Just a thought, during the night, do you put your puppies on a lead to wee in the garden? Obviously there's no recall in place as yet and didn't want him running around the dark garden at 3am! Would that be the right thing to do? Or any other advice please? X
I have a spending pen so that the pup knows where to go to the toilet. It works well as they can then play in the garden as a reward for performing (not at night ‘tho!). I introduce the collar and lead over the first week, only putting it on at meal times and when we go out for a ‘carry’ at first. Lots of pups find the collar uncomfortable at first and it can put them off ‘performing’. My pups are Guide Dog pups so they use a spending pen all their lives. This is Kara using it lol. We have gravel at one end as they prefer gravel as they get older. I have a watering can and swill each wee with a very weak solution of bio gel.
You can certainly use a lead for toilet trips. I used a pen in the garden instead, just a cheap wire pen I could pop her in to keep her mind on the job in hand. I used it during the day, too, so she would go toilet and then I'd let her out for a play.
Uggghhhh Kara is just GORGEOUS!!! Absolutely beautiful. I don't have a spending pen, just 12 slabs and a lawn I read I need to carry him out so she doesn't walk and wake himself up, so hoping he will be sleepy enough to not bomb it round the garden? Wishful thinking perhaps lol
We never ever used a lead for night time wee breaks (until Duggans restrictions after knee surgery at 18 momths). We followed the total recall guide and he was more than happy to return to the house with us as soon as he was done. We actually had to walk him to the spot or he wouldn’t go but there is a plethora of wildlife on our property and we kinda used that as an advantage to keep him close in those early days when his instincts told him to stay close. Of course in return he felt he had to walk us to our spot when when we went as well. Lol. Then of course he felt the hallway needed some toilet paper too.
It does depend very much on the puppy. I didn't need a pen with my first two; they would just go outside, toilet and that would be it. My youngest was far too interested in everything to feel the call of nature, so the pen was invaluable, during the day, too. I just used a cheap guinea-pig pen (like this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Milo-Misty...qid=1521830357&sr=8-6&keywords=guinea+pig+pen) which I set up on the grass. I moved it every day to prevent damaging the lawn - it was winter and very soft ground. A puppy circling over and over tended to bring up the mud!
I think it's totally reasonable to use a lead or pen if you feel it will give you better control over the situation! I agree you don't want to misplace a pup in the dark at night, or have them wander too far and not be sure if they are going potty or not! (Sometimes small pups squat so low to the ground it's hard to tell). You may find he prefers to go on a longer lead rather than a short one, and as stated above, you will want to introduce the lead ahead of time. When they are babies it is often recommended to keep them on a lead in the house so they don't sneak off to potty or chew on something naughty.
