New Puppy Problems

gagiteebo

Hi all

My boyfriend and I recently got a 3 month old golden retriever puppy, we got have him one week today in fact. He's a beautiful dog and so gentle and friendly but we are having toilet issues. We bring him for walks every day, he is let out to roam around the garden as soon as we get up and right before bed and also after he eats etc now he does go to the toilet when he is out sometimes but often he'll come straight back in after being outside for ages and pee or poop in the house. If we leave him alone for any amount of time he will do the same. The most recent example was this morning, I got up and let him out for half an hour, he came back in and as I was walking up the stairs I turned to see him going to the toilet in the hall. We don't understand why he is doing this and as you can imagine, we are eager to stop it as soon as possible.

Thanks guys

Toulouse

Firstly he is only 12 weeks so don't be expecting him to be fully trained immediately.

You need to go outside with him. Just stand there and wait until he goes and then lots of praise when he does. There's no point just letting him out to ramble around himself. He doesn't know what you want him to do. So out you go with him, for however long it takes and then lots of praise and cuddles. He'll soon learn that outside is the place to go. You can even train him to associate a phrase with it. I tell my girl to 'Go pee' and she knows now what I want her to do.

Also on the walking front, it's generally given that it's 5 mins walking per month of age so don't overdo it as you don't want to damage his growing joints.

Best of luck with your new pup and here's a good point of info for you http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/digital-dog-training-textbook

tk123

What Toulouse said and also you need to clean wherever he has accidents inside properly - if he can get get scent he'll keep going in the same place. Our GR was trained by 3 or 4 months. We took him out every 30 mins or so and lots of praise when he went. At night time he was crated so as soon as I heard him cry in the morning (3/4/5/6am) I'd take him out.

andreac

At that age, a puppy's bladder is not strong enough to hold it in, so when they need to go, they just will, so hes not being bold, he just needs to go.

Its up to you to make sure hes brought out often enough and praise him then so he learns that outside is where he has to go.

Toilet training takes months to teach so its not going to happen in a few days. You need to be patient and have a routine going.

My pup is 6 months and has just learned to ask to be let outside where as up to a few weeks ago she would still go in the house if she needed to go.

Yes at 3 months old he really shouldnt be going for much more that a 10-15 min walk at most as growing bones and joints can be damaged with too much exercise. Rule is about 5 mins per month of age.

yolanda

I know exactly how you feel!

I thought our G.R would never get toilet trained. He's 5 months old now and only have it in the last month which is actually quite good. We brought him outside every half hour, said the word toilet and stood with our arms folded until he went. Then lots of praise. It was a special moment when he pawed at the door to get outside!

You'll get there. As for the walking you never specified how long you were walking him for and I'm sure you know the 5 mins per month of age thing without people telling you.

Good luck!

niallo27

Our retriever was toilet trained in about a month, if he is like our one he loves his food, anytime he went outside he was giving a treat, for the month the only time he got a treat was when he went outside, he learnt very quick, a hug and a treat is the best way to go.