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Original poster

How long did it take your pup to 'get' the whole toilet training thing?

36 replies

ThespianTendencies · 21/01/2018 15:09

I have a 10 week old bichon/toypoodle cross. She's very bright, seems very settled and is a joy to have around. But I am wondering when she will get the whole housetraining thing. I am taking her out for wees and pooos frequently and after eating,drinking, playing etc. as recommended. She is responsive to this and performs most times we are ousidet. However sometimes she does this indoors because I simply cannot watch her every second of every minute. I know it takes time but how long - on average - do you thnk it takes for a pup to totally understand that they have to go outside to do their business? My lab was a dream to teach - he was basically clean indoors after 2 weeks of constant vigilance on my part. I'm not expecting miracles btw, I know every dog is different.

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Original poster
ThespianTendencies · 21/01/2018 15:11

And when I say I cannot watch her every second of every minute I mean when I am serving dinner, or going for a wee etc. or looking for the phone when it is ringing and I have lost it (again Grin ) It is not practical to crate her every second I am otherwise engaged.

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LemonMuffin837 · 21/01/2018 15:13

Mine both took about a year to be fully house trained, but accidents started getting less after 6 months.
I found crating them helped massively, they won't go in their own beds if they can help it and learn to hold it.
Good luck with your puppy :)

TeddyIsaHe · 21/01/2018 15:14

Took about 4 weeks (working cocker). I took her out overnight 3/4 times, got up with her at 5am and then out every 20-30 mins after that, sooner if she drank, ate or played at all. It was bloody exhausting but the pay off was well worth it!

TeddyIsaHe · 21/01/2018 15:15

She did have accidents after that, but very few and far between - less than once a week.

Original poster
ThespianTendencies · 21/01/2018 15:20

Wow! That is a big variable there already Grin I think it is a matter of putting the work in in the first instance isn't it. LemonMuffin that sounds like a long time to housetrain? I suppose it is when the realise that they need to go and then the penny dropping that they cannot just go where they are..?

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BiteyShark · 21/01/2018 15:23

To be totally clean and by that I mean they ask to go out rather than you simple opening the door or recognising when they need to go can take up to 6 months. Mine got toilet training around the 5 months of age with the occasional accident in his teenage months.

TeddyIsaHe · 21/01/2018 15:23

Yes! It’s hard work but worth it. And lots of praise when they do anything outside. I used to give TeddyDog a little piece of hotdog when she did anything at first, and then gradually stopped so I was just fussing her. Otherwise I’m sure she would have only weed for sausages! Grin

ButFirstTea · 21/01/2018 15:27

Ours had stopped having accidents indoors by about 15-18 weeks (he came paper trained so the accidents were minimal anyway - half a dozen or so altogether). Since he was about 5 or 6 months old he's asked to go outside by tapping on the door. I think we're really lucky, we expected to spend the best part of a year toilet training.

BiteyShark · 21/01/2018 15:28

Also have a look at the puppy survival threads on here. Every puppy is different and some take a long time to get it and be completely dry.

Thewolfsjustapuppy · 21/01/2018 15:28

I don’t think either of mine did ‘get’ it they just seemed to wee in the house less and less. Pup who are is 5 months rarely does now but still will if caught short. I never got up at night for either and never crated them either. I figured it was easier on me to just mop the kitchen floor Grin.

Original poster
ThespianTendencies · 21/01/2018 15:33

It is a chore isn't it! I feel like I am permanantly standing in the pissing rain in my slippers, brandishing pieces of chicken and getting excited over wees and poos! I'm sure the neighbours think I have lost the plot.Grin. I do feel a bit deflated when she goes to pee indoors Confused but to be fair, the accidents are fairly few and far between because I avert them by taking her our frequently. It doesn't help that it seems to be constantly raining here at the moment! My kitchen floor is awash with muddy paw prints from her, big dog and two cats!

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Nifflerbowtruckle · 21/01/2018 15:35

Around 2 years Angry. She's a Shih Tzu and the accidents were every few weeks rather than everyday. I still don't 100% trust her and she's 3. It was a combination of bad training on my part, her being a little lazy and just not the most intelligent dog. Even though she got a treat every time she went outside it still didn't click.

BiteyShark · 21/01/2018 15:35

Maybe it's worse because you had a previous easy puppy with toilet training last time Grin

Original poster
ThespianTendencies · 21/01/2018 16:15

BiteySharky definitely - Summer has a lot to live up to :-)

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missbattenburg · 21/01/2018 16:27

Mine started asking somewhere around 4.5 / 5 months old - but still has the (very) odd accident at 6 months. Especially if he (and I) are distracted. It was like a switch went on for him.

He was ok overnight (from 10pm to 7.30am) from about 11 / 12 weeks old.

I found having a number on the board helped. We have a chalk board with "days since last accident" and I would write the number in every day. It reset to zero often but it helped me realise we got to a bigger number each time, before the reset. One week, 3 days felt like a milestone and before I knew it, we got to 5 days before an accident, then double figures. It just helped me focus on the successes, not the failures; it made the whole thing feel like a game in which he & I were a team getting a high score and it made it clear we WERE progressing.

I think it also depends a lot on when your dog / breed develops full bladder control. It's not just the learning they need, but they also need the right level of control to know they need to pee long enough in advance to ask and go out and to be able to hold it for that time. That's not until around 15 / 16 weeks for many breeds.

RedHelenB · 21/01/2018 16:28

My shitzu was about 10 weeks when she started going to the door to skip to go out. Still have some accidents at 18 weeks but mainly down to us not letting her out in time.

Original poster
ThespianTendencies · 21/01/2018 17:17

RedHelen that is impressive!
I think the fact that it is pissing with rain virtually all day does not help - my garden is like a swamp. She doesn't want to go out in that (neither do I for that matter) so it is not appealing to her at all. Any advice on that? Do I give us both a break while the weather shite? I took her to the garden while it was rainign after her nap and she jsut ran inside and peed on her puppy pad by the back doo - like it was optional! Grin

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Original poster
ThespianTendencies · 21/01/2018 17:18

missbattenburg that sounds about waht I was expecting. I hope she obliges! It really is tiring doing all this in out in out stuff. If it as dry skies outside I feel it would be a bit easier all round.

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Eryri1981 · 21/01/2018 17:25

90% after approx a month (13 weeks), but more because we had more warning when he showed the signs of needing to go, rather than him asking (crated at night with regular toilet wake ups during the night though). Gradually improved from then on.

Recently, around a year old, we have had a couple of near misses during stormy weather (live in a very exposed location with horizontal rain that at its worst is like being pressure washed!!), But dealt with that very quickly by always giving him a treat when he comes back in from the garden when it is raining, no more problems since.

Caprinihahahaha · 21/01/2018 17:28

Mine are rarely having accidents because between us all we take them out very regularly and there is always someone watching them
They pee and poo outside and get praised but no big song and dance.
They are 9 weeks so I’m pretty content but we are able to put the hours in.

Bellamuerte · 21/01/2018 18:06

Depends on the breed. Intelligent breeds pick it up fairly quickly. Less intelligent breeds might take 6 months or more to get the hang of it!

RedHelenB · 21/01/2018 18:12

Tbh apart from the first night I never stood in the garden with him just plonked him outside and fussed him when he came back in. He does have a period early evening where he seems to be always at the living room door to go out and then won't but again i just plonk him outside after so many times!

I think he associates garden with toilet because the minute we got him home I put him in the garden and he pooed and I was so delighted with him that a big fuss was made and he does love to be fussed!

secretnutter · 21/01/2018 18:18

To be totally house trained....my boy was about 5 months, my girl....20 months Confused xxx

DarthNigel · 21/01/2018 18:22

9 or 10 months for Dog one- 7 months and counting for Dog 2, who is worse than Dog one at any sort of training so I fear she will be longer...

WeAllHaveWings · 21/01/2018 18:23

We got our pup at 12 weeks old the day ds stopped school for the summer holidays so weather was ideal. His breeder starting training him at her house and said he was nearly there, he was settled/trained at ours within a week. Our patio doors are in our living room so that helped as we can let him out as soon as he needed it.