Jake is now 11 and a half weeks old. He will happily wee outside to order when I say the phrase we have chosen and we take him out very frequently. However, he often will wee outside, then come in and wee within 10 mins with no sniffing or other signs he needs to go. Today he wee'd several times just after being outside. Twice just after checking his crate for food (in case the treat fairy had been!) on the runner just outside the crate. The runner was clean, as it had only just come out of the washing machine as I had decided to wash them all today. Then he has wee'd on the lounge carpet and again on the runner. Husband says we should be telling him off by saying no if we catch him doing it - which we always do as we ar watching him all the time. I say (from reading these forums) that he is still little and he will get it soon. A dog owning friend said he might be scent marking the runner outside his crate to mark his den?? Any ideas/suggestions/words of wisdom? I've resorted to several glasses of wine!
He's still only a baby! Would you be cross with a human baby for going in his nappy? It's the same thing. So, no, I disagree with your husband, you should not tell him off for going inside, but you should absolutely pile on the praise and give food treats each and every time he goes outside. He will get there, it just takes time. Eleven and a half weeks is no age. Even at 6 months, I had the very occasional mistake inside with my two. Some just take longer than others to get there. He's not scent marking. Puppies don't do that. He's just being a young puppy with a weak bladder. Do you restrict the space he has access to inside? Some people find that it's a good tactic to only very gradually increase the space the puppy has access to, rather than giving him free run of a large space. This has a couple of benefits; one, it's easier to keep an eye on him. Two, a smaller area of your house will get weed on. Three, a puppy instinctively wants to keep his den clean. At first, the den is just his bed, so anything beyond that is fair game. So, if you give him his bed plus a little bit more, you can keep an eye on him in that little bit, and he'll eventually come to see that as part of his den, too. Then you expand it a bit more - soon, he realises that that new area is also part of his den.... until he has full run of the area you eventually want to give him access to. Carpets seem to make puppies want to "go" more than solid flooring, so if you can restrict access to carpeted areas, lift rugs etc, it may make your life easier. If not, get some cheap lino and lay it over the carpet in the areas he has access to. It's far easier to clean, too. Are you using an enzymatic cleaner, such as Simple Solution, for cleaning up any accidents? This is very important because lots of regular household cleaners can actually encourage dogs to wee, because they have a scent similar (to the dog's nose) to urine. Simple Solution removes all traces of the urine smell that aren't noticeable to us, but are to a dog. Above all, my advice is, keep your wine rack well stocked
At 11.5 weeks Quinn was having many accidents in the house!! That's still very young. She is now 21 weeks (5 months) and still isn't 100% - she goes on command outside and doesn't go #2 inside anymore, but still pees in the house a few times a week. It's usually our fault - we've let her go slightly too long or don't catch her fast enough after she wakes up from a nap. At around 12 weeks we went back to taking her out every 20 mins and click and treat. We are only at 1-1.5 hours between pee breaks now. From friends with older dogs and what I've read here, I think it just takes consistency and time (fingers crossed).
Ah, I know it's frustrating, but Fiona is right, you've got a tiny baby there. Don't tell him off or punish him, it's not fair. I'd say the very last accident my dog had in the house was when he was 5 months old. Of course, they were very few and far between way before that, but they all learn at different rates, have different physical development etc. So you might have a good few more accidents yet! Just don't bother putting the mop bucket away, and resign yourself to the washing machine being busy!
The runners are there to stop him skidding on the hard floor with wet feet. We originally only allowed access to the kitchen, but have expanded to the lounge this week. Most accidents happen in the kitchen outside his crate. We have an enzyme spray and wash the runners at 60 degrees if they get wee'd on. I'm having another glass of wine while Jake has a sleep in his crate. We took the divider out yesterday as he has never wee'd in his crate and he was delighted and slept in there for an hour or two straightaway.
And hiven the weird changeable wintery snow showers/hail/rain then sun we are getting, the runners are needed to save him hurting himself!
Bless you xx It will be a while yet before you are free of accidents (around 14 weeks but some take a lot longer) Don't ever tell him off for it - but lots of praise and treats when he gets it right. Take him out after meals, drinks, play - everything! If he doesn't perform outside carry him for a while and try again. Be sure to clean up with an enzyme cleaner like Simple Solution. You'll get there, but it's never instant, their bladders have to mature first.
I think it is very important to have puppies on non slip floors. Non slip lino is good, because you can mop it. Runners are good if they are easy to wash, otherwise vet bed squares everywhere....
The runners can be lobbed in the machine and tumble dried and are only £9 each so are great. He ALWAYS performs outside when I say the phrase and on occasions we are outside and he has been, will occasionally squeeze a few more drips out for the click and treat! He gets clicked and treats for every toilet visit outside. He is holding it wonderfully over night, so suppose I can't complain. I just need to convince husband
I second everything @Boogie just said. He'll get there but he is still a baby with a small bladder and still learning the signals himself when he needs to pee. Don't despair and enjoy your wine
A mix of aversives and witholding rewards, it depends on how drastic you need to be..... My OH, getting frustrated with Charlie toileting inside, decided to drag Charlie by his collar and 'rub his nose in it' - no sooner had my OH put a hand on my puppy's collar, and it became clear what he intended to do, I hit the roof, screamed blue murder, and sulked for a month while insisting my OH completed a reading programme on the merits of positive training. He hasn't put a paw out of line since (positive training wise, that is...).
Lol. I do love my little Jakey. He is doing very well with training and tomorrow we CAN GO FOR A WALK!
I need to caveat this....my OH is the kind of bloke that once used a clicker as a noise distraction when Charlie was sniffing poo...I rapidly removed all clickers, whistles and dummies from him and issued the instruction give the dog a seabiscuit when he does what you want him to do and that's it, nothing else whatsoever.... My OH has 2 cues, one is a high pitch burrrup! noise which is a recall (surprisingly effective) and chup-chup-Charlie which serves for everything else he wants the dog to do, or stop doing. At least he doesn't mess with my cues....
