Hi guys! We have a gorgeous 13 week old puppy called Bacon. He's so well behaved and has taken to training excellently BUT, despite the fact we take him outside regularly to toilet, he waits to come inside to pee on the laminate (poos he's really good with though). I understand that the urge to pee is one that comes on very quickly in puppies accidents do happen but this happens every time. During the day the back door to the garden is open almost constantly (god bless this lovely spate of weather!) and when the weather is not so nice we sit out with him for anywhere up to an hour. 9.9 times out of 10 he goes on the laminate (a small blessing) but today he peed on the living room carpet 3 times which he hasn't done for weeks. It's really starting to get me down as everything else is going so well with him, though I'm very careful not to show it. Am I expecting too much? Is there anything I can do to encourage him to go outside? TIA Lauren
Re: Puddles of problems Hi Lauren and Bacon I taught Harley by saying 'go wee wee' every time she started to wee outside and gave her lots of treats each time. For accidents inside if I caught her in time I would pick her up, run outside with her and treat her when she went. I cleaned up inside with no fuss. Also, you will need a cleaner like simple solution as there is no ammonia in it so gets rid of scent that most household cleaners don't. Keeping the door open isn't necessarily a good idea as they get used to this and when the weather is bad they don't know how to tell you. At his age I would be taking him out every hour at least with lots of treats. Good luck
Re: Puddles of problems Hi, is there a way you can restrict access to the room with the laminate floor for now? Or only let him in there just after he's gone outside for a short time. I had to take Bella out every fifteen mins at that age, then every thirty and so on. She's 6 months now and we haven't had any accidents indoors for over a month but it did take her a while as she kept going in the kitchen if I didn't catch her. Simple solution is great as it gets rid of the scent. Normal floor cleaners encourage them to wee there again ( I learnt that the day I cleaned my wooden floors with flash and Bella had a wee straight away on them ) I really wouldn't worry too much, some learn quicker than others, and Bella was a bit later so I was beginning to panic, but touch wood, she's sorted now! Although I would hen be surprised if she has the odd accident as she's still young. Good luck ;D
Re: Puddles of problems Hello from 19 month old Molly and me. Naya has given you some excellent advice, especially about NOT. Leaving the back door open ( I know that sounds strange) but you also need to train both of you to be alert to the going outside signals. What is a pup to do, if he's had free access to the garden for months and then suddenly someone shuts the door Also, Simple Soloution is a must. If you don't get rid of every trace of the smell ( and remember the pup's nose is many times more sensitive than yours) the lingering whiff will tell your pup. "This is the place to pee" Good luck with it. It shouldn't last much longer.
Re: Puddles of problems I agree with the advice above. The only thing I would add is maybe, once you've cleaned up a puddle, put the soiled kitchen roll, or whatever you used, outside to get the smell of wee where you DO want her to go. This might encourage her to use that area as a toilet, in the same way as it does inside if you don't use Simple Solution to clean up.
Re: Puddles of problems I definitely agree with the advice above. We toilet trained Bob to start with by leaving the back door open, and he was GREAT at going outside and we thought we'd nailed it. But the minute the door was closed for whatever reason, Bob didn't understand that he had to wait for the door to be opened. He'd just walk as far as he could get as he was used to doing, and then toilet by the closed door. We had to go right back to basics with him. Julie T was a great help with this advice. Door to garden was always closed. We'd take him out regularly - especially right after play, treats, dinner/drink or waking up. He got given 3 treats every time he went as a reward. We also made sure that if we weren't in the same room as him for whatever reason, he'd be crated so that he didn't toilet. We basically watched him like a hawk and tried to set him up for success. We've not had any accidents for a long time now, so I think he's got it. But I still refuse to keep the back door open for the moment. There needs to be a clear definition between inside and outside. Basically you are training him to see the inside of your house as an extension of his crate so he won't want to soil there. It will take time but persevere! Lou x
