Why doesn't he stop?

I've seen both - it just depends on the puppy.

8 week old puppies need to be taken out a lot.  Every hour on the hour; as well as after mealtime.  You are in housetraining mode from day 1 of bringing the baby home.  Patience and consistency on your part is key.  Be sure to take the pup to the same area where you want him to eliminate and start associating a word (I use "business";) with the act.  Every time the pup eliminates, say the word you choose with great enthusiasm (have a party).  Pup will start looking at you like "Wow, this makes Mom VERY happy."

Also, try not to scare the puppy when you are picking him up when caught in the act.  He doesn't know any better and if you snatch him you could be sending the wrong message.  Pick him up calmly and you should have calm energy when doing this.  Don't yell at the puppy, simply say (softly)...noooo, not here (or something similar).  He will start to associate that inside is not the place to go; and it makes you very happy when he goes outside.  Again, consistency, calm energy and patience is critical at this stage.

Congrats on the new addition!

My youngest, now 18 mo, is the exact same way, even to this day.  What I've learned is to try and interrupt once and if it doesn't work I grab his collar, wait until he's done, and rush him outside again as he usually still has some left even after a huge puddle has been left in the house.  Then I take a rolled up newspaper and ... smack *myself* upside the head for not taking him outside sooner!  At 18 months the only time he potties inside is if he tanked up on water and I forgot that he'd need to go out sooner than usual, so it's always my fault.

I've noticed the boys have a harder time stopping mid stream...than the girls. Mechanics perhaps? True for humans too I understand LOL.

This is the exact reason that I ALWAYS have an old towel handy to pick up the peeing puppy in.  Rather wash a towel than clean up dribbles all over!

CoBuHe

Also, try not to scare the puppy when you are picking him up when caught in the act.  He doesn't know any better and if you snatch him you could be sending the wrong message.  Pick him up calmly and you should have calm energy when doing this.  Don't yell at the puppy, simply say (softly)...noooo, not here (or something similar).  He will start to associate that inside is not the place to go; and it makes you very happy when he goes outside.  Again, consistency, calm energy and patience is critical at this stage.

I agree, but I'd take it one step further and not interrupt the pup - if you scare him, or give him "elevator syndrome" the unintended consequence might be that he develops a fear of urinating in front of you.  That's often what causes a puppy to start hiding to urinate, or to stand outside for an hour with you holding the other end of the leash, only to come inside and pee in the dining room.  Not what you want;-)  Be proactive and take him out more than you think is necessary.  When he eliminates outdoors, praise or offer an occasional tidbit.  If he doesn't, either place him back in his crate and try again every 10-15 minutes or so, or tether him to your belt and watch him religiously.  If he starts to sniff or circle, get him outside asap.

candjharris

he's quite big

At 8 weeks? What breed is he?

P.S. You know when the dr. asks for a urine sample and you have to stop and start again? Most men can't do this.

candjharris

he was out jumping and playing around the yard and I repeated "Go pee" 5 or 6 times and was flabbergasted when he actually squatted and peed. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but I'd like to think he's just that smart LOL

I'm sure he is smart  but what you did is pretty common and not the optimum way to associate a word with an action.  When you repeat the word many times for a certain behavior and the dog is not actually doing the behavior, he's not associating the word with the action.  If you wait  (in this case) for the action and then say the word, the dog will make the connection faster.  :)  

He's an adorable puppy, btw.

I didn't mean to make it sound like you were doing something wrong.  My point was that dogs, especially puppies, are always learning, even when we aren't in "training" mode.