Toilet training - inside and outside

Uncle_moe

Hi,

we just got a corgie puppy, he's 8 weeks old and we're trying to toilet train him to be able to go both inside and outside. 3 days a week he will be on his own and confined to the house. We have a doggy door but we're a bit worried he's too small to be out on his own with a few big cats in the area who come into the garden. Anyway, he is currently going to the toilet on a puppy pad or mat and I take him outside when I am here and he has started relieving himself in the garden which is great.
Just wondering am I confusing him by bringing him out when he starts to poo? Will he think he can't go indoors even though he will have to for the first couple of months on days we're not here?
I also don't really stop him peeing on the pad inside and bring him out because he just goes so much and I'd be up with him all the time.
Basically should it be one type pf training for now i.e. go on the pad in the house and leave it at that until he will have full access himself to the garden?
Don't want to confuse him and have him trying to hold it while we're not here.

cocker5

OP firstly congrats on your new puppy…

Secondly its totally confusing trying to train him to go inside and out… it one or the other am afraid. That is giving the wee pup mixed signals.. if you continue using both you will never totally house train your dog.

Thirdly – get rid of those puppy pads / newspaper it’s a very old school method and only confuses the dog even more. In effect you are training him to go to the toilet indoors.

Here’s what you should do… take him outside 15 / 20 mins after he eats… and stay with him until he goes to the toilet i.e. wee or poo… praise him whe he goes outside. I have a “word” i.e. toilet / wees etc say this every time he goes and praise him… he will learn to associate this word with going outside etc.

You will need to bring him out at least once a hour for the first few days , each night you’ll need to get up and let him out 3 / 4 times per night…. After a few days space the hours out a little. This sounds extreme but very effective in house training a puppy quickly. If you pu the effort in now he will leran very quickly…

If he goes inside just pick him up and bring him outside once outside praise him. If you do this solidly for 3 weeks he will be pretty much house trained, if you use the pads etc it will take months.

You could also look at crate training him… te key is consistency and being persistent.

Post a pic up of the little man 

Uncle_moe

Uncle_moe wrote: »

Hi,

we just got a corgie puppy, he's 8 weeks old and we're trying to toilet train him to be able to go both inside and outside. 3 days a week he will be on his own and confined to the house.

How long will he be on his own on those days? Do you have a friend/neighbour/family member who could pop in and let him out? I agree with cocker that its either one or the other and I can't imagine its ever a good idea to actively train a dog to toilet indoors. At his age there's not a hope of him being able to hold it for prolonged periods so to avoid stressing him out and messing up his training I think you need to enlist someone to call round, possibly more than once depending on how long you'll be out.
As far as " I also don't really stop him peeing on the pad inside and bring him out because he just goes so much and I'd be up with him all the time" that's what you sign up to when you get a puppy. Its a pain in the backside no doubt and we've all stood outside in the cold and wet middle of the night begging our pups to go weewee but its an essential part of the training as outlined above by cocker.

Uncle_moe

thanks so much for the responses, very helpful. The only problem i have is that if we train him to only go outside, will he actually be able to hold it in for 10 hours when we're no here?
As i said, there is a doggy door but i think he's too young to go out by himself when we're not here as there are cats around.
One he grows a little more he'll have the freedom to go in and out on the days we're not here but until then what should i do if i can't have someone call around to let him out? I know pups can't hold it in and i don't want him to feel bad and be really confused.

Cherry Blossom

I think it's actually quite distressing to a lot of dogs when they are older to toilet in their living space. My terrier has to be taken outside the confines of the garden or she will not poo. There was a post here year's ago where a disabled lady reverse crate-trained her dog in the house. I think if you want to train your dog to toilet in the house the dog would need to have access to at least two rooms so they don't have to be in the room they've toileted in. If I was going to do it I'd get a big tray and put soil or a sod of grass in it and leave it in the bathroom giving the dog free access to get in and out. You could use that spray that smells of ammonia to entice the dog to use the tray. There is always the risk though that left to its own devices the dog will dig all the soil out and make a huge mess but there is no harm in trying it. If at some stage you change your mind and want the dog to go outside at least they will be used to going on grass/soil.

Cherry Blossom

There is a big chance of your pup developing separation anxiety if left alone for that length of time OP. I think 2 hours is the recommended maximum for a young pup. Can you pop home at lunch time or anything? Also will the dog be sleeping in a room on his own at night?

cocker5

Uncle_moe wrote: »

thanks so much for the responses, very helpful. The only problem i have is that if we train him to only go outside, will he actually be able to hold it in for 10 hours when we're no here?
As i said, there is a doggy door but i think he's too young to go out by himself when we're not here as there are cats around.
One he grows a little more he'll have the freedom to go in and out on the days we're not here but until then what should i do if i can't have someone call around to let him out? I know pups can't hold it in and i don't want him to feel bad and be really confused.

Honestly OP 10 hours for a young pup is waaaaaay too long to be by himself, at 8 weeks... even 12 weeks he is still very much a baby and IME he will suffer from separation anxiety... its very hard on them and can lead to serious destruction....do you not have a neighbour / relative that can call in on him to check if he's ok? have you considered paying for Doggy Dog care (when he is fully vaccinated) or paying for a local person to call in etc?

Uncle_moe

thanks again for the responses. I think you're right that 10 hours is too long at such a young age. I haven't had a dog in a long time and I forgot how vulnerable they are at this age so we're going to make sure he spends no more than 5 hours alone until he's about 5 months old.
He's currently doing really well, settled in fine and is happy going to the toilet outside but I can't train him to solely go outside just yet as he will need to go inside sometimes. Currently he goes out first thing in the morning and gets fed and he relieves himself, however, when we're not here for a few hours he'll get his feed inside and will have to go to the toilet indoors. However, once he's big enough he will have the run of the garden so we will train him properly to solely go outdoors. Until then we will try to see if he will use a litter box in the kitchen and he can have the run of the downstairs of the house so he won't have to stay in the same room.
Also, much appreciate the suggestion of using doggy day care, we will definitely use it once he has had all his shots.
The last think I want is to have a stressed out dog, I want to have a dog that has a happy life and if I thought for a second he wasn't happy I would look for an alternative.

Uncle_moe

sorry, this may have been answered already but just wondering if we are going to get home at lunchtime so he has no more than 5 hours alone, should we toilet training him to solely go outside yet or will that cause problems when he really needs to go while here by himself? Again, I want to avoid confusion in the dog. He currently is going on one piece of paper and poops outside a most of the time because we have been with him since we got him.

Cherry Blossom

How soon will you be leaving him on his own? You need to be building up his alone time gradually. Starting with just a few minutes.

cocker5

Uncle Moe – personally I would just train him to go outside only anything else confuses the little guy.
Also allowing him to go inside and outside will lead to have months sometimes years of house training issues.

As I mentioned above you must remove the paper / pads totally – these only lead to more confusion.

On the days you are home you must bring him out every hour during the day, and 20 minutes after he eats. When he goes outside praise him, use a “key word” i.e. wees etc and praise him again.
If he goes inside lift him up bring him outside, put him down say the key word and praise him again when he goes… there will be hanging around like an ejit outside etc BUT this works trust me. He will learn he gets praise when he goes outside…

During the night set your alarm 3 – 4 times per night and get up, do what is listed above… sounds mad but it works a treat…I PROMISE you if you follow this method in 2/3 weeks he will be fully house trained. If not your looking at months of trying.

Whe he goes inside (no pads and paper) point to it say NO, and pop him outside and again say your key word. Don’t scold him or give out to him.. as your messages are not clear to him while you have been using the pads etc.

On the days when you are home after 5 hours, pick him up and bring him straight outside and say the key word – stay OUTSIDE until he goes no matter how long then praise him..

If you are consistent with your training he will learn in 2/3 weeks etc…

OP on the days you are out for 10 hours who is feeding the little guy? Puppies need to be fed 3 / 4 times per day when that’s small?

best of luck

Uncle_moe

In response to the first question, he won't be left on his own for longer than 4 hours until he's approximately 3 months old. We will not be leaving him the full 10 hours until much later.
As for feeding him when we are out of the house we will use an auto feeder.
Cocker5, I really appreciate all your advice and we are trying our best to get him out as much as possible. He typically has us standing out at night before bed for half an hour and then decides to to go to the toilet once he's back inside but he's getting better.
It's my own fault for not realising how difficult it might be to get him used to going outside when he will not have full access himself until he's a bit older. I have friends in the US who have dogs in apartments who are trained to go indoors and outdoors but seeing as we have the garden it makes sense that he learns that's where to go. I will report back on how he's getting on.

cocker5

Uncle_moe wrote: »

In response to the first question, he won't be left on his own for longer than 4 hours until he's approximately 3 months old. We will not be leaving him the full 10 hours until much later.
As for feeding him when we are out of the house we will use an auto feeder.
Cocker5, I really appreciate all your advice and we are trying our best to get him out as much as possible. He typically has us standing out at night before bed for half an hour and then decides to to go to the toilet once he's back inside but he's getting better.
It's my own fault for not realising how difficult it might be to get him used to going outside when he will not have full access himself until he's a bit older. I have friends in the US who have dogs in apartments who are trained to go indoors and outdoors but seeing as we have the garden it makes sense that he learns that's where to go. I will report back on how he's getting on.

Best of luck Unlce Moe... having a pup is hard work but keep up the good work and persistence and it will pay off...

with regard to him going when you bring him back inside... this is where the key word will help... say a word when he goes outside over and over again...

have you forgotten something???
A pic of the little cutie ... pretty please??

Uncle_moe

here he is enjoying the sunshine
IMG_20160522_144632151.jpg

cocker5

ahhh god look at the wee size of him and cute face!!

He is gorgeous!!!!

:D

AryaStark

Uncle_moe wrote: »

thanks so much for the responses, very helpful. The only problem i have is that if we train him to only go outside, will he actually be able to hold it in for 10 hours when we're no here?
As i said, there is a doggy door but i think he's too young to go out by himself when we're not here as there are cats around.
One he grows a little more he'll have the freedom to go in and out on the days we're not here but until then what should i do if i can't have someone call around to let him out? I know pups can't hold it in and i don't want him to feel bad and be really confused.

A young puppy should not be left for that long alone. Can you get somebody to drop in and make sure he is safe. Its not only the toilet issue... puppies get bored and start to mess and play... he could get into something he shouldn't or hurt himself while alone.

Uncle_moe

As I said we have already made arrangements for him not to be left alone for any longer than about 4-5 hours.