# At the end of my tether with toilet training...... Help!



## Milo moo (Sep 18, 2013)

I am in desperate need of some advice with my boy. I have had him since 8 weeks and for the first week I purely taught him to toilet on puppy pads. 

After researching online I realised it was ok to let your puppy in the garden so just after week 2 I started to teach him the garden along with pads just in case for the nighttime. By week 3 I had run out of pads so just persevered with the garden training. 

He has never been in a crate, so I realise toilet training is twice as hard. He is gated upstairs and has the run of the bathroom and spare rooms during the night and whilst we are out. 

He is left alone for 4 hours per day Mon-Fri, 5 hours at a maximum. My dad collects him every afternoon so we are very lucky here. 

He is now 18 weeks. I let him out every hour or so and use 'wee wees' as my command. I treat him when he goes outside, but he still doesn't ask to go out. How can I teach him this? I've considered bell training, but this will only be effective during the times we are with him and its the nights and day times we aren't with him that's the main problem. 

I let him out first thing in the morning and last thing at night, but still I wake up to a puddle in the same spare room each time. He will also toilet during the 4 hours he's left alone in the day. 

I am now at my wits end. I feel like all I do is scrub carpets. I've tried every form of cleaner I can possibly think of and even had to borrow my mums carpet cleaner a couple of weeks back as we had guests staying in the spare room  (his toilet of choice). I cannot wait to replace the carpet with new! 

Is this normal and am I just overreacting or is he just not picking it up!?

I read so many posts about dogs being trained by 4 months and I'm starting to think I am doing something wrong. 

How can I teach him it's wrong to toilet indoors? On the odd occasion of an accident when I'm home, I just pick him up and rush him outside with the wee wees command, although usually he's already finished his little piddle! 

I am happy to try any suggestions provided and thank you in advance for any tips you can give me 

Oh and did I mention :ilmc:

Thanks all


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Poor you.
I think that most dogs are toilet trained by the time that they are five to six months, some earlier, some may still have occasional accidents even after six months.
If I was you I'd shut him out of your spare rooms, so he is in a more limited space. Dot has a crate, Kiki never did, but she was shut in just the kitchen over night and when I was out.
Do you know if he gets upset while you are out?
If possible I would take him for a walk in the morning before you leave him and keep an account of when he goes to the loo. Also last thing do not just let him out in the garden either take him for a walk on the lead around the block or go out in the garden with him so that you know when he has done his business.
What are you feeding him? How many times a day does he poop and roughly how often does he go pee.
Poochie bells have worked well for others and I think that they are pretty audible, so they might be a good thing.
Kiki one day barked by the back door to be let out - and she did for a while do this, but now she just comes and gives me the intent desperate stare. Dot has excellent bladder control and generally hangs on til I let her out - she is not obviously asking to go out, but I have begun to notice that she breaks off from her play and heads for the door - if I let her out then she quickly goes to the loo.
Sometimes their signal can be pretty subtle and you really need to watch them.
Don't give up, it is just a stage....


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

When I moved into the house my dog was using the spare room as her toileting area. I had a doggy door and she had not had an accident since I brought her home at about 9 months from the pound. But she hated getting wet and we had an exceptionally rainy summer. I ended up getting it professionally cleaned and they did extra work because of the poop/pee. I also blocked those rooms off and limited her to smaller areas of the house. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

I would definitely suggest limiting the space. He's not ready to have all of the space you give him. You can start to introduce new areas when you are confident he's trained indoors. When you are at home it might be an idea to not take him out every hour but watch for the signals from him that he may need to go. He maybe doesn't ask because he is out every hour.


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## Ted (Jul 29, 2013)

adding to the very good advice above, all i can add is that we use White Vinegar to clear up any accidents, it gets rid of any trace of wee/poo and so hopefully will not make them go there again!! 
and totally agree to limiting the space he has access to.
We use a crate for Ted and before that our basset hound, they are invaluable for us! but I know they are not for everyone.
Keep going and let us know how you get on, you will get there 
Marie


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Fergus is a similar age. I still feel that while he very, very rarely has accidents if he does then it's my fault for either not picking up on clues or just not taking him out. He does go towards the door sometimes and so he wants to go out ! But on the whole I instigate toileting I know when he last went and take him out when I think he needs to go. I personally wouldn't expect him to last four hours without a wee. I think 2.5 he's gone the maximum and maybe a little longer once, he was out with us but just didn't go then when he did he was busting. 
I think I'd expect him to have weed in four hours. But I agree with others I'd limit his space, if nothing else it means you can find where he's been. I don't think he's not learning I just don't think he can hold it, persevere and it'll get better x 
It's like when people say their babies sleep through the night I was sooo envious of a friend of mine who's baby slept through the night, until I realised she didn't put the baby to bed until 11.30 and mine had been in bed since 7, so toilet training I think is similar Fergus is hardly ever left so it lessens the chance of accidents, it's all relative .....hang in there xx


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## Sumes (Aug 3, 2013)

Alfie and Dexter are just over the 4 month mark and very rarely have accidents but that's just because we haven't been brave enough to close our back door since getting them in August!
We're dreading the bad weather kicking in as whilst they don't go anywhere fear as often now i still don't think they really get it.
I understand how you feel as we got really quite down hearted at one point.
When cleaning up we use a spray called 'Simple Solution' - they do a version for hard floor and carpets and it neutralises toilets so they don't go in the same spot over again - seems pretty good.
I hope things get better - hang in there!


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## Sue T (Aug 1, 2012)

Hello. I can relate to your post. I thought we would never toilet train Lucy (14 months now). We used a goats bell and she did use it. (Cheap on e-bay). The practise of using the bell for toilet has also worked if we take her to a friends house when we go on holiday. She was in fact almost 7 months before we felt safe with her toileting. I do wonder if your pup has too much room in the house and I would endorse what others have said and restrict access to rooms and especially if you are not at home.


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

Hi. Poor you. We have never crated our dogs and I am not sure that it makes training any easier. In my experience you do need to limit his space. He has picked your spare room for a toilet and to break that cycle you need to shut the door and keep him out. I would leave him alone in an uncarpeted area for now. The kitchen, utility or bathroom from choice and I would put paper down. Its easier to clean then. When you are home, for a couple of weeks watch him. He will tell you. He may come and gaze at you. Go away, come back. This is him telling you. He may keep nudging you or sit and gaze at you. He may seem restless. All these are signs or in dog language shouts of 'mum....let me out'! Good luck!


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## Milo moo (Sep 18, 2013)

*Thank you*

Thanks so much for all of your advice. I think I am going to block off the 2 spare rooms tonight so that he has only the hallway and bathroom, he usually sleeps in either the bathroom or hallway anyway. 

I will also give him a quick 10 minute walk in the mornings and see how that goes, but its mostly the nights that are the problem times. 

I have a puppy camera at home so I can check how he is during the day, it's called a foscam and I have an app on my phone to login and see him. He cries for about 2/3 minutes when we have left, but doesn't seem too fazed otherwise. It's been his routine since we have had him, so he's pretty used to it by now. Other than that when I login he is either playing quietly with a toy or sleeping. 

I will also definitely try white vinegar, thanks for that one! It's a very strong smell so I'm sure he will dislike it and stay away from the area. 

Plus I plan to buy some bells this weekend, as we are going away in November for a weekend so he is staying with family and really don't want him to be too bad in their homes. Hopefully he will understand the bells at their house too. 

If all else fails I should be able to start working from home come November of next year!

Thanks again for all your advice, I welcome more if you are only just reading this post


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## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

Get some of this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Solu...id=1381511976&sr=8-2&keywords=simple+solution

Prevents stains and also going again in the same place as it has enzymes which break it down. 

We've used this on our cream rug and he's never been twice in the same place and there's no stain.

There's also a hardfloor version: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Solu...id=1381512129&sr=8-7&keywords=simple+solution


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