My MIL is staying with us at the moment another week to go. As I posted on Friday Rolo came into the lounge and dining room, he was well behaved left things when I told him no and settled wonderfully in his bed and slept. Took him out regularly but in those few hours he managed to piddle twice and poop once on our rug that is under the dining table. Not good! I have decided he maybe needs a bit longer to get 100% toilet trained (no poops since we brought him home and no piddles for over a week in the kitchen). So I have decided to try again in a week or so. MIL thinks this is wrong! If he is isolated in the kitchen his temperament will alter. He wont be as sociable as if I let him in the lounge now. We spend a lot of time in the kitchen with him so he's not 'isolated'. I disagree tho if he's in the lounge pooping and piddling he's going to get told off and dog's dont like that do they? Do I remove the rug? Is it too similar to the grass? If i remove the rug will he just poop on the carpet? Do I wait a bit longer?
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. Each new room will need you going back to basics with toilet training, especially if they have different flooring. You will need to be extra vigilant and quickly pick him up and take him outside if he starts to go for a wee/poo......and praise him for going outside. You could initially take him outside every 15-20 mins just to be on the safe side. You could remove the rug, but I'm not sure if that will make much difference.
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. You really don't want a dog pooing and peeing on carpet. Go back to 15 minutes, or 30 minutes (or whatever the safe time is) when you are sure he is empty. You can just take him out more, to be sure he doesn't need a wee before you allow him on carpet. But whatever, yes, keep him off carpet if he is weeing on it. Your MIL is right that you don't want your puppy on his own in the kitchen for long periods. But there is a balance to be struck, I guess.
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. Vigilance is really the answer, when the dog heads for the rug is a good clue to move fast. I don't tell mine of for accidents I just assume I haven't been quick enough not that the dog is being naughty which is the only time I would tell a dog off.
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. Does he always head for the same rug under the table? No matter how well you have cleaned the spot the smell will to him remain and it will tell him"this is the place to pee". You can buy a special enzyme cleaner in most pet shops which will negate the smell. "Simple Solutions" is the most common. Whenever they have an accident use it on all types of flooring. Their sense of smell is SO fantastic that what doesn't exist in our world shouts "this is the place to pee" to a pup. Mostly in this dog training it is down to us, persist and repeat. It is nice, for once, to find a quick and easy fix.
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. Toilet training can certainly be a focus of stress!! For now I'd remove the rug till he's more reliable in the house. I'd also try to have him where the people are as much as possible, and be very vigilant about the need to take him out, as the others have said. You will get there, take heart
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. Yes, I would only go in rooms with rugs when you know he's 'safe'. (for about 20 minutes after the last toilet break! )
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. But if there's carpet under the rug, that might not help the issue, surely? I've heard (more experienced people, chime in) that dogs are more likely to go on carpet than on solid floors - and it's certainly more difficult to get the smells out to the level they can no longer smell them. But I'm guessing redecorating your house with solid floors is probably a bit of overkill. Could you temporarily put a sheet of plywood or something where the rug is to see if that breaks the habit of going in that area? He'd probably end up chewing it, of course!
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. [quote author=Rolokris link=topic=8491.msg119986#msg119986 date=1414394456] My MIL is staying with us at the moment another week to go. As I posted on Friday Rolo came into the lounge and dining room, he was well behaved left things when I told him no and settled wonderfully in his bed and slept. Took him out regularly but in those few hours he managed to piddle twice and poop once on our rug that is under the dining table. Not good! I have decided he maybe needs a bit longer to get 100% toilet trained (no poops since we brought him home and no piddles for over a week in the kitchen). So I have decided to try again in a week or so. MIL thinks this is wrong! If he is isolated in the kitchen his temperament will alter. He wont be as sociable as if I let him in the lounge now. We spend a lot of time in the kitchen with him so he's not 'isolated'. I disagree tho if he's in the lounge pooping and piddling he's going to get told off and dog's dont like that do they? Do I remove the rug? Is it too similar to the grass? If i remove the rug will he just poop on the carpet? Do I wait a bit longer? [/quote] We kept Rue with us in the basement area with hardwood floors for a few weeks (it'd a rather large area so she had plenty of space to play & run), then gradually let her start going in other parts of the house with carpet once she was doing better with potty training. And are you taking Rolo out enough? We would take Rue out every 10-15 minutes at that age, even when she wasn't visibly showing signs of needing to go to the bathroom. It was incredibly tiring, but it saved a ton of accidents. She has never once pooed in the house and she is now almost fully potty trained at 20 weeks.
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. Thank you so much for all of your advice. I am going to persevere and let him in for short spells initially keep taking him out every 20-30 mins. I think I have become complacent because he has been so good in the kitchen I expected it to continue in the lounge.
Re: Help, MIL doing my head in. If he keeps going in the same spot I would say this points to the scent of previous accidents being there. Try removing the rug - unless the poo or wee permeated the carpet underneath this may solve the issue. It's definitely worth investing in a decent cleaning solution such as simply solution (their carpet cleaner is fab! Just spray it on urine and that's all you need to do! Or you can scrub it with a damp sponge for a better clean) and DO NOT use anything with ammonia in it as this will mimic the scent of urine. Go back to taking your pup out every half hour - go back to basics. It may only take a couple of days as he already kind of knows what he's doing, he just needs to relearn that it applies in other rooms too. It could also be the change in environment - your mother in law staying with you may have upset his normal routine and soiling in the house can often be a sign that the dog is stressed.
