Now Toby's home - housetraining, and where to start!!!

[mariona]

At last Toby is with us - fantastic but exhausting, with 2 kids as well who won't leave him alone!  Cant seem to get into a routing with this housetraining lark - he goes fairly randomly on paper or the floor, usually just AFTER we've been standing for sometimes up to 10 minutes with him outside (cold, dark, raining, this morning sunny and snowing)!  Just too many distractions out in the garden (especially all the crab apples which get shaken off the tree by the starlings - are these harmful to pups if chewed or digested?)  Also, I can't tell if he's doing a wee outside or not - he spends so much time sort of crouching on the ground looking up at me, could also be doing a wee?  So don't know when to praise!  Then just decide its time to take him outside for another go (about an hour later?) when I find a recent puddle on the paper in his pen - should I still take him out, or wait another hour?  Also with poo, he seems to circle, sniff and squat so quickly that I can't get to him from across the room, especially if I'm sorting the kids out and need to detach myself from them too!  I can't believe I'll ever be able to let him into a carpetted room at this rate,although I know its not even 24 hours yet...

He's dead cute, though!!

[skyesmum]

Hi there

I have Skye (solid black show cocker) now 8 months old. 

I know how you feel - I was all over the place at the start too - but he's just a weeny baby and will take some settling in to his new surroundings.

I wouldn't worry too much at the moment!

Just give him lots of love and lots of praise when he does something right.  He'll soon get the hang of it!

Good luck with everything!  Can we have some pictures!   

[bibathediva]

they will be a bit unsettled for the first day or so but you will soon find a pattern emerging of wee/poo times...after food/after sleep/after play and anytime in between 
have you tried giving a command when outside such as...go wee...be quick...whatever suits you....they soon catch on to what that means 
and praise and treat after
at the beginning you do feel you are outside more than in but with persistence it does get better
we have had Lola a week and she will go about 1/2 of the time on the command and then the little devil will run over and sit down for a treat 

[Jane S]

There are lots of threads about toilet training on this board so if you do a Search, you'll find plenty of advice to help you We also have a FAQ article on the same subject HERE

[floydlennon]

floyd cottoned on to the praise and the treats for goin out side he would squat squeeze out a bit then 2 secs later do the same he was gettin about 5 treats a time so we started lettin him do what he needed then bringin him in and praisin him and givin one treat and he has got the hang off it ok

[jakesmum]

When I first got Jake I was told he was doing really well with paper training...well I saw absolutely no evidence of that, but put it down to the upheaval of taking him away from mum. At first it was difficult to tell if he was going to 'go' and I was forever jumping up, picking him up and putting him outside. But you soon do get to know those telltale signs.

I did the reward thing for going outside too and yes, I had the same trouble, with Jake wanting to go out every 5 minutes then racing back in and thinking he'd get a biscuit. He even started waking me in the night to go out. So: no biscuits at nighttime!!

Anyway, although we still have the odd accident if Jake is left alone whilst I'm at work (I was able to leave a door open until recently, but now it's too cold & wet) but all the stress of housetraining feels like ages ago.

Keep at it, don't expect too much too quickly, and your wee one will be housetrained before you know it.

Good luck

[mariona]

Thanks everyone - I guess I just want it all to happen instantly!  Its just knowing when he has actually done something outside which is hard, so don't know when to reward him!  He did do it once today, but only once, and the rest of the day he spent ages outside, wanting to play, or sitting down next to me very obediently, as if we were queuing for something!.  Then bingo, as soon as we come in, its wee on the paper (at least on paper, not the floor).  Makes no difference whether we're out for 10 mins or 45, by which time we were both shivering, so it can't be that I'm not waiting long enough, or can it?

At least he slept through last night (his first night here!) without a whimper or a whine.  Not that I did - I think I was waiting for himn to make a noise and wake everyone! 

I'll try with the photos - but I'm not very good with technology, and can't imagine when I'll have a spare moment to work out how to do it!

[Sian P]

Just wanted to add that sometimes paper can confuse them cos of the inside AND outside thing and in the end we gave up on paper, accepted accidents more readily and concentrated on training ourseves to let him out loads! It worked for us anyway. 

[Aearoniel]

Same idea here about paper, it really confuses training IMO first it's ok to go inside on paper then it's not, might as well miss that step and go straight outside

[Robbie34]

Just wanted to add that sometimes paper can confuse them cos of the inside AND outside thing and in the end we gave up on paper, accepted accidents more readily and concentrated on training ourseves to let him out loads! It worked for us anyway. 

This is really the only way to do it.  He'll learn eventually, and as Sian says, you'll confuse him.

It can be cold and wet, particularly at this time of the year, but it's worthwhile.  Why not take a torch with you when you go outside to see if he's performed?  

He's obviously learning if he's running in for a biscuit.

[mariona]

Just thought I'd let you know - he's doing much better today, probably 50:50 inside and outside, but inside always on those puppy mats (I've gone for those now rather than paper, which made too much mess).  I thought that may have confused him a bit, but he seems fine on it, and is only going inside his pen (not his crate).  Someone suggested covering his area with these mats, then once he has the hand of using them, to take one away each day, til finally there's only one left which can be moved closer and closer to the back door.  May be worth a go to reduce the accidents indoors.

Thanks for all the advice - I just wish the weather would change for the better! (I still have plenty of wet paper to clear up - wet puppy feet after being outside