Hi everybody George has just passed 15 weeks and it has been quite an education observing his learning rates. I didn't realise that this breed could learn so fast. As I want him to be socialised with other dogs and figured the best way to start would be for him to spend time with my sister's two labs (3 years and 1 year). The elder lab, aged 3, is quite relaxed and laid back. If he is in the room with someone and they leave for another room he notes their leaving and that is that. No fuss. Very much his own man. If he is left alone in his sleep area for whatever reason, he settles down and has a nap. The younger lab, aged 1 year, is totally the opposite. He is younger, I know, but if my sister gets up and nips to the kitchen or anywhere else, he automatically follows her. We call him her shadow. If ever he needs to be left alone in his sleeping area for even a few minutes, mayhem ensues. He barks, whines very loudly and jumps up at the door handle to forced it down, thereby opening the door (he still tries it even after a latch mechanism has been put in place). My guy, George, only had to see him do this once and now this has become his action too. (I was surprised at how quick he was to latch on to this). This isn't the only thing he has quickly learnt. The 1 year old lab will whine loudly and incessantly in order to get his own way and I have now started to see this surfacing with George. Perhaps this is just a natural developoment in some labs of a certain age? However, it seems to me George whines in much the same way as his 1 year old cousin. I might be wrong, but it seems like he has/is copying him. Sadly, quick learning doesn't apply to all areas of George's life. One of the major sources of my concern is the apparent lack of progress in toilet training. Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect this part of a puppy coming into the home to be a quick or easy process, but as a first time dog owner it has been a real downer. I started out with pee pads, and they were placed all over the living room, hallway and kitchen. When he would have an accident I would place him on the pee pads, give the cue "wee wee" and/or "poop" and then clear up the accident where it had occurred. All I ended up with was a pile of shredded pee pads with George performing his accidents all over the place, everywhere except on the pee pads. As soon as it got to the time where his vaccination schedule allowed (the vet's advice), I took him outside at regular intervals (first thing in the morning, after eating/drinking, after playing, after sleeping etc.) and would stay with him in the garden until he had done his business. At least, this was the theory. However, no matter how long I was out in the garden with him (and it would sometimes be a good 45 mins or longer) nothing happened. Then, as soon as he came back inside he would urinate. I would then take him out in the garden again .... same result - nothing. He would then poop when he came back into the house. This is his pattern - he gets ample time in the garden, but will only do his business indoors. (Yet, when out walking, he does his business without a care). I am trying the tactic of taking him outside after his accidents and repeating the cue words "wee wee" and/or "poop" but no progress is being made at all. He seems to have favourite places to have a poop (the top of the landing is one, for example. I have no doubt he is a bright lad from my observations of his general behaviour). By way of illustration, when George goes up the stairs he bounds up and I can hear him going up (or down) the stairs wherever I am in the house. And yet, if he can get up the stairs for a poop he goes up so quietly making no sound. (Once the shops open, I shall be looking for a stair gate to stop this.) Is it normal for toilet training to be so problematic as this for a puppy approaching 16 weeks old? He is a bright, intelligent puppy in all other respects, but in respect of toilet training he seems to be ploughing his own path, completely obliviious to anything I try. Some insightful comments would be greatly appreciated, as the house is starting to reek despite my best efforts at cleaning.
I don’t know whether this would help or is practical for you. I spent the first few months with my puppy in the kitchen. (This wasn’t intentional but we hadn’t bargained on our older Lab going lame and no wanting the puppy around her). Fortunately my kitchen is very large but it wasn’t the best of times for me and I did struggle - feeling a bit imprisoned and isolated. However toilet training proved easy as I had good access to outside and took her out very regularly. There were minimal accidents. I don’t look back on this as a good time but in respect of her training and understanding of where she can go in the house and what she can do (neither of them are allowed to go upstairs and don’t try) it worked very well.
Hitherto George has access to the living room, the kitchen and (when I was present) the bedroom. Granted, I now realise a stair gate is required and have already decided he will be restricted to the living room (french doors open on to the garden) and kitchen. That will limit the places he can "go" and I will be able to react instantly when he does. What does concern me is the fact that he doesn't toilet outside but waits until he is back in the house. At this point I would settle for some signs of progress with a view to getting there in the end, but so far there is no sign. Maybe I am expecting too much at 15-16 weeks? (I am fully aware of how fast they grow and what size he is likely to be in 3 months time ... and the thought of a much bigger dog continuing to wee and poop solely in the house horrifies me).
Using the pads indoors will have confused him, but fear not - he’ll get there. Some are much slower than others. My Mollie was a real widdle monster! Be sure to use enzyme cleaner like Simple Solution indoors, all other cleaner smells of wee to pups.
Another thing I unintentionally did was take my puppy outside on her little lead to toilet (I still do it). She asssociates lead with weeing and pooing. It hasn’t affected her independence as she likes the lead dropped when she’s performed then follows me back into the house. Might be worth trying and treating big time when he performs the first time and thereafter for a while.
Have you tried taking something he had pottied on or the rag you cleaned it with outside to your garden to see if that encourages him to view it as the place to potty? It may help change his view of acceptable places to go as he may have gotten a bit confused by the pads and just needs a little nudge in the right direction.
My pup wouldn't go to the loo outside if she was free to roam in the garnde; it was far too exciting. So I bought a cheap guinea-pig pen and popped her in that until she had gone to the loo and then let her out. Giving your toileting cues after the event will be meaningless and will just dilute them. At this age, you need to be using your cues at the time your puppy is actually in the process of going to make the association between word and action. If you know your puppy needs to go but hasn't after an age in the garden, pop him in his crate for a few minutes when you come back in and then try again. Assuming he hasn't learnt to mess his crate, this should help to focus his mind. But, definitely try the pen in the garden. It worked wonders for Luna.
It can be hard I've had dogs over the years that take a age to train in the toilet bit the one thing I've learnt over the years is make sure you clean up the mess scrub it use a cleaner that takes the smell away if you don't the puppy will keep going in the same area. Now my new little girl Ella is only 9 weeks old and is toilet trained already goes by back door and cry's to go out only had 2 little accidents last few days and that's my fault as she got so wound up and I'm not fast enough opening the door
We always used the same command "Go Pee" for all elimination, since we did not know what they needed to do, but after about 16 weeks we normally did not use a command at all. Now we only use it when we let them out at our cabin, or are getting ready for a long car ride. Our Dogs have a dog door, and once they had run of the house they would go out when they needed to. We never used puppy pads because we wanted them to only go outside, and did not want to have to retrain them.
We had puppy pads down for the first day - but Bailey just ripped them to shreds so we gave up on them (used the rest of them cut into four to clean up an accidents). As others have said make sure you are using an enzyme cleaner designed especially for clearing up after dogs, not only that but make sure you follow the directions on the bottle (my OH didn't and we had one area that was rapidly becoming a favourite pee spot until I cleaned it - apparently he didn't need to read the directions!). If your pup is still small enough can you carry him when you first go back into the house for a few minutes and then go back out again? We were at one point taking Bailey outside to pee every 20 minutes, also watching him like a hawk, any sign of him looking to get into a squat he was picked up (without making a song and dance about it) and popped in the garden then praised and treated for doing what he needed to outside. After the first couple of weeks it was only a very rare accident inside and that was usually if we had taken our eye off the ball. Once he started lifting his leg to pee we had one instance when he walked in, walked up to the fireplace, looked at me and lifted his leg but I think he just wanted to show me what he could do . It happened once only and he's been very good indoors since.
