# 8 week old lab pup toilet training advice !!



## wilson (Feb 5, 2010)

hello ive this week bought a black labrador puppy 8 weeks old and would like some advice on training him indoors before hes allowed outside.... 
any info u could give me would be appreciated:


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## Guest (Feb 5, 2010)

Welcome to PF
You've just posted at a very quiet time on the forum.
I'm sure that someone will be along to help you later 
Have a browse around, there is a lot of info on this subject 
If you have a secure garden, your pup can go into this straight away


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

Hi there 

Some info available here - http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-training-behaviour/75317-housetraining-your-pup-older-dog.html


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## shortbackandsides (Aug 28, 2008)

Hi,dont consider puppy pads!!!!regular trips out in the garden,especially after food/drink will prevail in timeconfining pup to a crate(not to big,just enough room for bed)during the night time,whn you are out will help


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## Mama Sass (Sep 8, 2009)

shortbackandsides said:


> Hi,dont consider puppy pads!!!!regular trips out in the garden,especially after food/drink will prevail in timeconfining pup to a crate(not to big,just enough room for bed)during the night time,whn you are out will help


Totally agree - we have had our pup for three weeks and he is 95% toilet trained. We crate trained him and took him out every 30 mins or so, treated him every time he did what was required...and after about a ten days of that he was asking to go out! Even though he still has the odd wee in the house (through excitement mainly!) he is doing really well. Poos are really easy to spot so we only had one poo in the house which was amazing really.

Night time is easier with a crate too...we got to bed about 11.30 ish, I get up and take him out at around 3am and then he goes back in his crate til 7. He has gone through the night a couple of times lately so hopefully the nightime wees will stop soon too.

It might seem like hard work but it has been worth it to have an 11 week old pup almost housetrained!


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## em007 (Sep 29, 2009)

clicker training x try it u will be amazed x


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## mollys_mummy (Dec 30, 2009)

My first dog was a chocolate lab called Oscar and i remember he was notoriously difficult to housebreak, he got there in the end though with much perseverence and love from us and turned out to be great. 

The best thing we ever did was convert the larder we had at the time into his "bedroom", at night he had just enough room to get up and turn around, reducing the amount of room he had was the key.

Now we have a shih tzu and she's not quite as bad but we've adopted the same rountine as we did with Oscar, although she has a travel cot instead of a bedroom, so hopefully she will get there too? :001_wub:


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## Liz1 (Dec 2, 2009)

Hi we got our lab at 7 weeks, she now 18 weeks and the first couple of days nightmare using puppy training pads, ditched the pads after 2 days and just took her outside after meals, after drinks, after sleep, after play and every half hour otherwise other than when asleep, she is crated at night and for the first week and a half I came down if she woke in night and took her out to the toilet, didn't give her big fuss other than to praise for weeing or pooing, put her straight back in crate and went back to bed, this lasted just over a week and then she slept through, she has never weed or pood in her crate and have only had couple of accidents in the house in the whole 11 weeks we have had her but those first few weeks were very difficult, had to keep constant eye on her and every half hour at first is hard work but it pays off. Give lots of praise when pup goes to the loo. We also used a command that we said when she was doing it, we say go wee wee , people use varying commands and they will soon get used to the sound and associate it with toileting so we can now say go wee wees if we need her to go before going in somewhere etc. Don't punish any accidents but really praise when she goes outside. If you do have mess to clean don't use amonia based products as it smells like urine to them and encourages them to wee again. good luck


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## lifeizsweet (Jun 7, 2009)

We got our lab at seven weeks, We put him in the garden when ever he work, after he ate and every 20mins or so. He got a treat everytime he went to the loo outside. He picked it up pretty quick, had a few accidents, but repetition and positive encouragement is key to helping them learn.


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

Lifeissweet has nailed it for you there.
Dont shout, simply keep an eye out at all times - pick the pup up quickly and calmly and take it outside
wait until its done and praise
have a lttle walk afterwards around your garden 
dont use pup pads it just makes it acceptable for them to pee inside. Use newspaper in a designated area and praise if it goes on this.
keep the paper flat so its not like a nest
keep to a regular toilet habit, youll loose plenty of sleep but they cant hold it for longer than 2 hours at this age. 
Youll get your sleep back at 4 mths old


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

james1 said:


> dont use pup pads it just makes it acceptable for them to pee inside. Use newspaper in a designated area and praise if it goes on this.


just a quick question - why not puppy pads but newspaper is ok?  sorry not getting at you, just curious?


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

For me pupy pads are a commercial thing preying on people not knowing what to do, there is an over emphasis of getting the pup to pee on the pad - usually this involves a treat as its a very small area (about the size of a sheet of newspaper). Once the pad is gone, theres no more treats coming which isnt a motivator for the dog to go outside. 
Newspaper in a corner is more than capable of doing the job, several sheets of paper are used which means the pup will usually hit it for praise to work - seen as praise is the routine when they are outside toileting, I think the transition is much easier. The paper is reduced as the routine of going outside comes more steadfast to eventaully only having one sheet and then taking that away. Just my thoughts really, I dont know why people spend their money on them - lol thats is they stay in one piece..


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## k8t (Oct 13, 2009)

I would also add that newspaper is used by most breeders and people who have litters of puppies - it would be far too expensive to use puppy pads - so the puppies are usually used to its smell and it use!!

Kate


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

james1 said:


> For me pupy pads are a commercial thing preying on people not knowing what to do, there is an over emphasis of getting the pup to pee on the pad - usually this involves a treat as its a very small area (about the size of a sheet of newspaper). Once the pad is gone, theres no more treats coming which isnt a motivator for the dog to go outside.
> Newspaper in a corner is more than capable of doing the job, several sheets of paper are used which means the pup will usually hit it for praise to work - seen as praise is the routine when they are outside toileting, I think the transition is much easier. The paper is reduced as the routine of going outside comes more steadfast to eventaully only having one sheet and then taking that away. Just my thoughts really, I dont know why people spend their money on them - lol thats is they stay in one piece..


ah right i see what you mean...so more about the method that you can achieve with the paper really then...


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

k8t said:


> I would also add that newspaper is used by most breeders and people who have litters of puppies - it would be far too expensive to use puppy pads - so the puppies are usually used to its smell and it use!!
> 
> Kate


very true most breeders will use newspaper and train them if possible towards the paper before you get them, you just have to top it up


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

katiefranke said:


> ah right i see what you mean...so more about the method that you can achieve with the paper really then...


Sort of yes, its a nice continuation letting them know praise is what they get when things are done right. I just dont see how a training them to a newspaper sized pup pad will be effective in the long run. If you dont use treats with them they dont know to use them (though some do have a scent) so when the pup pads are gone - the pup knows little about being good and going outside. I really only know this from a friend who used them, she didnt treat consistently and it would pee as usual all over the place, they ended up putting 2 or 3 down as you would have done with using newspaper...


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

james1 said:


> ...I really only know this from a friend who used them, she didnt treat consistently and it would pee as usual all over the place, they ended up putting 2 or 3 down as you would have done with using newspaper...


I must say, i do not treat/praise for going on paper or on puppy pads or anything indoors...i only treat for outdoors...always worked for me. I dont like the idea of reinforcing going indoors at all and i manage the area they can be in when i am not there to watch - although admitedly i have been lucky in that i can be there with them constantly for the first couple of weeks to get them going outside consistently.

I have used puppy pads with my latest - maggie - as our breeder was already letting them outside to play etc and they had like a little hutch out there too - this was lined with vet bed and newspaper for warmth and they didnt go to the loo in it...so maggie actually didnt get what newspaper was anyway - she thought it was a bed! she was good though as she had already been toileting outside pretty consistently at the breeders, so she knew where she was supposed to go.

i used puppy pads and didnt encourage her to use them or treat for going on them...i mainly used them through the night as i was there in the day to let her out. so really it was just for convenience for me, as they have a waterproof backing so the floor doesnt get wet...whereas newspaper can soak through and leave print on the floor!  I also got given some free so didnt have to pay for them which might have affected my choice!!! 

we didnt have any issues with her wanting to use them in the day or with her going to the toilet inside. in fact we only ever had about 1 or 2 accidents in the day when she was very young - both on the puppy pad by the door and both because i wasnt watching her and she was young so couldnt hold it...

...i think it probably depends very much on the dog too as to how quick they pick things up - plus as you say, whatever method, it is all about being consistent with it.


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

Lol im just glad the puppy phase has gone along with all the cleaning up


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

james1 said:


> Lol im just glad the puppy phase has gone along with all the cleaning up


he he, yeah me too!

I definitely feel sorry for people who have dogs that are a lot older and still doing it


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## k8t (Oct 13, 2009)

Katie

It was probably your consistent pos reinforcement and training that made it all so easy, not necessarily the puppy pads. You would have probably got the same result whatever you used!!

OP it does get easier, but you really do need to be consistent and watch your puppy llike a hawk for the first few weeks. Exhausting, but worth it when you get a good result early on.

Kate


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

k8t said:


> It was probably your consistent pos reinforcement and training that made it all so easy, not necessarily the puppy pads. You would have probably got the same result whatever you used!!


yep very true - have had the same result with newspaper with other pups...consistency is definitely the key with any training issue.


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

k8t said:


> Exhausting


the understatement of the century lol


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