I'm happy to report that my new pup, Jax, (who's 9 weeks old, just about 10) is settling in nicely and things seem to be going very well for us. He's taken to his crate like a champ and seems to be adjusting quite well. In terms of house training, I think we're making progress. In the week he's been home we've only had a few accidents but we've been watching him like a hawk and very much limiting his access to the house. He spends the majority of his time in his fenced off area in the kitchen and in his crate. I can't help but wonder though if he's actually learning not to pee inside, or if I'm doing all the thinking for him? My other question/concern revolves his bowel movements. I've read over and over again that after eating I can expect him to need to have a poo pretty quickly - like within 15-20 mins. However, this is certainly not the case with Jax. It could be a couple of hours until he poos. He doesn't seem to be uncomfortable at all. Thoughts?
Hi my 11 week old boy settled in quickly too, and at home he has been really good letting us know when he needs to go out, until today that is! We've had three accidents today, where he didn't even do his normal signal that he was about to pee - just stood there looking at us and "let it flow"! He is also slow to poo after a feed - in general it can easily be an hour or two before he wants to go outside. Good luck and enjoy Jax
Hi, yes you are most definitely house training Jax. I to limited Dexter to the dining room and kitchen when he was little and learning that his toilet area was outside. I also had the luxury of a summer puppy and we spent a lot of time in the garden. It's so much easier to keep an eye on them when you don't give them the run of the house. As long as Jax is pooping and weeing, I wouldn't be too worried about how long after eating although it makes it more difficult if you need to go out. What do you do with Jax after he's eaten? Does he go into his crate for a rest or does he get to play or does he get taken out for a toilet break? It might help us to know his routine to see if any members or yourself can work out an idea to help you get him going for a poop sooner after eating. My pup is only 11 months old so I'm not very experienced and I'm trying to rack my brains back to when Dexter was 9 weeks old
Thank you @Samantha Jones and @Newbie Lab Owner - I appreciate the responses. To answer your question Newbie, the routine has been to take him out to the yard about 20 mins after he has eaten. That 20 minutes is usually spent relaxing on his own, in his penned area. I wonder if it would be a better idea to get him out into the yard sooner, and get him active, to maybe help speed things along! It's been a bonus to have him while the weather has been nice here (in western Canada). We spend loads of time out in the yard.
You are definitely house training Jax and it sounds like you are doing a super job of it too . They are all different .....I think the 15-20 minute idea is basically a guideline of a reasonable time frame to start expecting a bit of motion....as long as Jax isn't uncomfortable he is going when his body is ready. Lots of people get their toileting on a cue...I have trained this too ,by mistake to be honest ,if I'd done it on purpose I would have chose a less embarrassing phrase......if I want to hurry things along on our evening walk I can be heard saying Poo poo time,guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud boy,guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud boy,the longer I draw out the guuuuuuuuud the more encouraging the effect seems to be!
My 2 take ages after eating, in fact they go before, I think it's a 'making space' exercise I'm using 'be quick' as cue mid action but we're a way of toileting on cue yet.
At this age, you do have to do the thinking for them and take them out regularly into the garden. I never restricted my pups to one area, though he did have a crate to sleep in during the day and if I went out. Non of mine have ever 'pooed' in the house and probably only had a couple of pee accidents. Now the summer is here, hope it is with you, you could leave the door open and they begin to take themselves out, though you must still watch like a hawk!
My lab Duncan is now about 15 weeks & I was worried about the 15-20 minute rule I had read too, but I started writing down when he would go poo after eating and his is about 2-3 hours after eating each time. I am home all day long with him (took 5 weeks off in between jobs and now work from home @ new job) and it didn't matter how often I took him out right after eating - he was still going 2-3 hours after eating. Now in the mornings when I need to get work done and can't trust him wandering the house alone I feed him about 645-7am and take him for a walk and let him play in the yard for a long time then he goes in his crate from about 8am-1030 or 11am and then when we go out after his sleep in the crate he will go then... same thing with lunch - it ends up being 3pm-4pm before he goes after lunch. They are all different! enjoy!
