We have a lovely puppy called Pepper. She is 12 weeks old, and we have had her for 2 and a half weeks. She is still learning toilet training - she knows we expect her to go outside, and obligingly does a wee when we take her out, even if it is a tiny token one for our benefit (or to get the treat!). But she hasn't fully grasped that this also means she shouldn't go inside. We have had 2 weeks off with Pepper but now have had to go back to work. We have her in a 'safe room' (the kitchen with tiled, wipe clean floor) and leave her crate open for her. We have someone coming in once a day at the moment to feed her and taker her out. My main concern though is that all of our hard work with toilet training will be undone. Is there a way we can ensure that she will still lean that she shouldn't go inside? I know we can't expect her to hold for 5 hours at a time while she's so little, so it is inevitable she will go inside before/ after our puppy sitter comes.But how do we help her to continue to learn that outside is where wees and poos happen, not inside? Any advice very much appreciated as we are first time dog owners.
Hi Fran and welcome to the forum. That's a long time to leave a little one. She won'the learn not to wee in her space unless she is given the opportunity to wee in the correct place. It's great that you have someone coming in, but I think you will really need someone making more visits during the day when she is still so small. Using puppy pads is an option, but that isn't training her to toilet outside which is what you want, and she will still need to complete her training by moving the puppy pads slowly outside....its twice the work and a lot harder. Do you think that even short term you could organise more visits? Either from your puppy sitter or a neighbour, maybe a friend or relative. I am a working mum too so I do sympathise with you, but it's not great for the pup to be alone for so long. jac
Thanks Jac for your reply. We are very conscious that this is a long time to leave her while she is still a baby. Luckily it's only for 3 and a half days a week as I work from home one day a week and my husband works 4.5 days a week. Unfortunately there's nobody else who can pop in during the day as we only moved to the area recently, and all of our family live over 2 hours away! She never messes in her crate and she generally can hold for about 2hrs in the day, up to 5hrs at night (we take her out in the middle of the night). So is there any hope for getting her house trained...? I'm really worried now. Thanks again for the advice.
Hi and welcome! I wrote a long reply, but unfortunately my iPad ate it.. But basically the gist of my answer was that five hours is too long to leave a little puppy. Not just for the toilet training, but because dogs, and especially young puppies, need company. Every moment of a puppy's waking time is spent learning about the world, and being socialized, and that will be lacking if she is on her own. I think you will need to find someone else in addition to your puppy walker - or come home at lunchtime for a couple of months.
Hi Karen, thanks for your reply. We don't work within popping home at lunch distance sadly or we definitely would. Pepper gets so much attention, training, cuddles and love when we're at home at weekends and the evenings. She's just started going for walks too. Surely we can't be the only people who have a puppy and jobs? Thanks
Hi Karen, funnily enough I just wrote you a response which didn't send as well! Thanks for your message. Unfortunately neither of us work within popping home at lunch time distance, or we would be doing that already. We are working really hard on socialisation and training with Pepper while we are at home - she gets so much love and attention and has just started going for walks too. Given that we can't do anything other than leave her for the time we're at work in between the puppy sitter coming, is there any advice about how to keep up toilet training as well as possible? Surely we aren't the only people who work and have a puppy Thanks!
Its really difficult to advise you. It kind of depends on how quickly Pepper catches on to what is required. We gradually built up time in the crate over the summer holidays (my reasonably responsible kids were at home and in charge). We made the crate a good place to go when we were going out by use of tasty kongs. We built up over a few weeks to about 3 hours rather than doing it cold, and had an early lunch break making time alone 3 hours in the morning and 2&1/2 in the afternoon but Lilly was about 15 weeks before we were all back in the school/work routines and she was left alone for these longer periods. We consider that we were lucky - not sure I would risk this again! I don't quite know what else would help. Having a secure room for her with a "toileting" area is certainly better than just being in a crate. She is going to get bored though. Bored puppies cause problems.
Hi Fran and welcome. I really sympathise, because you're right; you're not the only people to have a puppy and work. People with regular jobs should not be forbidden from having the joy of a puppy in their lives. But, it is going to be more difficult for you than if you had someone staying at home.... for myself, I work from home and thought a puppy would just slot into my life - wow, I was so wrong and didn't realise how much of my day she would take up! I appreciate you may not have anyone you can lean on locally, but I would certainly encourage you to look at some paid-for help for the short term, certainly. Having seen how much attention Willow needed when she was young and how destructive she could be when left by herself for only ten minutes, I think you would save a lot of anxiety by investing in some help for the first few weeks or months, until she gets used to longer times by herself. If that is really not possible, then you simply have to look at toilet training as being a far longer process than most. In general, a puppy has the natural instinct not to toilet where she sleeps, which is why a crate is so beneficial for toilet training. The premise being that they relate to their crate as their "den" (aka "don't toilet here!"), and over time, that area they see as "den" extends to a room and eventually the whole house. However, a puppy can only hold for a very short amount of time, and once they get used to going to the toilet in their "den", it's a hard habit to break. People often assume that, since the pup can go for five, six, however many hours at night, they should be able to do the same during the day, but that's not fair at all. The puppy is asleep at night. She is not eating or drinking. A young puppy will (should be) on three or four meals a day, so needs to evacuate regularly. Whilst awake, this may be as regularly as every fifteen minutes to half an hour. For me, I'd want to be getting someone in to help, because the mess on your floors is a much smaller issue than the socialisation that your pup would benefit from in these early months, but I do also appreciate that everyone has different circumstances. I hope you stick around and let us know how you get on
It's not just about the toilet training though, is it? The whole thing is that you can't explain to the puppy that all the love and attention that she gets at the weekends and evenings is enough. It isn't enough, not for her. She needs someone with her, to entertain her and teach her, and for her to feel safe and secure. Leaving her from now on for five hours at a time is not a good idea. She will start to find things to entertain herself or to distract herself from her distress, such as chewing your furniture. I know it's really difficult, trying to juggle a puppy and work, and many many people manage it completely satisfactorily. It just takes organization and forward planning, that's all. I work full-time myself - but we arranged it so that my OH was at home the first six months and gradually got the puppy used to being on her own (with our other dog). I would really recommend you look for a professional to come in and play with your puppy once a day. That, together with the other person coming in later in the day, would probably help to keep her stimulated and happy, until you come home in the evening.
I work and have a dog. When I got Charlie I worked more than full time - I was starting my own business and had my first major, demanding clients and I was working crazy hours and doing a long London commute. I managed though - but not alone. I managed by using puppy visitors, day care (puppy day care, not free running daycare for older dogs), day care by my future dog walker, juggled my work to work at home a bit, my OH juggled his work to work at home a bit, my dog walker's OH volunteered to have Charlie with him (he worked at home), and for weeks where I just could not make anything else work, shipped my old Dad down from North Yorkshire to stay with us and be on 24/7 puppy care...(Dad and Charlie loved that ). My dog is fine. He turned out just fine. Well, a bit of a nutcase in terms of LOVING all people (to death) but hey, there are worse faults for a dog to have. You can manage to work full time and bring up a puppy absolutely fine, but it requires military planning.....
