I'm at a loss as to what to do with Remus re toilet training again. Yesterday he got caught short in the hall way so did a tiny bit then ran to Tonks' bed and peed all over it. And I've just found out that, at some point who knows when,he's peed in his crate and everything is wet in there! He get taken out to the garden regularly, every couple of hours...then the second you put him in his crate he wants a wee....even though I will have taken him to the garden just prior to putting him in it and he is only put in for an hour at a time. I'm washing bedding regularly. And if I don't watch him in the garden he will pee in the paddling pool rather than on the floor! He's becoming a mystery to me! I have never had a dog who has taken this long to catch on to toilet training. I wonder if its due to his unsanitary conditions in his first 12 weeks.

My patience is starting to wear very thin with it....which is not like me. He is taken out to the garden first thing, if he has a mad play session, straight after a walk, as soon as he wakes up if he's had a doze, after food or a big drink, it guests arrive, and every few hours in between! He's really praised for going out there and on walks and, not something I have usually done, shown my displeasure when he starts to go indoors (mainly to stop the flow because when he goes he really really goes) then I rush outside with him and praise him loads when he goes. He knows the word 'toilet' and most of the time will go when I ask him.

I was just going to ask what the conditions were like before you got him, he has learnt to wee in his bed and that is difficult to stop.


Have you tried walking him up the road a little way instead of taking out the back. I know that will be difficult with 2 little uns. I take it you don't have any grass, many dogs won't wee on hard ground because it splashes them which is why they go for betting, carpets and rugs.

My horse didn't like weeing on hard ground because of splashing his legs, one day we were walking along a road and he insisted on standing on the centre line to have a wee, it was a busy road at peak time and stopped the traffic in both directions. It was really embarrassing at the time but funny now.

That's interesting Mattie because he likes to wee in the sand spilled over the edge of the sand pit. I don't think I will be able to take him out of the house because its just too much with the girls and Tonks wanting to go out too. But what I can do is make a Remus toilet space up the side of the conservatory. We have a narrow concrete bit down the side and I could cover it with sand. It's right next to a drain and a hose pipe so I could wash it down everyone and again....as long as that would not block the drain. TBH I'm considering scrapping the crate. He went in it today and didn't want to go in...no wonder because the bedding was wet! In this heat the top layer had dried so I had no idea it was wet until I moved it!

Some dogs don't like to be on view when they go to the loo either and prefer to go in the bushes etc. That's not possible on my patio so they tend to go behind the sun loungers. I think sand would definitely block your drain though so maybe a thickish layer of large gravel would be preferable up the side of the conservatory. It would still avoid the splashing issue, if that's the problem.

They say boys are worst,Red would insist on going on top of a bush,but has anything changed,that he feels insecure about,Did one of your boys have a castration recently if it was tonks,he may have an infection,if you could catch him in mid flow,its better at that point to take him out,do you get a sign when he is about too,its quicker to get trained that way Gemini54

Sand will block the drain and you will need to put fresh down every day. If possible a small area of grass there, it can be hosed down to keep it clean and it will water it. If it gets to bad you can put fresh down.

Every time I get a new foster dog I have to let them go on the garden, eventually they do learn to go on the patio.

He's not bothered if you see him...he'll even happily wee on Tonks' bed in plain site. When we first got him he used to wee and poo behind the bushes, but doesn't see bothered now. The patch of sand he stands onto wee is really small, just enough to put his front feet on.
It was Remus who was castrated, Tonks is female . He's been checked or an infection a couple of months ago when he weed loads while lying down. I am moving towards thinking it all stems back to living in squalid conditions in his first 12 weeks.

At the moment he wees on the same patch of sand repeatedly and I've been hosing it down every now and then. Think the girls must then dump more sand there.

How would I put grass there? Would it grow if I rolled turf out on top of the concrete?!

How about getting a piece of artificial turf?

That's a good idea... Where do you get it from?! I'd have no check he'd walk on it first.

The problem with the sand is your girls play with it, they use their hands which they can then put in their mouths. I love children getting dirty playing, you should have seen the state of my sons at times, I lost count how many times I put a bucket of water by the back door, in the kitchen of course, they stripped off then ran upstairs into the bath. It was normal for the mud to be through to their skin

Grass you can just roll it down on the concrete, yes it will grow but not very fast but it will need to be kept well watered. The wee will go right through the grass to underneath. If you wanted you could have sand or soil under it.

With artificial turf the wee doesn't go through it but stays on top, I don't know if you can get some where it will go through.