Advice on house training please

Hi, Ayla is a 14 week old Alaskan Malamute. We got her yesterday and she has settled in really well. But her only problem is, is that she doesnt want to wee/poo outside. When she is outside she will howl to come back in and when she does she will relieve herself then go back outside!! When is is on a walk she will not relieve herself and will hold it in. This evening I just got back from the woods with her (She has had all her vacs) and the first thing she did after stepping through the door was wee!!!. She spent the afternoon playing in the garden and as the weather was nice we kept the back door open, butshe kept coming back into the house to wee!!!

Any advice on the next step please.

Hi Becs

Firstly I would find out from the breeders what they had been doing with her regards house training. At 14 weeks they should have already made a start. My guess is that they were probably paper/pad training her, in which case I would suggest carrying this on, but moving the pad/paper closer to the door, then eventually outside. Once she's going outside, remember praise and reward. With Poppy, she was 10 weeks old when we picked her up, her breeder had already started training her, so it was just a case of her knowing where the back door was and letting us know she needed to go out.

The alternative would be to just stand outside with her, can take a long time, but if you want her to go outside, it will be worth it. When she does "go" say the word/s you want to use, in our case it's "wee wee", then once she's been, praise and reward. Take her out on a regular basis, the obvious times as soon as she wakes up, shortly after a big drink and meals, after playing and before bed. I used to take Poppy out every hour or so, then gradually build it up. Stand outside and say "wee wee", then once she'd been praise and reward. Remember if she goes while you're out on a walk, praise and reward as well, if you're happy for her to go out in the street/park etc.

Good luck. x

Hi,thank you. She was in a boarding kennels when we got her so had no concept of house training when we got her. She did go to another home but was returned after a week as the new owners split up and decided no one wanted her so she was placed in the kennels.
This morning she has started to wee outside put will come back in to poo. I'm sure she will pick it up soon though as she already knoes the sit command and will come back when called and thats after only 2 days of training!!
x

It will take her time, she is still a baby, I would agree with Harry25 mine also perform on command.

If she's used to a kennel then she has probably no idea that she is doing anything wrong. Never punish her for going inside after the event she wont understand, if you catch her going inside I would say No in a firm voice and pick her up and take her outside, lots of praise when she gets it right. You will have to be very patient with her but I am sure you will get there in the end.

I once heard of a great tip re the poo's. You pick one up and place it outside exactly where your puppy HAS been or you would like him to go and just leave it there. Apparently, they will always then go in the same place?Worth a try! Mine was a doddle coz my breeder used to let the pups out at regular intervals, so I didn't have to go through any of this training, except that I DID make her go out every half an hour and asked her to wee/poo even if she didn't want to but she usually obliged even at 14 weeks, so it's worth giving that a go to. Good luck.

I’m having the same problem!! Except Sydney has no problem going outside i think she just prefers to go inside! It IS cold and wet outside! Hahaha YUCK
For a few days she was letting us know by scratching at the door and every time she did that we gave her lots of praise. But now she's stopped.
And.....she's getting into a bad habit of going poop in the house and eating it!!?! UGG....WHY!?! We never get mad at her for going inside. We know it's our fault for missing the signs. The only thing i can think of is she grew up in a horrible environment and she ate her poop lots so it's like a bad habit for her. She wont touch her poo outside just if she goes inside. Maybe she's trying to hide it?!?! But why would she hide it if she’s never gotten in trouble before?!!

I would also add, to all the good advice already given here...

If your pup hasn't yet got the hang of toileting outside, don't just open the door and let them out; as all they will do is play!

You need to go out with them and use whatever cue word you have (toilet, wee-wee, be clean etc) and then give them a treat once they've 'performed', or initiate a game with them.

I suspect when she goes outside on her own, she just sniffs/plays etc. and doesn't realise you need her to toilet there! Of course, once she has the hang of it, you don't need to be out there with her all the time.

Actually, on writing this, I've just had another thought. Although she is 14 weeks, I'd say you need to go right back to basics with her, and take her outside at least once an hour. As soon as she wakes up, after food, after a sleep, after a play make sure you all go outside and give her the cue word.
I suspect with her being in kennels, any training she did have has gone out of the window!