Increasing Space and Time
No matter what method of housetraining you choose to use, you must remember to move slowly when increasing your dachshund's level of freedom in the home. Basically, you always move in baby steps. The two variables that you are working with are space (the size of the area the dachshund has free access to) and time (the number of hours she can be expected to “hold”).
Be sure you increase only one variable at a time. For example, if your puppy is very successful in holding for two hours at a time in her crate during the day, you can extend her crate time by another thirty minutes. If the puppy is successful with two and a half hours, has been consistently “good” in her playpen, and alerts you when she has to go outside, you might choose to increase the puppy's range to include the small kitchen where you've been keeping the crate and playpen. If the puppy does well here and alerts you that she has to relieve herself when in the kitchen, you can consider extending the pup's crate time to three hours, and so on.
A dog is considered to have learned a task or skill if she has completed the task or skill twelve times successfully with no more than one error. This “training in twelves” can also apply to housetraining. Before you increase the dog's space or time (in small increments), make sure she has accomplished what you are currently asking her to do at least twelve times successfully.
