hi there everyone! need help with my two lab pups here! one's 10months and the other is 9months old. got them as pups in Jan, and yes they are from different litters and are not sibblings. We've had them in the house with us from day one in a play pen, which we have been increasing in size as they have been growing older and increasing in size. The play pen from 4 months on was used as a sleeping den as opposed to a holding area as we started early on potty training when the pups hit the 3 month mark. the area in which they are free to roam around us has been increasing in size in order to keep them under constant supervision and avoid accidents in the house along side occurences of harm as we weren't able to baby proof everything in current onset of the covid pandemic. We have been at it for quite a bit, the pups have an erratic poop schedule with hardly any consistency on timings ever since we started. To give you an idea, the first call could be at 3am and it could change to 2am or 5 am the very next day and keep on variating as we move along. The same could be said for the rest of the day's instances. Failure to answer on our part leads to an accident in the sleeping pen. Which under the current circumstances of a herniated disc in the back, can be a pain to clear out and de scent instantly [instant descent/clean ups have been a constant thing ever since they were pups]. Now initially my male would call out with a bark should any one of them have to go! And yes my female being the eldest would just not bother with a call to be taken out and has the male do it for her We have accepted that and have made our terms it by now! Up until recently the male has stopped calling out in the night to be exact. Which leads to us being on guard and keeping an eye out from a considerable distance to see any lunges in order for them to be led out instantly. So yes thats leading to sleepless nights as you can imagine. The feeding is constant and has been through out on the dot like clockwork. no changes in timing or quantity or type of food for that matter. The variations are easy to cater too in the day as we lead them out into the yard, as soon as they wake up from a nap or a play session indoors. its the nights and the no call out which is bothersome as up until recently with the absence of the bark has led to a few accidents inside during the day. i am literally talking about 15min intervals of our own potty breaks! Would this be normal for my dogs to not have a schdule on the potty routine? why the sudden change in not barking to let us know of a need to go out? Please i dont intend to be complaining here, we love them to death but the current physical challenge and the disability of my partner is just making it impossible for us to carry on like this!
I would really expect a 9 or 10 month old to go through the night without needing to go out. I think you need to go back to crating both dogs, to get them used telling you they need to go out. Our dogs have always had access to a dog door at home, once they were old enough to have free run of the house at about 4 months. At our cabin we don't have a dog door, and they have to ask or wait. Accidents have been very rare and usually our fault for not pay attention.
Thank you for the reply. So we did crate them from 3 months onwards. The only difference that we used for a crate as opposed to what's out there was a three sided fenced off patch, the same dimensions of a crate minus the roof. The dogs are led out of which through a door constructed on one of the walls. Irregular potty timings, now would that be normal too?
Hiya Novice dog owner here but from our pup and what I’ve read, 9 months does seem late to not be fairly trust worthy in the house toilet wise and not able to go through the night. We had confidence in both of these factors around the 4-5 month mark but I’ll confess that fortunately ours was fairly straight forward to toilet train. With regards to regularity of toilet schedule, at 11 months I’ve not noticed anything consistent for ours other than when we come downstairs in the morning or return from being out but even that isn’t straight away. He will just stand near the back door when he wants to go out. Your circumstances suggest that a set of experienced eyes might help solve this quickly and with the least amount of stress, maybe seek a 121 with a trainer to help crack it? Good luck! Jess
You could use a crate because the roof makes it more den like, a crate cover as well would make it seem like their room and Labs generally don't like to poo or wee in their sleeping areas. I've no advice on the irregular times but if they both do it then it's not something wrong with their stomachs but just what they have learned to do? When do you last feed them as some dry food can take up to 16 hours to be digested, raw I think is 12 hours. You could go back to treating them like 2 month old pups and take them out to one designated spot every hour to go to the toilet and the praise and reward when they do Best of luck with your health as well
The eating schedule is taken care off on the dot...7 am and 7pm. We have been using kibble on them from the day that we got them. Initially they'd be fed thrice a day, 7 months on they were brought on to a twice a day routine. They're dewormed regularly as per the vet's advice. Both receive monthly health check ups and we've made it a point to keep it consistent come what may. Knock wood, no health issues with the two. As for the poop spot's, both have their designated areas in the yard that they go too. Each time they do we are there to constantly supervise the action. Upon completion both receive huge amount's of praise and a meaty treat which is dedicated for this action! Both have caught on to our voice commands for the pee and poop bit and mostly commit to it when being given especially when we suspect them to be off course and not focused on their business in the yard. All said and done our problem with the two remains! I must add prior to the covid we had a dedicated trainer for the two who'd have us carry out the commands as opposed to him doing it for us. This was offered to the pups from the three month mark and continued up until the lock down started. After which it was up to me and the better half to pull up videos/books and apply our learning, for which I must add that this site was a blessing for which we are eternally grateful ...this was also done in order to keep them active with us indoors under during the situation that we all were going through.
