Toilet Training Challenges

[sconski]

We have an 18wo Standard Snauzer who just doesnt seem to be getting the toilet training!!

Here's a run down.

When inside we have to watch his EVERY move, every SECOND. If we take our eyes off him for an instant it seems he will pee. sometimes they are puddles, sometimes he just walks along peeing.

He doesnt sniff around, or even get agitated like he's about to pee. He just pees. Sometimes he does it when he's just sitting there looking at me. He's done it on his bed a couple of times too. Not even gotten up!!

He sleeps locked in a crate overnight, he goes out to the toilet just before we go to bed around 10:30pm - 11:00pm and is in there until at least 6:30am. He has had only 3 accidents in his crate since we got him. One was the other night when I thought my husband had taken him out to pee before locking him in the crate and he thought I had, so I put that down to our fault! That said, he didnt fuss or make a noise during the night to indicate we needed to let him out to pee. He is in our bedroom with us, so we would have heard him and let him out.

He doesnt pee in a particular spot. It's random, it's without any real purpose other than just to pee!!

He doesnt even necessarily go onto the lawn when he's outside. Will often pee by the backdoor, or like inside, while he's walking along wherever he is.

He doesnt pee when he is excited.

He doesnt get yelled at and is a confident dog, he is not "frightened" or anxious peeing.

Here is what we are doing:

1. If we cant watch him constantly inside, he is put in his crate.

2. When we find pee on the floor, we just go about cleaning it up. We clean it up first with water, then I use a "urine off" spray in the location he had just peed.

3. We have never yelled at him after the event, rubbed his nose in it or any other form of discipline as we dont see the point as we dont know when he did it anyway!

4. If we catch him peeing inside, we hurray him outside, where he rarely goes back to finishing his pee. We could stand out there with him for 20 minutes and he wont pee!!

5. We have recently started setting a timer for 30 minutes when he's inside and taking him out for a pee on the lead, with treats in hand. This works sometimes, but often he pee's just before we go to take him out, so we are now setting the timer to 20 minutes, but honestly I dont have time to go out with him every 20 minutes and stand around for 10 minutes waiting for him to pee.

6. when he does pee outside, we fuss over him, give him treats and play with him.

I have been to the vet and had him checked for any medical problems. Aside from being "sexually imature" for his age (ie very small testicles) the vet could not find anything medically wrong with him.

I asked his breeder and she had no suggestions at all. She indicated she was having similar problems with his sister and her technics included nose rubbing and I dont believe in that type of consequence for accidents, so I would rather find an alternative solution if there is one.

I dont really want an outside dog. I want him to live with us when we are home, not be banished to the backyard, but this peeing everywhere is doing my head in.

Is it entirely possible that he just doesnt get it yet? That he just hasnt figured out what is going on and learnt to hold on? Is it likely oneday he will get it and stop this nonsense??

In everything else he is very good. He walks well on lead (considering he's a puppy). He sits on command, can drop on command. He knows he has to go on his bed when inside and apart from puppy distractions will stay there.

If only he wouldnt pee so much!!!

[W Sibs]

Emmy, my Jap Spitz, was a real bitch to house train... but she eventually got there (still, not 100% confident that she is now.. but no mistake in the house for about a month now.. so fingers cross).

We take her out every meal, when she wakes up and after play... we stand outside for 20 minutes and she won't do anything, when we got back inside, we go straight outside again about 5 seconds after going into the house. It's like, going into the house reminds her that she needs to do her business. Once she got outside, we praise her like crazy and give her treat, cuddles and make sure it was the best damn thing she has ever done.

It's annoying to wait outside (especially in winter and it's raining), but you just got to do it. Just got to be consistence about it.

We taught her how to pee on command too now.

I was told that puppies don't have full control of their bladder till they are 6 months... some dogs pick up toilet train faster than others though.

My boy picked it up pretty much straight away.

[Nahla + Teddy's Mum]

Oh thank god for your post! My pup Teddy is now almost 16 weeks and he still hasnt got it! He was doing so well then last week took big steps back!

We take him out after he eats, drinks, woken from a nap and after a play session with our other pup ( who at 22 weeks is now trained!!) and when we realise he hasnt been out in a while but sometimes he just does it right in front of us with no warning! He will be looking at us and all of a sudden we hear it splashing on the tiles! We dont make a fuss and clean it up with "Piss Off" which is so far working well.

When we do take him out a encouraging " do wee's" is all it takes and he know's what we want so does it and we praise with treats and cuddles! He peed 5 times in 5 mintues the other night and only 3 were caught outside! We couldnt believe it! He still usually wakes 2 times a night to go out also! But I know we just have to be patient and it will happen! Our other pup Nahla hasn't had an acciedent in about a month and were are pretty confiedent in her that she's now trained. My Mum's dog is 4 and she said she wasnt realy well trained until 6 months so our dogs dont seem so abnormal after all. Just like kids I guess some puppies are slow starters!

Lets hang in there and hope for success very soon!!

[Genabee]

Perhaps you could try monitoring what he is drinking a little more closely? If you let him drink every hour, then take him outside. In the mean time lift his water up?... He will soon work out to drink on command too!

It could be worth considering crating him a little more, even when you are home. If he is less likely to go in his crate, he will exercise those tummy and bladder muscles a bit more to hold on. Then take him straight outside. If he doesn't go when you take him outside, put him straight back in his crate and take him out in another 10 minutes. If he does go, leave him out for a little while... The crate is a great tool and if used properly should help things along for you. You might find you will only need to do this consistently for a couple of weeks.

Good luck!

[Adza]

Very hard when you cant tell they are looking for a spot to pee.

Tahli for her age is well toilet trained, still will get little accidents here and there but she goes outside on her own now, or if not we got some toilet training pads near the door if she might not make it and she will do it there.

Good luck with it all

[aussielover]

Perhaps because there are no consequences for "going wherever" ie in the house, he does not realise that he MUST go outside. For most dogs, being treated everytime they go in the right place is enough, but for some, you may need to say "NO" or whatever and immediately put him in the desired toilteting area (outside). Obviously only do this if you catch him in the act. You don't have to yell or anything a firm no should be enough to let him know you are not happy.

Continue to treat him when he goes in the right plcae.

I think he is old enough to understand what is going on. My puppy was fine from 12 weeks and generally got the idea- it was only due to our slackness and inattention that she has had 2 or 3 accidents inside since then.

Good luck!

Perhaps get the vet to check he doesn't have a UTI- which can cause frequent peeing.

[Nushie]

Jager used to be the same when we first got him home. He would always circle and sniff to do a poo, giving you plenty of warning (as long as you are watching) so you could race him off to the right spot to go. However there was absolutely no warning at all when he needed to pee. He would be walking through the lounge room and just squat. No sniffing, no whimpering, nothing.

We used to watch him like a hawk and even then cause there was no warning we missed a fair few times, but we would catch him in the act. As soon as he squatted he would give a firm no or BAH etc. and then pick him up and take him to the toilet and then praise him. He pretty much never continued to pee once we put him in the correct spot, but we praised him anyways. Eventually he got it. As long as you catch them in the act you can teach them.

From about 11weeks he would generally go to the right spot with only a few mistakes. Everytime we saw him heading off in the direction of the toilet we would grab a treat and quietly follow him. Once done we would praise and give him a treat. From there we moved onto no treats, just lots of praise and cheering. One night friends came over for dinner and drinks they thought we were mad as both my boyfriend and i would go nuts, cheering and clapping our hands. By the end of the night, whenever Jager went to the toilet everyone was cheering him. He was the happiest little puppy, come running back inside and run around to different people lapping up as many pats as he would get.

So just keep an eye on him, give a No if you see him go, pick him up, put him in the right spot and praise.

Good luck

[SalTheGal]

Thanks for the thread... interesting to hear the replies, we are having much the same issues with our 13wk old!!

She literally stops and pees... she is good at trying to let us know she wants to go out *most* of the time... but if we miss the cue- or if we are in another part of the house to where the back door is, we are screwed!

And this week she has also started sneaking off to hide to do a poo inside.... this behaviour I find totally confusing as she was perfect with outside poos right from day dot!

Nushie Love your story about when you had friends over- totally gave me my giggle for then night!!

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Here is an article I wrote on housetraining for the Doggie Rescue magazine - it may help possibly.

HOUSETRAINING

People often run into troubles with housetraining, there are some important things to understand before you start:

• You can housetrain a dog at any age

• Praise is more successful and kinder than punishment (rubbing a dog’s nose in it’s mess is simply cruel and will damage your relationship with your dog)

• It is crucial to dedicate time – ie 2-3 days - to training

• Be consistent and develop a routine

• Clean up with the right things (not disinfectant or liquid soap)

• If possible, it is best to provide the dog with easy access to your outside area – put in a dog door or keep the door open.

I’ve housetrained many dogs up to age 14. I must admit I generally find males are easier than females and some breeds (foxy types) are quicker at learning than others. I train dogs to wee on command but they will still go when they need to. Please see my method below:

 Decide on a command - eg “do wees” you will repeat this over and over.

 Keep a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days but praise/pats will do if you run out

 Walk the dog several times a day (ie every couple of hours)

 When the dog wees – every time - 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.

 Clean any accidents with a mix of white vinegar and water. 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.

Be careful on any expensive carpet/rug, wood etc. I have never had any problems but I cannot guarantee any method here.

Still having troubles? Start over again and ensure you are following step by step.

For anyone in units – have you had a look for a product called the “Pet Loo” – it’s worth checking out and is available in Petbarns or on Ebay.

[Fleuri]

Jager used to be the same when we first got him home. He would always circle and sniff to do a poo, giving you plenty of warning (as long as you are watching) so you could race him off to the right spot to go. However there was absolutely no warning at all when he needed to pee. He would be walking through the lounge room and just squat. No sniffing, no whimpering, nothing.

We used to watch him like a hawk and even then cause there was no warning we missed a fair few times, but we would catch him in the act. As soon as he squatted he would give a firm no or BAH etc. and then pick him up and take him to the toilet and then praise him. He pretty much never continued to pee once we put him in the correct spot, but we praised him anyways. Eventually he got it. As long as you catch them in the act you can teach them.

From about 11weeks he would generally go to the right spot with only a few mistakes. Everytime we saw him heading off in the direction of the toilet we would grab a treat and quietly follow him. Once done we would praise and give him a treat. From there we moved onto no treats, just lots of praise and cheering. One night friends came over for dinner and drinks they thought we were mad as both my boyfriend and i would go nuts, cheering and clapping our hands. By the end of the night, whenever Jager went to the toilet everyone was cheering him. He was the happiest little puppy, come running back inside and run around to different people lapping up as many pats as he would get.

So just keep an eye on him, give a No if you see him go, pick him up, put him in the right spot and praise.

Good luck

I agree with this.

The other thing is don't let him watch you cleaning up the mess after he makes it. Put him away in his crate so he doesn't see you cleaning. Like a baby that chucks his spoon just to watch you pick it up again.

Also I found giving the pup only a small area for him to run free (say the kitchen) but you still need to watch him like a hawk. I think picking him up and taking him to the peepee spot outside works better than calling or walking him through the house to the yard to the pee pee spot.(this to prevents him peeing while walking through the house). I also use to take my dog out every 20 or so mins before the pee pee time just to give her the oppertunity to do it where I wanted her to do it then praised her alot for doing the right thing.

be consistant stick with it and he should be right.

[New puppy]

Hi all - I'm a new puppy owner, I've had Baxter for 3 weeks but he's already 21 weeks old.

The first week I thought Baxter was an angel - he would wee every time I took him outside and if he needed to go while we were in the lounge room he would sniff around and I could tell he was ready and we'd race outside and he would do his wee in the right spot.

Since then though he has picked up 2 bad habits - the first is that when he's inside he tends to just wee on the rug. I watch him like a hawk and sometimes i even know what he's about to do but i can't stop him in time despite my loud hand clap and "NO!" shouts. The second is that when Baxter is outside he doesn't wee in his designated spot like he used to - it seems that anywhere goes, over his towels, cushions, on the cement?

I feel like i'm doing everything right with my commands and watching him and taking him outside regularly but if there's any tips on anything else I could be doing.... feel free to let me know :D