Help with toilet training, pulling my hair out!

[Marne]

Puppys been with us for 3 weeks now, i take him outside, praise him when he does anything, am now walking him once or twice a day.

Have tried crate training him, during the day it seems to go well, been taking him outside every half an hour or so, praising him if he does anything but then it comes to the evening and i let him out to do training and he poops and pee's everywhere, i take him outside first or walk him but he will go the whole walk without doing anything (as soon as we get in he does it on the floor). I just took him outside where he did a wee, came in and thought i would let him have a play with my other dog whle i wash up, come back in to find 3 poo's on the floor, he must have been holding it in all day so he could do it on the floor. I put him straight out when he's done it but doesnt seem to be sinking in (that he needs to do it outside), he has also wee'd in his crate (in his bedding) and seemed happy to lie in it.

Where am i going wrong? should i keep him crated all day and only let him out to go in the garden? seems mean to do this as he wants to play and we spend time doing clicker training.

Help?

Sorry to hear you're having problems with toilet training your pup - it can be a very testing time!

What you need is a cue word - a phrase your pup can associate with doing his business. When we want our dog to do her business we say "get busy" (upbeat voice works best). Always have your dog on a leash when toilet training, it makes it easier to stop them spending half an hour sniffing in one spot getting distrated.

When your dog starts circling/sniffing one spot (showing signs they are going to do a wee or a poo) then start saying "get busy" (or cue word of your choice), Once your dog starts to go potty, stop saying the cue word. In fact, stop talking altogether! The reason? If you talk to your dog while he is going potty, he will most likely stop and concentrate on you instead of what he should be doing.

The second your dog has finished his business, immediately praise and reward him with a treat. At the same time, repeat your cue word over and over again, ?Good get busy! Did you get busy?! Good get busy!? At the same time, continue praising your dog and giving him treats.
From that point forward, remember to only use that cue word when you truly want your dog to pee or poop on command.

To stop accidents in the house, the only answer is to watch your puppy like a hawk! When they wake up, let them out. When they finish eating, let them out. When they finish playing, let them out. When they get up from having a rest, let them out. It is literally a full time thing toilet training a puppy, and can be tedious, but it pays off quickly when you stick to it, trust me!

Stick with it and it will work out. Good luck!

Thank you, he seems to wee on demand outside (i say 'go wee wee' and he often does it straight away), poo's seem to be trickier, he has done a couple outside and had lots of praise and a treat but still seems to hold on as long as he can to do it inside (when i happen to take my eyes off of him). He has ahad a poorly tummy sinse we got him which hasn't helped, i spoke to the vet today as everything we have tried (verious food including chicken and rice) have not made much difference so he's seeing the vet on friday, mainly to put my mind at rest over his weight and the loose stools. He seems to poop 4-5 times a day and drinks loads compared to my other dog (which makes him pee so much more).

I can handle the night time accidents but would love for him to be clean during the day, he still doesnt ask to go out at all but can ask to come back in when outside, he will go out with my other dog but she's very lazy so doesn't go out often so i have to go with him, he doesn't seem to want to explore are large garden, just sits by my feet .

Thank you, will try and keep him in the crate tomorrow and take hime out on the lead. I'm sure my other dog wasn't this tricky , after i wrote my last post i got up and trod in a puddle. I dont feed him after 4pm but he still poops in the night or around 4am. He's now snoozing in his crate so will take him out before bed and then shut him back in.

Toilet training this pup is harder than it was to toilet train dd2 (who's autistic) and that took quite a while .

I agree with Turniphead about the dry food - it makes them drink lots, and in turn pee lots. My lab is on dry because wet food upsets her tummy (everything upsets her bloody tummy).

Oh and I forgot to say before, are you feeding him 3/4 small meals a day while he's a pup? They tend to poo a similar amount as the number of meals they eat. I found when mine was a pup, if I let her out about an hour after eating she would do her business. :)

As the OP has said in this thread ( and others ) this puppy came to her with a loose bowel issue that has been ongoing since and its been very difficult to settle him on any food , poor little thing . If he's anything like a child with loose stools I doubt if the poor little fellow knows when he wants to go until its too late ,and therein lies half the problem . You have my sympathy as I think it may take him a while to get it .

Thank you, we have had a good day so far, he's been crated and i'm taking him out every time he crys, wakes up and eats, we have just go back from a walk where he pooed (lots of praise).

The vet gave me Royal Canin recovery dog food (which cost a fortune) which is ment to be chicken and rice but its made his poo's worse (i did try and tell the vet that chicken made him worse, i think they just thought it was my dodgy cooking) so i have put him back on the dry which makes poo's a little bit firmer. Will see what the vet says. I crated him last night and he woke me 5 times, each time i put him out and he did something each time (including 2 poo's despite me not feeding him after 4pm), today i have fed him 2 larger meals (breakfast and lunch) and will give him a smaller meal before 4pm in hope we get less toilet trips.

We trained our dog from a puppy using a special mat. You can buy them in most pet shops... Oh ye don't forgot the treats too! xx