Do you remember that I told you that my little brother Mint never missed the toilet training pads when he did pee or poo in his puppy pen? But, things haven't been going so well since then.
Mint at 9 weeks old (a week ago)
Our humans have been trying hard to teach him where his toilet is, but he more than often forgets to go back there and pees on the kitchen floor. Whenever his behaviour shows that he wants to go to toilet, Mum takes him to his toilet training pads, but he doesn't want to stay there, and instead he pees at a different spot. What is worse is that now he often pees just outside the toilet training pad, when he is inside the puppy pen, as if he was testing our humans to see how they would respond.
Mum takes him to his toilet area out in the garden every hour, but he often pees much more frequently, perhaps because he drinks so much water! Should they limit the amount of water Mint drinks by keeping his water bowl empty sometimes?
Mint's toilet area in the garden
Our humans would appreciate it if you would give them any advice! (While they are focused on Mint's toilet training, they don't give me much attention, which is not good at all!) Or, are they just rushing all too quickly?
Congrats on the new puppy!!
ReplyDeleteI think Mint will get it in time. Wall-e had his forgetful weeks too when he was young. Mint will get it! :)
I think Mint is still quiet young so accidents are bound to happen! :-)
ReplyDeleteBut having said that, I have to say (and this is just my personal opinion) I don't like toilet training pads (or newspapers) because although they are supposed to be an "in-between stage" - they are still teaching the dog that it is OK to toilet INDOORS - and so this can be more confusing for the dog and often make toilet training much longer. The dog thinks "Oh, I mustn't pee indoors - oh, except when I'm standing on those special pads but then - oh, what if one foot is on the pad and one is off...does that mean I can still pee? Oh, I'm confused!" etc) You end up with the puppy sometimes missing the pad and then gradually doing it on the floor next to the pad (as Mint is doing) because the problem with toileting is that it is a self-rewarding thing. So if he is rewarded for doing a pee next to the pad (just by the action itself, because he feels relief from bladder pressure) then he will do it again. Also, the smell on the pad may be too close to the floor - so he gets confused. It is not as obvious as the smell OUTSIDE Vs. NO pee/poo smell in the house. Ever. Much better just start from the beginning with the simple rule of all toileting has to be done outdoors.
For most people, the problem of taking a dog outside often is that they are not around at home - but you haven't got that problem. So you should just be taking Mint out mroe often and never letting him have a chance to toilet in the house. What he doesn't have a chance to do, he will never learn as a bad habit. When Honey was that age, we were taking her out about every 1/2hr - just to make sure that we never miss the chance! We also use a specific toileting command as she is peeing/pooing which is very useful to teach - and reward with praise/treats after she has performed on her special spot. The key to successful toilet training is constant supervision and frequent trips outside. Honey had 3 accidents indoors in her entire time and was toilet trained by about 12 weeks - but I was lucky to be off-work at home during that crucial early time.
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ReplyDeleteThe other reason having an option to toilet indoors is bad is that it never teaches the puppy to "hold" his bladder. That is ultimately what successful toilet training is about. IT is not just teaching a dog to go in the correct place but also teaching a dog to "hold it" until he gets the opportunity to go in the correct place. Like us humans - our children are taught to "hold it" until there is a toilet available - they don't just squat and go anywhere they like! Puppies should have good bladder control by the time they are 14-16 weeks and should be able to go through the night without needing the toilet - if they are taught to hold it. The problem is a lot of people don't teach it so even when the dog is adult, it never learns to hold itself and that's why they keep having accidents.
So when Mint is indoors, he should be encouraged to "hold it" - until he has a chance to go outside and relieve himself. You should definitely not give him the option of toileting in his crate! That would defeat the object of crate-training. The idea is that dogs don't like to soil their bed so the crate encourages him to learn to "hold it" - and it's somewhere you can put him when you can't supervise him, so you know he won't toilet - nutil you take him outside again. If he is toileting in his crate, then it is too big. Put a box in it to block of half of it - it should only be big enough for him to turn around in - very snug. As he grows, you can give him more space.
Finally, about the water- our breeders advised us to take Honey's water bowl away after 7pm to prevent too much water consumption and help her stay through the night...I'm not sure withholding water is a good idea, although I think it should be fine in cool weather. We did do it with Honey and she was fine (not especially thirsty in the mornings) and I know they did it at the pet hotel when they shut all the dogs into their crates at 7pm - until 7am. So if you want, you can remove his water bowl late at night and see if that helps.
At his age, you may need to get up once through the night to take him out for toilet but you should be aiming for him to go through the night by about 16 weeks. If you make his crate small enough and confine him to it, he will make an effort to hold himself until you take him out. This sounds cruel but it's not - we expect the same from our human children! And if you don't "force" him to hold it, his bladder muscles will never develop. Imagine how difficult it will be to take him anywhere if he has to pee constantly! Adult dogs should only be peeing a couple of times a day (except for marking) and ideally, should toilet on command (very useful if you need to take a long car journey and you want them to empty their bladder first!)
Anyway, good luck!
Hsin-Yi
This sure brings back memories of when we were toilet training Kess. To train her to use the toilet outside, we used the dog fence at that area so she couldn't leave the enclosure. Then we did what Hsin Yi mentioned in her comment. We told her to "pee" or "poo", and then we would just sit and wait until she did so, and then rewarded her with praises. During the night, when we heard her whine after waking up from her sleep, we quickly took her out to the enclosure. (yeah...even at 2.30 am!). Generally, it worked for us as Kess knows she can only pee in the garden. We were not able to get her to pee only at one spot in the garden, hence we have dead patches of grass everywhere, but we can live with that. All the best with Mint! He is so adorable.
ReplyDeleteHang in there. Mint will learn soon.
ReplyDeleteI never raised Sapphire as a pup but did toilet train her as an adult. I make sure that her pee/poop scent is left in one particular area on our front porch- and really cleaned up the rest of the area (with garbage enzyme- it really works). She used to poop EVERYWHERE but no longer. Still, occasionally, mistakes happens.
Mint is SOOOO adorable! It's ok Cinnamon, your bro needs to toilet train for now (:
My goodness - Honey always gives the best advice! I've never toilet trained a puppy but Marge did have a "clean" stage when she first came home, and then started having accidents.. we spent a lot of time outdoors and made tons of trips to the yard to try to ensure that's where she went.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Sorry, I can't think of any advice on account of I am overwhelmed by Mint's cuteness.
ReplyDeleteYes, limit water. We don't know how often or how much but we know that feeding twice or 3 times a day, take a puppy out 45 min. later to poop. There must be an equivalent with water for puppies. Mint is so cute.
ReplyDeletelove & wags,
River
Hmm potty training...
ReplyDeleteDo you use a crate? They are one of the easiest ways to toilet train. Both Lexi and Jasper were pretty much toliet trained within two weeks of getting them, and both only ever toileted inside twice. We toilet train our Mobility dog puppies with crates. I won't explain now, it would be better over the phone or in person. So if you would like some more help with toilet training just drop me an email or visit Lexi's blog.
Laura, Lexi's Mum
We have a friend who tried to pee pee train inside his wire crate and wound up just squirting out through the sides of the crate. Ick. Just do what Honey says. She is most wise.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would always take the pup out more rather than limit water supply.
Mango Momma
Hi Mint.. we understand your mom's concern about your peepee training but you're still pup! We're sure you'll learn it no time.
ReplyDeleteMomo & Pinot
Hi there Cinnamon,
ReplyDeleteWe'd listen to Honey's advice as well. We are also in the look out for tips since we got newborn piappies right now.
One thing for sure, we would like to request you to train us for modeling! How do you pose perfectly for the flashy box?!
Mint is too adorable for words as well.
-Fudgie, Princess, Frappie, Mocha, Sugar, Wai-Pai, Wai-Max & the Piappies
Honey has given you great advice so I won't repeat what she said, but I completely agree about the pee pads. I don't like to use them and I think it sends the wrong message. The only time I would restrict water is a couple of hours before bed to help him hold it during the night. I also think Jackal was harder to toilet train than Storm (maybe a boy thing?) so have patience. :) Good luck!!
ReplyDelete