It's long, sorry... I'm chatty...
I have that pen which I got when Brodie was a pup, but as a pen it didn't last long - Kooper can pick it up by his nose, he's a determined booger and needed to get in to get whatever Brodie had... We did use it with Deacon in a different location for a few days when he came home. We went from that to a section of our hallway to the powder room blocked by a walk through gate (Facebook Marketplace) with the powder room door closed. He then graduated to the same area but with the powder room door open. Now he has run of the kitchen and dinette area, that same hallway and powder room but I still have that gate up for times I just want him behind bars - we call it 'puppy prison'. There is a walk through gate into our family room (also FB martketplace) and I have the rest of the house gated off with a cheap wooden gate from Walmart that I can easily step over. The doorway from front entrance into the kitchen is blocked by 2 panels from that playpen. It serves as a gate there with most of one panel tucked behind my fridge and the other panel extended over the doorway. I took all my door mats up so we have nothing that can be thought of as a pee pad.
My kids complain about the gates when they visit - 'how long are the gates going to last?' - because apparently they are too much effort to deal with yet us two old folks are just fine with them!
Baby steps. Puppies don't want to pee where they eat. In kennel for bed, when you are out of the house. You add the play pen or a gated area. Then when he is reliable there, you add some space. It takes a LONG time! Boys take longer than girls too. Deacon will be 19 weeks on Sunday. He's still having accidents, but now only once or twice, maybe three a week. He does come and jump up and down on your legs when he has to poo. He did great this week, then this morning he went to the door which I had open but had the storm door which is all glass closed. Dummy me thought he was just looking out the glass - apparently I ignored a 'sign' - my fault. I do have a bell and have been ringing it religiously before I take him out, but he did not use it. Deacon slept through the night from day 1 with no accidents, but during the day had a bladder of a gnat. I was grateful for the sleep and chalked all the daytime potty trips up to making my step allotment for the day. There were times he was going every 10 minutes.
Odd, but we put a male wrap on him at night when he has access to our Family room which is carpeted. I just learned with Brodie that it does come in time, and I am happier waiting for that time if I am not dealing with carpet stains. He keeps his wrap dry now and has for weeks even though that is the 'witching hour' for our dog play. I still don't trust him in there without it - he's only 18 weeks old. My kids didn't go to college wearing diapers so I know Deacon won't always wear his wrap.
Even once he really 'gets' it, which may not come till 5 or 6 months, he's still a baby, unreliable. To me, it's more me that is trained. Somewhere around 8 - 9 months he'd going to backslide if he is like Brodie. Once Brodie got neutered (he began marking at 8 1/2 months and had a 3 strikes, you're snipped rule) he has never again peed in the house, his rebellion had to do with poo. Didn't last long, a short time being crated again for potty snapped him out of it and he's been good ever since. I got frustrated a few times when I had Brodie cuz Willow was a puppy then and she got it way, way, WAY faster than Brodie - but she's a girl and he's a boy. With Deacon, I am 'chill' about it because I do realize eventually he'll get it.
