How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

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minkee
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by minkee »

'Free-feeding' as it is called can be stressful for dogs - they can feel like they constantly have to be aware of who or what is near their food. Most find it much more pleasant to be a fed a meal, which they eat, which is then removed so they don't have to think about it anymore. Likewise, this way you can keep tabs of how much she eats, and you'll also find that regular meal times make for regular evacuations :) Win / win / win situation!
XXpuppyloveXX
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by XXpuppyloveXX »

thnks minkee
yeah i started doing that and so far we have no more accidents so happy days! :) thanks again
doggiedad
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by doggiedad »

1>>> i've paper trained dogs in the past. the transition to outdoors was easy.

8>>>> i've never had a problem with my dogs from cleaning up in front of them
and that doesn't matter if it's food , water ot potty.

7>>>> i don't think there's a set time to take a dog out.
you have to do what works for you and your dog.
Last edited by doggiedad on Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
doggiedad
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by doggiedad »

i've never heard that free fedding can be stressful. i doubt a dog is thinking constantly about it's food
bowl when you free feed. how do you know what method of feeding most dogs prefer? when you free
feed you know how much you're putting in the bowl so you know how much they've eaten.
minkee wrote:'Free-feeding' as it is called can be stressful for dogs - they can feel like they constantly have to be aware of who or what is near their food. Most find it much more pleasant to be a fed a meal, which they eat, which is then removed so they don't have to think about it anymore. Likewise, this way you can keep tabs of how much she eats, and you'll also find that regular meal times make for regular evacuations :) Win / win / win situation!
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Nettle
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by Nettle »

Dogs that are prone to food-guarding can get very stressed out by free-feeding, and in multi-dog households it can cause stress if one dog tries to bully another when it eats. Also with multi-dog households you don't get a clear idea of how much any dog is eating until they lose/gain weight visibly. It then becomes difficult to regulate the intake.

My main reason for discouraging free feeding is that dogs shouldn't be exercised on full stomachs, and often the owner doesn't know if the dog has filled-up just before the walk. That and the fact that hungry dogs are much keener to work for food rewards :lol: so training is much easier.
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Aychceeare
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by Aychceeare »

I have a four and a half month old female Lab/Springer Spaniel mix who seems to have grasped the idea of housebreaking but we are having a couple issues. Kya has been excellent with her potty training in that she has never had an accident in her crate (at night) or the kitchen (where she is confined if left home alone) and she has only ever had a pee accident, never a poo. However, Kya has not grasped that the living room and my roommate's bedroom are not her potty areas. For instance, this evening while playing with my roommate's older dog, Kya stopped right there in the middle of what she was doing and peed on my roommate's bed and on top of that she had just been outside 10 minutes earlier and went potty. She doesn't give any sort of warning that she needs to go, no sniffing around, etc; she just immediately goes wherever she is. I am at a loss of what to do. I know she understands that she is never to poo in the house but why doesn't she feel the same way about peeing in the house? I have only ever corrected her by immediately taking her out to her potty area. She receives plenty of exercise and doesn't have any other bad habits but this is tough. Any help would be appreciated.
girlofsparks
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by girlofsparks »

I received my Wire Haired Fox Terrier already trained to go on the pee pads. I was very concerned about this and was not aware that this was going to happen. The breeder didn't tell me about this sticky issue. I love Sheldon and want him to be successful at going to the toliet outside. How do I proceed? I'm so nervous about this. I'm currently not working right now so I have time to spare training him. Is there anything I should do differently? When he does go to the toliet on the pee pad I'm not sure if I should interupt him because I would prefer that he go there versus the hardwood floors. Sigh. I have had dogs before and never had an issue with training them to go outside. But this one is stubborn about doing both indoors and outside. We take him out twice in the middle of the night, and right when we get up in the morning before feeding him. I take him out almost every hour. (this isn't precise, I should probably set an alarm) Is there any hope for me? Please don't tell me that the breeder has ruined his chances of going potty outside.

Also can you recommend a cleaner for hardwood floors that is not going to ruin it?
jellybean
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by jellybean »

I have started applying a technique I learned in another context. First, when you praise and reward your pup, don't limit yourself to a single treat or two. Give it lots of treats, a dozen or more, so that the even is really memorable for him/her. Secondly, when treating for going potty in the right place,, treat the pup at that place, not, for example, when she comes back inside. The treat should be associated with the right spot, so you must go outside with your dog to the right spot and have plenty of treats on hand. I don't let her wander free around the house anymore until she has peed and pooped. If she doesn't go when I think she should, she's confined to her crate which she doesn't seem to mind anymore.

After spraying hard wood floor with an odor eater like Nature's Miracle ( it comes in a spray formula for hardwood floors) best clean up is wood soap, I think
robb
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by robb »

I've read the thread and am doing as is suggested with my 9 week old, I just have a couple of questions:

1) I'm taking her out every 45mins but we get as far as the back door and she stops and doesn't want to go out, I offer big encouragement and through the day she will normally go out and pee. At night, I tend to have to lift her up and put her out, she will then toilet outside - I feel I may be setting a bad president here and as she gets bigger it'll become more of a problem but left to her own devices she would rather head back inside and do it in the hallway. Is it OK to lift her out, it doesn't appear to stress her at all but just want to make sure I'm not breaking a golden rule.

2) we have had the odd accident, some days none otherdays one wee, how much does this put us back - btw she never does a double wee and if she needs to poo she will rarely do a wee, I usually have to bring her in and take her back out in about 10mins to finish the job. I've tried staying out with her but this doesn't work she just plays. Again is this a problem?

3) Is it true that around 12 weeks I should be increasing the time to closer to 2 hours inbetween outside visits.

4) We are clean and dry though the night, she wakes me if she needs to go during the night which is perfect, at what age will she start to do that as the norm?

Any advice/guidance welcome
Sanna
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by Sanna »

Hey Robb, I can only tell you how we did it but here are my thoughts:

1. Mine was the same, at night I often had to physically carry him out and put him on the grass. I think he was just too sleepy to bother.. I'm assuming you mean in the evening before bed as you say she sleeps thru the night? I don't think you should worry. He got used to coming outside on his own accord before bedtime (even tho I do sometimes have to get a treat out to get him off the sofa if he's really settled..) before he grew too big for me to carry him.

2. So did we. The fewer the better, but I think the odd one at that age is bound to happen! Mine has not had an accident since about 10 weeks old, and I can honestly say when he did it was purely because I wasn't quick enough to see the signs- sometimes I think they just HAVE TO GO, and are almost as surprised as you are :lol: Especially after play or drinking.
You're doing exactly the right thing bringing her back in and then out again if shes getting completely distracted- then have a good playtime once she's completely 'empty' and I'm sure she'll soon start to try and do both as quickly as possible so the fun times can start ;) also, pee and poo are two completely different sensations for dogs, they normally do one and then have a bit of a wander/ sniff around before realising they need the other one..

3. I think that's about right, I think I heard 2 hrs at 3 months and then 1 hr more pr month up to 6-8 hrs. But I don't think that's necessarily the time they won't NEED to go, it's more like the maximum amount of time you can expect them to hold it if crated ;) If you keep a little 'diary' for a few days it may help you work out your dog's rhythm. Mine is 5 1/2 months now, and if I leave it down to him he seems to go every 4 hrs or so.

4. Do you mean when will she sleep the entire night? After 10 or 11 weeks old, mine has woken me once when he had an upset tummy. He sleeps right thru. But I'm very lucky with that, so go with what she needs- if she wakes you up rather than just go then you're doing great!
robb
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by robb »

Sanna wrote:
4. Do you mean when will she sleep the entire night? After 10 or 11 weeks old, mine has woken me once when he had an upset tummy. He sleeps right thru. But I'm very lucky with that, so go with what she needs- if she wakes you up rather than just go then you're doing great!
Hi Sanna

Thanks for your reply, it's nice to get some feedback and reassurance I'm heading along the right lines.

Even the nicest treat wont move my little'un off her beanbag after 9pm at night, she's just so comfy it's hard enough to get her to open her eyes!

What I meant above is that she will either wake me up at between 3-5 am or on a couple of times has slept right through the night, both of which I'm really happy with as she's so young :D but my question is at what age will she start to get full control over her bladder and tell us if she needs to go rather than just going on the floor (like she does through the night). I know it wont be for a good while yet but I'm curious.

I should know this from my older girl but I started her on toileting inside on paper plus she was older than 8 weeks when I got her and my memory must be so bad because I cannot remember just how the transition went :oops:
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Nettle
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by Nettle »

You can't put an age to it. They are all individuals. You sound as if you are both doing fine :)
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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Sanna
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by Sanna »

Aah you mean asking to go out when she needs to in the daytime? Sorry I'm a bit slow today obv.. For starters she needs to fully understand that outside is the place she wants to go, which you're obv teaching her with massive reward for going in the right place (why waste wee inside if it doesn't earn her a reward when outside does ;) )

Some dogs figure out for themselves how to ask to go out- sitting by the door, pawing at the door, barking at the door etc- others may need you to teach them how to ask in order to achieve this as soon as possible. So rather than assume she knows how to ask, you could start teaching her to knock/ ring a bell and voila- door opens! If you need suggestions for how to teach this just ask. Just keep doing what you're doing, giving her massive rewards for going in the right spot, and take her out loads to give her every possible chance of getting it right; and I wouldn't be surprised if she makes the connection pretty soon.

She will probably develop enough bladder control soon to hold it long enough to get to the right place, provided she knows how ;)
MaryAnnKMast
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by MaryAnnKMast »

Hello! I'm new here. I have read the previous posts but I have a question.
My sister found a puppy at work, she rescued her, kept her for about a week (she was infested with fleas so she got her cleaned up & started potty training her).
She was/is very young, probably about 8 weeks now. I've had her for a month. She is extremely smart; she understood "no" just from living with my sister. She has already mastered basic commands, "sit, down, stay."
Our problem...going potty anywhere & everywhere except where she's supposed to. I try to avoid yelling at her. I realize she's very young still. But this morning took the cake...I had her in bed with me (it's the easiest way for me to keep a close eye on her). Well she was laying on my chest/tummy she stood up turned around (I just thought she was adjusting) but she peed right there on my arm!! It didn't even look like she squatted! I read here about not using pads, but I have an adult pom and she never goes outside. So I thought maybe the baby, Daisy would follow suit. It hasn't been working well at all. So we went to taking her out...it's gotten cold and wet and she does NOT want to be out there at all. We go out into the yard put her down, she takes a few steps and goes to the door. As soon as we bring her in...yep she pees on the floor! Our response..."Daisy, no!"
We've tried taking her back out as well as putting her on the puppy pad afterwards.
She has her first check-up coming up this week. Is there something I should be concerned about, or is it just that she's still very young?
Maybe, we're expecting too much from her because she's so smart about other things.
I'm hoping to have her certified as a therapy dog or at the very the least an emotional companion, so getting potty training mastered is essential.
Suggestions?
Suggestions?
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Sabrina
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Re: How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Post by Sabrina »

Hello Mary Ann! I think that you might have more people see your post if you post in the "Dog Training Advice" section. If you repost there, if you could tell us in detail about a typical day for your puppy (the what/when/how/etc of eating, time alone, play time, training, etc - lots of detail is great!) and if you have already had her to the vet, did they find any health issues?

Also, it's best not to react at all to accidents in the house, as this can cause/increase your puppy's anxiety about pottying in front of you anywhere (including outside!).

If your adult dog has an indoor potty spot I image this is very confusing to your pup, as she can smell the adult's pee/poo inside (even if you can't any longer). Could you detail the potty set-up for your adult dog? Is it in an area your pup has access to?
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