Need help potty training rescue pup.

My issue is that my dog is a rescue baby, who was kept in a bird cage, and not been given any training whatsoever. He's roughly 4 months old, according to the vet, and regularly just pees into his own bed. I have made him a litter using a plastic tray and real grass, but I'm not having too much success with it. He's been in it a total of 3 times, one time was completely random, two times when we physically put him in the tray and made him stay there till he went(didn't take too long at all). Are there any special measures I need to take to litter train him? I don't have a Crate yet, should I get one? He's been in our house for a week now and he goes pretty much anywhere. We wipe it immediately and use dettol to mask the smell. No we don't scold him, unless when we catch him in the act. Thank you

Poor little mite - of course he wees in his bed - he knows no difference! Please do not scold him when you catch him in the act. To house train him, you will need to take him outside where you want him to perform every half an hour or so ... because he has had such a rough start, you will need to be very patient, personally I would take him outside every 20 minutes but this might be too much for you. When he performs, then praise him over and over again and tell him what a good boy he is. He will get the message, but it may take some time because of his bad start in life.

With house training, consistency is everything - coupled with exuberant praise when he has performed, but please no scolding when he has gone in his bed - you could make a negative noise perhaps, along the lines of "o dear, what have you done?" but nothing severe. Best of all to say absolutely nothing, just pick him up and take him outside. If you actually manage to pick him up just before and during a wee, then you could say "no" and whisk him quickly outside.

Good luck!

Use an appropriate enzymatic cleaner to remove smells, not disinfectants.

Don't allow him freedom around the house until you get the toileting under control, otherwise he will not learn where it is right to pee and poo. Keep him on a lead so you can see when he needs to go - sniffing the ground, circling, whining, looking uncomfortable - take him where you want him to go and if he performs reward him generously.

Used correctly, crates can be great aid to toilet training.

Scolding is counter productive - what do you think it means to your pup when you're scolding him? Do you think he understands? Rewarding action/behaviour you want is a far better than telling a dog off for what you don't want.

Good luck.

If your pup is soiling his bed, he would be very likely to soil in a crate as he now associates his bed with a toilet area. As previously said, consistency is the key to toilet training.

Most disinfectants are ammonia based and, to a dog, smell like wee so will attract pup back to that area. A special pet odour remover or making up a mix of 1 part biological washing detergent with 10 parts water is a better option

Hi guys, when I say I scold him when I catch him in the act, it's very mild. Off late whenever I get a chance I take him physically to his litter and don't let him out till he's done his business. It's worked 2-3 times till now. My problem is that It's not possible to keep him supervised 24/7. If I get him a crate, I'm sure he will soil that as well, as he already pees in his own bed and then sleeps in it. Trying to be as consistent as possible, but it's proving to be a difficult job.