Puppy toilet training advice.

Associate
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30 May 2008
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Hi all,

Me and my girlfriend decided to get a puppy a few weeks ago. It's not something we rushed into and been talking about it for awhile.

I have had dogs and puppies before and never had much trouble training them but this is my first one on my own that's not been a family dog.

I am having troubles toilet training him he's about 12 weeks now so dicided to get advice.

The first week we had him there was the odd pee accident but generally he was really good and didn't really poo inside. And would regular go outside.

The second week he seems to have got worse we can stand outside with him and he won't go, only to come inside and pee or poo, when he's out there doesn't seem to have any interest in doing anything just tends to sit there.

I take him out first thing in morning which is the only time he seems to do regular poo and pee outside now. After that seems totally random. I take him out regularly after naps, play time and eating, and generally when he looks like looks ready to do something. The door is open for him all day and sometimes we will go out and do something.

When he does something outside I prise him and lots of fuss and he gets a treat, if I catch him peeing or pooing I will tell him no and get him outside.

We can start talking him for walks next week which I am hoping will help a bit.

Also the people who we got him off used to use puppy training pads which I think has been encouraging him to pee inside cause when they are down he tends to pee on them but I trying to get away from using them cause worried he won't learn to pee outside.

He also seems to pee in his bed a lot.

Is it a case of just carry on with what I am doing I realise he still quite young and just starting get more control.

Any advice or tips would be welcome.
 
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Soldato
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Avoid puppy pads is my advice, they aparently give off a smell some dogs dislike - our boarder terriers peed anywhere but on them! Friends told us to use newspaper instead, and they soon used that to do their business on.
 
Soldato
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Just have to persist with letting the dog out and praising it when it goes in the correct spot. I trained one of mine with a cow bell on the back door. Problem is every time she hit the bell I had to let her out, she would do it every five minutes just to be a dick.
My other dog used to half eat the evidence, we went through about 1.5 months of frustration with her till she finally got it.
 
Associate
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Best advice is to always treat him like a little baby and don't force anything. If he gets stressed over peeing or pooping it'll make things exponentially harder.

When he wakes up after sleeping take him outside immediately and tell him in a firm but friendly tone to pee.. use a word or sound and stick to that word!

When he does pee or poop, change your tone to praise and tell him good job peeing.

Be proactive, learn his behaviour when he wants to go and try to minimize his chances of doing it in the house!
 
Soldato
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He'll learn eventually just make sure he's not stressed if you can.

Yep, mine was an absolute nightmare. I did everything by the book and he'd still crap all over the place inside. Then one day, out of the blue, it just seemed to click for him and he was perfect from then on.
 
Associate
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The door is open for him all day and sometimes we will go out and do something.


Also the people who we got him off used to use puppy training pads which I think has been encouraging him to pee inside cause when they are down he tends to pee on them but I trying to get away from using them cause worried he won't learn to pee outside.

I thought with training pads that you gradually move them closer to the open door and then outside. Once they are going outside every time you stop putting the pads down…not going to be very effective if he keeps weeing in his bed though
 
Caporegime
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I have no real advice but while looking after the guys friends dog I taught him to lift his leg up and pee like a big boy (he has always peed like a puppy/girl) through demonstration.

Try that :D:cry:
 
Associate
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Wh he pees in bed is it a crate? you might need to get up a couple of times at night and take him out really as unless v lucky he won’t be overnight toilet trained. You also probably need to be more regular taking to garden through day, like every 30 mins or so. Their bladders are small and will go a lot. If just weed or pooed don’t take out immediately as he won’t need it then so wait 20 mins or so and then take out. Does he pee in same place? Give it a really thorough clean as he may be smelling his pee and making that his spot.
He’s still a baby and it may take time though
 
Soldato
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Yep, mine was an absolute nightmare. I did everything by the book and he'd still crap all over the place inside. Then one day, out of the blue, it just seemed to click for him and he was perfect from then on.

Same here. I would say ours took at least a year to toilet train. And even after a year we would get the rare instance for 6 months. Now it's just clicked.

I should add he wasn't horrendous upto the 12 month part. He could go days/weeks without an accident and then have a bad couple of days.

For me it was very much persistence and routine. So I would let him out at the exact same times every day - I think these were every 3/4 hours, I even had google announce it so I'd be reminded.

I think the worst bit for our boy was the weather. He absolutely hated the rain and would refuse to willingly walk out into the rain, so I had to carry him out and stand over him with an umbrella. (yes a right little princess).

I think the first question is whether he's weeing overnight or during the day. Overnight is the hardest because it's a much longer window between going. I used to try and get ours out by 11pm and then again by about 6/6:30. If it's during the day then it just requires more persistence and more frequency.
 
Soldato
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You might need to prompt him to go to the toilet every couple of hours, slowly increasing the amount of time between his toilets as his bladder strengthens and he gets used to the signals from it, that tell him he needs to go.

I absolutely hate puppy training pads or even bits of newspaper. When my dog was a pup, I would let it out for a wee every 1.5 hours. When outside, I would say "wee wee" every so often - use a soft and calm voice, which I admit is easier said than done by the umpteenth time 10 minutes in. Eventually I got the result I wanted to see, a wee or poo or outside, so I would praise but not give any treats.

If you catch the pup doing the toilet inside the house, using a little louder than usual voice say NO and carry them outside to where they should do the toilet and tell them to do the toilet there using whichever command you choose. Then immediately clean up their accident, using a spray that DOESN'T contain bleach as they are apparently attracted to the chlorine smell of bleach.
 
Caporegime
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Wh he pees in bed is it a crate? you might need to get up a couple of times at night and take him out really as unless v lucky he won’t be overnight toilet trained. You also probably need to be more regular taking to garden through day, like every 30 mins or so. Their bladders are small and will go a lot. If just weed or pooed don’t take out immediately as he won’t need it then so wait 20 mins or so and then take out. Does he pee in same place? Give it a really thorough clean as he may be smelling his pee and making that his spot.
He’s still a baby and it may take time though


Tbf I'm pretty toilet trained but couldn't make it through a whole night without a pee
 
Caporegime
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Is that how you do it?


I did keep my trousers on!


But after he peed cocked a leg up on a tree while saying his name a few times when he peed so he watched.


After this he now pees like a proper boy :p


So frankly I think the op needs to pop a squat in the garden.


I was drunk and in charge of someone else's dog so all advice given is poor.

Me and the gf so want a dog but live in two different countries and I work long nights so unfair on a little pupper so borrowing others spoiling them is all we have :(
 
Associate
OP
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Hi all, thanks for the tips and advice sorry for the slow reply he been keeping me busy .

Some of the issues was my fault after the first week, I thought it would be easy training him and I got too complaint and lazy. Also people have been looking after him who maybe wasn't maybe doing the same things as me, I think it set him back. I was also getting annoyed and stressed which didn't help. So been working on that.

I had a really bad day with him think it was Monday where I was constantly taking him out only for him to come inside and do his bidness.

But since then it's been much better. He got better with the "out"command. I am watching him a lot more.
If I think he's ready to do something I tell him out and he's going out. As I was writing this he did a cheeky pee but I told him no and out, he then ran outside.



I have got rid of the pads now, I think it was confusing him. I also see any accidents as that and opportunities to teach him.

More advice needed I was wanting to create train Him. But as soon I put it up he seemed to know what it was and it stressed him out. I feel like the people we got him off used a create in the wrong way.

He has been sleeping with us but most nights he will pee on the bed. It's not like he can't hold his bladder either cause after his first pee on the bed he can go rest of night without doing anything. So feels like its a terrority thing as he's never once peed on the sofa.

What is the best way to stop this. I Have looked up stuff on YouTube but they always make it seem so easy.
 
Commissario
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You really need to persist with crate training - there's so much info on Youtube, some good videos by Fenrir. Make it appealing to him, we started by feeding our lab in the crate - I'd put her bowl in the crate and make her wait before going in, therefore making it so that she wants to go in.
 
Associate
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You've already made a mistake by allowing him in the bed at night - it's going to be far more difficult now to get him out than it would have been to deny it from the beginning. Unless you want him there that is

Leave the crate up with the door open with a bed in and a blanket over and make it inviting, leave treats in it etc. Even if he doesn't go in it for a few days he will get used to it being there

You've done the right thing getting rid of pads though they just make it confusing that they're then allowed to pee indoors
 
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