lolathedox Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 (edited) Hi there, I'm new to this forum so I hope I'm doing this right... I recently have picked up my mini dachsund puppy from my breeder. I am a first time dog owner She is almost 9 weeks old, and we've only had her for a couple days now but I could do with some advice regarding toilet training. She has a nice spacious playpen which isn't too big but big enough to fit her water and food bowls, bed, toys and potty tray. We are training her to go wee wee and poo poo on the potty tray as we live in a small house with not very much backyard for her to go in (we have a big park right across the road to excersise won't be an issue). The night we bought her home, she went underneath the kitchen table and did her poo on the rug, we put her in her playpen and showed her where she should be going, and let her out. Later on that night, we put her in her playpen to sleep, and she slept from about 8:30pm to about 2:00am. When she woke up, she did a poo and started whining. We went to check on her and she had did her poo and wee on the litter tray where she's supposed to go, we praised her, but not too much to overwhelm her, and she fell back asleep and woke again at 6am. She is a a very playful puppy and loves to chew! We love her very much and just want to train her into an intelligent, social little sausage dog that knows where to do her potty... these past days we've had her she's been hit and miss, she did two wees on the potty tray, and a poo on the potty tray, but she also did a poo twice on the black rug I talked about and a wee too where she shouldn't be going. In regards to her playpen, she's 50/50 about it. We've given her treats and introduced it as a positive place. She loves her bed and enjoys sleeping there in the daytime, but she whines and screams when she's in there and we leave the room. My daughter and I won't be with her 24/7, the most she'll be alone will be 4 hours a day but we don't want this to develop into separation anxiety. Other than that, she's been great, but any advice to overcome these problems would be great... I know it's only early days, but we want her to grow into a beautiful, healthy, happy dog who won't have as many accidents and is alright left alone Any advice is much appreciated and would help us out a lot as first time dog-owners. Thank you x Edited July 17, 2017 by lolathedox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen15 Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 what do you give her for entertainment when she is left alone? There are great toys that release food slowly and keep them occupied, a nice bone is also good. with the toileting, pups take a while to get it. Take them where you want them to toilet when they wake up, straight after meals, and after playing. I'd leave her toilet "station" smelly and get a good enzyme cleaner to clean everywhere else. Dogs don't like toileting in their den, so you need to have enough room in the pen for the toilet to be away from where she eats and sleeps. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Puppies are wonderful - also a LOT of work . These links might help you : I have not used these ... but find that input from many sources can help with making your own plan > Just remember - your pup is very much a BABY ..and will still be locked in to the habits of where she grew up . Much thought, time and patience will be need for the next 12 mths (and beyond ;) ) LINKLINKLINK LINK LINK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappi&Monty Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Toilet-training-wise it is good to get into a routine. Take her to the toilet spot after food, a nap/sleep, having a big play, etc and any time she seems to be displaying her pre-pottying behaviour haha. (Things like sniffing, circling, acting suspicious) Set up a schedule similar to this: (It might be a bit different for puppy pad dogs, we have a yard so my dogs go outside.) 5:30pm - Feed, then after that give her opportunity to go if she wants. 6-6:30pm- if she didn't go before, give her another opportunity. Sometime inbetween then, have a little play, or cuddles, or let her have a nap if she wants to. 10:00pm (or whenever YOU go to bed) - Toilet time, make sure she definitely goes before bed! 6:00am (or whenever she lasts until) - Wake up, straight to toilet spot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolathedox Posted July 18, 2017 Author Share Posted July 18, 2017 Thank you all, we've been continuing to put her on her potty tray after meals, after playing and sleeping, also in the morning when she wakes up... she's improving! Only had one accident today, a big plop on the floorboards, lol. But the rest have been on her potty tray which we've given her plenty of praise for. The only other problem is her crying when in her playpen, any advice there would be great, thank you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Sounds like good progress on the toilet training. As far as the crying goes, it's really good if you can give her something in her playpen (and only in her playpen) which will keep her mind occupied. So have a look at a snuffle mat Snuffle Mat, and/or a puzzle toy. There are some examples here. Stuffed Kongs are always a good option ..plenty of 'recipes' for what to put in them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Do you plan for the puppy to toilet outside ,how much playtime does puppy get in the backyard now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappi&Monty Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 You need to make the play pen fun! Also if possible tire her out before you put her in the play pen because then she'll want a nap and should settle more easily. I'm sure there are videos about this on YouTube on these channels, I can't remember in particular but I would reccomend these people for training help (also of course you can as a dog trainer at the local obedience club) https://m.youtube.com/user/zakgeorge21 https://m.youtube.com/user/kikopup https://m.youtube.com/user/InTheDoghouseDTC Good luck, keep us posted 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolathedox Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 Thank you all! She was left alone today for a few hours and she seemed fine, was just sitting there patiently when I got home and wasn't whining, hopefully this continues we left the radio on for her while we were gone which seemed to calm her down, she's also been going in and out by herself! We bring her outside when the weather's okay but it's been so cold and windy during these winter months she doesn't seem to want to go out there and just shivers, we will take her out more in the spring and summer months. She's also too young to go for walks. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 There is nothing stopping you from walking on your front garden ,don't let winter create a bad habits . As for outside its tough love puppy needs to learn outside is a place to toilet and have fun and be independent.If cold put a jacket on but it's important to teach outside time The problem with over using a puppy pen is you train the pup to be over reliant on humans instead of moulding a thinker . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolathedox Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 @Dogsfevr Thanks for the advice! We do take her outside in our backyard, she walks around a bit and sniffs around, she seems to enjoy it, but doesn't seem to do any business out there even if she's out there for a fair amount of time, but I guess it takes persistence, we will now take her out more, and try and get her to do her business there when it's not too windy or raining. She shivers when it's too cold but we are thinking of buying her a little raincoat for her to wear when out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 What you need to remember is at present your teaching pup toileting inside is right not outside so its important irrespective of weather to teach puppy outside is for the loo. The tray is ideally for long stays in the pen when you go out or overnight . If pup is allowed to follow you around the house you will need to either put the tray out for it so it knows that is the loo spot otherwise unless it can jump back into the pen it will be unsure of what "toilet" area is right & will go in the house because that is what it knows .And thus far pup wont be telling you i need out because it doesn't have too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 15 hours ago, lolathedox said: @Dogsfevr Thanks for the advice! We do take her outside in our backyard, she walks around a bit and sniffs around, she seems to enjoy it, but doesn't seem to do any business out there even if she's out there for a fair amount of time, but I guess it takes persistence, we will now take her out more, and try and get her to do her business there when it's not too windy or raining. She shivers when it's too cold but we are thinking of buying her a little raincoat for her to wear when out there Timing is critical here. Obviously only when you're home with her. So I'd suggest getting into a habit of taking puppy outside (on a light lead) at the times when she's almost certainly going to want to pee. So straight after she wakes up from a nap, straight after a spell of playing, soon after a meal. Then you take her outside, (coats for humans and puppy are good), and wait. If it's not raining, it wouldn't hurt to take some of the material from her potty tray to an area where you'd like her to toilet .. that should encourage her. If she toilets successfully, make a fuss of her, and then take her back inside. If you've waited about 10 minutes, with no result, then you can go back inside, but watch her, and take her out again in 10 minutes or so. I know she's little, but she is still a dog, and there are some things she'll need to be able to do ... like toileting on lead when you're out on walks, or in strange places Ideally she should learn to toilet on a variety of surfaces outside .. grass, bitumen, concrete. (I'm still working on the bitumen and concrete thing with my 18 week old pup who prefers natural surfaces like grass, wood chips, bush .... I should have started her earlier on the hard surfaces . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolathedox Posted July 20, 2017 Author Share Posted July 20, 2017 @Tassie @Dogsfevr Thanks for the advice, will definitely take her out now for the loo. We took her out today twice and she went fine. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 3 hours ago, lolathedox said: @Tassie @Dogsfevr Thanks for the advice, will definitely take her out now for the loo. We took her out today twice and she went fine. Great stuff. When taking pup out make the whole going outside all about fun & the loo. Ideally let pup walk to the door that will be the access to outside & make excitement start inside about going outside (many just pick up walk & outside & place it where it needs to go.) By doing this your teaching pup that door is where it asks to go out or wanders too,even if it may not need to go reward pup for going to the door & letting it out . If you plan to have a doggy door get one sooner than later 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now