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The doghouse

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Original poster

6mo puppy not fully toilet trained. Normal?

36 replies

EffYouSeeKaye · 30/09/2020 19:36

Not for want of trying... Always a wee / poo in the morning (5am - last went out at 10-10.30pm).

Will go to sit quietly at the door in the day if he needs to go, but if you miss it he will usually just then wee on the carpet, rather than scrabble / yelp / attempt to attract your attention.

He is taken out frequently and given a treat whenever he ‘goes‘ but I’m not sure he has totally made the connection.

Any ideas? He isn’t the only dog in the house but doesn’t seem to take any guidance from the others...

OP posts:
SunshineCake · 30/09/2020 19:46

Seems old to me. Definitely start again as if he is tiny otherwise he'll never learn.

SimonJT · 30/09/2020 19:50

It isn’t that he isn’t toilet trained, you/the other humans are ignoring him when he asks to go. If we had a locked bathroom we would wee ourselves.

He will only scrabble/yelp if you teach him to do that. I have a string of bells on our door that our puppy hits when he needs the loo. You could make your own with a thick cord and some bells, then just tie it to the door handle.

LaughingDonkey · 30/09/2020 19:59

I second @SimonJT bells suggestion.

Someone recommended this to me and it works. You can hang it on a door handle, but so your pup can nudge it with his nose.

To teach him to ring it - everytime you go out to potty just ring the bells yourself and say the command you give to go to potty and then let him out. He will make a connection pretty quick (it took my boy about two weeks I think).

123456abcd · 30/09/2020 20:03

You need to start again and take him out every hour (at least) regardless of whether he'll "sit quietly at the door in the day if he needs to go, but if you miss it he will usually just then wee on the carpet"

Original poster
EffYouSeeKaye · 30/09/2020 20:46

Thank you. He’s not too bad in the day but we can’t work out why he can’t last overnight at his age.

Do we go back to setting an alarm at 2am / 3am etc to take him out? It’s like he just doesn’t care if he’s pooed /peed in the room where he sleeps?

OP posts:
123456abcd · 30/09/2020 20:58

You didn't mention overnight on original post - I'm not an expert on that.

123456abcd · 30/09/2020 21:00

Ops, miss read/understood the first line of first post.....

Whitepots · 30/09/2020 21:01

So he can last 7 hours at night? I don't think that's bad. When does he have his last meal of the day, as that may make a difference.

We would have the occasional accident during the day at 6 months too. It was, as another PP said, usually always our fault for not spotting the signs fast enough.

I think the general rule is that they are not fully reliably house trained until 8 months, although obviously many will be.

WinWinnieTheWay · 30/09/2020 22:08

Set him up to win, give him more time outside. Our ddog took about a year to be absolutely 100% accident proof. She is still a pain in other respects, though we treat her like a princess.

Sitdowncupoftea · 30/09/2020 23:49

Start back to basics with the toilet training. I got a rescue dog a couple of month ago older than 6 month he wasn't toilet trained. Start back to as if he were an 8 week old pup. Every hour take him outside using the same door and reward him when he goes. I used puppy pads at night for mine and removed them through the day. It took me two weeks. Hes 9 months now and holding it all night now.

vanillandhoney · 01/10/2020 07:03

Lots of six month old dogs can't go through the night. Mine needed letting out in the night up until about seven months and even now he needs it occasionally and he's nearly three.

I think your overnight expectations are unrealistic tbh. If he can't wake you and say he needs to go what other choice does he have but to go on the floor?

Like a PP said it's not that he isn't toilet trained, it's that you're not letting him out.

Original poster
EffYouSeeKaye · 01/10/2020 20:42

Sorry I’ve read my original post and it’s really unclear.

By ‘always a wee / poo in the morning’ I mean we come down at 5am to find one or two poos and a huge puddle of wee in the kitchen.

He is pretty good in the day. Will go to the door / wee outside if you take him, but will wee on the carpet if you don’t catch him vet quickly. At night, however, he just doesn’t seem to try to hold it at all. Is this because:

  • he’s too young?
  • we are letting him eat too late (food down all the time, he does seem to eat more at night)?
  • he doesn’t get it / care?

Last night I removed food at 9pm and we came down to a dry floor, so maybe that’s the issue?

OP posts:
Original poster
EffYouSeeKaye · 01/10/2020 20:43

*catch him very quickly

OP posts:
vanillandhoney · 01/10/2020 20:43

You shouldn't leave food down all the time for dogs - sounds like that's your problem!

EachPeachPearSums · 01/10/2020 20:45

Food shouldn't be down all the time. He's not a cat. Feed him at 5-6 then take it all up. He will never go over night if he's eating and drinking all night. Have you considered a crate? It might really help.

Original poster
EffYouSeeKaye · 01/10/2020 20:55

He won’t go in a crate. Tried that. He just picks at his food so I’ve got into the habit of leaving it down all day so he eventually eats his daily portion. Probably need to stop worrying he will be hungry and let him learn to eat when it’s there or have to wait...

Water has to be down all night as older dog is on frusemide.

OP posts:
vanillandhoney · 01/10/2020 21:33

You need set meal times. Leave it down for twenty minutes then remove. Do the same again at the next meal - he'll learn to eat when it's available. There's no way he can be expected to go all night if he has constant access to food and water - if you were waking regularly in the night and had a snack and some water each time, you'd need the toilet too!

I suspect your issues will solve themselves once you change your approach. Toileting is just normal - if you eat and drink, you need to pee and poo. If you're going to leave water down then you're going to need to expect accidents I'm afraid. Mine has never had access to water overnight - it's really not necessary as long as they get enough in the day.

vanillandhoney · 01/10/2020 21:35

Obviously your older dogs medical condition is different with regards to the water but if your young pup has access then he's bound to need the toilet as a result.

So either separate them at night or just accept he'll need to go in the early hours - that either means getting up and taking them or accepting you'll need to clear up accidents for a while, which will unfortunately not help the toilet training in the day.

Whitepots · 01/10/2020 21:40

Sorting the food out will really help. We used to lift the food by 7.30pm and take DDog out about 10.30/11pm. We'd leave water in the crate (I know yours isn't crate trained) but not a limitless supply. He'd wake around 6/6.30am but could hold on another 30 mins before needing to go out.

I also fell into the trap of letting DDog graze through the day. It really doesn't help with house-training. They will eat when they are hungry!

Sitdowncupoftea · 01/10/2020 22:20

@EffYouSeeKaye I feed my dogs 5 pm to 6pm at night. I leave the food down 15 minutes they usually eat it it straight away. I have 4 dogs. I always leave water down. I feed mine twice a day splitting the daily amount into two feeds. I have never crated. The dogs have a free run downstairs. Make sure they toilet before you go to bed.

JuiceyBetty · 01/10/2020 22:35

Ours is 6 months and dry overnight but often wees by the front door with no warning. We’ve done everything right and had a trainer in but he’s just rubbish sometimes lol. He occasionally plays in the garden, comes in then wees. I despair!

LaughingDonkey · 02/10/2020 06:52

@EffYouSeeKaye

4 factors that contribute to night peeing/pooping:

  1. Every pup/dog is different (mine still had an odd accident here and there until about 7-8 months old I think until I had bells installed);
  1. Your feeding routine. Feed two meals a day: in the morning (if you get up at 5 a.m., then let's say at 7 a.m.) and in the evening 6 p.m (about 4 -5 hours before sleep). Do not leave food longer than 20 minutes at the time (like other posters have said - he will learn to eat it when you give it to him - give it 1-2 days);
  1. Leave water available all day and then take it away about 2 hours before his sleep. Like other posters said- imagine drinking a big glass of water before bed - you are bound to wake up in the middle of the night to go to loo. Same with your pup.
  1. Quality of food. I have found that switching my pup's food significantly improved his pooping schedule; from 5 poops a day he went to two Grin High quality food takes longer to digest (you can test your food by adding water to it and checking it in 15-20 minutes if it got swollen - high quality kibble will not change in size).
midnightstar66 · 02/10/2020 07:07

The dog training and advice page on Facebook says it's unlikely any puppy under 10 months will be reliably toilet trained. Obviously some will be sooner just like you get some very young dc but don't have high expectations under that age as a rule

midnightstar66 · 02/10/2020 07:09

Oh and don't feed after 5 while you are having this problem.

midnightstar66 · 02/10/2020 07:11

Also if you're worried he's not getting enough of his food you can use it while training. Some people don't bowl feed at all and use all the food allowance this way.