# Problems toilet training 5 month old Bichon Frise



## wirralmum (Jul 15, 2014)

Hi all

As per title, I am having problems toilet training my 5 month old Bichon Frise. We've had her since 8 weeks old and began training straight away.

We are in an upstairs flat so the plan was/is for her to do her business on a puppy mat in the bathroom (which is large). We take her to the bathroom regularly and probably 50% of the time she does go to the toilet on the mat, which is good. The problem is that she is still using the rest of the flat as her toilet - she doesn't even have a 'preferred' spot, she will just go anywhere and everywhere. 

We've tried shouting her when we catch her mid-action, and we quickly move her to where she should be doing it, but she doesn't seem to be learning. Ideally, I would want her to let us know - by whining at the door or whatever - when she needs to go. Am I expecting too much? Do I just have to be patient? Will it come eventually?

I should say that each and every time she goes on the puppy mat, she is lavished with praise and rewarded with a treat.

As you can probably tell I'm a first-time dog owner  so any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated.


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## LaceWing (Mar 18, 2014)

She has too much freedom. You should have an idea of her schedule. You know that first thing in the morning, she has to do her business. Bring her outside and walk around with her until she has finished. Count the seconds of how long she pees. Walk her around some more, if she pees more, add more seconds. This gives you a base as to how long she really needs to pee in the morning so you don&#8217;t bring her in too soon. If you do not have grass for her to go on, then bring a puppy pad or newspaper out with you.

At her age she should be getting 3 meals a day, soon to be 2. If she is fed around the same time each day, this will help to put her on a peeing and pooping schedule. If you know her schedule, you can get her outside to the grass or newspaper or puppy pad at the right time. If she is pooping more than as many times as she eats (3 if fed 3 times, twice if fed twice a day) then consider changing her diet. Dogs who eat a diet with lots of filler have to go more often, and produce more. Taste of the Wild is a real good food I know is sold in the UK.

For the times you cannot get her outside and want her to go in the bathroom, make a litter box for her. Make sure she stays in the vicinity of the litter box until she is done. You could put up a baby gate at the bathroom door to keep her in there until she is done.


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## Dog On Vacation (Jul 16, 2014)

Firstly lose the puppy mat. She will never learn to ask to go out if she has a mat as an option. 

As soon as she has finished eating - take her out. As soon as she wakes up - take her out.

LaceWing is correct in saying she has too much freedom. Confine her in a small area until she is trained.

Take her out regularly, on the lead, choose a spot for her to do her business and stand still until she has. Use a word like 'quickly' to encourage her and so she learns why she is out there.

NEVER shout at her for going indoors, you need to build her confidence and understanding. If she has an accident, put her straight on the lead and take her outside. 

You need to be vigilant of her needs at all time until she learns to ask to go out.


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## Lizz1155 (Jun 16, 2013)

One of the biggest parts of toilet-training is "accident prevention". Dogs learn a lot through practice, which means ideally they should not be allowed to rehearse behaviors which you do not wish them to learn - e.g toileting in the wrong place. (It's known as "Errorless Learning" - if your dog doesn't have the option of doing the wrong thing, they only learn what the right thing is  ). 

Which means that supervision is absolutely crucial. Maybe a houseline would be useful? It's a long lightweight lead which you attach to your dog whilst they're indoors, so that you can continually monitor them. I would also look into crate-training, or puppy pens for moments when you just cannot supervise your dog; if you cannot supervise her, her area in which she can "make mistakes" should be limited.

For what it's worth, I'd also ditch the mats and train to outdoors. "Outdoors" is a massive area where your dog can toilet, whereas sometimes it's really difficult to get a dog to confine their toileting to a 30X30cm napkin. Also, potty pads can create some big problems in the long run, such as dogs looking for items similar to potty pads to toilet on - generally, soft furnishings. 

It's probably worth considering teaching your dog to toilet on cue, in case you're out with your dog somewhere and she refuses to toilet without a potty mat.


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## ClaireandDaisy (Jul 4, 2010)

My dad aged 70 house trained and kept his dog in a 2nd floor flat. He never taught her to pee indoors. He kept slippers and dressing gown by the front door and took the dog out. 
You`ve taught your dog to toilet indoors - now I would start again from scratch.


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## wirralmum (Jul 15, 2014)

Ahh. I thought we could just train her to use the bathroom for her 'bathroom'. My mistake, it seems 

Thank you all for your advice - very much appreciated. I'll start again from scratch.


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## LaceWing (Mar 18, 2014)

You can train her to use the bathroom. Many people with toy sized dogs who live in big rises with no access to grass do. They use a litterbox. So, if it is unavoidable for you, a litterbox is better than pottying all over the apartment. However, she should also understand that outside in the grass is also a toilet (or outside on newspaper- dependent on your situation).


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## wirralmum (Jul 15, 2014)

Thank you! That was the plan. She is, as you say, very small, and the litterbox is easy to clean. She has a litterbox in the bathroom - I just want her to stop doing it everywhere else!

She does go in the park when we're on walks, so she knows she can toilet outdoors as well.


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## Dog On Vacation (Jul 16, 2014)

Personally I wouldn't encourage her to toilet indoors at all. 

She is confused and needs reassurance on where she should be going. It's hard work when you are in a flat and keep having to take them out, I know I have been there, but putting in the work now especially when the weather is kinder will pay off in the long run.

As she gets older she won't need to go out so much, get rid of the inside box and put the work in now to train her, by the time winter comes you should only have to take her out a few times during the day.


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## wirralmum (Jul 15, 2014)

Thanks for the response. Yesterday and today I have taken her outside at all the usual toileting times - bingo, she's now going outdoors & we've only had one accident. So pleased with how well she's doing in such a short space of time 

Will keep this up now whilst the weather is nice and hopefully by Winter she should be more or less there.


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