Toileting

[GinPink]

Our first day with our new puppy. I was under the impression the puppy would bark when it needed the toilet. Our dog doesn't cry or bark and just poo's on the floor. Not really sure where I go from here...?

Is it chipped?
Yes

Will it be neutered?
Yes

Do you know about worming and de-fleaing?
Yes

Is it registered with a vet?
Yes

Where is your local 24 hour vet?
About 15mins away

These are all things you need to know about.

I knew this stuff. I actually have read up a lot. Just clearly not enough about toilet training. As I say, I've never had a dog before and took the trainers word for it.

I've sorted day care so the puppy will never be left alone.

Chosen a very highly recommended vet. Not the nearest but the most highly recommended. Not 24hours but I know where a 24 hour one is. I couldn't book in the appointment for his second set of jabs as his first jabs were only done yesterday and I needed to find out which jabs he'd had so they can match. If they can't match either start again or go elsewhere for those.

I've spend hours reading up and deciding on which food will be best. Obviously carry on with what he's been on already but will transition him over in time.

I have the chip card and need to change the details to ours - they are registered currently with the breeder.

Health tests were done by breeders and certificates seen. Also vet checked.

I have booked in first appointment for having his coat washed and cut, nails done etc with a local dog groomer.

I am going to use pets at home to sign up for their deflea, tick and worm subscription.

I have sorted insurance so we are covered up to £15k for accidents and illness. Lifetime insurance.

I will take him to the shop to get him fitted for a perfect fit harness - again I couldn't do this before because I need to take measurements. We only got him today.

We have a crate and have researched crate training. He seems to love the crate so far.

I have bought a dog tag without his name on it but all the legal requirements - our name, address and phone number (I know phone number isn't legal requirement but makes sense)

We have a lickimat, one of those flap toys where you hide treats. Millions of age appropriate treats toys and chews.

I still think it's harsh to blast someone so much on their first day with their first ever puppy. I've researched loads just apparently not about toilet training. But how much harm can this have caused in the first 7 hours of having a dog?

Is there anything I've forgotten about in my list above?

OP get yourself over to the puppy survival thread if you haven't already.

Mine is almost 5 years old but I was on them when mine was a puppy and they still continue to be valuable for new puppy owners as a little bit of sanctuary where everyone is battling with being a new puppy owner.

sorry you've had a rough ride on this thread GinPink I read here often but actually have never posted because sometimes I find the reactions on some threads quite hostile.

We have our first puppy. Neither of us have had a dog before. I did do a lot of reading and research and I did know about when to take dog out and so on. But still, I've been completely floored by the fact that this animal seems to have no instincts towards anything bar wanton destruction. I wasn't prepared for an animal that had zero instincts, none, at all.

We are a few weeks in, doing everything the videos and books and websites and trainers tell us, but toilet training is slow still. Puppy just isn't getting it. At this stage, I could even cope if it was consistently in the house as long as it was in one place, but it's not.

Solidarity, the learning curve is steep.

Thanks @MollysMum09. I will head over to the puppy thread you suggest, I certainly won't start any new threads on here about it all.

He seems to be fine with wees just not poos. He just walked over and wee'd on a puppy pad earlier and he just cried so I took him outside and he did a wee. Pooing wise there is no heads up though. No circling or anything, he just does a poo 💩 sounds like I'll need to work on it x

GinPink It was the poster above who recommended the survival thread, not me, but I should maybe pluck up the courage to post there too.

We have the opposite problem - our pup is more reliable with poos rather than wees. Tell tale signs/timings for a poo are: after eating (we are ahead of you by a few weeks so could be up to half an hour, day one here it was within 5-10 minutes of eating) and the other main sign is not sniffy circling, but manic behaviour zoomie style for no obvious reason. TMI but I think it's the sensation of it!! So may be something for you to look out for.

Sorry thank you also @BiteyShark xxx

@HummingBeeBox

The book easy peasy puppy squeazy is great

Agree - get this book and read it cover to cover asap

You need to take your puppy out every 30 mins or so, and reward like crazy when something pops out in the right place.

And if anyone is reading this thread who is thinking about getting a puppy - read the book before you commit, so you have a reasonable understanding of what you're letting yourself in for

We have 12 week pup and is getting there on toilet training. She doesn’t bark to go out - a very subtle growl standing by door and that’s taken a few weeks to get there. My friend had a tip which is if you see them start to pee, then grab them and sprint outside.

@GinPink

Sorry thank you also *@BiteyShark* xxx

No problem.

What I find with the puppy survival threads is that it tends to be a safe place to ask questions because each OP is struggling with something so can empathise.

I bought & read the easy peasy book in the month before pup came home. It's useful and really accessible. But if you do what it says and your dog still isn't getting it....

I think it should be okay to say on a public board about dogs and dog advice though to say, you know what, I did all that, and I STILL wasn't prepared for this little animal that was so wanted that I knew would be very hard work, to behave like THAT. Because on some threads some people get a really tough time for saying that.

I think you've got it covered, OP. I think the reason that you're getting blasted is because it's a bit like posting 'I've had a baby. I've had it for a whole day, and I still can't stop it crying, has anybody got any tips??'

It doesn't really look like a person has done their research, even if they've read up about everything else.

Toilet training takes quite a while (weeks/month or two, and still perhaps the odd accident after that), and my dog has never barked or vocally indicated that she wants to go out. I take her out 3 times a day, and unless she's poorly (when she panics around the door), that works fine.

Adult dogs don't want to mess in their home. I honestly think that if we didn't train them , they'd instinctively want to go out themselves anyway. We just hurry them to develop the habit faster.

Good luck with the pup, and sack that trainer.

@MollysMum09

I bought & read the easy peasy book in the month before pup came home. It's useful and really accessible. But if you do what it says and your dog still isn't getting it....

I think it should be okay to say on a public board about dogs and dog advice though to say, you know what, I did all that, and I STILL wasn't prepared for this little animal that was so wanted that I knew would be very hard work, to behave like THAT. Because on some threads some people get a really tough time for saying that.

Agree. I waited over 20 years to get a dog of my own when the time was right.

I read everything on the internet but I still had puppy blues and I still found it bloody hard and felt overwhelmed and yet here I am with a much loved adult dog. You can still be fully committed to a dog but struggle.

BiteyShark yes I thought about it for years it wasn't an impulse thing. And even then I waited another year until the worst of lockdown was over (or so we though who knows now...). I wanted my dog, read, reasearched, spoke to people, emailed breeders. I was prepared for work, for a project. I wasn't prepared, a few months on for the dog to be taking me back to the same bad post-baby feelings or to still feel tied in the same way I did back then. But there is definitely a LOT of stigma on here about saying, I love my dog, I want my dog, it has the best of care, but I am not enjoying it and struggling because I didn't anticipate every emotion I might feel and every frustration and behaviour the dog would throw up.

I think the reason that you're getting blasted is because it's a bit like posting 'I've had a baby. I've had it for a whole day, and I still can't stop it crying, has anybody got any tips??'

Fair enough. Funny enough though I have had that exact question from mums with their babies. My reply wasn't 'what the hell, you should never have had a baby you are clearly useless and that poor baby is suffering because of you'. I just give suggestions.

But clearly this was a huge faux pas in the dog world.

Trainer wise I have already paid for the block of sessions so will attend and see how they go. This trainer is highly recommended and popular so I had to book or miss out as the sessions get fully book way in advance. But I'll have my wits about me, if it doesn't go well I'll bear in mind that the advice on the fact sheet was not great and I may look for another trainer.

@GinPink

I think the reason that you're getting blasted is because it's a bit like posting 'I've had a baby. I've had it for a whole day, and I still can't stop it crying, has anybody got any tips??'

Fair enough. Funny enough though I have had that exact question from mums with their babies. My reply wasn't 'what the hell, you should never have had a baby you are clearly useless and that poor baby is suffering because of you'. I just give suggestions.

But clearly this was a huge faux pas in the dog world.

That's so passive aggressive. I was just trying to help you understand why people were being harsh.

Sorry @TheFoundations I read that back and I didn't mean to snap at you

We've had our puppy for 9 months (she's 1 now) and only over the last few weeks stopped pissing and pooing all over anywhere. No warning and 1/2 hour garden visits.
It's long term, no quick fix. Sorry

What breed is she OP? Bit curious as to why a little puppy has been booked in for a bath and trim already? Also, just wanted to mention that all dogs need to get used to being left for short periods sometimes, so your 'never will be left alone ' comment might need a rethink?

I recommend a puppy pen if you don’t have one yet for the puppy’s own safety and for the convenience for you for when you can’t watch the puppy every second as you otherwise should to start with ,and don’t want to put them in the crate . Our puppy is now 10 m old and we used a crate as his bed /safe place in the beginning ,and it was attached to a pen which gave him a bigger area to roam in . He was used to a crate at his breeder from birth so found it a comfortable space . I didn’t want to use it long term though, just a pen and beds ( he’s a small breed and won’t be able to get out of it by jumping or anything even as full-size which he now pretty much is ) so we got rid of the crates a few months ago . He didn’t seem to mind . Also recommend The Furbo camera we got a few months ago u can keep an eye on them with . It’s been great . We have both been at home with him since we got him before Christmas , DH working from home ,I don’t work and also our 2 kids here a lot of the time too when it was homeschooling so he’s not generally left alone but we have all gone out a few times for a few h now and he’s stayed in the pen with the camera on so we could see all was ok . He’s a small breed ( Shih Tzu ) and the toilet training took months unlike my parents chow chows that seemed practically housetrained from birth for instance . Now he’s been reliable for the last few months except at night if he has an upset stomach from eating who knows what ( slugs etc ) which does happen this is quite common for puppies . In the beginning my DH mainly took him out every 30 min then every hour and so on until gaps got to a few h now maybe 3-4 h generally . He learned to hold it and to tell us . He was first pacing around sniffing which is a clear sign , then he learned to use the hanging doorbells in the kitchen garden door we’d jingle them every time taking him out so he associated them with needing to go quickly ( we also have them for upstairs livingroom but haven’t needed them there ). He’d also bark if upstairs as a last resort . Take the puppy out regularly often , and when they do either pee or poo make a big deal and reward them immediately. U have to do it right away or they won’t make the connection . He also used the just pee casually in the middle of his meal or what ever and i wondered if he’d just keep on doing it forever but as he grew older and his bladder got bigger too he then got it and it’s fine now . Only one carpet incident here upstairs since before he was housetrained fully he got to only stay on non carpeted surfaces ( all of ground floor and upstairs livingroom and the bathroom we wash him in ) elsewhere he was carried . Now that he’s shown himself to be reliable not peeing or pooing or chewing unsuitable things or doing anything else he has more freedom although he’s only allowed on my bed or the sofa on my lap or on his blanket . This is our first dog as well although my parents have had two so we and our kids have spent the kids childhood the last 15 y or so around them when ever we stayed with them / in a villa when we traveled to see them so had seen what having a dog is like before . Having a puppy is hard work but they grow up and change quickly and it becomes much easier . Pee pads we had a mixed experience with . On the other hand the training advice we read was against them and said only teach them it’s ok to go outside but on the other hand I though when he couldn’t go outside I’d rather he went on a mat than random places on the floor .
We looked into and actually contacted a trainer nearby for him but due to Covid ended up training him ourselves and he’s learned so well all kinds of commands . He is soon to be finally neutered ( it’s been postponed twice due to other health reasons ) and hopefully that’ll calm him down he is relentless in his attempts of trying to hump any other dogs male or female on walks and at his doggy daycare and would get swept away with other dogs into the distance off lead in the park despite otherwise having good recall . He definitely does need it done . He’s been now going twice a week to doggy daycare which will be helpful for me ( I have multiple health issues ) for when DH is returning to office full time in the fall also so he can board in a familiar place when we’ll travel in the future . So far we’ve been happy with the place and he seems to enjoy the company of the other dogs there from the pictures I’ve seen .
When we first brought him home my husband slept in the same room with him so puppy could see him at night if he woke up for a w then moved his mattress out of sight but still in the same room for a few nights after that puppy was happy to sleep by himself in the crate in the room near mine by himself . He was only crying a bit the first night but was calmed down right away with my husbands presence in the dark with him .
Our puppy’s temperament has been exactly as he seemed when we first met him
At 8 w . First impression was correct . He’s such a sweet , chilled , happy and playful little dog and other than the housetraining which I had read about a lot before we haven’t had any issues .
To me other than not knowing enough about housetraining it sounds like you have everything covered . I recommend reading a lot about all to do with having a puppy and it’s development in the first y and about the breed you chose if it’s a pedigree dog . Also my husband found some YouTube videos about general training and housetraining very helpful . Look into several resources and try things out choose what works best for you don’t just trust one trainers word and think it’ll necessary be that straightforward. None of it will be straightforward. Some things might be easier , some harder and there will always be disasters big and small like with kids but you’ll get through them . Puppy is work but very rewarding . After having 2 kids I’d say it’s a bit like having another child but they do grow up quickly into an adult in a y or so unlike children and it is definitely less complicated. Although with children they at least eventually learn to clearly communicate with you which you won’t have with an animal . We are very happy to have finally gotten the puppy we wanted for about 10 y and wouldn’t have it any other way . He’s a such a precious member of our family and we pray he’ll be around for a long time ! Good luck with yours !!!

@Chunkymenrock

What breed is she OP? Bit curious as to why a little puppy has been booked in for a bath and trim already? Also, just wanted to mention that all dogs need to get used to being left for short periods sometimes, so your 'never will be left alone ' comment might need a rethink?

A poodle. The appointment isn't for a while but the groomer gets booked up (small village lots of clients) so I wanted to get on the books. I have heard not to expect much trimming more just getting pup used to it. I don't think the puppy is supposed to be washed again for at least another 8 weeks or so.

@Chunkymenrock

What breed is she OP? Bit curious as to why a little puppy has been booked in for a bath and trim already? Also, just wanted to mention that all dogs need to get used to being left for short periods sometimes, so your 'never will be left alone ' comment might need a rethink?

Also plan to leave puppy for blocks of time for things like the school run. So sorry I didn't mean never alone. But I mean while we are at work it will never be left for the whole day. We will build up to leaving the puppy for longer chunks of time.

Also our groomer took puppies from
3 m + for puppy grooms which are not full grooms .I seem to remember it was a month after the second vaccines that you could do that . Before that we had bathed him at home . Now he goes monthly being a long haired breed he really needs it often or it get matted / out of control in his eyes etc despite our daily brushing etc .

Err @GinPink . The first rule of dog ownership is that you MUST post a photo of your dog when asking a question - especially when it's a puppy!! Sometimes several photos are needed !!!