Toilet Troubles With 6.5mth Old

[deltoid]

We have a 6.5 metho old silky terrier female. She still isn't fully house trained. We use puppy pads and when we are home we take her out regularly.

Problems:

* Sometimes we will take her out, she will stuff around and eventually come back inside then pee straight away

* we take her out and she pees then 15min later she pees inside and lets out a tiny little dribble

* when we take het outside 80% or the time she will run off and pee on the concrete instead of the grass.

Any ideas what to do? It seems to depend on her mood. When inside it is 50/50 as to whether she will use the puppy pad or just go where she pleases.

I'm thinking of taking het out on a lead and treat her when she goes on the grass. I know she has the bladder control as some days she is great.

[suziwong66]

We have a 6.5 metho old silky terrier female. She still isn't fully house trained. We use puppy pads and when we are home we take her out regularly.

Problems:

* Sometimes we will take her out, she will stuff around and eventually come back inside then pee straight away

* we take her out and she pees then 15min later she pees inside and lets out a tiny little dribble

* when we take het outside 80% or the time she will run off and pee on the concrete instead of the grass.

Any ideas what to do? It seems to depend on her mood. When inside it is 50/50 as to whether she will use the puppy pad or just go where she pleases.

I'm thinking of taking het out on a lead and treat her when she goes on the grass. I know she has the bladder control as some days she is great.

I can't offer any suggestions regarding your first two problems. However for the third problem, i'd go with your suggestion of taking her out on a lead. We do this with Wilbur as he was born in winter in cold country Victoria and had lead an indoor life until he was 6 weeks old. Given the preference he'd toilet on our rocks rather than the grass. So we don't give him the preference and still put him on a lead to toilet outside (10 1/2 weeks). We'll continue toileting him on a lead until i feel confident that he will always go on the grassed area. Good luck

[Mason_Gibbs]

First mistake is using puppy pads imo, they then feel its ok to toilet inside and dont understand why they then cant pee on your carpets or mats.

[supercharged]

Get rid of the puppy pads

Clean floors thoroughly

Get a crate

Take puppy out on lead and treat for elimination

If she does not - crate and try again in 15 - 30mins time -- if she goes then she gets free range of the house for a while.

Go out every hour or so inbetween - when inside WATCH her for behaviour that may indicate wanting to go.

Ignore accidents in the house, clean up immediately and thoroughly,

It just sound like some bad habits have been formed and not enough regularity.

[aussielover]

Has she been cleared by the vet?

The fact that she lets out a dribble may indicate infection or even some sort of incontinence problem.

How many times a day is she actually weeing?

At 6 months it should really only be every 2-3 hrs.

I don't think the puppy pads are helping- as others have pointed out.

Also your dog does not sound like she knows that she is meant to go on the pad.

I used puppy pads for the first week with my pup overnight and didn't have major troubles toilet training her, so I don't think this is the whole cause of the problem.

Definitely take her out on lead and reward HEAVILY for toileting in the right area.

Additionally, start to train her to toilet on command.

You just say the word (like wee wee or hurry up or whatever) as they are going. They will soon learn to associate this with toileting, esp if you reward after.

[Tilly]

Agree with putting her on a lead to toilet - take her to where you want her to toilet and be BORING. Ignore her until she toilets and then make big fuss telling her what a good girl she is - treat / reward big time. I used the tell my boys "Good Toilet" when they were learning because I used "Go Toilet" for when I wanted them to toilet - even now if they go I still tell them "Good Toilet".

My boys learnt the faster they toileted then the faster they got to play and have fun.

I also had the rule that free roaming pups in the house was a privilage and not a right. If the pup can't be watched closely then they are in the crate or outside in the yard. Inside they were allowed out under close supervision or on the end of a light lead attached to me. When they could inside and not have "accidents" then they were allowed more freedom in the house.

Edited August 31, 2011 by Tilly

[persephone]

we take her out and she pees then 15min later she pees inside and lets out a tiny little dribble

Time for a vet check - this dribble and frequency could be either a sign on infection, or perhpas be hormonal.. she may be approaching a first season.... or it could be neither

[W Sibs]

Firstly, go to the vet for a check up.

If she is going outside and do nothing and do it when she comes in. You know there is a routine, so take her in and within 30 seconds, take her straight outside again.

Like others have suggested, I will advise to use a lead too so you can lead her to the area you want her to do her pees and poos.

[deltoid]

* Regarding the puppy pads, she does know she is supposed to use them. She does use them a lot but she also goes on the floor (she probably goes 2/3 times on the mat and the rest on the floor).

* I've been taking her out on a lead and hopefully she is catching on with that.

* As for the dribbling. It isn't as though she doesn't know she is going. It is just that some times she goes and leaves a 50c piece size pee on the ground.

* She was desexed about 3 weeks ago, I didn't mention the toilet training problems at the time, I figured it was just a puppy thing. Should I book her in for a checkup?

* On the same topic, twice this week she has gone to the toilet in her bed. Once on Monday she wee'd in it. And then tonight she pooed in it. She has never done this before and we were home both times. I'm not sure what has suddenly triggered this.

As for training, we contain her in a room of her own when we aren't home, also when we are home and are doing other things (like eating dinner, etc). So she gets a fair amount of time contained, depends on the day as to if she does all her mess on the mat or on the floor when she is contained.

[persephone]

I'm not sure what has suddenly triggered this.

As for the dribbling. It isn't as though she doesn't know she is going. It is just that some times she goes and leaves a 50c piece size pee on the ground.

Time for a vet check .. to rule out any infection or other problem, ..... then maybe , if everything is clear, you will need to set up a plan .

[Mason_Gibbs]

To me if pup gets the all clear from the vet you are not taking pup out often enough . Do you watch pup 100% of the time when they are inside? Do you give a treat everytime pup toilets in the right spot??

Edited September 1, 2011 by Mason2009

[aussielover]

I'm not sure what has suddenly triggered this.

As for the dribbling. It isn't as though she doesn't know she is going. It is just that some times she goes and leaves a 50c piece size pee on the ground.

Time for a vet check .. to rule out any infection or other problem, ..... then maybe , if everything is clear, you will need to set up a plan .

Something is making her want to urinate a tiny amount- discomfort form infection is a possibility.

Have you taken her to the vet yet?

[wuffles]

I don't think I'd know where I was meant to go either if I was your dog There are so many options - puppy pads, mat, floor, grass... after seeing the vet to rule out an infection you need to be more clear by taking the advice of previous posters.

Edited to add: My girl tends to do lots of little wees as opposed to one big one, but she was very easy to toilet train.

Edited September 2, 2011 by wuffles

[deltoid]

Taking her to the vet early next week. I've been taking her out on a lead and she is improving. Only one accident yesterday.

We used mats for our other dog and he got the hang of things. Eventually he outgrew it though and prefers to hold it until we take him out

As for nit using them. Do you think removing them when we are at home will help? She still can't hold it for a full work day (well she has done it once or twice) so I was thinking of putting them down for that. Just to be safe.

I still leave a mat down for the other dog who uses it when he simply can't hold it any longer (usually this only rarely happens if something has upset his stomach)

Edited September 3, 2011 by deltoid

[sheena]

You may find this question irrelevant...but where did you get the puppy from ? If she was a pet shop pup then it will be much, much harder to toilet train, then one that has come from a breeder who has already introduced the pups to using grass from a young age.

[aussielover]

Taking her to the vet early next week. I've been taking her out on a lead and she is improving. Only one accident yesterday.

We used mats for our other dog and he got the hang of things. Eventually he outgrew it though and prefers to hold it until we take him out

As for nit using them. Do you think removing them when we are at home will help? She still can't hold it for a full work day (well she has done it once or twice) so I was thinking of putting them down for that. Just to be safe.

I still leave a mat down for the other dog who uses it when he simply can't hold it any longer (usually this only rarely happens if something has upset his stomach)

I think putting some grass- turf or fake grass, whatever you can get would be better than paper or puppy pads at this stage.

You can buy special dog toilets as well if you think this will be an ongoing issue (if you're working for long periods) or maybe install a doggie door?

[Scales of Justice]

First mistake is using puppy pads imo, they then feel its ok to toilet inside and dont understand why they then cant pee on your carpets or mats.

I agree with this comment. Puppy mats are the problem. I presume you leave the puppy mat down because you leave the puppy inside while you are not home. The pup's psyche is for her to pee inside, not outside. It is important to train puppys to use the grass, not a puppy mat if you want a reliable house dog that does not pee inside. The only way to retrain the pup is to remove the mat (at least while you are home) and watch her behaviour like a hawk, so that when she is likely to pee you take her outside and she does not come inside until it is done outside.

Can you consider leaving the pup outside in a pen which has some grass in it while you are not home?

Sometimes anaesthetics causing frequent urination. Check with the vet.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I think puppy pads create a great deal of confusion for a dog. The best thing owners can do is toilet train (I have a method below) and provide easy access for the dog to get in and out when it needs to, ie install a doggie door. It's not good to have a dog locked in a house for 10-12 hrs whilst we are at work and expect it to go on puppy pads and then understand that when we are home, they have to go outside and can no longer go inside.

Petshops sell people these pads, it all adds to revenue for them as they are expensive - I have bought them for an elderly dog that couldn't move far and the dog still didn't use them - preferred to go in the gaps ... but that's another story!

I have always found females to be a little more challenging than males. Young dogs usually take longer and you also have to bear in mind where they've come from - ie a breeder who has kept them penned or a petshop where they've sat for 2-3 months sometimes, having to wee where they were. With rescue dogs that I've had, most of them have never been inside, quite obviously, most were never desexed either - BUT they were all trainable apart from the odd one or two.

Sometimes my method has required a bit of fine tuning for individual dogs but it is normally easily achieved with dedication for a few days and with a great deal of thought about why accidents may be happening.

Here's the method I've used with 100s of dogs - my own and those fostered/adopted out by rescue groups as I do follow ups for people experiencing problems:

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.

[deltoid]

Thanks for the advice.

She was from a breeder.

We are going to remove the mats when we are home and just use containment / a close eye on her.

I'm happy to say we are making some progress. She hasn't wee'd on the concrete outside since I started this thread.

The tiny 50c pees have also stopped since I started the thread. I think they are more a mental thing with her than physical. That said if it happens again I will take her to the Vet for a checkup.

She has gone from stuffing around for ages and then weeing when I take her out on a Lear to going straight away.

We've gone from several accidents in a night to just one. So we will keep working on it and hopefully she will continue to make similar progress.

As for access to outside, unfortunately our house is raised off the ground and the dogs still haven't mastered going down the stairs. So even with a doggy door they won't go downstairs.

It is our intention to install a doggie door once they can master the stairs though

Edited September 4, 2011 by deltoid

[persephone]

the dogs still haven't mastered going down the stairs. So even with a doggy door they won't go downstairs.

;) and they won't while you continue to carry them.