Toilet Training

[jezebel]

Hi All

I have a new wonderful Maltese girl named Bella. She is just gorgeous and we all adore her, even people who have just met her adore her, she has the sweetest nature.

This weekend she will be 10 weeks old and we would have had her for 2 weeks. When we got her from the breeder she told us that she was newspaper trained and that proved so for the first few nights. Then she got to know us a bit better and has had a few accidents on the carpet in the loungeroom which is the only place (except for the laundry) where she is allowed to go at the moment. I cleaned these accidents up with a urine absorber powder, then clean the spot with white vinegar, then spray a pet repellent over that after it has dried. (pet repellent is able to be used either indoors or outdoors and is supposed to stop animals going to the toilet in that spot)

After cleaning like this she still continues to want to go on the carpet. I have set up her room in the laundry and she has plenty of space apart from her crate and the newspaper. I have also put drops of a House training aid on the newspaper to get her to go there. It seems she holds during the night as the newspaper is bare in the morning. I feed her breakfast then leave her in the laundry for another half an hour hoping that she goes to the toilet. Of course she doesn't and then when she goes into the loungeroom, it only takes about 5 minutes and she has done no 1 & 2's while some one else is watching her!

This is getting very frustrating as I thought that this would work. I watch her constantly and as soon as she squats on the carpet I pick her up and take her to the laundry newspaper. She just doesn't seem to get it. We don't let her outside at the moment because we have a lot of stray cats that roam the garden and we are worried that she could pick up any kind of disease as she is not fully vaccinated yet.

Does anyone have any suggestions? If she can just get this right then she will be perfect! :D

Jez

Edited March 3, 2006 by jezebel

[sas]

There might just be something tiny that you're missing out of her training, try this link: http://www.livedezign.com.au/toilettraining.htm

[jezebel]

Thanks sas

I read over that but there isn't anything really different to what I'm doing. Sleeping at night is a little different but she copes well at night and doesn't have any accidents as she is forced to go on the newspaper.

I'm thinking that I have to move her newspaper further away from her crate than it actually is ie. other side of the laundry. This may help! Other than that I cannot see anything else that is different.

Has anyone found success with the puppy housetraining pads? I considered those before we got Bella but thought they were quite expensive when you could just use newspaper and the housetraining aid drops.

Any advice would be appreciated

[Sunsoar]

Has anyone found success with the puppy housetraining pads? I considered those before we got Bella but thought they were quite expensive when you could just use newspaper and the housetraining aid drops.

Yes, I have had so much success with these...you mean as a toy right? My new little man thinks these are just the best fun in the world to rip to pieces when I leave him with them. The $1 paper stays pristine and the pads turn into million bits of cotton-wool all through his pen :D

I am having the same problems as you, so at least you know there is someone else in the same boat

[sas]

In my experience of toilet training there will always be something small you're missing, if a dog isn't toileting correctly then you need to consider:

1) The dog isn't toilet trained properly - it is possible she is taking a little longer than most dogs to learn.

2) The dog may need to see a vet for a check up

At what age did you bring your pup home?

Yes, move the paper further away from your crate, pop it as far away as possible from the crate and where pup is fed. You may like to contact your breeder in regards to how they paper trained your puppy and you could follow their technique.

Edited March 4, 2006 by sas

[Greytmate]

Carpet is much more appealing for dogs to toilet on, because it is more absorbent than newspaper.

In a way, your dog is toilet trained. It is following its natural instincts not to soil its den area. A normal dog will move into a different area to toilet if it has a choice, and by taking it into the loungeroom, you are giving it that choice.

I would suggest that you take the puppy outside to toilet, rather than into the loungeroom. Your dog is extremely unlikely to pick up any diseases from the cats, and a regular parasite preventative will keep your dog free of fleas and worms.

[oonga]

Sas thanks for that ebook have printed it out for easier reference.

i think i stuffed up the first night our puppy was home, she is almost 15weeks old, never been toilet trained.

she did a poop which we didn't catch in time, and 2 wees which we also missed.

the 3rd wee i saw her doing it middway and unfortunately i yelled out NO and i think i scared her as she stopped at once, then we went outside but there was no more wee. i hope i haven't done any irrersible damage

i took her out at 2am in the night but she just lay down at my feet and did nothing, so back inside to her crate. at 5am i took her out again, after 20mins she finally did a wee and praised her lots.

anyhow yesterday was her second day here and we had no accidents inside, but we were taking her out hourly, she wouln't go to the toilet when asked to, but would at other times, my partner was the one who witnessed several wees and praised her lots, even though it was on the grass and not the area we would like her to be doing her toilet stuff

he went to clean up her second poop and by the time he got back from getting a bag to put it in, she had eaten it!!! eugh! lol

anyhow we are taking her out when she has that sniffing and looking around behaviour but it is difficult to tell whether she wants to do anything or is just checking things out?

took her out twice again but this time there was not result, just lay down at my feet, i ended up giving her a pat and she just rolled over on her back so we came back inside, no accidents in her crate, could her bladder just be getting stronger?

or is it because she didn't really eat yesterday? both nights she didn't have anything for about 3 hours before bed.

am i doing the right thing? what shoould i be doing if she gets taken out at night and just lays at my feel? is it right to praise her when she does toilet outside in a different spot? i figure it is still outside and she is atleast learning the word? parenthood!!! LOL

cheers

oonga

[EVERYLABDESERVESAKID]

The best way to toilet train a dog, is to never let any accidents happen in the first place. If you eventually want the dog to do its business outside, you need to take the dog out before sleeps, after sleeps, before meals and after meals and at least every other two hours and stay with it on a lead until the deal is done. Once you have a wee on the grass, give praise, praise and more praise or a treat and then keep taking it out to that spot everytime, so that it can smell its own scent on the ground. They very quickly learn that if they hurry up, they get to go back inside. You also need to recognise the signs that they need to go, some puppies sniff, some do circle work and some stand with their little tails stiff, deep in thought. Never leave the puppy unsupervised, if you are not having direct contact with the puppy and it is not sleeping, put it in a crate or on a lead attached to something so it can't wander off and do sneaky business, while you are watching T.V . I used to just pop a lead on my puppy and hook it to the leg of the desk inside, to keep him within my line of site. My little bloke now 14 months old, comes and gets us and does circle work all the way to the back door and then pushes the screen door himself, when he needs to go out and then bangs to get back in, when he is done, if he is quick, he knows that I will hold the door open for him and wait. Dogs do not like any surface that has "splash back" or is not absorbent enough to stop wee from pooling around their feet, I have also discovered that little dogs in particular will not squat on grass that is long enough to touch their butts and if that is the case they will prefer to go on the path or concrete. I had a Maltese and it was the most difficult dog to toilet train I have ever seen, so, you will really need to be on the ball with this little one.

[Stan2]

Hey thanks for that info everylabdeservesakid I have been following this topic with great interest and find your methods Ill put to use when I finally get my JRT (adult) . And it makes sense that they dont like their bums to touch the grass whilst doing it .

[Nekhbet]

I woudlnt worry too much about the stray cats. There are virtually no diseases that are passed cat-dog and as before, if you worm your pup you're alright

Drawback to papertraining ...

leave papers on the ground in the house and puppy brain says 'I pee here now'. Plus yes it isnt very absorbant and dogs not liking to stand in their own wee will go off it quickly. If you know the puppy needs to go then wait, they cant hang on forever! Maybe try using some of that cat litter made from recycled newspaper in a shallow litterbox if you dont like the pup going outside. It smells like paper and soaks up the liquid part well. Keep the dog away from the carpet until you have seen it go to the toilet, give it heaps of praise when it finishes and then bring it in. Make it clear that toilet is here, play area is here.

[oonga]

Hi everylabdeservesakid,

thanks for your ideas, i have been taking her out and supervising her, and we have since then twice caught her in the act, she is very quick!! but at least we were able to take her straight out. she does spend a lot of time outside anyway and comes in at night and periodically during the day.

we don't have a huge place so if she is running around crazy she has to go back outside, otherwise she bumps into stuff and slips on the floorboards, we are going to get more rugs for the floors so she doesn't hurt her hips. i have been waking up twice in the night for her to take her to the toilet and she goes on the leash but as soon as we go outside and i say toilet she just drops at my feet and does nothing. she basically goes into her crate about 11pm and hasn't had any accidents then she goes outside for breakfast at about 7am. could it be that her bladder is strong enough to handle no wees overnight?

i have also realised that your suggestion of splash back could be why she doesn't like going where i take her, it is like a clay/gravel area so have been taking her on the grass instead, where she herself goes when she goes on her own, and she still just lays down and puts her head on her paws and looks at me lovingly!! she is sooo gorgeous lol

cheers

oonga

[Meriment]

A general note for toilet training young pups - it really does take time. Also, not all pups are the same, they are all unique individuals and some are quicker to learn than others.

From my experience, it takes time and a lot of patience, perseverance and consistency. You may get the odd pup that you'd swear has walked this earth before who never has an accident! But generally - it takes time.

jezebel you said in your original post that your pup is 10 weeks old and you've had her for 2 weeks (so she was 8 wks old when you took her home). If I were you I really would not be worried that she hasn't "got it" yet at only 10 wks of age. That still really is very young

It is natural instinct for pups not to toilet their bed area, so I would expect her to move away form her bed and toilet on the newspaper anyway. My current litter started doing that at 3-4 weeks old Newspaper trained she may have been at her breeder's place, but her new home is a whole different set up and she has to adjust to the new routine.

I'd be inclined to do away with the newspaper theory all together and just watch her like a hawk while inside on the carpet, but make OUTSIDE on the lawn (or sand or whatever) the toilet place. Take her there very often, it will feel like all you do is take her out to the toilet but it will be worth it. When she goes, make much fuss of her! Tell her how wonderful she is. You can also teach a command. I teach my pups "wees" when they wee and "poos" when they poo! Eventually you can take them outside, or on a lead out anywhere, and they will toilet on "command".

I noticed you said she has a crate, so that is also a tool to help you with toilet training. When you can't watch her 100%, crate her. After 30 mins or an hour get her out but take her straight outside. Once she has done her business and you've made a huge fuss of her, she can come back inside to play. Then it's sleep time so back in the crate... then get up time so back outside... so on & so forth

Good luck - given time I'm sure she'll get the hang of it :rolleyes:

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

House training is about supervising your pup, providing adequate and well-timed toilet opportunities, and not expecting too much too soon. You have some great advice. House training, in a nutshell, is easy as long as the dog is being trained appropriately. Newspaper training has its advantages, but then you have to re-train the dog to toilet outside, when it's just much simpler and quicker to train the pup to go outside in the first place.

And as my manager says, if the dog is toileting inside, it's the person's mistake, not the dog's...the person didn't watch for the signs, or was busy when the dog had finished eating/had just woken up, or the dog wasn't confined to its crate...etc, etc.

Good luck! :rolleyes:

[poodlefan]

Dogs have a natural inhibition about eliminating near where they eat or sleep. Give her a place she can go that isn't anywher near her food/water or crate.

Dogs aren't stupid.. why would you want to go on slippery, non absorbent paper when you can go on nice soft carpet? You'd probably be better off taking her outside and letting her use the grass. If you don't want her to learn to eliminate on any magazine or book that's left on the floor, don't train her on paper.

While she is learning you cannot take your eyes off her - constant vigilance is the only way to go. Take her to her toilet place when she wakes, after she eats, after she's played and if she looks 'sniffy'. Wait for her to 'produce' and praise her. It will speed the process if she's rewarded at the very minute she does the right thing.

Edited March 6, 2006 by poodlefan

[halton]

I live in an apartment so i cant take him to the grass all the time! We have the 'wees' on the newspaper down pat! Everytime he needs to wee he goes on the newpaper but his 'poos' are another story! For some reason he feels he can poo on the carpet and not on the newspaper! Why is this? he is only 9 weeks old so i am very proud he has learnt to wee on newspaper in just over a week but why are his poos so much more special and deserve the carpet?

Also how to we go from toilet training on newspaper to into a litter we have set up! he thinks the litter is a game and digs in the rocks! I have told him no but he just doesnt understand..... Should i try putting some newpaper in the litter to get him started?

[birgulparis]

Hi

I am also in the middle of toilet training my pup, what i have learnt is that if she wees on the paper throughout the night it dries up, so she may be going you just cant tell.

I have used those pads as well they are great just expensive to start with.

With the paper put it every where even around her food/water as she is mow in a new environment she feels a little lost.

You soon will notice she choses her own place.

Start rewarding her with a treat an praise when she does go in the right places.

take her out after waking up, after eating, and all those other times you have headr of a million times tell her "go toilet" and just wait till she has.

My girl started wetting her bed and she still sometimes does which i now think was due to me having paper every where. I've had her for almost 3 weeks an she is slowing progressing. A couple of times she has ran straight for the door an sat (which she has been taught to do) and ive let her out an shes gone.. I always give her treat lots of praise an i cook her her fav meal.

If you catch her going where you dont want bang your hand on the carpet loud so she will stop. then take her out an say good girl go toilet.

Hope this all makes sense good luck keep us posted.

was meant to say NOT having paper everywhere.

[bridgie_cat]

Hi

My name is Bridget and im really new to this whole forum thing but i hope someone can answer my question.

I am looking at buying a girl shetland sheepdog and she sounds like almost the perfect dog for me accept that she is not house trained yet and already 9 months old.

Is this a problem? Is it harder to house train an adult dog than a puppy? Is there a different method i should use to house train her? Is it possible she will never be as well house trained as a dog that had started house training as a puppy?

[EVERYLABDESERVESAKID]

Older dog = bigger bladder. As long as she hasn't already got dirty house habits and has just been an outside dog who is used to going on the lawn already, I reckon the job is already half done as the lawn will already be the place she prefers to go and the place she knows it is alright to go. Follow the same routine as you would for a little puppy, before sleeps, after sleeps, before meals, after meals, before play, after play and every other two hours.............. and you should have good results in quick time.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Sorry, no advice about litter training a dog...have never had to try this.

[Miranda]

Take the dog outside, she's not going to catch anything from the cats, you will find this a much easier option.