Toileting

In desperate need of some advice. I have a 9 and a half week old Cocker spaniel who has been with us for 11 days and toileting was going great. He did all his number twos outside and half his wees, the rest on a pad by the kitchen door. For some reason since yesterday he has started weeing constantly on the floor wherever he is at the time and today he has pooped right in front of me. Is this attention seeking or defiance and if so why would he start now after things were going so well. Or is it just an off day and I am expecting too much too soon. Help!!

Definitely not defiance - puppies' brains don't work that way. It could be attention seeking if he had learnt that every time he toileted indoors he was rewarded in some way - like you scooping him up, and cleaning up while he got to play with the clothe or whatever, which is why you should never 'correct' a dog for toileting indoors (even negative attention is better than no attention) but just clean up without making a fuss.

It's also possible that as he's settling in and finding what fun life is, he's enjoying himself so much he forgets about going outside. But then again, the time interval between a dog realising he wants to go, and him having to go is almost zero. How many times a day are you taking him outside?

Your first step needs to be to talk to your vet - he could have a urine infection or similar. But in the meantime, you might find some useful advice about housetraining here: House training

We take him out when he wakes, when he has eaten and when he has a drink. He is probably going out 2 or 3 times an hour. He does go outside when you take him. Inside he seems to be going every 10 minutes and he seems to be drinking constantly so he is going out more often at the minute .

Definitely speak with your vet then - constant drinking and peeing doesn't sound right (not that I'm an expert, I should add).

Keztemo said:

We take him out when he wakes, when he has eaten and when he has a drink. He is probably going out 2 or 3 times an hour. He does go outside when you take him. Inside he seems to be going every 10 minutes and he seems to be drinking constantly so he is going out more often at the minute .

Click to expand...

Do you feed him with dry food and treats? Does he have access to dry food as and when he feels like eating? As dry diet will absorb lots of moisture and make puppy thirsty....and what goes in, must come out too

Finsky said:

Do you feed him with dry food and treats? Does he have access to dry food as and when he feels like eating? As dry diet will absorb lots of moisture and make puppy thirsty....and what goes in, must come out too

Click to expand...

He eats dry food but doesn't have access to it all day. If he leaves any it gets removed and when it comes to rewarding we tend to make a fuss with the odd treat thrown in but not many.

Thanks for your help and advice. Turns out he had an upset stomach. Took him to the vets and it seems to have improved now so thank you.

Good news. Onward and upward!