Ruffydog

Thanks for the tips about using too many puppy pads Annie. I'll try and limit them. I have thought of giving Ruffy an old thong of mine but I have read that you shouldnt give any of your old stuff to your puppy because they cant differentiate between their stuff and yours but I think I will give him one anyway because he loves them so much and looks so funny running around with a thong in his mouth!! The play date sounds like a great idea but I live in Melbourne So nice of you to suggest it though! Thanks for all the encouragement. I feel much more confident that we will get there soon!

Thank you all so much for your replies! I think I am much better off having the puppy pads all over the house and getting him to use them and then moving them outside when he has got the hang of only going to the toilet on the pads. Then I can relax when we are at home hanging out together and not feel as though I have to follow his around every second of the day. My puppy just like Max.. lots of warning for when he needs to poo but I can never catch him before he wees! I usually limit the areas he is alowed to roam around in and is left in during the day so I can monitor his toileting a lot better. I have been sort-of crate training him... but he is a very energetic little fellow and I just cant bring myself to have him in his crate for most of the day and let him out for the toilet and a play every now and then.. he sleeps in his crate in my room and very happily goes in there at bed time and sometimes during the day for a rest and if I just need a minute to myself on his bad days of weeing all over the place or constantly licking and biting me! I went out and bought one of those puppy pens but he hates being in there especially when I put him in it outside and he cant see me.. I just use it now to block off the kitchen doorway when I need to keep him out of the lounge for whatever reason and still want to be able to see him.. they're not cheap so I'm glad I've found a use for it! I'm glad to hear that if I just persevere with what I'm doing with the biting he will get the idea soon. I also rotate his chew toys so he doesnt get bored of them.. I think I'm just going to have to accept that he will always prefer my shoes though! Thanks for the encouraging comments Annie.. I am still at the stage of thinking "what have I done" so I am glad to hear it does get better!!! :p Thanks again!!

Hi everyone, I have a silky terrier x 11 week old (12 weeks on monday) pup called Ruffy. I'm having a bit of a crisis about toilet training him and really just want some advice on wether I'm doing the right thing or not... I live in an apartment and want him to be an inside dog.. I have a front yard but for obvious reasons cant leave him in there all day. The way I have been approaching toilet training so far is to leave a couple of toilet training pads around inside for when I leave him on his own (I need to back to work in a week so have been leaving for a few hours at a time most days) and also trying to take him outside when he wakes up, 10 minutes or so after a drink or some food, and every hour. I have been working on getting him to go to the toilet on command for the past week or so.. but not sure if that is working so well. He has gone to the toilet on the pads only a handfull of times but will usually just wee wherever he is. When he goes to the toilet in the right spot, inside or out, he gets lots of praise. Am I confusing him by setting up a spot outside as well as inside for him to toilet? I get the distinct impression that it is just luck when he wees in the right spot.. but then sometimes I feel like we may be getting somewhere.. for example, yesterday I left him for a few hours and when I came back he had been to the toilet on the floor but right near the front door (but also right next to one of the pads!). I guess what I want to know is am I doing the right thing and will he get the idea eventually if I just give it time? Another quick question.. he bites a lot and has started getting this nasty look in his eye and biting me really hard sometimes when I tell him No! What is the best way to tackle this problem? Will he eventually learn not to bite if I continue to stop playing when he starts biting and tell him no? I also give him one of his chew toys when he starts chewing on me or the furniture and praising him when he starts chewing on that and then regularly praising him when he starts chewing on the right things on his own. Sorry for the long windedness of this post. Thanks so much in advance for your help!

I have the same problem with my 10 week old Silky Terrier X. He just loves ripping up everything I put down for him to use as a toilet. I started with the pads and have moved to newspaper but he rips it all up. I even made a toilet by sticking some fake grass to a large container lid and slipping the pads and newspaper in underneath the fake grass but he just uses that as a bed and chews on it aswell and has chosen another spot to wee on! So far we are really getting nowhere with our toilet training! I have heard of people using kitty litter as dogs dont like to chew this up and wont confuse it with carpet like they can with fake grass. I'm thinking of giving it a go. Has anyone else tried this?