-- still peeing inside; please help find what I'm missing

Hi, newbie here. We adopted 2 abandoned mixed breed puppies about 2 weeks ago. Chance and Lucky (females) are about 7 to 8 weeks old now, we believe. They were checked out by vet and got a good bill of health.

As we live in the country and are away from the house all day with our jobs (teachers), the puppies have a fenced area that is plenty big for living, sleeping, playing, hanging out, pooping, feeding, etc. As the weather is comfortable, they sleep outside at night, too. They have a warm place to cuddle up together.

We started out crating them when we first brought them home. They slept most of the time and we were home the first few days during spring break. Now that we are back to work, they are outside all day. When we get up in the morning, we bring them inside to play and get some loving until we leave for the day. Then, when we get home, they come in and out with us to play, hang out, go for walks, etc. They are fed outside.

I've read some forums here already and am trying to figure out what I need to work on.

They are peeing inside when we bring them in! Please let me know what I'm missing:
-- I believe I need to constrain them to a small area where they can play, hang out and sleep in their crate but where I can keep an eye on them so if I see a squat, I can quickly pick them up and take them outside.
-- We've been letting them roam when they are inside and that isn't working; I'm going crazy keeping an eye on them.
-- When I take them outside, I should wait until they finish their pee and praise and give a treat. If I don't catch them in the act, I can't scold.
-- I can use the bell at the door trick, too. That's fine and clever.
-- I should quickly clean up the mess with a good pet cleaner when they aren't watching. I should also rent a carpet cleaner and clean up the rug because there are areas where they have peed that may still smell to them, sending the wrong message: "it's ok to pee here, we've done it before and this smells like the place to pee".
-- oh, and, I don't want to use newspaper to train them. It's too much of a hassle and we have a large yard outside for them to learn to use anyway.

What am I missing here? How long will it take? You see, my daughter and I are the trainers. My husband just likes to hang out and play with them but doesn't want to be bothered with training them.

Thanks for any ideas :-)

As I understand the situation, you have two outside dogs you want to behave as inside dogs. That, to me, is your main problem. Another problem is 7 - 8 weeks old. They are a little too young to absolutely comprehend the idea of where to potty. It doesn't mean don't work on it, just don't expect immediate results.

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-- I believe I need to constrain them to a small area where they can play, hang out and sleep in their crate but where I can keep an eye on them so if I see a squat, I can quickly pick them up and take them outside.

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Yes, you are right on this point. 100% right.

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-- We've been letting them roam when they are inside and that isn't working; I'm going crazy keeping an eye on them.

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Don't let them roam where you cant keep an eye on them. Watching them like a hawk is very important so you can interrupt them if they start to do wrong.

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-- When I take them outside, I should wait until they finish their pee and praise and give a treat. If I don't catch them in the act, I can't scold.

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Don't scold ayway. No need to. They don't know what they are being scolded for so it accomplishes nothing.

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-- I should quickly clean up the mess with a good pet cleaner when they aren't watching. I should also rent a carpet cleaner and clean up the rug because there are areas where they have peed that may still smell to them, sending the wrong message: "it's ok to pee here, we've done it before and this smells like the place to pee".

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Don't worry about whether they are watching or not. There are chemicals at good pet stores what will eliminate the smell and keep them from thinking it is a pee place.

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-- oh, and, I don't want to use newspaper to train them. It's too much of a hassle and we have a large yard outside for them to learn to use anyway.

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You don't want to use a newspaper for anything anytime except maybe to beat your self over the head for not paying attention.

Another big problem you have is you are house training 2 new puppies at the same time. That is more difficult than just one by himself. If it were me, I'd find a way to keep them inside all the time even if you have to crate them for a while until they are potty trained and are not destroying the house. Once they get over that, just leave them loose inside and they will be ok. I used to regularly leave my dogs for 10 hours a day without problems.