Our little Nero is paper trained and he always (well apart from the odd accident) does his pee/poo on newspaper that we put by the back door. When he does we praise him and give him a treat I have been taking him out the back garden a few times a day and he has gone to the toilet out there a few times...again when he does i praise him and give him a treat My question is...should i stop praising him/giving him a treat when he goes on the paper and only praise him when he goes outdoors? Thanks
Re: Question about potty training I think the paper/pads thing sort of means you do toilet training twice - once on the pads, once outside. I ditched the pads really quickly, and only ever used them overnight. Never a treat for going on them, only for going outside.
Re: Question about potty training We didn't paper train at all but that makes sense. Along with moving the soiled paper outside for a while too to give him a marker that his pee/poop site has moved. And doing some heavy duty cleaning around the area he WAS using by the door
Re: Question about potty training I used puppy pads for a few days, mainly in her crate at night or when I was going out. I would try moving the pads outside and try and get Nero to outside and treat out there. Harley picked it up very quickly, even of there was a pad in her cage. They do pick it up quickly - I would also clean that area throughly and if you see him start to go, pick him up, put him outside then praise if he goes there. Good luck
Re: Question about potty training We did not paper/pad train either, I think they gives mixed messages to your puppy. Take Nero outside until it's cracked it really will be the quickest way in the long run. Good luck
Re: Question about potty training Thanks all We will phase out the paper as soon as we can and only treat outside.
Re: Question about potty training Nero is now going to the back door when he needs to pee/poo (well most of the time!) but he also sits there if he wants to go out to mess around eating leaves, stones etc! Sometimes he will go to the back door and when we let him out he will just mess around picking up stones etc, then he will come back in when he is ready...only to pee on the floor 2 min's later! At the moment we do not know if he is sitting there because he needs to go to the toilet or just to play around Any advice?
Re: Question about potty training Annoying! A trainer came to visit us at home (included in the puppy school class package) when Charlie was small and gave us a few tips - I pass them on in case they help. Strict routine of going out, and keep a diary - so you get to know when he does or doesn't need to go (if he is not house trained yet, it's unlikely he is or will ask - he doesn't have the motivation to do so yet). Take him to his toilet area outside, carry or on a lead, and wait for him to go - he doesn't get to play unless he goes to the loo. 3 kibble for a pee, and 5 for a poo in the garden - then he can play in the garden or house if you are sure he is empty. If he doesn't go to the loo in the garden, back in his crate or pen (where he will be reluctant to pee or poo) and try again in 20 mins. The 3 / 5 kibble thing was just to make sure we were super diligent about giving the treat - the number doesn't really matter. Although my OH took it very seriously, and it's still a big game with him and Charlie now - Charlie still gets 3 and 5 kibble, even though he is a big boy now, and they are still very seriously counted out!
Re: Question about potty training Deano, Nero comes back into the house to pee because that is the habit he has grown up with, pee on the newspaper by the door! So now the newspaper is not there, the position is. He will soon learn that outside is the place to go. This is why I always train my pups to go outside from the word go.
Re: Question about potty training We never paper trained Penny as, really it's like housetraining them twice - once to teach them to use the paper, and once to teach them to go outside. I would scrap the newspaper idea and take everything back to basics - take Nero outside after eating, sleeping, playing or every half hour. Make sure you go outside with him and stay until he has done his business, lots of praise and reward when he does. Ignore him if he's playing with leaves outside and only interact with him when he has toileted, this way he will learn what you want from him when he's outside. Be prepared to stay outside with him - if it's raining take an umbrella, if it's cold put a coat on. He needs to relearn that toileting is only ok in the garden. Ignore any messes in the house - take him outside straight away and then clean it up with no fuss. It sounds like he already knows the basics so you shouldn't have too much problem.
Re: Question about potty training Hi deano, I too used used the pads until I realised I was confusing Jax (my black lab puppy now nearly 14week old). I got rid of the pads and started taking Jax out very often- 30mins intervals then after food playing. When we was outside I would say "go pee pee" "go poo poo" like a mad women and would repeat "good pee pee" or "good poo poo" when he did the deed followed by a treat. It really didn't take long- I'd say about a week for Jax to go and sit by the back door or come downstairs. Sometimes he can be quite stubborn and play so I play with him and keep repeating go pee pee and sure enough he will do it. Sometimes now he will pee and look at me as if to say "there are you happy now" lol I also used pets at home cleaner to remove the scent of jax's wee in the house. Jax is now nearly 14 week old and it's very rare we have any accidents in the house now. I used to worry so much and think "I must be doing something wrong and we will never get this house training" All I can say is to relax, don't worry and it will all come together
Re: Question about potty training Thanks all. We will keep up the training to go outside and hopfully nero will pick it up soon. As he has had a bad tummy recently would carrots be a good treat to give him? If so do we give them raw or should we cook them first?
