Always wants to be outside

Eric (11 weeks) is doing well and only rarely has toilet accidents inside. We do watch him like a hawk after 20 mins and he is lasting about 35 mins between each wee.
He has also learnt that if he cries and scratches at door we let him out.
However he does this all day long. He just loves being outside The garden is safe and one of us is always on watch, either outside with him or watching from the kitchen window.
He hates being inside but sometimes that is where we need him to be!
He has a comfy space, is confined to kitchen/dining room which while isn't huge, it isn't tiny either, and has a variety of toys which we try to change each time he's in.

Just wanted to check we are doing things right
If we know he has been toileted (wee and poo) we are ignoring his cries to go out if it's not convenient to us
If he has only had a wee and therefore may need a poo we are putting him on a lead and taking him out, trying to let him know it's not outside play time
Is this OK?

We want him to enjoy being outside but we also need him to enjoy being inside.
Any advice/tips welcome

 

Yes - it sounds like you are doing fine.

What is he doing when he's outside?

 

sometimes he just likes to lay/sit and listen to what's going on

Other times he likes to dig!

he likes to run

Training him to walk next to us is going well outside as there is more space.
recall is still utter rubbish. he won't come to us unless he really wants to. His selective hearing is second to none

 

Twiglet (12 weeks old) was a digger when she arrived but I have stopped her doing it, now she rarely tries My supervisor suggested a sand pit where she could legitimately dig - but I haven't got round to it yet

I was surprised he likes to be outside without you - most dogs like to be with their humans, inside or out. I think I would only take him out when you are there with him. Once he's a 27Kg dog he'll soon create a mud-bath if allowed to dig wherever and whenever he likes!

I also would work very very hard on getting no 'failed' recalls, it's going to be really important once he's off lead on walks. Now is the time to get 100% recall, whatever it takes.

 

You are doing great, he's only 11 weeks his recall will come. Don't forget to do the turn about walk be unpredictable as its a natural puppy instinct to follow you at this age. One other tip don't ever chase him if you want good recall, puppies love being chased it's a great little game for them. I'd recommend that you buy Pippa's Total Recall it's a super book. I've had no real problems with Mabel's recall I just wish I'd bought the book before we got her as I was trying to read it at break neck speed so I could be one step ahead. I'd also recommend the Happy Puppy Handbook if you haven't got it.
Mabel's an outdoor girl, doing exactly as Eric does in the garden, at 8 months she is as happy inside as out but for a while she did prefer the garden, not much fun in February.

 

Thank you both

We have the puppy handbook and I'm ordering the Total Recall book right now!

He is getting better at following when we do the turn about walk, and we treat often.
If we call him over to us however he never ever comes :/
Feel like i'm doing something obviously wrong I just haven't figured it out yet

 

How are you calling him over to you?

 

Hi there,
Our dog was similar when he was younger but it was round the 6/7 month stage.....given the chance he was a nuisance for sitting at the glass door,gazing out into garden mournfully,all night !!!All he wanted to do was go out and dig for stones...but there was always a chance that one of those mournful gazes would be because he wanted to go and toilet so he had us a bit! We definately didn't want to reinforce this so if we could reasonably assume it wasn't the toilet he wanted ,we distracted him or ignored him.....and he stopped doing it.Eric is a lot younger and needs to toilet more often but if you get a good feel of his toilet habits you can anticipate when you think he wants to go out legitimately and when he just wants to go outside to seek entertainment.Has he got plenty to do inside? We used to look like a rubbish tip at times giving Dexter cardboard containers/ boxes with bits of food in to rip up.....kept him away from the door though! X

 

We are calling his name to get his attention.
Then we walk away from him
if he comes running we are saying the word 'come' to give him some association

He loves cardboard and yes it's all over lol
The recycling bags are not as full as they used to be

 

Total recall will really help you, it's taught me all I know on recall and I am very very grateful for its advice.

For now, start off indoors and small distances, wait 'til he's looking at you then call is name - very high pitched and excited. (I actually use 'puppy puppy puppy' until they know their name well) If he comes lots of fuss and treats. If he doesn't get even closer! Keep that up until he's coming every time - occasionally giving an extra special treat (a small piece of dried tripe is nectar to Twiglet)

I have been doing this for three weeks now and Twiglet will come from anywhere whatever she's doing, but it takes time to build up to that. The key is treats with the occasional 'jackpot'. Try not to have any fails at all - if you made it too hard (eg coming in from something he adores more than treats) go back a step.

I am on my third puppy and find that 'no fails' from day 1 makes for the best training. (that's the aim, you never get none at all, but the fewer the better )

 

We have the same problem with Jura who is 16 weeks - she loves being in the garden too, and will sit staring out the patio doors whining to get out 5 minutes after coming back in! It is difficult when they are so young knowing whether it is a genuine I need out as opposed to I want to play out.

I deal with it by trying to have a set routine with her as much as possible, where she has her play times in the garden but also quiet time in the house, allowing me to get on with some work. When she asks out during her quiet in the house time, then I take her out and tell her to be quick, and as soon as she's pee'd then it is straight back in again. Thankfully her love of tiny pieces of roast chicken means her recall is good at the moment! This has been working quite well during the week, weekends are a bit more hit and miss - but I think that is more to do with husband training than puppy training!