House Training For A Slightly Older Pup

[nksyd]

Hi there,

I was hoping for some advice. I will be bringing home my little rescue labbie girl on Saturday (very excited ). The rescue org do not have her history as she was a stray when handed into the pound, so we therefore have no idea if she's house / toilet trained. She's approx 12 mths old and still looks like a big puppy (hasn't yet grown into her paws :D ) and from what we can tell she has been neglected.

I want to make her feel as welcome into her new home as possible so any advice would be welcome!! Thanks

[BIG-DOG-LOVER]

Congrats on your new dog

I'm no expert in puppy raising, but I'd suggest that it would be similar to teaching a pup where to toilet.

Not sure that you could crate train a 12 month old, but others may be able to clear that up.

But the basics of taking her to toilet where you want her to go (even from the moment you get her into your yard) and praising her profusely when she goes in the right spot would be a good start.

Sorry I can't be of any more help!

Edited July 23, 2008 by BIG-DOG-LOVER

[WalandLibby]

Lucky, lucky you!

My advice with toilet training an older dog that either isn't toilet trained, or that you don't know is, is too treat them just as you would if they were a new baby pup. Use confinement to a bed sized area (with you nearby so that she doesn't get stressed) to discourage her from going before you take her to the place you want her to use. Take her out hrly at first, but make a note of when she goes and then you can take her out according to that schedule. Her toilet training will probably progress much faster than a baby's and you should take the lead from her.

Reward her when she goes where you want her too (with food), ignore her if she happens to go in other places - it could become a problem if she learns that it isn't safe to go to the toilet near you, and my opinion is that many rescue dogs come already having learned that, unfortunately. If that is the case, however, chances are that if she never has the experience of being reprimanded for toileting near you then she will probably separate any previous negative experiences from her experiences of living with you.

[nksyd]

Thank you both for your suggestions - I guess she will be too big for crate training so I will have to keep my eye on her all the time when she's in the house at first.

Initially, I am unsure as how to introduce her to the house. It has been mentinoned to me that I need to get her to stay on her mat straight away and if she moves away before me telling her to, then I should put her outside for an bit then bring her in and start again? Does this sound like the way to go?

At night she will be sleeping in the garage but when I'm home I want her to be inside with me.

[WalandLibby]

Adults dogs can still be crate trained - my dogs were not babies when I crate-trained them. The difficulty is that if you don't use one, and your dog starts to go to the toilet on the floor, what are you going to do? Verbally interrupting can cause the development of fear of toileting in front of you. So the crate, that discourages her from going when she's in there, is ideal.

I think that using time-outs as you describe for mat training would be pretty inefficient - it takes too long so that your dog won't be able to tell what it is that made it happen. Also, considering that at this point she won't have any particular bond with you or history with you to tell her that you're generally nice and give her good stuff, it might undermine the development of your relationship/trust. Actually, she may also therefore not think that being outside (away from you) is any worse than being inside with you.

I would certainly recommend mat training, but taught by reward only. She needs to be able to explore the house, but in a way that you can manage what she does without frightening her. Closing off most of the house, only allowing her access to a small area to start with would be wise. Doing lots of settle training and once that it is happening, using an umbilical lead (sounds silly I know, but can be helpful) would also be good.

Edited July 25, 2008 by WalandLibby

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Here you are - I've successfully used this kindness/reward method on about 50 foster dogs aged between 1 - 10 yrs of age! Takes about 3 days usually.

HOUSETRAINING TIPS

Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it “do wees”) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days.

Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying “Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees” – give the dog treats every time.

First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command “do wees”. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes.

The dog’s aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house – say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded.

NB: Please note that the smell of urine must be properly removed for any housetraining to be successful. There are products on the market such as “Urine Off” but they are very expensive. A mix of white vinegar and water is a much cheaper alternative and should work for tiles and other surfaces although you should always take care with wood etc. For carpet/rugs, I use either a mixture of Napisan/water or bicarb of soda and water. I completely soak the stain using a dab on technique with a cloth. When it is very wet, I use an old towel to soak up the excess moisture. Again, be careful on any expensive carpet/rug, I have never had any problems but I cannot guarantee any method here.