Toilet training - am I doing it right

[CleverQuacks]

Sorry for another post. I bought puppy home yesterday and I am a nervous wreck!

Before I start I am obviously not expecting puppy to be house trained any time soon but just wanted to check I am on the right track.

So yesterday (first day at home) she had no accidents in the house at all. However that was due to us spending a huge amount of time in the garden and her mainly sleeping when we were inside (she would run round the garden like a mad thing for ages. Eventually go to the toilet and then be tired when we got back in. She would sleep and then when she would wake up I would take her outside again).

I kind of feel like this isn’t teaching her anything cos we just happened to be in the garden when she needed a wee rather than her going out to wee.

Overnight she did one wee in her crate. I set my alarm to take her out but she had already weed. I took her out anyway but she didn’t do anything.

So today I have tried to read her a bit more and take her out when I think she needs it. After breakfast she started squatting to do a poo so I quickly grabbed her and ran her outside. She continued pooing whilst I ran her outside (sorry tmi) but once I got her outside she just ran off to play and didn’t finish her poo.

Is this the right way?

Try not to worry, think if it like a marathon rather than a sprint.

Every time they go outside it's an opportunity to cement that outside is good. Everything they have an accident inside it's a missed opportunity. The aim is to weight the outside more than the inside at this time.

Taking them frequently outside and staying with them at this age until they go is the best thing to do. When they pee or poo say a phrase and then praise. Eventually they associate that phrase with toileting and you can get them to do it on command when older. They ARE learning because they get a massive praise when they go outside and nothing when they go inside. Right now their bladders can't hold much and they may not even get a warning themselves that they need to go so don't fret about 'reading' them at this age.

Oh and for the night time it's clear your puppy needs to go frequently. Yes you will always get those that tell you their puppy went through the night after a day or so but lots don't (mine included). I worked on the principle that at night they could hold it for 1 hour per month of age plus 1 so at 8 weeks old they could hold on for three hours. I therefore set my alarm accordingly and gradually extended it as he got older. He only had on accident in the night which was my fault (alarm didn't go off). My puppy never made a noise to let me know he needed to pee so I had to use the alarm to make sure he didn't have any accidents.

Eric was house trained within a fortnight, it was also February so unfortunately spending time in the garden was a cold chore. Basically every twenty minutes or so we'd go to mooch in the garden. The first time he pee'd or pooped I gave it a command so initially it was high pitched "peepee" but changed to "be quick" when I realised I'd feel a prat saying that in the park etc. I'd give him lots of praise and generally ensure he knew he'd done the right thing.
In the house I'd watch him and soon spotted that him nose down and circling meant he was going to toilet. So as soon as the nose went down he'd be scooped up into the garden and given the command.I'd still take him out regularly as well giving the command and praise every time.
We only had a couple of accidents, they were cleaned up without comment. It took a few months before we went from taking him out regularly for him to suss that if he yapped at the back door we let him out though. Even now he uses the exact same bark at the back door that he did then and he never uses it at any other time so I think it's pretty clever really.

Thanks everyone. I am using the command “toilet” when she goes so hopefully she associate that with weeing / pooing.

I know it’s going to be a long task but i am glad to hear I am on the right track. I will set my alarm more frequently for night time to try to catch before she wees.

I realise I was incredibly lucky with Eric, helped a lot I think because the breeder had already started to house train the puppies. He also slept through the night 11pm til 6am as well without accidents.
It's a rule on the Doghouse though that all puppies' photos have to be posted in return for advice

With your command think about how often you might say it in real life (thinking you might use the word toilet in other situations and the dog may think you want them to pee ). I use a 'get busy' as I never say that for anything else and as pp said I don't feel too much of a fool saying it in public.

Eric seems to realise that if I say "be quick" at other times I don't mean him thankfully anyway. I think he knows he has to be outside for me to mean him and to be fair I only use it now if he needs to be let out and the weather is awful. Age has brought him the pleasure of relaxed and leisurely toileting

How long do I wait with her in the garden? It’s been a couple of hours since she last did a wee, she has just woken up from a long sleep so I have bought her out but it’s been 20 minutes and she is just lieing under a bush chewing the branches. Do I take her back in and risk an accident inside? Or do I stay out indefinitely cos she is bound to wee at some point?

I would scoop her up and carry her inside.Keep her in your arms for five minutes so she can't pee inside and then back outside and give the command again. It's almost as important not to let them get it wrong as it is to encourage them to get it right IME.

As fleshmarketclose said.

However, please don't worry too much about what you should do and whether you are getting it right. It's stressful enough anyway so try not to put too much pressure on yourself. As you get to know your puppy you will get to know what works and what doesn't.

Yes you will just learn to read your pup in time much like you do with a new baby. What I meant by not letting them get it wrong was if they pee inside the scent will encourage them to pee in the same spot again and it will blur the boundaries on where they should toilet.I didn't mean you should feel under pressure though it's early days you are both settling in to something different.

fleshmarketclose sorry if you thought my post was implying anything about getting it wrong. It wasn't and I agree with your advice .

Just concerned OP is doing that horrible worrying about every move they make in case they screw up the dog. I remember that feeling so well and if I could turn the clocks back I would have relaxed more and not worried about all the things I thought I needed to do straight away.

Bitey No I know it did make me think though that I might have added to OP's concerns.I remember those early days constantly questioning whether I was getting it right.I'd hate to think I made it any harder by what might be advice that could be interpreted badly even if I didn't mean it that way.

Thanks all. I definitely need to relax lol every little move and I am second guessing my self!

It's the joy of puppies,have to say I found Eric ten times harder than any of my dc.He's four now and lovely though but I wouldn't want to go back to those early days

*four

So she has just had a long sleep so I took her outside straight away and she did a wee! Great I thought. Gave her 5 minutes then bought her in where she promptly weed on the floor. I know accidents happen but i really didn’t see that one coming.

Yeah that happens. They don't fully empty their bladder so tend to pee when they come back in.

And she has just done another one! It’s a crazy rollercoaster. I was all smug that we had had so many successful wees outside and now I feel like we have made no progress at all! Lol I know it’s to early to be expecting anything though.

It's two step forwards, one back at this age.

Tbf you are not "training" her at this age you are just showing her where to wee and luckily dogs prefer to wee away from the house

General rule is everytime she wakes up take her for a wee

After every meal take her for a wee.

If she has not weed in the last hour take her for a wee.

Do not wake up sleeping puppies to wee.

Always praise (when they have finished weeing in the correct place - wait until they have finished or your praise and excitement will mean the dog will stop mid wee and then need to go 30 secs later usually inside!)

Ignore wees indoors, say nothing just clean up the wee. (use biological washing powder or special pet spray to ensure all odour has gone so as not to encourage puppy to wee in the same spot)

Someone gave me a bit of advice - once you start to feel you are making progress with the toilet training (maybe in a couple of weeks or so) start to track the number of accident free days. At first you might have 1 accident free day then a few bad ones then maybe 2 accident free days in a row... gradually you'll see the "days since last accident" number getting higher each time between the bad days.

Patience, persistence, praise and spending a lot of time running back and forth to the garden are key!

So today so far she has had no accidents but this has been due to me taking her out regularly. She isn’t signalling that she needs to go yet (which is to be expected). I am still not convinced she is learning that the house is not the place to wee but I will keep going.

Just keep doing what you're doing and she will learn the difference between inside and outside. There's good advice on here.

Agree about choosing the phrase you use carefully. I started by saying 'go pee pee' and now I have to use it whenever I need her to wee on command. Luckily that's only when I'm going out and leaving her, or before bed. Thankfully I never have to say it in public; just hope my neighbours can't hear me.