Toilet Troubles With 6.5mth Old

[deltoid]

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.

Yeah, they are getting there. The little one actually walked all the way down on her own a couple of times on the weekend. To be fair they are both quite small and the steps are large in comparison.

They have a problem with taking that first step, if I put them on the first step they will walk the rest of the way down (very slowly). But no matter what treats I use or how long I wait they just can't bring themselves to take that first step. Talked to the trainer at puppy school about it and he said it was common with little dogs and large steps.

But yeah, we usually make them walk down the stairs on their own but are still helping them with the first step, however we do training with them a couple of times a week on the stairs. They will get there eventually.

[sheena]

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.

Yeah, they are getting there. The little one actually walked all the way down on her own a couple of times on the weekend. To be fair they are both quite small and the steps are large in comparison.

They have a problem with taking that first step, if I put them on the first step they will walk the rest of the way down (very slowly). But no matter what treats I use or how long I wait they just can't bring themselves to take that first step. Talked to the trainer at puppy school about it and he said it was common with little dogs and large steps.

But yeah, we usually make them walk down the stairs on their own but are still helping them with the first step, however we do training with them a couple of times a week on the stairs. They will get there eventually.

Maybe try back-chaining it. ie start by putting them half way down, if they are comfortable with this, & click & treat when they go down, then move up one more step & repeat...keep repeating this until they are on the top step. Having said that, it is not real good for young dogs to go up & down steps too much until they have matured, can be bad for their hips. I wish someone would tell that to my young boy There is no stopping him, so all I can do is cross my fingers & hope for the best.

[Guest donatella]

I don't agree with people saying get rid of puppy pads. I have a 4.5 month old pomeranian and she has been trained to toilet on the puppy pads (catching her accidents and directing her straight to the pads, praise praise praise when she uses the pads). However she will go on the grass when possible as well (again when she wees on the grass its praise praise praise). Once she gets used to the puppy pads (in the same spot of the house all the time initially so they know the area). with smaller dogs we need the option of puppy pads for when they are inside for long periods of time, or can't hold their little bladders. My girl goes on the puppy pads when inside and i'm out, but goes on the grass when we go for walks as well. Its all about the praise when they get it right. I know people who use the puppy pads and slowly move them closer to the door until the pup is fully trained and then they put it outside and then bin them altogether and the dog will go outside. puppy pads have been my saving grace and even though she can pee on couches and carpets etc she always goes to her puppy pad toilet area inside (its my only option as i'm in a unit until the end of the year).

[Guest donatella]

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.

THIS. my pup was recently diagnosed with a UTI and i picked up on this when she was having accidents (and she is trained to use her puppy pads) around the house and would leak small patches of urine when she fell asleep. she's been a week on antibiotics and no more accidents or leaks worth a trip to the vet if yours displays incontinence or no control

[Guest donatella]

* 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.

absolutely time for a vet check. i did some research when my pup (4.5months) was having accidents (and even small dribbles on my bed when she was sleeping) and she was treated for a UTI and the accidents and dribbles have stopped. If you can (and i know its hard) try catch a urine sample and a vet can do a urinalysis which can pick up any nasties immediately. sounds like it could be an infection, when they have a UTI they lose control and just have to go when they feel the urge and/or no control and dribble/leak. there is also such a thing as spay incontinence. Some female dogs develop incontinence immediately or some time after being spayed; it can also happen at the end of a season in unspayed females. In spay incontinence, the dog doesn’t seem to know when she needs to pee. This can be frustrating and messy. Its all about the hormones, this could be attributing to her toilet troubles.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Is the flap on the dog door clear perspex by any chance? If it is, cut out a piece of coloured paper and stick it onto the flap as this gives dogs a target. A lot of dogs are not happy with a clear flap - this is a Dr Harry tip! I've fostered about 150 dogs and this trick has worked every time.

Also, you need someone to help you but put the dog back and forth thru the flap and give them a little treat every time they come thru - do this 2 or 3 times a day for a few days and it should help.

Edited September 5, 2011 by dogmad

[deltoid]

Is the flap on the dog door clear perspex by any chance? If it is, cut out a piece of coloured paper and stick it onto the flap as this gives dogs a target. A lot of dogs are not happy with a clear flap - this is a Dr Harry tip! I've fostered about 150 dogs and this trick has worked every time.

Also, you need someone to help you but put the dog back and forth thru the flap and give them a little treat every time they come thru - do this 2 or 3 times a day for a few days and it should help.

Not sure if you are talking to me dogmad but I don't have a doggy door.

As for the stairs, I've been doing training sessions with them each day on them and today I finally was able to get both pups to go down the stairs on their own a couple of times. It took a lot of encouragement though so still awhile to go.

As for the toilet training, things are going well. Gone from having multiple accidents a day to just one. We are trying to get that number down to 0 at the moment. She gets very excited now when we take her outside and as soon as we put her down she runs off to wee so she can get a treat. It is strange, this isn't the first time we've done toilet training with her in this same manner. Maybe she just didn't have the maturity earlier to understand what we were trying to teach.

[deltoid]

Bit of an update. Things have improved a lot. We've gone from having multiple accidents inside each night to 1 or none a night.

She still isn't perfect but definitely improving. She will now go to the toilet straight away when we take her outside rather than running around and playing and then toileting when she gets back inside.

They can both walk down the stairs now as well so often we just have to open the backdoor and they will take themselves out.

Unfortunately though, when we are not home things have gotten worse. Previously she'd just do one wee on her mat while we are at work. Lately she has been doing 2-3 wees on the floor instead of the mat. So removing the mat when we are home has kind of ruined things for when we aren't home. Hopefully soon she'll be able to hold it all day.

That said, with summer coming we are thinking of installing a doggy door so we can let them come and go and cool off during the day if it gets hot inside. We just need to do some things to the fencing first (we have a secured yard, but after having a mini-foxy growing up, I've seen how good terriers are at escaping so I want to try and avoid it just incase they ever get spooked during the day and try and get out).

[persephone]

That's good news ... and yes, a doggy door sounds a very good plan !