Toilet training puppy in an apartment?

-Leelo-

Hi Folks,

Hoping someone can help me here, I've had my lovely little female Jack Russell pup since around October, so she's about 5 months old or so now, and I am having no joy in house training her at all. I've tried setting down newspaper, and just as I think she's getting the idea and going on the newspaper, she'll go off and do her business in the opposite end of the room. I've also tried those puppy pads which haven't been much use either.
I live in an apartment so it's not like I can leave her out the back garden until she goes to the toilet. I also have a 2 year old little boy so its really not hygienic for the puppy to be going the toilet all over the place, I feel like I'm spending my whole life scrubbing the floors!!
Any useful advice much appreciated

P.S Sorry if this has been done to death, had a look through old posts and couldnt see anything similar!

Paul91

Hello, have a look for crate training on the internet - or on here - it may help, can you train a small dog to use a cat litter?

-Leelo-

Ideally, I'd like her to get into the habit of going to the door when she needs to go and I can bring her outside, or even if she'd go to the door of the balcony and go out there it would be an improvement on going all over my floors!!

star-pants

Do you not bring her out to the balcony every time you see her going?

-Leelo-

star-pants wrote: »

Do you not bring her out to the balcony every time you see her going?

Usually she has snuck off into a corner or another room so she has done the deed before I notice.

star-pants

You should bring her out afterwards anyway.
Not giving out, but you should have been doing this from the word go. Soon as they go, even mid wee you put them outside and give them lots of praise. They don't have any control until around 12 weeks, so before this you need to let them out lots.
Let them out after big drinks / shortly after big meals, at night/first thing in the morning.
Anytime they do go outside you give them lots of praise.
This is how they learn 'weeing outside = good and praise' , if you see them going inside you give a firm 'no' and put them outside. But it has to be fairly quick. She's still quite young so she'll only have had control over her toilet going about a month or so.

How did you try to get her to use the newspaper/puppy pads? or did you leave them out hoping she'd go on them?

-Leelo-

star-pants wrote: »

How did you try to get her to use the newspaper/puppy pads? or did you leave them out hoping she'd go on them?

I put loads of paper down so it was inevitable that she'd go on one part of the paper, which she did, and every time I changed the paper I left one wet one down so she could get the scent but as I tried to make the amount of paper smaller, she just started to go anywhere, sometimes on the paper, sometimes on the other side of the room, or in another room.
With the puppy pads I just put them down because the guy in the pet shop said they were treated with some chemical so she'd be drawn to going on them. Like with the paper, sometimes she'd go on them, most times she wouldn't.

star-pants

But you see in her eyes, the floor was covered in paper, I go anywhere. You remove the paper... I still go anywhere.

They need to be shown where to go, if you had newspaper or puppy pads, you do the same as if you were putting her outside, put her on them mid wee and praise.
At this point they're fairly useless to you - so I'd start with the firm bringing her outside to go type training. Bring her out regularly, as said, after big drinks / shortly after meals etc, and when she goes give her lots of praise.
They're like babies essentially - you give a baby a potty they won't know what you want, you have to show them and give them praise when they do it right.
Same sentiment here, and give her a firm 'no' when she goes inside. That's how I trained my pup, and it's how I helped train my friends 3 labs when they were pups so it does work. Just... patience

-Leelo-

Well I'll certainly give it a bash, if that doesnt work she'll be going into my sons nappies!!
One more question How often should should I be bringing her out? Every hour or so, or just after meals / drinks?

star-pants

Lol aye I know that feeling!

Well, you can bring her out every hour - two and see, she may or may not go, but you'll get the idea how often she does go and can work from there.
I know it sounds silly but I tell my girls to go do their 'business' when I put them out, and when they do it I go 'gooood girl! theres a good girl'. So when I'm trying to put the older one out in the mornings (she'd hold hers in for Ireland) I just tell her to go do her business and off she goes.

It's about being firm and routine - same as a baby - soon the pup will get used to you putting her out in the mornings/ after meals and she'll have a fair idea what she's out there to do. If you keep up with the training and praise when she goes outside hopefully she'll pick it up quick enough.

I know other people do crate training but I've never tried it so can't give my opinion on it. But if this doesn't work, I'm sure others here can tell you about crate training.

Magenta

-Leelo- wrote: »

I put loads of paper down so it was inevitable that she'd go on one part of the paper, which she did, and every time I changed the paper I left one wet one down so she could get the scent but as I tried to make the amount of paper smaller, she just started to go anywhere, sometimes on the paper, sometimes on the other side of the room, or in another room.
With the puppy pads I just put them down because the guy in the pet shop said they were treated with some chemical so she'd be drawn to going on them. Like with the paper, sometimes she'd go on them, most times she wouldn't.

You haven't actually trained her at all, all you have done is leave paper/pads out in the hope that she will go on them. She can't train herself
Starpants' advice is spot on.

votejohn

Hiya leelo,

at this stage your pup should be able to hold on for a while from going to the toilet, so its going to make it harder to time her toilet trips.

If I were you this is what id do....

get a crate, they're not too pricey for the small dogs ones.

Get the dog used to the crate... put her bed into it, give her treats for going into it, then get her used to being locked into it (tire her out with loads of playing and exercise then lock her in it with a treat or a chewy bone).

Once she's ok with being locked into it, lock her in every night. then first thing in the morning bring her STRAIGHT to the balcony and wait with her (ignoring her) until she's done her a business, then lots of praise and a treat.

Feed her, play, then a walk. If she doesnt do her business on the walk, bring her out onto the balcony when you get back. Give it five or ten mins, if she goes, again, loads of praise, if not, bring her back in, put her into the crate and give her a treat. After half an hour in the crate bring her outside to the balcony again, and same again.



With the crate, it means that she wont get the opportunity to go in the house, and she will cop on to going to the balcony door when she needs to go.

I think the above way should work for you.

Crate to the balcony all the time, and only let her run around the house when she's done her business, or if you are very sure she wont need to go.

Also, very important to clean up her messes with pet odour cleaner!!!! A lot of household cleaning products smells like urine to dogs, so its encouraging them to go there again! The pet cleaning products deters them from going to the toilet on that spot again!!

Sigma Force

I'd do away with any paper or pads, crate training at least at night even will help as said.

A puppy of that age needs to go out around 8 times a day, first time in the morning when the pup wakes up and then regularly and after every meal etc.

Not sure if this is the case with dogs in general but with ours I find the smaller the dog the more often they need to pee.
Could be just mine though.

A mop and bucket is your best friend at this stage, no need to scrub floors (unless they have carpet) just keep a mop handy and a quick wipe does it.
Dunnes do the mops with the replaceable heads for about 3.00 so changing the mop head every other week should do.

5 months is still very young your pup could be 7 or 8 months before really being able to control the bladder.

I'd go from scratch again, it's very tedious until you get into a routine of it.
Any time you're going past the balcony just see if the pup needs a pee.

When the pup is peeing just say the word pee or toilet or whatever so the pup starts to know the word, or say do you want to go outside for pee as you open the door.

Our pup is 7 months and still getting up at least once in the night with him.

Hope that helps, you can add cheap white vinegar and some lavender or tea tree oil to the mop water makes the place smell nice and is safe for the toddler and the pup.

doctor evil

What kind of balcony is it? It wouldn't be fair if anything dripped or fell to the one below. Perhaps you can get some kind of crate or enclosed littertray (the ones for cats) onto the balcony itself.

-Leelo-

Thanks for the advice folks!

doctor evil wrote: »

What kind of balcony is it? It wouldn't be fair if anything dripped or fell to the one below. Perhaps you can get some kind of crate or enclosed littertray (the ones for cats) onto the balcony itself.

Lol, nah there's no way anything could drip or drop down to the one below. Wouldn't let her go out there if it could

Paul91

how you getting on with it?