their time in one. 

Another important thing is a really high quality diet (which means expensive) - so it is very digestable (which means less poop).

I know some people who use the bell on the door - others have had to keep them on a leash, even when sitting around watching tv - mostly to alert you when they start getting restless - and you can keep a closer eye on them...the general rule is, if a healthy puppy has an accident in the house, it is usually the humans fault for not recognizing the signs that the puppy needed to go out...

Good luck and don't give up - be patient and lots of love - it will pay off!