# Puppy Toilet Training



## Sharr76 (Jul 28, 2008)

Hi all,

Im getting ready for Mollys great arrival next Saturday, been out and bought all sorts for her, SPOILT already......

PS: She is still called Molly up to now!!!!

What is the best wat to go about toilet training?

I bought some of those training pad things you put on the floor......

How have you lot gone about toilet training?


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## azz0r (Jun 7, 2008)

I'm sure theres alot of stuff on google.

My own personal experience would be to use the pads as a last resort really, as it encourages them to wee inside.

I'd set up there base near the outside door or a cat litter tray full of mud with abit of grass (to associte weeing on grass very early on).

Then praise heavily for wees outside.


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## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

I never used puppy pads or newspaper. I took mine outside to the garden every 1 1/2 hours at first and every time they woke up, finished eating or stopped playing and waited for them to go to the toilet - sometimes I was stood in the rain for 30 mins or more 
Then as they got older every 2 hours etc eventually they just started taking themselves to the back door.
At night they slept in a crate in my bedroom so if they woke I could take them out in the garden.
Both were fully toilet trained by 4 months.
You can give a command to "go potty" or "be quick" or whatever you want to say and if you say it every time they go they will associate the command with the act and therefore go on command - which can be very handy if its raining - however I never mastered that one.
Good luck with the training and congratulations on your new puppy.


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2008)

Hi,
You need to be consistant and have bucket loads of patience when toilet training 
Pups don't have any control over there bladder until they are around 5/6 months old.They need to go out often every 1/2 hour or so,then after playing,feeding,waking etc.

Go out with your pup and stay outside till she performs,give lots of praise and reward with a treat,maybe link a word while she going such as clean.

We used to take both ours upstairs at night and settle them down in their crates by our bed,if they woke during the night,we used to get up and take them out but extending the time each night by 5-10 minutes.

I'm not a fan of using puppy pads or newspaper as I personally think it takes longer to train the puppy as you are giving signals it's ok for them to toilet indoors.

Just a tip NEVER tell your pup off for toileting indoors,just take her out clean the area with bio washing powder and ignore what she has done.By telling a puppy off you will just encourage her to do it where she can't be seen or hide the evidence.
Just remember if she does have accidents it's your fault for not reading the signs,circling and sniffing etc.
Toilet training can be frustrating at times but you will get there eventually 

Good Luck with your new pup and remember we want to see pics


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## Guest (Aug 4, 2008)

I have had my puppy for nearly 6 weeks, and I haven't used any newspaper or puppy training pads. As someone else said, this in a way is encouraging them to toilet inside... which isn't what you want.

As soon as I got my puppy home I took her out into the garden to do a wee and show her where her toilet area was. I then would take her out every 30 - 60 minutes throughout the day to let her relieve herself. Even if I felt she didn't need to go, I would still take her out. 

I would suggest crate training your puppy, this is what I have done and can help with toilet training.

Young puppies wont let you know they need to go to the toilet, so you need to look out for the warning signs, like circling indoors and sniffing the floor. If you see this, quickly take them to them outside to go to the toilet. Foxy doesn't really do this, she just goes! So I have to make sure I give her PLENTY of opportunities to go outside. Like I said, you need to make regular trips to the garden throughout the day to give the puppy plenty of chances to relieve itself in the correct place. Whenever your puppy does do a toilet in the correct place make sure you reward and give lots of praise straight away!

I also wouldn't suggest letting your puppy outside alone (while you wait indoors) when wanting it to go to the toilet, because it may ask to come back in and you might think it's done it's stuff when probably it hasn't... so it then comes back indoors and does it there!  So supervise the puppy outside when it's time for toilets. Even if you are out there for 20 minutes, you just have to wait until they go! I've been doing this alot, but it's getting better. If they don't go, bring the puppy back in and try again in a few minutes time.

So if you decide not to use training pads or newspaper, you will need to be making trips to the garden during the night too. I did, I used to get up twice during the night. She'd go out at around 12am then I would go to bed, then I'd set my alarm for around 2:30am and so on... and get up and take her out for a wee. It was tiring, but it needs to be done. She now goes through the night (has done for a good few weeks now). She'll go from around 12am to 7am, then she wakes me up to be let out (she sleeps in her crate at night time).

Toilet training takes ALOT of time and patience. You really have to be very dedicated to getting it done proplerly and very consistent with it all too.

We all know that puppies cannot hold onto their stuff for very long, so need to go quite often.

Good luck! New puppies are fun but also lots of hard work too hehe 

And of course, I forgot to mention the main things! Take your puppy outside after sleep, eating, drinking, playing etc!


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## chilliepig (Aug 4, 2008)

hi ,i am puppy toilet training too,
my puppy takes herself out in the day time( my back door is open all the time with the kids coming in and out).she gets lots of praise and cuddles.she learnt to do this very quick(i have only had her 2 weeks).
now night time is a different matter.i bought the puppy pads and spray and lock her in the kitchen at night but she just wees and poos all over the place.will this be a short term thing ? do i realy have to get up several times at night?and if so for how long?
please help


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## Guest (Aug 9, 2008)

chilliepig said:


> hi ,i am puppy toilet training too,
> my puppy takes herself out in the day time( my back door is open all the time with the kids coming in and out).she gets lots of praise and cuddles.she learnt to do this very quick(i have only had her 2 weeks).
> now night time is a different matter.i bought the puppy pads and spray and lock her in the kitchen at night but she just wees and poos all over the place.will this be a short term thing ? do i realy have to get up several times at night?and if so for how long?
> please help


You don't have to get up in the night,we did though as I firmly believed it would help which it did.
Have you thought about using a crate at night,these can be placed in your bedroom so you can hear your pup in the night if she needs to go out.

We took ours out at bedtime around 11pm then settled them upstairs in our room in their crates,they would wake around 2am,so we used to get up,take them out,then settle them back down again,every night extending the time by 5 or 10 minutes,it worked well for us and both mine were clean and slept right through after a few weeks.


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## chilliepig (Aug 4, 2008)

i`ve never realy thought of getting a crate.i am a very heavy sleeper too.well it`s something i will have to consider
would my pup eventualy hold on til i got up if i carried on leaving her in the kitchen over night(i take her out about 11.00 then at 7.00).?i don`t tell her off in the morning i just give the whole kitchen a good mop and hope one day i will get up to a wee,poo free kitchen


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## chilliepig (Aug 4, 2008)

Do you use crates just for puppies for training them ?or are they a permanant thing? do people put their dogs in them every night?
If i put one in my bedroom would my dog want to sleep in my room when she is an adult?


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2008)

chilliepig said:


> i`ve never realy thought of getting a crate.i am a very heavy sleeper too.well it`s something i will have to consider
> would my pup eventualy hold on til i got up if i carried on leaving her in the kitchen over night(i take her out about 11.00 then at 7.00).?i don`t tell her off in the morning i just give the whole kitchen a good mop and hope one day i will get up to a wee,poo free kitchen





chilliepig said:


> Do you use crates just for puppies for training them ?or are they a permanant thing? do people put their dogs in them every night?
> If i put one in my bedroom would my dog want to sleep in my room when she is an adult?


How old is your puppy? I have had mine 6 weeks and for the first 2 - 3 weeks of having her I was up a couple of times during the night to take her outside. She now goes through the night... roughly about 6 hours... 7 tops. She has her last wee/poo at about 12am and wakes me up at about 6am to go outside.

Foxy is crate trained now. As soon as I got her I had a crate. Her crate is in my bedroom so I can hear her moving around to let me know she needs to go. Personally that is where she will sleep all the time... I don't mind having her in my room. I think she will end up sleeping in her crate for the rest of her time, unless when she's completely house trained she chooses another spot to sleep. She is in her crate every night.


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## Sharr76 (Jul 28, 2008)

We thought Molly was constipated as we have never seen her poop yet! Hubbie took her to the vets for her 1st injection and mentioned it to the vet, she placed a thermometer up her bottom and said all was well. Molly tends to run through the bushes in the back garden and this is obviously where she is pooping.

She has never messed during the night, holds herself til morning then out the back door to poop and wee.

We have had a few accidents on the front room rug where she has used it as a toilet!

She is really good considering we only got her last Satruday 9th Aug 08.

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-chat/11553-latest-molly-pics.html


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## athenagoddess (Aug 12, 2008)

Hi
I have a 17 week pup, never had such trouble trying to toilet train. When I got him he was paper trained or almost. I have taken him outside hourly, no joy will not wee or poo outside. Get inside and he goes on paper or carpet. Mainly paper. Bought a play pen to watch him, had to put paper in uses that. Now bought a cage slept in recliner last night to try to hear him and take him out. He didnt make a sound. Drenched crate, no newspaper used training pad. Took him to back door raining outside soon as he woke up at 6am, went to get glass of water returned really quickly to a poo on carpet in hall. Forgot to say took him and our other dog out yesterday for a long walk, didnt wee or anything on walk, then spent the rest of the afternoon till 7pm in the garden, no wee or poo couldnt beleive it. Must have gone but didnt see. Please PLEASE help


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## Guest (Aug 12, 2008)

athenagoddess said:


> Hi
> I have a 17 week pup, never had such trouble trying to toilet train. When I got him he was paper trained or almost. I have taken him outside hourly, no joy will not wee or poo outside. Get inside and he goes on paper or carpet. Mainly paper. Bought a play pen to watch him, had to put paper in uses that. Now bought a cage slept in recliner last night to try to hear him and take him out. He didnt make a sound. Drenched crate, no newspaper used training pad. Took him to back door raining outside soon as he woke up at 6am, went to get glass of water returned really quickly to a poo on carpet in hall. Forgot to say took him and our other dog out yesterday for a long walk, didnt wee or anything on walk, then spent the rest of the afternoon till 7pm in the garden, no wee or poo couldnt beleive it. Must have gone but didnt see. Please PLEASE help


You say you are taking him oustide hourly, but are you staying out there with him for a while? are you using any command word to get him to go? are you letting him go out alone?

Some puppies go outside but just wont go straight away, you need to stay out there with him, even if you are out there for 20 minutes... repeating his command word. Mine is "wee wee" she now goes on command no problem.

If you are waiting out there for a while and he still doesn't go... bring him back indoors and keep a CONSTANT eye on him for a few minutes, then take him outside again and try again. Keep trying until he goes. It will be more likely he will do a wee than a poo... as we know wee's are alot more often than poos!

If you are keeping him in a crate at night and he is messing in there. I'd suggest getting up a couple of times during the night to take him out so that he gets a chance to relieve himself in the correct place. You say he didn't make a sound during the night, so maybe you thought he didn't need to go but woke up to find a mess. Not all dogs let you know they need to go, especially if they haven't quite caught on to that bit yet. Some dogs (especially puppies) don't let you know at all (by making noise etc) they just get up and go, and of course if you're asleep you're not going to know. So I think it would be best for you to get up a few times during the night and take him oustide yourself (maybe every 2 - 3 hours), even if he is asleep... otherwise he is going to keep messing in there. Foxy never used to let me know she needed to go at night, I just used to get up and take her out myself about 2 - 3 times everynight. Now she goes through the night and if she really needs to go she lets me know by making some sort of noise.


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## charlies mum (Aug 11, 2008)

Hi, Our puppy Charlie is 14 weeks now and we have had him from 7 weeks. I would say his is 99% there with potty training. Like most of the other posts, your puppy should be taken into the garden at least every hour, after sleeps, and after eating. We say "go potty" and he soon cottoned on, as he got a treat for it each time. 

On the advice of our breeder we never got up in the night with him, as it may become a habit that would be difficult to break. Our crate (which is a must) has room at one end for some paper which is always down and if he needs to go in the night he does it there. In the 7 weeks we had him, he had a few pees on the occasional night but generally he manages to hold it from 11am to 8am. Maybe we were lucky, but it's worth a try.

Good luck


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## LBenham (Aug 12, 2008)

Hi

I have had my pup 1 week, she is 8 weeks old. I started using the puppy pads but my pup would sniff them then back up and wee on the floor and so we laid newpaper around the mat to hopefully catch it. What a waste of time!!
I got rid of the mats and newspaper and now take her outside after every meal, sleep and play and she now knows her spot in the garden.
The only problem I have is noticing the signs as she doesn't circle or sniff really. She has accidents at night but I am now thinking of getting a crate but I don't want her to get used to sleeping in my room.
My problem 2 days a week is that I look after 2 little children (one crawling) and I am struggling to get a hang of juggling it all, thought about getting a puppy play pen so she can at least be in the same room as us without chewing all the toys and without little fingers poking her.


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## trekky (Apr 16, 2008)

sometimes i think it goes on breed our bassett took 6mths+ before he was even 95% dry. However my collie cross was trained from day he came home. i clicker train my dogs and find this definately helps with letting your dog know exactly what you're praising. when i got him it was in the summer back doors open all the time. first time out he wee'd i clicked while he was doing it then praised like hell once he was finished anyone who saw must of thought i was mad but i've never had an indoor accident that hasn't been related to him being unwell once. Thats one thing i don't get upset about and thats an accident due to loss of control from a poorly tummy. We've all been there. The Bassett took a bit more persistance and alot more open back doors even during the winter when he couldn't be monitored. Thanks to a purpose built run i never come home to accidents. This is something i've done with all my dogs it has saved a lot of tears and heartaches especially when i had one that suffered from seperation anxiety. This way i have the freedom to take the family out for a day where a dog can't go. I'm not worrying and being restricted on time to get back and let the dogs out and the dogs aren't left with their legs crossed and getting plenty of fresh air.


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## trekky (Apr 16, 2008)

LBenham said:


> Hi
> 
> I have had my pup 1 week, she is 8 weeks old. I started using the puppy pads but my pup would sniff them then back up and wee on the floor and so we laid newpaper around the mat to hopefully catch it. What a waste of time!!
> I got rid of the mats and newspaper and now take her outside after every meal, sleep and play and she now knows her spot in the garden.
> ...


With regards to your dog and the children. Don't be afraid to shut the dog out during young childrens waking times. i feel my family are well balanced. My children are 2 and 4 we've always had a child gate up between the kitchen and the living room this way the dogs have the freedom to roam in and out of a constantly open back door so they have the freedom of the garden to the utility room and kitchen getting attention whenever an adult is out there. Also with the gate up i could potter and do housework knowing that the children were safe. If the kids want to play in the garden there can be unsupervised play with the dogs going in the run. Supervised play the children interact with the dogs. The dogs know the moment those children go to bed its their time and they have our full attention during the evening for play and loving. this way i found while i had a puppy and a baby i could concentrate on the one that needed me most at the time with the peace of mind my puppy had the freedom to go out if he needed too. Make the most of babys nap time then have supervised play time with puppy and toddler. that way puppy can learn to socialise with the fun member of the family.


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## athenagoddess (Aug 12, 2008)

I always stay with him, but still will not go until we go back into the house. At least he is using the pads, stopped using newspaper, very expensive though. Sat out in garden today, tried to get him to wee numerous times, problem is I was on night shift the last couple of nights


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## mickandkerry (Aug 27, 2009)

Hi all picked up our new baby vizsla on saturday, This is our first family dog as we lost our persian cat of 11 years in april 09 and i had a void in my life. She`s gorgeous and loving and has attached herself to me(which i dont mind). We put her in the garden straight away to start toilet training and she has been doing wees, It took her a couple of days to do poos in the garden she was leaving them till we went to bed. We dont have a crate(husbands choice) she sleeps on a bed in the kitchen she kept us up wining and crying every couple of hours the first 4 nights we didnt go down to her under breeders advice, I put newspaper down and she did the business anywhere but on the paper so thats gone. Finally on day 5 she stayed quiet from 11 till 7 but still made a mess, But its during the day when the back door is left open for her she still does a wee in the kitchen. Any advice


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## Bex190 (Jun 30, 2009)

mickandkerry said:


> Hi all picked up our new baby vizsla on saturday, This is our first family dog as we lost our persian cat of 11 years in april 09 and i had a void in my life. She`s gorgeous and loving and has attached herself to me(which i dont mind). We put her in the garden straight away to start toilet training and she has been doing wees, It took her a couple of days to do poos in the garden she was leaving them till we went to bed. We dont have a crate(husbands choice) she sleeps on a bed in the kitchen she kept us up wining and crying every couple of hours the first 4 nights we didnt go down to her under breeders advice, I put newspaper down and she did the business anywhere but on the paper so thats gone. Finally on day 5 she stayed quiet from 11 till 7 but still made a mess, But its during the day when the back door is left open for her she still does a wee in the kitchen. Any advice


Vizsla's love to be around people, especially pups so she may not ant to go outside without you. Otto is 13 weeks and he still prefers for me to go out with him even when the door is open!

Try taking her out every 30mins and after every meal/sleep/play session and stand with her until she has peformed then praise her. I took Otto out on his lead at first so he would go to the toilet first instead of just playing and forgetting why he was out there. That way she will have the security of knowing you are close by and be more likely to go outside.


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