Hi there, I have just got my first ever dog with my partner. He is a wee chocolate lab named Huxley and he is 9 weeks old. He is really good and sweet, but we are having trouble house breaking him. He is crate trained and he absolutely will not soil his crate, we were also sleeping him in our small laundry and he would not soil the laundry either, rather he would cry and wait for us to take him out. Now we have got to the point where he will happily go outside, but he will also walk inside the house and wee on the carpet without a second thought. We have been doing a lot of positive reinforcement of the outside toileting - praising him and offering him a biscuit, but he doesnt seem to be at all conscious of not going in the house apart from in his crate or the laundry. Any advice would be really appreciated as it is very frustrating having to keep him always outside or in his crate. Thanks so much
it sounds like you have the right idea and are doing the right things but maybe have unrealistic expectations. Nine weeks is a baby puppy, he has no control, when he has to go it's NOW. Puppies generally need out when they wake, when you wake, after they eat, drink, play, someone rings your doorbell, when you come home, when they hear the neighbours come home. All these things are new and exciting/stimulating to them and they have to pee. Sometimes the signs, if there are any, are very subtle. Some might sniff the floor a bit, make a circle, then squat. All YOU need is to watch and have patience. He nmight need out every 15 minutes if he's playing. ONe thing I would not do is give a food treat. Little devils, once he gets to asking to go out they are quite capable of asking just so they can get a treat and you'll never know if he really needs to bathroom or just wants a treat. Some of them have a very high, and unwarranted, opinion of our abilities. I swear they merely Think, pee and we are supposed to understand. Mine thought I had ESP, I'm sure they did, but I was not a good receptor of puppy thoughts. We poor feeble humans don't have the observation powers animals do, so we have to think about watching them and when they need out
Hi there and a warm welcome to the forum! Well done on getting your new pup used to a crate so quickly, and it's great that he doesn't want to soil his sleeping area. 9 weeks is a bit too young for a pup to master control of his bladder, it can take up to 13 weeks to gain full control, and even then the odd accident due to excitement is not unexpected. You are going in the right direction, rewarding after each wee. I am afraid it just takes time and a consistent approach. As long as his "wee breaks" are just that, and don't involve any excitement or play. Timing is important, every couple of hours, after meals, playtime etc... Good luck and enjoy your pup!
Thanks for the advice, we do give him a LOT of breaks and take him outside a lot, probably every 20 minutes, but as you say I think my expectations are a little high. I think what frustrated me is its not an urgency thing, as he will literally walk in the door from outside and immediately wee on the floor, so he is not yet associating the rest of the house as the den. But I am sure you are right and this will come in time. We have not been giving him food treats any more, just a lot of praise for going outside. So am I right in thinking he will, over time, start to understand that outside is really the only place he can go?
He will eventually workout that outside is the place for toileting by consistency of taking him out and as he gains control over his bladder but at the moment it's like expecting a tiny baby to have bladder control. A crate will not teach him bladder control, it is his safe place where he can rest and sleep when he wants. With such a young puppy it can be a good idea to restrict his access to rooms with carpets - it makes leaning up accidents easier, and ensure that you use one of the special cleaners to wipe up accidents and not just household cleaners. The household cleaners do not remove all the urine smell for a sensitive dog's nose so it tells him tis s the place to wee ......
Ok great thanks again, unfortunately apart from the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry our whole house is carpeted, but it is open plan so we cant really control where he goes. I am sure he will get there, we do have a scent removing pet spray and have been using that after every accident. Thanks for all the advice, I feel more confident now
He is really, really tiny yet, far too young to be house trained - or the fact he isn't to be a problem. I would definitely use treats when he goes in the garden, I think this is the fastest way to house train a puppy - give him 3 treats everytime he goes in the garden. Don't give him the chance to go when he gets back in the house. Have him in your arms, in a crate, attached to you with a light lead...whatever you have to do unless you are sure he is 'empty' then you can relax for a bit (but not for very long!).
Hello from Molly and me. He really is just a baby and has no control over his bladder and bowels. Keep taking outside. I know every 20 minutes is a real chore, but the more chances you give him to get it right, the sooner he will. Quite soon you will recognise the little signals he gives off (walking in a circle, sniffing the floor), you will then become an expert at the scoop and dash for the garden. I used to say "be clean" to Molly as she performed and treat her afterwards. This has become a cue word for her emptying herself out before bedtime or before we go out and leave her in her
Yes he will. Not only that, he can learn different words for pee and poop (mine are Hurry Up and Finish) and he can learn to do them on command, or try to and fake it, when, say, you ask him to before getting into the car for a ride somewhere. But, don't be surprised by the odd accident at even as much as a year old. WElcome to the board, I'm sorry, I should have said so above.
Thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it. He is actually really good as we have been using the words Hurry Up! since the very beginning whenever he goes to the toilet, so now (around 60% of the time) if you tell him to Hurry Up he will do a wee, I think he is starting to understand, but sometimes still chooses to ignore us. While I have you all here the only other niggle we have is he is extremely nippy - he is quite an active puppy and I think will be a fairly boisterous male dog, I am quite small and so I really want to have him well trained before he is too big for me to manage. How do we stop him biting all the time? It seems to be the only form of play he knows. We have tried yelping like a puppy and putting him down, but he has soon gotten accustomed the yelps and ignores them. We have tried ignoring him whenever he bites but it doesnt seem to deter him at all. We have tried distracting him with his toys - chew toys, teddy bears, ropes etc, which works for the time but he will always continue to bite. I have even seen a youtube about growling at him like a dog which has absolutely no effect on him. He is extremely determined little fella. Any ideas on that one? As he is our first dog and I really want him to have an extremely happy and balanced life i really want to get this crucial training period going well so that we dont have problems or feel frustrated with him when he becomes big and hard to manage.
Hello and welcome to the forum. He's not choosing to ignore you. He just doesn't understand yet - or, at that exact second, doesn't need to go. Or is too distracted by something else. Dogs don't wilfully choose to ignore you, it's not how they think. As for the nipping - yes, little puppies nip and it will probably get worse before it gets better, sorry! It's because puppies learn about the world through their mouths, and it's also how they initiate play. It's actually important that you allow a certain amount of biting to start with. You need to teach the puppy how much is appropriate. This is because you want him to know how hard he can bite without causing damage to a person. I know your immediate reaction is, "I don't want him to bite, ever", and that's perfectly true, but the fact is that he may be in a situation in the future that's out of your control, where he's injured or scared and feels he has no other option but to bite - which might be a person that's actually trying to help him. You need to ensure that, in this situation, where he can't be expected not to bite, that he knows how to limit it so it doesn't hurt. Here is an article that should help: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/teaching-bite-inhibition-to-your-labrador-puppy/ At nine weeks, you've not had enough time to try any method with any consistency. You need to pick one method and stick to it. The method of ignoring does work, you just need to keep going. So, with teaching the bite inhibition, you would allow him to chew your hand, but the second he bites had enough to cause pain, you stand up and ignore him. No words, no eye contact. He may start chewing on your clothes. Ignore him. Wear clothes that aren't precious - the tighter the better so he can't get his teeth into them. If you simply can't ignore him, remove yourself to another room. With Willow, I set up times to train this, rather than having to react to it happening at her whim. I'd crouch down next to her, in a position that I could stand up quickly from, and start playing with her. The instant she got too hard, I'd stand up quickly. It has to be quick so the puppy realises the link between the behaviour and the response. If it's easier, sit on a low stool. I'd give her fifteen seconds and, if she had stopped biting, I'd re-engage and play with her again. By doing this several times a day, she learnt really quickly that biting too hard stopped the fun game. As time went on, I decreased my tolerance as to what would stop the game. By 14 weeks, she was completely over it. Now, when we're playing silly, she rolls around on her back with her mouth wide open, but is super gentle and never closes her mouth on my hands or arm. Compared to when she plays with her brother, whose legs she loves to chew.
Welcome to the forum. Knowing what 9 week old puppies are like, it actually sounds to me like you and your pup have made fantastic progress with the toilet training So you should actually be feeling pretty proud of both of you. Just keep persevering, patiently, and you will end up with a toilet trained dog who doesn't mouth or bite your hands. It will take more time, but you'll get there. And definitely use treats to reward peeing and pooping. Peeing and pooping are satisfying or rewarding in themselves (as they relieve an urge) regardless of where they happen. To a puppy (or human baby) who knows no better, peeing on the carpet is as satisfying as peeing on the grass outside. And what does a puppy know of carrot, or the concept of inside or outside? They are just things humans have made up. So you have to make the peeing outside more worthwhile than peeing inside - that is where the treats come in. Also, over time, your pup will learn that your whole house is the sleeping and eating space and will become motivated not to pee in there. Dogs do not like to pee where they sleep and eat (which is why he doesn't pee in the crate). It will take time but he will work out that your whole house is like a massive crate, not for peeing and pooping.
Welcome to you. Just checking you've seen this part of the site - full of excellent advice http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies/ .
