How to toilet train your puppy or adult dog.

Valuable training articles posted by Victoria and other Positively members.

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elliejay
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 6:31 am

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

Post by elliejay »

I've had no success at all with a crate but I will give it another go, anything...
If I do manage to settle her what happens if she needs a wee ?
From experience she will wee on her bed if she's desperate, in fact that's what she thinks crates are for. I've tried introducing her to a crate that has lovely soft bedding and she promptly wees on it.
I think it stems from when she was a tiny puppy, the breeder didn't ever take her outside and she was kept in a confined area with vetbed covering the whole area, she therefore must have had to relieve herself there. Now if she sees anything which resembles vetbed she will wee on it.
When we first had her and were told not to take her outside we had a playpen with defined areas for sleeping eating and toileting but she always used the bedding area as a toilet !
Even now when she has a larger area she has been known to wee right next to her bed so that the wee soaks into it
I know it gets more complicated, is it worth getting a dog behaviourist ?
Ellie
jakesmom
Posts: 459
Joined: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:35 pm

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

Post by jakesmom »

Hello Elliejay
elliejay wrote:I tried not putting the puppy pad down last night.
When she got up I immediately got up and tried to persuade her to come downstairs, she was having none of it, she refused to move off the top landing even when I put a lead on her.
I managed to carry down one flight of stairs and wake my husband who is deaf, he carried her down the next flight and took her outside.
Am I to take it, that she did wake for a wee, didn't wee in her bed, and was willing to come downstairs as long as you carried her ? Or am I misreading that ?

And what do you think she would have done if you had gone downstairs without her ?

If your bedroom carpet was covered in plastic, what do you think she would do if she needed a pee and there was no puppy pad available, because I think I'd temporarily remove any rugs, then cover all the carpets availbale to her with the plastic that sticks to the carpets, the type you use when your decorating.(As an added bonus, apparently it cleans the carpets when you remove it)

As there will then be no absorbant surfaces to pee on, hopefully she will be more inclined to go outside, or at least go back to the puppy pads. Then perhaps put the puppy pads just outside the back door, and take her out hourly.

At 8 months old I'd have thought she would be able to go through the night provided she goes before bedtime.

Edited to add. The carpet protector is called "Packexe" if you want to do a search.
elliejay
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 6:31 am

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

Post by elliejay »

Thank you Jakesmom
I am looking into the plastic covering you suggest. Unfortunately although I have been able to remove rugs from the bedroom, the landing and stairs are fitted carpet.
If I'd gone down without her she would definitely have weed on the stair carpet.
She probably would go through the night if we could persuade her to go out to do a wee/poo last thing, but when we take her outside she does nothing and asks to come back inside. We have tried taking her back in and then straight out again but there is a limit to how many times you can do that when all you want to do is go to bed !
I have bought a copy of "It's me or the dog" and am trying the method of keeping taking her outside 'til she goes. We succeeded once but even though we really praised her she still doesn't seem to know the difference between inside and out and expects a treat for going anywhere !
Now we have removed every bit of rug/carpet that we can she is now weeing on the wooden floorboards or the tiles.
Ellie
stonyboys
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:18 pm

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

Post by stonyboys »

Hey guys, just a question. You recommend not to yell at the dog when he tries to go inside, but in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX7-h6Yw ... age#t=134s Victoria seems to be doing just that. Did I misunderstand what you guys recommended or...?
psychicdeb
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 5:32 pm

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

Post by psychicdeb »

Hello,
I have read all the stories and remarks about potty training. However, I have tried all of them. I recently adopted my Chocolate Lab "Mocha" from the local Shelter May 2, 2011. They had him listed as a stray picked up. There are times in which he will potty outside, in which I give extreme amounts of praise. However,a majority of the time, he relieves himself in the house. It is driving me insane! I called the local vet- thinking there may be something wrong- and they told me to decrease the amount of food and water intake- cause he was leaving mounds of pooh all over the place and seemed like about 5 gallons of urine. They also told me that there was one major issue with Chocolate labs, they were a little messed up in the head. I am pretty sure they were joking, however this dog is so very extremely smart! He has learned tricks within 2 minutes of training..including leave it and stay. The vet says he is approx. 1 1/2 yrs in age and is in good health. Whenever someone is not paying attention to him, he will grab something- knowing that he isn't suppose to- and takes off running so we have to give chase. I am legally disabled and cannot afford a crate for him. He was 94.7 lbs when I took him to the vet. When I got him from the Shelter- he was suppose to be neutered, but wasn't....so I took him and had that done May 25, 2011. So, I don't believe this is a matter of marking his territory any longer.

Another issue is: this dog hates rain....a Lab that hates rain??? If the porch is wet, he won't go on it. I have given him a bath before and he did fine, but he won't go outside if it has finished raining. Has anyone ever heard of this? I haven't attempted to take him to the lake yet- almost afraid to. He plays with my younger cat, but he tries to attack the older one. I am thinking that is the alpha in him....or survival of the fittest scenario. He also has severe separation anxiety. I cannot leave the house without him barking until I return- even with my son home with him. He has made it impossible for us to go anywhere together (my son and I). I have put a lot of money into this dog, but I don't know what to do. I am not physically able to take him out every hour and he won't go out with my son- unless he has the reward baggy. Heck, even when I do take him outside, he won't leave the porch unless I go all the way to the bottom of the ramp. I need help, or this dog is going to have to go somewhere else. Before someone says close him in a room..all my rooms of my house are carpeted. He knows hand signals for all the commands we have taught him. I am at my wits end! Is he too smart? Beginning to think he is smarter than I am..ugh!

Thank you all so much for any advice you may give or help me find a solution :)

Love,
psychicdeb
chay
Posts: 352
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:58 pm

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

Post by chay »

stonyboys wrote:Hey guys, just a question. You recommend not to yell at the dog when he tries to go inside, but in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX7-h6Yw ... age#t=134s Victoria seems to be doing just that. Did I misunderstand what you guys recommended or...?
hi stonyboys! i can't watch the clip i'm sorry (i'm at work, shh!) but i did see the date on the video is from 2006. victoria has previously mentioned she has used some approaches on IMOTD that she would not employ now - sound aversion was one of these methods. so it may be that while she appears to yell (or interrupt the dog with a loud sound?), it's probably not something she would advise now with more up to date learning and knowledge, which is also what is most often suggested on these boards :)

(someone else who can watch the video with sound, please feel free to correct me!)

psychicdeb - may i suggest you copy your post and open a new thread in the "dog training advice" forum where it may get some more active attention. can you give some more information (in that thread) about your dog's daily life - include exercise (both physical and mental), diet, sleeping/waking routine, everything helps :)
amnagy
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 8:50 am

Adult rescue Beagle toileting in the house

Post by amnagy »

Hello,

I have read the toileting thread. We do or have done 90% of what is on there. We have had our 9 yr old dog for 2.5 years and she has really turned out to be an otherwise good and loving dog. She only goes when we are not home. She is a nervous dog. Thunderstorms send her over the moon. Vet has put her on Reconcile - I give her 1/2 tab each day. That initially helped the toileting only. However now she is at it again. I praise, I have treated, (now erattically). We are tired of cleaning up...now, though she poops and pees in the bathroom. At least it is easier to clean.
Thank you in advance for any help.
A. M.
chay
Posts: 352
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:58 pm

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

Post by chay »

hello amnagy, how long is your dog left alone for in the house when this happens? did you teach her specifically to go in the bathroom or did she start doing that herself?
Emmaloo
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:54 pm

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

Post by Emmaloo »

Thanks for this, Mattie. My 5-year-old terrier mix rescue (she looks like a Brussels Griffon but we're not sure) has been weeing in the house, though the shelter told us she was house-trained. She actually exhibits traits I associate with proper house training, like going right away when we take her out, and going to the back door 9 times out of 10. And, to be fair, we've only had her a couple days and she's peed in the house twice. (She tried one other time but I caught her and whisked her outdoors.) So should I start from scratch, or does this sound like it's just nerves and adjustment?
Erica
Posts: 2697
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

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

Post by Erica »

Best to start from scratch - no harm done if she is house trained and accidents avoided if she's not 100% :)
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Emmaloo
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:54 pm

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

Post by Emmaloo »

Good point, Erica! So then one more question: this "take a few days" bit, does that mean I should take time off work and keep a hawk-eye on Lily, or just that when I'm home, like say over the weekend, that I should keep a sort of casual eye on her? I'll happily take the days off if I need to, but I'm not sure what level of attention I should be paying to her, you know?
WufWuf
Posts: 1371
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:53 am

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

Post by WufWuf »

Personally I'd be doing the hawk eye bit with any new dog for the first few days at least! It's best to get a good start and not let the wrong habits form now. :wink: I'd take her outside every hour for the first day or so then every 2 hours and try and get a feel for her toilet schedule.
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
XXpuppyloveXX
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 1:03 pm

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

Post by XXpuppyloveXX »

Hi all,
I have been reading some of your advice on potty training and it sounds great , I haven't had a chance to read all of it yet but I will do...

just had one Question for ya, my dog is a cross between a cocker spaniel and a king charles, she is 11months old, I TAUGHT she was trained as we were having no accidents at all in the house and she always goes to the back door and taps it when she wants to go out, everything was fine, nice clean house! she sleeps in her crate at night time and when she was younger she would sleep her in crate while I was working, when she was about 9 months old I started leaving her out of her crate when I went to work and everythin was fine until all the sudden I came home to a little prezzie from her :lol: It was a once off so I carried on leaving her out of her crate while I was working but lately Im coming home to a little prezzie everyday, she is only on her own for 4 hours,

I was wondering should I start putting her back in her crate while Im at work or have you any other suggestions? I have been leaving her with kongs and toys and that while Im in work but she doen't touch them until I come home so was thinking maybe she is stressed been on her own or something like that, any advice please would be great

thanks
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

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

Post by Nettle »

Do you walk her before work? I mean a REAL walk? She may simply not be emptied out by the time you leave.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
XXpuppyloveXX
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 1:03 pm

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

Post by XXpuppyloveXX »

no not a REAL walk, she just gets about 15/20mins so i will try to walk her for longer to see will that help, I also dont take back up her food so she can eat whatever time she likes! so I am going start taking back her food at 5pm-6pm so she is not eating too late to see will that help the situation, thanks Nettle
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