Issues with house training

[NessaJ]

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Hi, I'd really appreciate some help as I feel like we are going round in circles and not getting anywhere! We have a 12 1/2 week old gorgeous Pointer puppy and we've had her for just over 4 weeks and we don't seem to be getting any further forward with house training. I know she's still very little but we've had dogs before and by this stage we seemed to doing better. She just doesn't seem to know the difference between weeing inside and outside and we think we're doing it right. We take her out about every half an hour to an hour, or when she's eaten or woken up, say 'wee wee' and she wees every time and gets a treat and loads of praise. Then she'll come back inside and wee again about 10 mins later so it's like she's not emptying her bladder. So we often stay outside for longer so she has chance to have a second wee, and she'll often wee again inside. She can often be dry overnight if we time it right or perhaps only one wee, so she can hold on if she needs to.

She's not in a crate as we have an older dog so they share a bed. She seems to be able to learn other things as she knows her name and 'come' but the weeing outside only just isn't happening. The dogs are in a room off the kitchen which has a carpet and even though we've been cleaning it with a spray that's meant to remove odours I'm sure it's giving off smells that say 'wee here'!

She seems very happy and is growing in confidence so I think she's happily settled with us. We're on tenderhooks every time we see her sniffing as we think she's going to wee! Any suggestions would be very welcome. Thanks

 

[AdamYates]

Persevere with what you are doing, our whippet puppy was very similar at that age. He has just reached 16 weeks and now we only get the over excited wee and the occasional accident normally when we have missed his efforts to attract our attention to go out.

As for the cleaning we were advised by the vet to use a solution with biological washing powder in (cheaper and more effective than the sprays apparently) but we do have the benefit of wooden floors and his pen is on a kennel mat which helps

Remember to ignore the mistakes and praise when she gets it right

 

[gypsysmum2]

Always worth a vet check to make sure there is no problem. They might like a sample.

I would try to keep her confined to a non absorbent surface for a while. Bitches are very reluctant to wee on non absorbent surfaces. If you have been using paper or pads then throw them away. They encourage indoor weeing.

When you treat her for weeing is she looking like she is expecting a treat as she wees? For instance, does she look towards you? It may be that she is not connecting the wee with the treat. Make sure that the treat reaches her mouth as she stands up from her wee position so that there is no confusion as to why she is getting a treat. Some dogs think that they get the treat for approaching their owner. There is only a second or two in it but that can make all the difference.

If she is a shy dog then investigate clicker training so that you can click her action from a distance and follow up with a treat. A good trainer from the APDT will give you a personal demonstration.

The biological solution is made from 10% solution of biological detergent. Wash, rinse, dry and then agitate some sort of spirit in to lift the last fat deposits present in urine. As above, though, I would dispense with the carpet for a while until she has grasped the house training concept.

 

[NessaJ]

Thank you both for your really helpful replies and for the encouragement. I didn't know about using the bio washing powder solution as we're spending a fortune on cleaners so will definitely try that. We're stuck with the carpet as don't really have any other options of where to put the dogs but hopefully the bio solution will help matters. We use pads at night to try and target her weeing and sometimes she uses them, other times she doesn't but in the day and evening we take her to wee outside. We're at the vets tomorrow for her second jabs so I'll try and get a urine sample to check it out - I always like a challenge!

Thanks also for the suggestion of linking the timing of the treat as she wees. Thinking about it, I don't think I do it as soon as she wees, perhaps a few seconds later so I'll make sure that I do it immediately. She doesn't really look towards us and I don't want to call her and distract her but I'll try and get close so I'm there as soon as she stops weeing. We also need to make sure that she has time for her second wee before we go inside to try and get her to empty her bladder completely. I'm sure we'll get there as she's still very young, but it would be good if we can cut down the number of inside wees.

 

[gypsysmum2]

It does sound, if you are a few seconds late and she is not looking at you expectantly, that she has not linked the treat with the wee. It is vital that she does because this is what makes them want to hold on until they get outside. You need her to think "I need a wee" and then the very next thought should be "I get a treat if I wee outside!" Once she has grasped it you should see a change in her behaviour indoors. She should start to look for you when she needs a wee, or to move towards the door to go outside.

A crate trained puppy is so much easier to house train. A dog's instinct is to not soil its bed so they hold on until released. This means that there is much more control over your puppy's ability to toilet when you are not able to pay attention. When her bladder is empty she can have free access to the house. When a wee is due and you are eating or on the phone etc she can be popped in her crate with a toy until you are ready to give her your undivided attention. Each time an accident happens it puts back house training.

Crates are not prisons they are useful tools if introduced properly. This means treating them like a fabulous new toy and slowly introducing the concept of her resting and playing and eating in it for short periods. If you let her out before she cries then she will learn to wait for you to be ready. Who knows your other dog might like a break from her sometimes too

 

[NessaJ]

Thanks Gypsymum, she definitely doesn't look at us when she needs a wee and we don't like to distract her halfway through a wee as she doesn't finish it and then wees inside again! But we are rewarding her the second she finsihes so hopefully the penny will drop soon.

I know what you are saying with crate training being the best thing to do but I think that, nearly five weeks in, it's too late to introduce it now. She loves to sleep with our older dog and would be too much to expect her to sleep apart now. It's something we should have done from the beginning.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Crate training still worth a try, even if you only use it during the day. It is always a good thing to make our dogs independent of us and of each other. There may come a time, in their lives, when they need to sleep alone. Not saying, at all, that you should get a crate and shut her in it. Just to use one as a tool to help you focus on this period of training and prevent a pattern of unwanted behaviour developing. Preventing accidents should be your main objective so that each successful behaviour can be rewarded.

You may be able to borrow a crate from somewhere. Most dog owners have one tucked away somewhere

 

[Jacjaiarch]

Quick question, if you catch them about to wee do you still quickly pick them up and take outside? A couple times I have seen Daisy start to wee so I've picked her up and taken her outside, by then it's pretty much too late! Am I doing the right thing?

 

[gypsysmum2]

The answer is - "sometimes". If you are always picking them up they are not going to learn to go to the door. Obviously if they are going to pee on your best carpet then do pick them up. Mostly try to run to the door with an excited cry of "quick, quick, wee wee's" or similar encouragement to get them to understand that when they feel the need to pee then it is time to run to the door in order to get that fantastic treat that only arrives in the garden