toilet training

Emma&Tess · Post by **Emma&Tess** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 4:37 pm

Hi all
Does any one have any tips on training my German Shepherd puppy to go
to the toilet in the same place outside.

Thanks

Fundog · Post by **Fundog** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:45 pm

How old is he/she? How long have you had the puppy? What are you currently doing in your training right now, and what kind of problems are you seeing? How often are the mistakes occurring? When do they happen/under what circumstances, and how do you react when they do?

Aside from those answers, we all recommend taking the puppy out very very frequently-- like every half hour, before and after sleep sessions, before and after play, after meals, before and after walks, etc. If you need to, keep him tethered to you while in the house so you can watch him better. And to ensure that he goes in the same designated spot in the yard, take him out on leash. This will ensure that he goes where you want him to, and also will train him to go on-leash in the event of travel, in the park, in other places where letting off-lead is not possible, etc. And accompanying your puppy during the training phase is always recommended anyway, so you can see that he actually went, what, how much, the consistency, color, and be alert to any other eliminating problems he might or might not have, that could be a clue to a health condition.

Emma&Tess · Post by **Emma&Tess** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:14 am

She is 12 weeks old. We have had her for 2 weeks. It is very rare that she will do a puddle inside. But I am trying to get her to toilet in the same spot outside. So that their won't be brown patches on the lawn and it will be easier to pick up her poo. When she makes a mistake we just ignore her and clean it up. Thank you for the tips.

Mattie · Post by **Mattie** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:44 am

Do a search, there are lots of threads on toilet training, I have to go out now so can't type the instructions out at the moment.

Fundog · Post by **Fundog** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:59 am

Oh, and I keep forgetting one very important thing: When she goes where you want her to, praise, praise, praise! Get really excited about it.

emmabeth · Post by **emmabeth** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 2:06 pm

Until she has got the hang of only going outside, and holding on to go outside - i would reward ALL outside toilets really well, regardless of whether they are in the right place outside.

Once you have that sorted, then refine it to the place you really prefer her to use.

At this stage i would do no more than attempt to gently engineer things so thats shes usually in or around that particular spot outside. If she goes in another spot outside, reward really well anyway.

If you try to withhold reward for going outside, but not in the right place outside, you will just slow down the whole 'going outside' process.