10 days in, toilet training is NOT going well, am at my wits end.

[sickoftheholidays]

I've been very vigilant with taking her out for toilet into the garden, every hour at least, the minute she wakes up from a nap, and as soon as she has eaten or had a drink. The door to the garden is always open unless I have taken her outside to the toilet, when its shut to stop her going back in which she does within seconds. Despite this, she wont go out, she sits by the back door for ages (half an hour I have sat outside with her trying to get her to go. I've tried encouraging her to walk around the garden so she smells where she has been before and hoping that will trigger her to go, but no, she just follows me with her tail between her legs, and sits down at my feet as soon as I stop. well maybe she doesnt want to go I think, so I go back inside, and she gets no further than the kitchen before she wees on the floor.
She is quite happy to play in the garden, she just seems to prefer to pee in the house. Have just come back from the school run, having taken her with me, so she hasnt had chance to go for 45 minutes, she had a drink just before we set off, so by rights she ought to have been busting, so I took her straight from the car, through the house, out the back, and sat down to have a cigarette. She immediately sat down on the mat outside the back door and looked pleadingly at me. Then I walked round the garden, tempting her with toys to distract her from wanting to go inside. Kids were outside too. She wandered round for about 5 minutes, so I thought OK I'll let her back in and try again in 15 mins. She then did a HUGE wee all over the kitchen floor less than a minute after coming in. She had obviously been holding it for ages, and needed to go, she just didnt want to go outside. She isnt weeing in the same place either, I have the clean up stuff, and am religious about it, she has weed in every single room in the house, in a dozen different places, and I'm at my wits end.
Please someone tell me what I'm doing wrong! I didnt expect it to be easy, but I thought that if I took her out regularly, she would at least do SOME of the wee outside!

[sickoftheholidays]

oh, and on the very odd occasion she does wee outside, I praise her lots and let her straight back in.

[TechLovingDad]

How old is she?

Our GSD 11 months, still uses a pad when in the house, if we're out. Otherwise she goes out in the garden or saves it up til she's on a walk. She's confined to our big kitchen though, she doesnt have the run of the house. For the first few months she did it as and when so I spent all day everyday cleaning up the kitchen.

Also I built a proper dog toilet that I took her down to every morning and every time she woke up. She would sit patiently in it until I got bored (over an hour sometimes) and then go to the loo on the floor as soon as we got back in the house.

[sickoftheholidays]

wow, so glad its not just me. She is only 11 weeks, so I was expecting lots of mess, I just wasnt expecting her to be so stubborn about going outside!

[TechLovingDad]

We noticed that after eating or drinking, she wouldn't go to the loo for about 30-60 minutes, so letting her out straight after was a waste of time for us.

They do get better, especially once meal times are regular.

[TechLovingDad]

11 weeks? blimey, ours literally did it everywhere for months and months. I was beginning to think I was the worst dog owner in the world as everyone else seemed to have it sussed.

[sickoftheholidays]

Thankyou for your replies, I had actually shut her in the garden for 5 minutes on her own as I was so cross, I didnt want her to see how angry I was or shout at her.
She's back in now and gone straight to sleep on DS's knee, I feel so bad for being cross with her, I know she cant help it.

[multitask]

We have always used a command word and treat, immediately she wees say the word, no other, not a sentence, just the one word on completion of wee give a treat. Do this every single time she wees. We have a 20wk old pup we picked up 500 miles from home, and had her weeing on command by the time we got her home (she is a poodle so very clever lol). This will work, and once she realises she gets a treat when she goes then you both have it sussed. For the first couple of weeks we always sit up late with a put, usually after midnight (great excuse to watch a film) then set alarm for 6am so nights are short and they never wee in the house at night, gradually we go to be earlier each night and now pup is sleeping from 10pm to 7am.

I never leave a door open to allow them in and out at will until trained to go on command, then open door, command a wee and let them play that way it's done and out of the way and we don't have to wonder if they've been.

Hope you have some success soon.

[minimu1]

I don't think this is entirely normal at all - in some way you have trained her to wee indoors. Not boasting or trying to upset but my last two puppies did not have one accident indoors and I got them from 7.5 weeks of age.

So first you need to check what you are cleaning up the wee with. You must use specialist cleaner or good quality biological washing powder in boiling water. (I prefer the specialist cleaner as you can just spray it and mop up)

Any other cleaner will actually make the wee smell stronger to the dog and encourage it to wee indoors.

Never ever leave a door open for them to go outside on their own- it confuses the boundary between in and out.

Always go out with the dog

Bitches can hold wee for hours and hours and even days so you will have to work hard to help her overcome this.

If you have been outside with her and know she needs a wee come in and then immediately go out with her again she if she wees this time - if not come back in and then out again - do not let her out of your sight until she has weed.

Once she starts to wee outside always take her to the same place and the smell will help her to do it.

She has shown you she can hold her wee and wee where and when she likes it is just up to you to clearly and calmly show her where

[midori1999]

I agree with what Minimu has said.

The more she wees on the kitchen floor, the more she is likely to do it again. Puppies build a pattern about where they wee, so if she wees on the kitchen floor, all she will think is she has had bladder relief and she will associate that with the kitchen floor. Don't clean it with disinfectant as this can actually encourage them to wee again due to the smells. Bio washing powder is easy and good.

The aim should be to never have a wee indoors and yes, they can hold it for ages, so that means you either need to be outside with her, indoors with her and watching her like a hawk for signs she is about to squat, or confining her somewhere indoors like a crate with her bed in so she will try her best to hold it in. It's essential you break the cycle she has gotten into.

You are absolutely right to praise her when she goes to toilet outside and treats will help too. Be very careful about any negative reaction at all when she wees or she may make a negative association with weeing when you're about, which will make it harder to get her to wee outside when you're there.

[Mumswang]

What kind of dog is she? IME it matters. Our jack Russell got it within a day it two. Our dachshund who is 4 is still not entirely to be trusted

[Booboostoo]

Unfortunately I have to agree with minimu1. I say 'unfortunately' because she does appear to have gotten into the habit of weeing inside and it will be difficult to break. I had the same problem with my first dog.

What kind of flooring do you have? Wee is almost impossible to get out of carpet as repeated weeing seeps all the way through to the underlay - I had to give up on the carpet and throw it all away.

What is she like on walks? If she is finished with her vaccinations it may help if you take her out in parks with other dogs and allow her to smell their wee/poo. Might encourage her to follow their example!

In the end, with Betty I had to watch her like a hawk indoors to stop the indoors weeing. I had her on a lead which was attached to my waist (she is a small dog, so could not pull me over, but of course be careful with a larger puppy!!), so that she was either next to me, or in her crate, or outside. I had to do this for 2 weeks (in a completely clean and wee free house) to break her out of the habit, but it did work in the end!

[musicposy]

Just one thing as an aside, if you use bio washing powder, it must be lukewarm water, not boiling. The enzymes that do the job of eating the wee will become denatured (killed) past about 55 degrees and it won't work. Body temperature is absolutely ideal, as enzymes generally work best then.

(thinks she has spent far to much time doing GCSE and AS Biology with DD)

[melliebobs]

i read it can take up to 20 weeks for pups to devlop the muscle that will let them 'hold it'. We crate trained our dog and he got to grips with it alot quicker. Maybe too well cos he wont even go in his own back yard now! lol but even at a year old he still has the odd accident. Unfortunatly just got to be patient she/he will get to it in their own time

[Spamspamspam]

Bumping for Clam and Kingsroadie

[Kingsroadie]

Thanks Spam!

Our puppy does at least one accident during the day, usually 2/3. He is 9.5 weeks old and has been with us for 2 weeks. He never poos in the house, just wee. I take him out every hour, but usually every half an hour. He usually has accidents about 20 mins after he has just been for a wee! I stay outside with him long enough for him to wee twice if he wanted to. He was actually better after the first few days but seems to have regressed.

I have been using a special enzyme spray but it has run out so have mixed biological washing liquid with water and filled up the spray bottle - will that work? Thing is, he is not even weeing in the same place so it doesn't seem like he is smelling it and going etc.

I try my very best to watch him all the time but with an 18 month old it isn't always possible, and I suppose that is when accidents happen. But the only way I can think if this being possible is crating him the entire time and letting him out for the loo apart from the 2 hours my daughter sleeps at lunchtime and in the evenings. Which clearly isn't fair or a practical solution.

I imagine I will be told to take him out more and watch him more. But obv when I bring him back in, if he hasn't weed then I can't watch him every single second as I have a small child. Hmmmm...

[Happymm]

I also have the problem of not being able to continually watch our pup. Interesting minimu suggesting NOT to always have the door open...therein may lie the rub methinks as we have. It's been so warm though. And should I treat for her doing business then. Have just been praising...

[clam]

Thanks Spam.

[Happymm]

Bugger, just had another pee in the kitchen, though a different part of the kitchen-and just after doing one outside! She keeps doing this, maybe she saves a bit up? :(

[Kingsroadie]

Me too Clam, me too! Have had 2 accidents today so far.

[Spamspamspam]

You have not ruined your dogs! If you got back to my threads from Maggie day 1 for me you will find all sorts of angst ridden posts

I just remember something, I did praise and treat at first I had a pot of little bits of cheese or cocktail sausage and every wee and poo outside got a treat. I stopped this after about 4 days as she wasn't eating any of her kibble and vet told me to stop giving her treats so I resorted to just praise. However I might go back to treats for this week to really re-enforce outside as I am going to the states next Sunday and worrying she will go backwards with DH not being so vigilant!

Mine is by no means perfect and I have had a lot longer to get it right! She did another wee/poo indoors today - totally took my eye off the ball. I knew she must need a wee/poo and I took her outside twice for ten minutes each time, then bought her in and shut the back door so that the kids could go on the trampoline without Maggie barking at going mad with excitement, dog was standing at the door but I thought she was just looking at the kids and of course as I made a cup of tea, wee/poo in the utility!! arrgghh

[Happymm]

Flipping heck! Just went flying in kitchen on puddle of dog pee I didn't even know was there.

Fed up :(

[Kingsroadie]

Happy we have now had 3/4 wees today. Again. And as per - most of them are about 20 mins after an outside wee!

I must say I did laugh at your post - tee hee. I guess we have to laugh!

[Happymm]

Oh, and I is thinking of changing my name,as not too happy right now :(