Brand new puppy - pee accidents!

[TheBermudaTriangle]

We’ve just brought home our sweet 9 week old spaniel puppy. We’re in the super early days of trying to keep to a routine, including toileting. The thing that is getting me down is that we really struggle to get our puppy peeing outside 😭

When we think he needs a pee, we take him out (using collar and lead) but he just sits there and whines, and doesn’t go. When we bring him back in, he tends to pee within 5-10mins and so quickly, we can’t discern what is an ‘investigation’ / exploring behaviour (he doesn’t tend to pace or whine, just pootles over to a corner and immediately squats), and a getting ready to pee behaviour. This means we end up having accidents.

The smell and clean-up and just lack of warning are just breaking my heart - I have never had dogs before, and I found myself seriously questioning if I had done the right thing on night 1.

Are there any tips you would recommend for getting better at this? Thank you in advance!

just don’t come back in til he’s been. It may be more than 10 mins especially early in as his surroundings are unfamiliar and he may be stressed and holding it. This is much less fun in February.

do you have a dog proofed garden and can you let him off the lead? Mine usually learn to go on the lead a little later. I just wandered round the garden slowly (occasionally with a book…) and the puppy relaxes and goes. Then more of a wander and sniff so they don’t associate peeing with the End Of Fun, and back in. And out again every 20 mins to half an hour.

Enzymatic cleaner for any accidents inside too.

Teaching the puppy to wee outside is part of owing a dog. What did you expect? They would automatically know?

Also, there will be accidents. Accept neither you nor your puppy (only a baby) are perfect. Don’t react or shout to inside accidents but praise him and makes lots of fuss of him for going outside.

Thank you @Trixibella - yes, we do have a secure garden but I am slightly nervous of letting him explore too much because we have had foxes roaming around and our dog has only had his first set of shots. Would it still be ok?

When we go out, he'll either just play chew on his lead, whine a bit and/or flop down for a lie-down (whether on grass or paving). We've been out for 10, 20, 30mins as he's just not interested. Strangely, he's much better with his poos (after meals).

You have to stay outside until he pees. Praise super enthusiastically, give him a treat. Make it the best thing EVER.

And it's so easy in summer.

You don’t wait for signs and try to anticipate. You put him in the garden every hour. Every single hour. Giving the dog long enough to think about pee and poo. Reward each one with praise and treats. Dogs want to be clean.

To want to give up so soon suggests you didn’t have a realistic vision of dog ownership. If it’s not for you it’s best to decide swiftly before the dog is influenced negatively by poor care.

Thank you @Trixibella and @Clymene - yes, when he has managed it we are genuinely so happy and give lots of praise and a treat.

We're also so conscious that, until a few days ago, he was with his littermates and peeing indoors (on vetbed) so this is all brand new for all of us.

If you have a secure garden, he doesn't need to be on a collar and lead. You're confusing him. Right now, he associates outside with collar and lead. You need him to associate it with toilet first.

And get a word. We say 'outside toilet' (in retrospect we could have chosen better!) but my dog knows what that means - he has to go outside and go to the toilet.

It takes a while and he will have accidents.

Thank you (I think). The suggestion of looking for signs to take him out, rather than clinically on the hour (which we had originally intended to do, after reading a 'How to Housetrain in a Week' type books) was from our breeder. But I take your advice on board, thanks.

we have quite a foxy garden and it’s been fine for us - it’s more parks etc.

the longest I waited outside for a pee was on day 1 and it was 3 hours. If you need to go back in, go back in for a couple of mins to do what you need to do, then back out again.

if you catch him mid pee inside it’s a good thing. Pick him up and out so he can associate it as he’s doing it. Even a minute after and he won’t understand.

you can also hang bells over the handle of your outside door. Don’t just leave it open. The bells will jingle whenever the door opens. He will eventually nose the bells to make them ring and you’ll open the door.

again, this wouldn’t happen overnight but it can help in a week or so as you can miss an early cue of him just looking at the door.

Dont let these early days stress you out. Puppies have accidents, that’s why they look so sweet. You are his everything - just help him learn. It takes a lot of kitchen towel and some zen thinking (and anti chew spray) but spaniels pick things up quickly.

We took our pup out every 15 mins and wrote down the time every time she went for a wee (in or out). If she had a wee inside, we took her straight outside for a few minutes. Big celebrations for wees outside. We also trained going to the toilet to a word, so while she doesn’t go on command we can now ask if she wants the toilet and she’ll head for the door if she does and ignores us if she doesn’t.

We also fenced off a boring bit of the garden so she didn’t get distracted by all
the smells (she still does this now she’s 3 but a quick reminder of “toilet” gets her back on track nowadays 😂).

There were a lot of inside accidents at the start and it took weeks until we started to see a pattern and could predict when she might need a wee. If we thought she needed the toilet and didn’t go within ten mins of being out, we would hold her inside and not put her down for 5 mins then go back out and try again so she didn’t have the opportunity to go inside.

He’s 9 weeks old …..

Top bitch indeed.

Op it will get easier!! So much patience, lots of praise, ignore the accidents. And yes, stay outside until pup goes. Go out ever 20 minutes. Stick at it.

What is the point of this sneering response? Everyone is a first time puppy owner at some point. Don’t be a wanker.

Thank you all for constructive advice! We are all trying and learning, and I want to do the very best for our sweet pup. It's just hard when you read lots of (often conflicting) advice and try to figure out what is best.

Really appreciate all the help - will keep trying and am sure it will all work out. I'll ditch the collar and lead for now (again, advice from elsewhere to keep the circle of activity/space tighter), and not be worried if takes longer than 30mins before they go.

What sort of a spaniel is your puppy?

We have a springer and consistently took her out regularly. To begin with, she was very confused when we took her outside and often just sat on our feet but we also associated a phrase for going to the toilet such as "go pee pee" and say it as she did the action and she would get lots and lots of praise . Eventually we were able to take her outside and say the phrase and she knew what she needed to do.

If she did have an accident indoors, we just picked her up straight away and took her to the spot outside where she was meant to go- no praise. They learn that they get praise for going outside but no praise for going inside. Our springer got the hang of it very quickly.

We also set an alarm to take her out in the middle of the night so she knew she had somewhere to go. It was tough but that's what you take on when getting a dog.

Have you had a pup before, OP?

Toilet training is a long and frustrating process. In my experience, even establishing a good routine from very early on, they don’t really “get it” about they’re about 7 months.

It’s all about consistency and routine, but requires masses of patience. My mantra has always been that a wet floor isn’t the fault of the puppy, it’s the fault of the human who didn’t bring him/her out on time.

Lots of kitchen roll and those antibacterial pet sprays!

@MoustacheTwirler I think this is what has been driving me insane about toilet training, all the different advice! Our breeder told us to crate the puppy and leave him overnight - not to go to him if he cries, not to take him to the toilet. I didn't want to do this originally - I had set alarms for 1am and 3am, but she was adamant. I have webpage after webpage open on toilet training and routines - all the advice is driving me doolally!

What time did your pup go to bed / wake up and when was the mid-night toilet time?

Thank you @Clymene - I think you are right about the collar and lead being confusing.

Toilet training is basically just loads of hanging about outside tbh, you take them out when they’re likely to need the toilet and often enough and for long enough that they don’t really get much option other than to go outside and then you reward it... until they start to realise there’s a pattern.

Thats honestly it, no magic tips or tricks.

You will start to notice signs he might need, but not in the first few days, it’s usually just a case of less accidents inside as you both get into a routine, then at some point they click they they’re going out to go the toilet and then at some point after that they’ll start doing something to get you to let them out to toilet.

Whatever.

Everyone who gets a pup knows they need toilet training 🙄

I'd never leave a pup to soil in it's crate
a) it's cruel to make them sleep where they've messed and they really don't want to do it.
b) it gets them into the habit of toiletting in the house.

Both our pups only ever had a handful of accidents in the house, none overnight. We just took them out regularly, and praised when they went. For overnights for the first week we were probably taking them out twice a night, then once a night for another couple of weeks. By 12 weeks they were consistently sleeping through from 10pm to 6am

Thanks @OpalescentFly - this was my feeling. Could I ask, because pup is getting used to crate training, he is crying a bit as he gets used to it.

If I put him to sleep in his crate at say 10pm, and then take him out to pee a couple of hours later, and then again 2 hours after that - will he ever sleep properly? I'm nervous he will be fully awake and then cry/howl and never get to sleep

One thing that has always worked for us with our training is that when the pup wakes up from nap, right outside. When the pup had a case of the zoomies or just played hard with our other dog.. straight outside. We used crate training only for the time we had to nip out, only for an hour or so when he was little, and the rest of the time his crate was open with toys and blankets and he often took himself off there anyway. We did the thing alot of people hate! Our dogs sleep on our bed. He started coming into our bed overnight at about 6 weeks old (no worries, his mother is ours also and sleeping right there with him) took him out at midnight and 5 am for a few weeks. Now he goes to bed with us around 9 or 10 and sleeps through until we wake at 5 or 6 ish (at least they do, us.. well they are big dogs and seem to think they can lay on us lol) We were lucky as he had his mother to help train him (she also helped with the rest of the litter until they left to their forever homes, they were already puppy pad trained and started outside also! Puppy stage is challenging but then they look at you with the big loving eyes and you are hooked for life lol. Enjoy your pup, It will get easier.

Aww we have a spaniel puppy they are the best, you will be in and out to pee all day. Take your pup out every 30 minutes i lifted mine out for the first day or so, they are pee, deamons though and will pee just after you have taken them out, just be patient.