Toilet Training...... Please Help

[Marley'z Mum]

Hi all

I am new to this site... I hope someone can give me some idea's I have a 7/8week old puppy, that I have been trying to toilet train, I am doing it kinda the old fashioned way i.e ignoring the mistakes in the house and praising him when he gets it right outside, I also have been giving him a lil treat when he gets it right to encourage him to do it outside, well he is getting sick of all the treats way to quickly...... I was giving him cooked chicken, which he really liked but the problem with that is it doesn't last long in the fridge before it goes off and I don't eat chicken that often to put a lil bit aside for him, then I bought some puppy schmakko's and he really liked them to start with, now he isnt that interested and we seem to be having more accidents inside....

How long should it take to toilet train? any other idea's would be really appreciated

[VJB]

You have a very young puppy, and it takes a lot of patience for the messages to be understood. You are doing well with the praising, definitely not old fashioned at all. Much better than the old way of disgracing a dog for doing his/her business.

You could try a roll of lunch meat, or better, some proper dog food rolls, like Tucker Time, available at pet supply stores, or vets. Cut into small bits, and put in ziplock bags in your freezer. Even little bits of cheese will do. Make sure you take your puppy outside regularly, after waking, after playing, and after food.

It is frustrating, but the message will eventually get across. You might be only a few weeks away from success, or even a few months for some dogs.

You could put a bumbag around your waist, to keep treats in, or else, have them on hand close by, so that you can give the reward with high pitched verbal praise as soon as he toilets. Before too long, this will hopefully sort out, but you will have to remember that he is just a baby, and learning many many things at the moment. Good luck.

Also, I remember somebody saying to me at the time... "For every piddle you let happen inside, is another opportunity lost for praising him for doing it outside" You will eventually learn that there is a sign that you are possibly missing out on that is indicating he is about to toilet. It's very easy to miss in the early days, as it seems like they pee so so quickly.

Edited June 9, 2010 by VJB

[Marley'z Mum]

Thanks VJB... yeah I know he is very young.... long story short we kinda saved him from a not so nice environment so that is why he isnt the ideal age.... some great idea's there THANKS!

[VJB]

Thanks VJB... yeah I know he is very young.... long story short we kinda saved him from a not so nice environment so that is why he isnt the ideal age.... some great idea's there THANKS!

Your welcome, and welcome to DOL, I just read your other topic. Glad your pup is in loving arms. A lot is missed when they leave their litter mates early, but if you do lots of reading, and get your expectations in the right place, I'm sure your pup will continue to grow to be a wonderful dog and a much loved family member. Patience, patience, and more patience.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

what i found that worked for me was to crate train the puppy, do not let it have freedom inside, ie leash it to you and feed at set times because what goes in comes out after a set time.

then you totally control the environment and the mistakes become fewer and the successes more frequent

[Niques]

I didn't use treats for J.'s toilet training. Really couldn't be bothered remembering to grab one everytime we went out. The boy had to make do with verbal praise. Have you tried cheese? J.'ll do anything for cheese.

Are you taking him outside or do you wait for him to take himself out? Taking him out very regularly so he doesn't have the opportunity to toilet inside is the way to go. At his age, immediately after every meal and immediately after every nap, take him out and don't let him back in until he's done a wee And again if he's been awake quite a while since his last wee/been drinking lots of water, etc. If he'd been awake for ages but wouldn't do a wee, he was put into his pen for a nap as I know he won't urinate in his pen and would be ready to do one when he woke up - eliminates potential for an accident in the house.

As for how long it will take, I think J.'s last accident was at 18 weeks or so, and in the couple of weeks prior, he'd only had the odd one when I misinterpreted his hovering around the laundry door and unintentionally ignored him. Could be faster or slower for you though...

Good luck

[Simply Grand]

Marley is such a little cutie MM! I'm glad he has a loving home with you.

Like the others have said, it's all about patience and perserverance. Saxon took a looong time to toilet train (months) but probably because I'd never had a dog before and didn't really know what I was doing. I also got him a bit younger than I should have (without knowing any better) so maybe that had an impact.

I originally used just praise but found that he responded much better when I started using food treats. I mainly use liver treats - not too unhealthy and don't go off like chicken or cheese, plus I kept the packet just next to the back door so it was easy to grab some on the way out.

As already mentioned, take him out LOTS! After meals and drinks, naps, playtime and any time you notice it's been a while - I'd say at least once per hour for a puppy that young. Also, say a cue word every time he actually goes to the toilet outside (I use "toilet" in a happy, high voice) and eventually he'll learn what that means so you can tell him to go as soon as you take him outside.

You will eventually pick up on his 'needing to go' signal, maybe even without realising. I don't actually know what Saxon's signal is/was, I just found that I could look at him and go "you need the toilet, come on".

I didn't do crate training, but I know heaps of people have great success with it, and there are a whole lot of threads about it on DOL, you could do a search to find them all.

Good luck!

[Guest]

We have only had our 9 month Lab about a week and 1/2 and didn't know if he'd been house trained at all so after every drink and every meal we take him outside and sometimes in between, the last few days he has been really good, and has only wee'd inside 3 times since wev'e had him, so hope he's getting the message, we haven't been treating him when he does it only heaps of praise, and while he is doing it we say wee wee.

Its still early days for you but I'm sure he will soon learn.

best of luck

[aussielover]

I crate my puppy overnight to encourage her to hold on- she will go from 11-7am without and accident so it is possible. she is only 8 weeks as well.

during the day, if you don't have time to watch your pups every move (who does?) then perhaps the use of a crate or puppyplaypen might help you.

I use a variation of the the K9pro method (http://www.k9pro.com.au/pages.php?pageid=86).

I set the timer for 40 mins and then take her outside. when she toilets I say "quick quick" and treat her after. Then I reset the timer for 1 hr. This way I never forget to take her out. I did a day without the timer and we had 2 accidents! so it is really helpful.

Puppies also need to go out after a meal (from 5mins after-30 miins) and after a sleep or play. so yes, it feels like you are constantly taking them out, but it is worth it.

You need to work out what motivates your dog. Perhaps your pup isn't food motivated. does he love his toys? does he love cuddles? whichever one he seems to like best, use this to reward him for toileting in the right place.

It also helps to clicker train, or use a marker word like "yes" so they know they have done the right thing. IMO clicker training is easier, but I am currently just using a verbal marker.

Good luck, it takes around 4 weeks for a pup to get toilet training so don't worry too much.

I'm glad the pup is in a better place with you now!

[Marley'z Mum]

thanks everyone for all your helpful hints, i think so far i am doin all the right things, i take him out as soon as he wakes, when he has had a play all those things, but there are occassions when i take him out an he does a wee, an he gets heaps of praise the odd treat if he is the mood, then we step bak inside an he will do another wee with in minutes of the first??? An he will do that outside aswell 1 wee than another within minutes.... It makes it a lil hard to stay ontop of......

Anyway we will keep tryin an hopefully he gets it sooner rather than later

[aussielover]

Do you think he has a urinary tract infection? This can cause frequent urination. Is he drinking a lot?

Can he hold on all night?

Also there are some belly band type things to help if he is just marking. When he has an accident make sure you clean it up properly (don't use ammonium based cleaning products)

[Bundyburger]

thanks everyone for all your helpful hints, i think so far i am doin all the right things, i take him out as soon as he wakes, when he has had a play all those things, but there are occassions when i take him out an he does a wee, an he gets heaps of praise the odd treat if he is the mood, then we step bak inside an he will do another wee with in minutes of the first??? An he will do that outside aswell 1 wee than another within minutes.... It makes it a lil hard to stay ontop of......

Anyway we will keep tryin an hopefully he gets it sooner rather than later

Perhaps you are not staying out there long enough? Do you let him pee then go straight inside or do you wait to see if there's more?With my pup, we often had to go inside, then straight back out again 2 or 3 times as even if we stayed out for nearly an hr he would still only do one until we went inside then he'd pee again. It only took about a week of this for him to twig. We also did not give him run of the house, if he wasn't supervised every second, he was in his pen, as it was where he slept so he wouldn't soil it(except once when he had no choice!) We now have a fully housetrained 8mth old who even barks to go outside now.

[Marley'z Mum]

marley sleeps in the laundry at night, he has a bed that is off the ground and I give him one of those heated up wheat bag things..... I take him out before I go to be about 9:30 10ish and then my partner gets home from work around midnight and he takes him out before he comes to bed.... I have been putting newspaper down in the corner in the hope that he goes on that over night rather than the floor (little less to clean up) should I not put the newspaper down?? so that it encourages him to hold on??

[sas]

Hi all

I am new to this site... I hope someone can give me some idea's I have a 7/8week old puppy, that I have been trying to toilet train, I am doing it kinda the old fashioned way i.e ignoring the mistakes in the house and praising him when he gets it right outside, I also have been giving him a lil treat when he gets it right to encourage him to do it outside, well he is getting sick of all the treats way to quickly...... I was giving him cooked chicken, which he really liked but the problem with that is it doesn't last long in the fridge before it goes off and I don't eat chicken that often to put a lil bit aside for him, then I bought some puppy schmakko's and he really liked them to start with, now he isnt that interested and we seem to be having more accidents inside....

How long should it take to toilet train? any other idea's would be really appreciated

You need to only have the pup in the area where you can watch it because every accident it has reinforces that toileting mistake.

So, every mistake the pup has is your fault because you're not watching the pup.

Take pup outside every hour when you're home and also after waking and play and eating.

You don't have to give pup a treat, you can simply give praise, puppies love praise i.e. as soon as puppy starts to toilet in the right place you can very calmly say "Good Toilet" or whatever your command is and then as soon as they finish lay on the praise big time.

How long does it take to toilet train? How long is a bit of string If you set pup up for success and minimise the accidents you let pup have the fast pup will be toilet trained.