Hi everyone. I'm not worried as Ive read it can take till 8 months for a puppy to be fully trained but I'm a bit confused. We live in a 3 storey home with the hallway and jax's room, kitchen and dining room being on the bottom floor, living room and my room on the 1st floor and my kids rooms on the 3 rd floor which are out of bounds for Jax. I have the pads in the living room and in the hallway (Jax eats and sleeps in the hallway) and he's not really picked up that the pads are where he should be going- they say they have scent on but I'm not sure they have. When I see him sniffing I'll put him on the pads but more often then not its on the floor. I have been taking him into our back garden after food/waking up/ playing and about every 2 hrs. I put him on a lead and keep repeating go pee/poo. After 10 mins - whether he's done anything or not, I'll let him off the lead and we will have a run about. Quite a few times while he's had the run of the garden he will wee/poo on the grass- i praise him and clear it up and we continue playing. So what I was wondering was- should I scrap the pad idea and just continue taking him out more. But if I did that- what about night time? I just don't want to confuse him or him think he's done wrong if I take the pads away and on a night he has no where to go. Thank you
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? Hey Lisa ,Dexter was 5 months and pretty much house trained when we got him so I didn't have this tricky puppy stage...going on what my mum used to do with hers though and what other more experienced members have said I would scrap the pads...it teaches them that they can toilet inside...... To anticipate any accidents with Dexter i took him out every hour.....if he went great,if he didn't we tried again in half an hour.and I took him out half an hour after every meal .....he could go through the night from 11 to 6 already thanks to his breeders but to achieve this they had to get up to let him out during the night...sometimes he went,sometimes he didn't.......as he got older. I know some other members have trained a toilet command.....I haven't specifically....I've always just said the same thing....'come on Dex,wee wee time' he jumps up ready to go out....and when we are trying to find the right spot in the park across my road( he won't toilet at home) I just keep repeating it ...so it's not a command but he knows he isn't on a walk,he's just come out for a toilet break... How was your first night?x
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? Hi Lisa, I would scrap the pads, as Angela says they just encourage accidents in the home, take him out every 1 - 2 hours. Have you got a crate to keep him in at night as they don't like to toilet in their space (hopefully)? Glad you children were so happy with their new friend
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? I would definitely scrap the pads and only use the 'going out regularly' method For nighttime you can either get up during the night for a bit - using a crate will help as it'll encourage Jax to hold on a bit do as not to soil his 'bedroom'. Getting up through the night is a pain, but it is a faster road to toilet training than using the pads, which will take much much longer as pads create confusion for the pup. There will be the odd accident but the ideal is to help the pup to never be in the position of having to toilet in the house.
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? We bought a pack of 100 pads and have used approx 4 of them before I gave up! Charlie just tried to eat them! We take him outside about every 30 mins (which is a nightmare when the kids are here and I get distracted making dinner but after 2 weeks he will now go longer and I am less ridged about it. He will go to the back door now and sit there if he wants to pee/poo. The only problem is I don't always notice as he doesn't bark to tell me and I find presents of wee by the door! Poo never stays there as he has a horrid habit of eating it (yuk). As for the night we use a small crate now and I go our bed about 11pm and set my alarm for 2.30am. I take him out and he does his wee/poo and I put him straight back in the crate with no fussing and he will go to sleep again until 6.30ish. It has taken about 2 weeks to achieve this and many 3am poo clearance operations before we settled for prevention is better than cleanup! It is so desperately hard work but I assure you it gets better...still not completely sorted here but definately better!
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? Harley had never been in a house when we got her, so we had to start toilet training from scratch! For the first week I would go in the garden every 30 mins - an hour and say go wee/poo. When she did I would praise her lots. If she started to go in the house I would quickly pick her up and take her out. It only took a few days to train her to sit by the door to show us. At night I put a pad in one end of her cage, she only used this in the first 2 weeks. After 2 weeks she would sleep through. We would take her out for a wee at 12pm just as we went to bed and she would wake around 7am to go out. She now goes to bed at 11pm and wakes around 7.30am . I would agree with the others that a cage is the best way to train them. Good luck
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? Thanks guys, There is so much info out there that as a complete novice it's confusing- so glad I found you lol. Ok so nighttime I'll lock his crate. We go to bed around midnight and get up about 7- should I put my alarm on for about 4am? Is there anything I shouldn't put in his crate for night times. Dexter- our first night went really well thank you. He slept quite well, only cried for 10mins. Once I'd got the kids to bed and had him all to myself he just laid under my feet. I find it amazing how whenever I get up and walk, he walks at the side of me. And he won't sleep on our knees- he just lays under/side of our feet. Naya- Jax had never been in a house- he was born into a farming family and lived outside. Sounds like you have got it sorted- can I ask how did you train Harley to sit by the door? I think that would be useful for me and Jax as we live on the 2nd floor so he doesn't have access to our back door Emma- I was going to buy 100 pads from pets at home but saw some on offer in pound stretchers- glad i got these now lol Sorry just one more thing- i leave my hallway light on for Jax on a night - it is quite bright. I've read that he will be fine in complete darkness but that seems mean to me- what do you all think. Thanks for all your advice- really appreciate it
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? We turn off all the lights but we do have a nightlight on the landing upstairs for the children so I guess a nightlight might suffice if you'd prefer not to leave him in the pitch black xx
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? Hi Lisa, Harley was also born on a farm so was in a kennel outside too. I would get Harley to sit whilst I opened the door and praised her, then when she came in I would say 'good wee wee' (expect the neighbours thought I was strange!). This was how I started it, and she just took to doing that. When we visit friends I show her their back door and do the same thing. At night Harley was in her cage, (she has ended up I our room after being poorly, and has stayed there since ) I would put some water (but only a small amount), a blanket and her heated wheat teddy. I always turn all lights off. This forum has been fantastic for me as Harley is my first dog (my daughter left home for university in September and I cut my hours at work, so was the right time and fantastic company )
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? Lisa....so many new pup owners ask this question! And you have got all the right answers! Only thing I would say is we didn't leave Lilly with water overnight - this was after it got tipped up the first night mind you, but I think you are more likely to get dry overnight quicker without, and it doesn't cause any harm. jac
Re: Any advice re toileting pls? [quote author=Lisa4 link=topic=3404.msg37208#msg37208 date=1385233071] Dexter- our first night went really well thank you. He slept quite well, only cried for 10mins. Once I'd got the kids to bed and had him all to myself he just laid under my feet. I find it amazing how whenever I get up and walk, he walks at the side of me. And he won't sleep on our knees- he just lays under/side of our feet. [/quote] Dexter is the same,follows my everywhere ....even when in the deepest sleep and I creep out the room,he's up and with me and he always lies on or by my feet!Its lovely.Chris was all for leaving lights and even the tv on when we went out,I vetoed it,my mum never did it with her dogs and it certainly hadn't been done with his breeder so I didn't want to start.I know in our case we sometimes want to do things to make us feel better ;D because sometimes you do feel mean....they are soooooo good at the doleful,poor me look when they have the best lives ever! ;D
