Toilet training

[Murphys Law]

With any of my previous dogs, toilet training has never been an issue. A couple of weeks and they have been pretty much sorted. Millie has been with us for 10 weeks now and we are not getting anywhere at all.

She is a clever little dog that picks things up very quickly but not where she should be going to the toilet.

She always goes to the back door but if you are not there to let her out within a couple of seconds she will just go by the door.

In the garden, if I tell her 'go toilet' Millie will instantly squat and have a little wee. Loads of praise and a treat. But 10 minutes later she will have a great big wee by the door.

I don't seem to be making any progress.

[Mudmagnets]

Do you take her out in the garden by herself? I found with Branston, especially in the early weeks and particularly at night, that if Minstrel was out there, Branston was far too interested in what he was doing to concentrate  altho saying that, if they were out there together during the day and Minstrel 'went' I would praise him and Branston not wanting to be left out - would go too.

[daw]

Also the, er, muscle involved matures at very different rates per puppy. One of ours took much longer but that was because my vet explained his muscle wasn't strong enough to 'hold' it yet. We just kept on with the praise thing and it did work in the end. (He was also the one who therefore had excitement puddles- if someone came to the house it was a case of don't fuss him him don't fuss him...oh, too late!  )

[Murphys Law]

Millie can hold on for 10 hours over night. I'm sure she pretends to have a wee outside just so she can have a treat.

[its.sme]

Millie can hold on for 10 hours over night. I'm sure she pretends to have a wee outside just so she can have a treat.

I'm convinced Bea does this !

We always ask her to go before she gets in the car, she squats but I'm not convinced she actually wee's.

[PennyB]

Millie can hold on for 10 hours over night. I'm sure she pretends to have a wee outside just so she can have a treat.

Am sure Stella used to do this for me not for a treat as I never gave them but for the praise as am sure she would squat and no pee came out then she'd go near the door - she took an absolute age to housetrain and was worse when it was raining - she would squat so low she practically touched the ground so if it was wet already she preferred to go in the kitchen (her cousin Bosley housetrained himself within a week so put her to shame or was it my shame as she really wouldn't do it)

[twiceover2]

It can sometimes feel like they will never get it, can't it, but eventually they all do?  We adopted a 2-year-old dog back in April and toilet training was really hard.  He would mainly go outside but then just as we thought he was getting it, we would be back to accidents all over the house.  It is only for the about the last three months that I have felt confident that we can go out and leave him or even be in a different room for a while and not discover a little puddle.  Hang in there.  It will all suddenly click and fall into place.

[bizzylizzy]

I can second that. Humphrey seemed to take an age - he too, would go 8 or so hours at night but in the day he made no attempt to tell us when he needn't to go but then, literally, from one day to the next it clicked. We always stayed outside with him, gave him lots of praise and treats when he performed. I think the turning point was, to be honest, actually catching him in the act in the house, scooping him up and taking him out, - he finally seemed to realize what it was all about. I do think its just patience really, some manage it in a couple of days, others take weeks, but they all get there in the end. Human children are no different. Good Luck anyway - maybe she's saving the "success " as a surprise Christmas present for you!