Toilet Training.

I live in a flat and until 4 weeks ago my pup was using puppy pads in the house as this was the only option- no garden.

When he was first allowed out he would wait until we got back before going. That lasted about a week then he started going outside. He now very rarely poops in the house, very occassionaly overnight, however he still pees inside all the time.

He paper trained really quickly with no 2's as well, is it just going to take him longer to realise not to pee inside, or does he not have the same bladder control?

Is there anything I can do to make him ralise not to pee inside or will this just come in time?

My pup is almost 16 weeks old.

When you say he pees inside, is he peeing everywhere? have you now removed the pads?

While most dogs will use grass if possible, they can be trained to use pavement. At 4 months, healthy dog will have fairly good bladder control. You will have a little more time than with a 8 week old.

Much of housebreaking is not training the puppy, but making it easier for your puppy, you, and your carpet while its body to catches up to its instincts. At around 8 weeks when the puppy goes to its new home, the time from when it realizes it has to go, and when it can't wait any longer is a matter of seconds. Only time will fix that. You can hardly be expected to be attentive enough to avoid all accidents. There is no sense punishing the puppy for your inattention. It is not fair to punish you either, but you still have to clean it up if you didn't have the puppy outside in time.

Housebreaking starts before you get home with the new puppy. If you don't have a crate, buy one. I prefer the more enclosed, den like plastic ones. Skip the bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking hazards. A wire grid in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but expensive and hard to find. A piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. I am now using a plastic vegetable bin with plenty of holes drilled in the bottom. It helps block off part of the crate for the smaller puppy. If you already have a metal crate, covering it may help. Just make sure you use something the puppy can't pull in and chew. Dogs that start out in crates as little puppies, accept them very well. Never leave an unattended puppy loose in the house. If nobody can watch it, put it in the crate. I suggest letting the dog have its crate all its life. A crate needs to be just big enough for a dog to stretch out in.

Choose a command and spot you want it to use. The less accessible to strays, the less chance of serious disease. If it is a female, choosing a non grassy spot will avoid brown spots later. When you bring it home, take it to the spot and give it the command in a firm, but friendly voice. Keep repeating the command and let the puppy sniff around. Sometimes you need to walk it around to stimulate its body to eliminate. If it does anything, praise it. Really let it know what a good dog it is and how much you love it, and maybe a treat. Note, being out there not only means you can praise it, but it also keeps it from being snatched by a hawk. If it doesn't go, take it inside and give it a drink and any meals scheduled. A young puppy will need to go out immediately afterward. Go to the spot and follow the above routine. Praising it if it goes is extremely important. If it doesn't go, take it back inside and put it in its crate and try again soon. Do not let it loose in the house until it does go.

At first it is your responsibility to know and take the puppy out when it needs to go. It needs to go out the first thing in the morning, after eating, drinking, and sleeping. If it quits playing, and starts running around sniffing, it is looking for a place to go. Take it out quickly. You will just have to be what I call puppy broke until it is a little older. How successful you are depends on how attentive you are.

By the time most dogs are about 3 months old, they have figured out that if they go to the door and stand, you will let them out. The praise slowly shifts to going to the door. Some people hang a bell there for the dog to paw. If your dog doesn't figure this out, try praising it and putting it out if it even gets near the door. When you catch it in the act, give it a sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and take it out. Clean up accidents promptly. I mostly keep the little puppies out of the carpeted rooms. Still I need the can of carpet foam sometimes. First blot up all the urine you can with a dry towel. Keep moving it and stepping on it until a fresh area stays dry. A couple big putty knives work well on bowel movements. Just slide one under it while holding it with the other. This gets it up with a minimum of pushing it down into the carpet. This works with even relatively soft ones, vomit, dirt from over turned house plants, or anything else from solids to thick liquids. Finish up with a good shot of carpet foam. Note, do not let the puppy lick up the carpet foam. Once the dog is reliably housebroken, your carpet may need a good steam cleaning.

Many people strongly strongly push cleaning up all evidence of past accidents. I am slower to suggest that. Dogs will return to the same spot if they can find it. When you see one sniffing the spot, that is your clue to run it out.

He only pees on the pad nowhere else. Should i take the pad away?He pees a lot when he is awake. Even taking him out hourly we still can't catch him every time. I don't use a crate and would really rather not.

I have raised three puppy in a flat. I have found I needed puppy pads down for wees untill they were about 6 months.
You really need to get into a routine and stick to it while they are young. When he wees on the pad say a command i used toilets and then when you take him out say toilets and he should try for a wee.
I used to take mine out at about 6am them again at 10am them at lunch them about 3 them tea time then before bed.As he got older I reduced the amount of time.
I had a grenn just at the end of the road so I would pop him down there.

He is only very young still so he is going to be peeing a lot. As much as I don't like pads, I don't see what your other option is other than to keep using them for the next month or so as going out every hour or so probably isn't going to be practical. He is kind of at the stage now where he is starting to develop his bladder movement control more affectively.

So do you think at some point he will just stop wanting to pee in the house like he has done with pooping? He doesn't ask to go outside or anything- he just waits until we take him out.

Hi,

Where does your pup sleep? And why would you rather not crate train him? It can be both to your advantage and his also.

I'm not sure what else I can suggest to you in terms of advice re hosue training that you haven't already had said to you. If you take you rpup out and even every hour you can't prevent him peeing in the house I think it's just going to take a little more time. Obviously living in a flat makes it less than ideal if you can't just open a door and allow them out into a garden.

Be patient and give your pup more time. He's only young yet. Make sure you always praise him if he uses the pads or when he does start to "ask" to go out. You may want to think about removing the pads if he pees on them stll. If they're not there, hopefully he'll ask to go out rather than pee on the floor. You could watch for the body language ie sniffing the floor, going round in circles etc and take him out as soon as he starts to do this. You'll have a few more accidents yet but you'll get better at recognising earlier when he needs to relieve himself and he'll be able to hold it longer.

Laura xx

I had started to ignore him now if he pees on the pads and just praise him he when he pees outside.↲He sleeps in the hall. I just don't like the idea of putting my dog in a cage. I know loads of people do but it's not for me..

my pup has been crate trained and has only ever peed in the house once. It's not a cruel as it sounds - a crate is supposed to be their 'safe haven'. Mine go in their crates by themselves when tired or want to chill out.