How the feck do I stop my puppy from weeing on the floor?!

[G3entlemanjack]

He's a purebred Cocker spaniel, 13 weeks old, we've had him since 8 weeks old. He's an absolutely lovely boy who is quick to learn and more or less as obedient as can be expected at his age. He gets lots of love and cuddles and he's hardly ever on his own. He has a crate that he goes into overnight with absolutely no problems. He also uses it during the day as and when he wants to.
Basically he's a happy, secure, contented little chap.

BUT HE WILL NOT STOP WEEING ON MY KITCHEN FLOOR.

I know what I'm doing, I've raised puppies before. From day one he went into the garden to toilet. He quickly got the hang of it and doesn't poo inside the house. To start with we took him outside regularly and gave lots of praise and fuss and sometimes treats when he went. But something isn't working because he prefers to wee in the house!

He has constant access to our secure, walled garden. There's nothing out there that scares him. I'm still taking him outside regularly because if I don't he will go inside. I can't keep an eye on him 24/7 so there are still puddles of puppy wee in the kitchen.

Last time I caught him doing it I yelled at him and put him outside for a few minutes. Then all forgotten. I had a dry kitchen for the next couple of hours and I dared to hope we might have cracked it.... then I walked into our sitting room - big puddle of wee on the carpet!

He doesn't like going on wet grass but there are other places that he uses quite happily. He just simply prefers to wee inside and I'm at my wits end! HELP!

Keep an eye on him 24/7. If you cant watxh him crate him. Take him out every 45 mins on the dot.

Try a puppy pad inside and let him use it in his favourite spot - gradually move it until it is outside?

no point in yelling if you see him do it, pick him up and squeeze his legs together and run outside.

Don't use puppy pads, that'll just encourage the behaviour. I would take him out every 20 minutes, go right back to absolute basics. It's going to be very tedious but hopefully it'll help.

He would hate being shut in his crate for long periods and I don't think it would be fair, he's a bundle of energy and I think he would be distressed.

I'm currently taking him out to wee at least once an hour. When it was raining he didn't want to go outside and we stood there for ten minutes until he eventually did a big wee. He'd been trying to go back inside but I'd shut the door and he was aiming to wee inside!

There's no particular area in the kitchen. It's like he squats down and wees wherever he happens to be standing! I literally don't know how to break this habit. He'll go outside if I take him, but won't go on his own.

It just suddenly clicks for them.
My puppy wasn't properly house trained until 5-6 months.
I would just praise and give a treat every single time I saw her have a wee in the garden. I still always keeps treats in all my coat pockets!
Still do it sometimes, keeps the focus!
13 weeks is young yet.
Don't stress about it.

Just have your mop bucket at the ready every day.
Always bleach, properly clean the area.
I had a bit of fake grass just outside the back door and every time she wee'd on that we'd give her huge praise and a treat.
It'll come!

It's not a habit any more than a child using a nappy is a habit. He's probably not mature enough yet
Go back to basics and reward when he gets it right

What are you using to clean up his indoor accidents? You need to use either a proprietary pet accident cleaner or a solution of biological clothes washing powder/liquid.

If there’s even a tiny bit of biological scent left behind he will regularly go back to the same spot if he feels the need to go.

I would also take him out more regularly and make rewards for going outside bigger and more exciting. Doesn’t have to be food treats, could be a massive fuss or a game with his favourite toy if he finds those more motivating.

If none of that works, you could try getting hold of a clicker and use that to ‘capture’ the exact moment he wees outside, so he is absolutely clear on what he’s being rewarded for. You’d need to read up on how to use the clicker so that he knows the sound signal’s a correct behaviour and reward on the way.

You have to take him outside. You've said it yourself, he'll go if you take him out but won't go on his own. There's some reason he doesn't want to go out on his own to do it (IMO it's because he's not mature enough to understand how to make that sequence of events happen, he's still extremely young). Or, he may have had a fright whilst out there which you're not aware of. So go back to doing whatever you need to do in order to have success (i.e. go out there with him). Our 10 week old pup needs to pee very much more often than every 45 mins (during the day anyway, she can go several hours at night). Sometimes I'll get the feeling she needs to go out even though I took her out 10 mins ago, and sure enough when we get out there she pees. I know your pup is a little older but he may need to go more often than you think.

He's still very young! Accidents are inevitable at this age. Like others have said, just take him outside every half an hour or so. It does click very suddenly with dogs when they toilet train but 13 weeks is too young to expect no accidents IMO.

And don't yell at him! Poor little thing!

You need to go back to basics. Take him out every half an hour or so. Stay with him until he does what you want, quiet praise, back inside. Every.Single.Time. Without fail.

Yelling at him won't help, all he learnt was that he got yelled at in the kitchen so did it in a different room where you couldn't see.

Every accident he has is because you weren't watching him so it's yourself you need to yell at, not him. He's a baby and he's still learning.

Put some slip on shoes by the door and a brolly/ coat. Puppy bells work really well.

Please don't yell at him. He's still tiny. My cocker wasn't reliable with wee inside till nearer 20 weeks, but hasn't had an accident inside since. You need to just keep taking him out and praising and not shouting when he does it inside.

I agree yelling won't help but get its frustrating. My puppy took a good few months of me taking her outside every hour and saying "wee,wee" over and over again until she went, then she would get a big praise. Now all I have to say to her is wee wee and she goes running to the back door for me to let her out

Gosh, thanks for all the responses. I'm glad to hear that it's pretty normal. I'm happy to go back to basics if that's what is required.

I shouldn't have shouted at him, I know and I feel bad but in that moment I'd just reached the end of my tether 😞

I've just been mopping up puppy wee and cleaning with a generic anti-bacterial spray. Considering that there's no particular area in the kitchen where he goes, would a proper anti-mess spray even work??

The anti-mess sprays are just enzymatic cleaners which remove the urine odours - they're helpful because they remove any trace of 'toilet' to the dog.
Biological washing powder solution works just as well.

Puppies are exhausting OP, stick with it. You might find that crating him for short periods and taking him outside straight after crating/napping/eating will help

Simple Solution (you can get it on amazon) will help. Otherwise back to every 20 minutes out. Good luck!