Toilet training

[NewPuppyBuyer90]

Hello,

This is my first post, but I have been a long-time lurker on Mumsnet. My partner and I are planning on bringing home our puppy within the next few weeks. We're as prepared as we can be but I'm unsure what the rules are about letting pups out before their final injections. My parents have the same breed of dog and he was very keen to be away from his own mess slightly before the recommended 3 weeks, but they were vigilant at all times with him, kept him in their own garden and made sure he didn't eat anything, etc., always under supervision. Obviously we want to encourage good toilet training too, but not sure what is the norm here. It's not that I'm precious about the house as we have puppy pads, but I strongly remember my parents' dog having quite a strong urge to do his business outside. Obviously they have such a strong sense of smell that surely it makes sense that they'd prefer to be outside.

If anyone has any advice it would be gratefully received. While we have both grown up with dogs this is the first we will have in our family home so naturally we have lots of questions!

[Floralnomad]

You can let them out in your own garden unless you have something out there that would cause harm ie another dog with a contagious disease , it’s putting them down in public places that’s the issue . Don’t use puppy pads it just elongates toilet training and confuses the dog as to where is right to go . Just take puppy out to the garden regularly from the outset .

[NewPuppyBuyer90]

@Floralnomad thank you so much for your advice. Nothing in our own garden that would hurt him and no other dogs and no kids. I would never dream of taking a puppy to a public place but it's good to know he'll be okay in the garden, thanks!

[Floralnomad]

Do take him out in public just don’t put him down, he needs to be seeing the sights and meeting new things and people as soon as you get him .

[NewPuppyBuyer90]

Thanks @Floralnomad, I didn't know that would be safe. He's a small breed so this has widened up the list of places we can go when he's home so long as we don't let him down.

We're dying for this to be a good home for him! Really appreciative of the help so thanks again :)

[BorderlineExperimental]

If you’re on FB join the group Dog Training Advice and Support. It’s a group run by professionals who advocate the use of force free techniques based in modern science and there’s an absolute wealth of fabulous information in the ‘Files’ section of the group. In particular there’s a collections of articles and guides called ‘Congratulations on Your New Puppy’ which covers just about everything you need to know.

[NewPuppyBuyer90]

Thanks @BorderlineExperimental, that's good to know. I'll have a look there today.

[Madvixen]

As a PP said, you can take him out in public but just don't put him down. Getting him out and about during his early days is really important to get them accustomed to noises/people/sights and smells.

For the toilet training, buy some puppy door bells - they are an absolute godsend. You can get them on Amazon for about a fiver.

[Spidey66]

We found a crate a godsend for training overnight. There's lots online about it but basically....

1. The crate should be somewhere your puppy must want to be. It will probably take a few days before they feel safe enough for you to be able to lock it.
   
   
2. dogs don't like to wee or poo where they sleep. So they'll generally hold on till they're let out.
   
   Puppies only have small bladders, so you will need to let them out during the night. The way we worked it is that generally both of us got up once ourselves for the loo, so while we were up, we'd let the dog out and take it to the yard. So a bit like you'd do with a toddler, except of course you take the kids to the loo and not the yard. I hope.
   
   Like kids, even once they've been toilet trained, there will be the occasional accident. But they do get there.

[NewPuppyBuyer90]

Sorry for the delayed response everyone, this is all such fab advice Puppy door bells in particular sound great, I'd never heard of them!

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

It's okay for your puppy to visit, or be visited by, adult vaccinated dogs as well - so long as the adult dog is friendly. It opens up early socialisation so much during a really critical period of development.