So Rosie is almost 14 weeks old now. She's a sweet natured wee soul and her training is going well. BUT house training continues to confuse her (and me!) any tips???? She does her business outside when I let her out (regularly) but would never 'ask' to be out. Puppy pads are always available and she'll use them but often she'll just pee or poo in their general vicinity not always on them. By general vicinity I don't mean she misses but she might do her business three foot away from it. I'm starting to lose my cool headed ignore it and clean it up head! I do bleach and steam the area afterwards (wooden floor). Any advice??
Re: House training ???! First bit of advice I`d offer is to ditch the pads , sorry . They do give out mixed messages , you are trying to teach her to go outside to toilet but using pads is telling her its fine to do it indoors so she is confused . What I used to do with all mine was to put them outside as soon as they woke , as soon as they had eaten and at very regular intervals in between , tell them to do a wee , and when they do it, masses of praise , Good girl wee wee etc . the same for a poo , they do cotton on but its all about repetition , patience and loads of praise I`m sure its the pads that are delaying her from becomming housetrained, but also she is still very young to be consistant , you will get there, honestly you will
Re: House training ???! I agree, the pads are more trouble than they are worth. Just watch her like a hawk, and put her outside every 30 minutes and praise her whenever she does a pee in the right place. You'll get there, I promise!
Re: House training ???! If she's missing the pads you won't be losing anything by getting rid of them. I agree with Kate, don't worry you will get there
Re: House training ???! I hear what you are saying about the pads but what about when I'm not in the house? It might only be for a couple hours or so but I couldn't expect her to wait? Also over night?
Re: House training ???! She's such a sweet little thing - I'm not a doggy person myself but I am surprised by how taken I've been with her. She's not much of a chewer, sleeps well, good natured with the kids, desperate to please, great off the lead and on (bit bouncy when she sees someone else but learning) so I can't complain at all really - been FAR easier than anticipated with a pup. But the housetraining has me puzzled!
Re: House training ???! She should be able to last a couple of hours as long as she has been out for a wee just before you go out . Overnight, well they vary from pup to pup . My lad didnt ever wee in the house overnight but I did used to get up really early , 5.30 a.m. to put him out and then he would settle down for another hour or so . Gradually, as he gained more control of his bladder, he would go from 11 at night until 7 next morning but, like I said, they do vary and your little one is still very young so its bound to take a while , it will happen as long as she is put out on a very regular basis
Re: House training ???! Riley's our first dog and I have to admit that he was easy to housetrain we only had a couple of accidents in the first few weeks. When he was really little we used to go back down and let him out for a wee at midnight and then one of us would get up at 4 to let him out. We gradually stretched the 4am call by 15 mins until it got to 6am when my husband gets up for work anyway. He was in a crate that was ok for a pup but would be too small for him now. As long as she's gone before you go out and goes straight out when you get back it probably won't take long for her to manage a couple of hours.
Re: House training ???! i could not use the pads , he used to bite and rip them, i was very very lucky ......he was housed trained in days,....i just kept putting him out side, soon twigged that he had to go outside to toilet good luck
Re: House training ???! Hi jennyann from me and Dexter yellow lab 9 months old.... Lots of good advice passed on already so not much to add from me,I pretty much did the same as Kate.... Dexter could last from 10.30 pm until 6.30 -7 am from 5 months.....he didn't start to 'ask' to go out until recently Rosie sounds a good girl and you sound like you are enjoying her x
Re: House training ???! Hi Jennyanne hello from me and Lilly. We didn't use puppy pads either but Lilly was 11 weeks when we go her. Good luck . Be consistent! Jac
Re: House training ???! Hmmm, wondering where I'm going so wrong then??? She does lots of wees in the night and at least one poo. She just doesn't seem to realise she should hold it in at all! She isn't so bad when I'm around as I am prompting her often to go to the loo outside. But overnight (& I'm a 6.30 riser) she's not held anything in and often she's disregarded the pad and done it on the floor. Feeling like I'm doing something wrong here! I did think she'd be housetrained by now. She has a crate but it has a pen attached to it if I'm not around so she has more space but not free run of the house. She seems to use the pen as a toilet area (& a play area- can get a bit messy if she steps in it!). I'm forever bleaching and steaming the floor and washing her feet!
Re: House training ???! I do agree about the pads. That I've taught her its ok to go outside but stuck in catch 22 as if I don't put a pad down overnight or when I go out she'll just dirty the floor. Help!!
Re: House training ???! Have you tried just newspaper? I'm no expert & very new at this but I was putting puppy pads in one end of her crate with newspaper on the top the 3 times (2 were overnight 3rd was the school run) she was left in it she pood & spread it everywhere. I just put newspaper down this time & she had only done a wee.
Re: House training ???! Hi there, I know when we were looking to get Dexters crate I read for it to be big enough for him to lie down in with legs stretched out and turn round in but not so big that he could use one end to toilet in......do you think having the pen area attached to the crate may be a factor?she's got the space to have a toilet area? Could you block it off so she just has the crate area during the night time?maybe she's not learning to hold it through the night because she knows she has the space to go if she wants....just a thought. Even though she's a little bit older now she's still really only a baby,you might have to go back to doing a shift through the night just until she gets used to being able to hold for longer Angela
Re: House training ???! Thank you, yes I think you're right. Back to basics. I think putting her in her crate for periods might help to teach her the concept of holding it in! I'll do a midnight toilet run too Diring the day when I'm in I might ditch the pads altogether. Just have them at night. She's such a good girl I can't complain but poo isn't my favourite thing to deal with on the floor at 6 in the morning!
Re: House training ???! sorry i have not introduced my self i am lynne with jasper black lab 6 month old.....i dont think its unusual, if i remember right i think i saw a post on the forum, the bladder in some won't hold over 4/5 hours.....may be she can't hold herself.......i just got lucky
Re: House training ???! I take her out every half an hour and she almost always has a wee! That's alot of wees and not alot of holding it in!!
Re: House training ???! I would agree with Angela - maybe too MUCH room in "her" area. I think I saw a crate divider suggested for someone previously to keep the area for pup compact enough to encourage keeping clean/dry. Have you read Pippa's article on house training? http://www.thelabradorsite.com/?p=2633 jac
Re: House training ???! Try extending the time in between going out, gradually. Also I agree with confining her in a smaller area when you can't watch her. When we got our dog Obi at 9 months he had been an outside dog. Because he lived outside he could wee whenever he wanted. He initially needed to go out every hour or even more - he was always weeing, even at the age of 9 months! But it was just because that was the regime he and his bladder were used to. We gradually extended the time (though we did have a couple of accidents) and now he can go for about 9 hours without weeing (all night or all day if he has to stay home alone while we are at work). He just had to learn to hold it. So I'd say that your girl has just learned that she can wee pretty much at will and the 'back to basics' approach without the pads should start paying dividends
