# Teddy Update at 18 weeks



## lauraclarke91 (Dec 29, 2014)

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would give a quick update on Teddy and also ask for some advice 

Teddy is now 18 weeks old and is a little sweetheart. He has got those puppy dog eyes down to a tee  He is doing great at puppy class and seems to pick up training quite quickly. He is great at night and sleeps in his crate from around 10:30pm to 7:00am without a peep. He is a confident puppy and is happy to be on his own without showing any signs of separation anxiety. Biting has never been too much of a problem, and he is starting to lose his baby teeth now 

Myself and my partner work during the week, although my partner works shifts and comes home for an hour at lunch time, so Teddy is only left on his own for around 4-5 hours. He has a walk in the morning and another in the evening. For this time he is left in the kitchen with his crate (door open), water, toys and a puppy pad in a holder by the back door. He always uses the puppy pad when he needs the toilet, we never come back to any accidents.

The problem seems to be when we are at home but are distracted with making dinner etc. If the back door is open, he will choose to go to the toilet outside (80% of the time), however on some occasions, and especially when the door is closed, he will go to the toilet inside without any warning that he needs to go. This happens usually every other day and I'm just conscious that I thought he would be house trained by now. When we take him to my mums, he doesn't hesitate in weeing on the carpet/sofa/her dogs bed!!! And when we are at puppy class he wees at least twice, whereas the other (younger) dogs seem to be able to hold it.

We have tried to use poochie bells to encourage him to let us know when he needs to go out, but he hasn't caught on to this yet after around 4 weeks use.

Does anyone have any ideas that would encourage him to hold his bladder for longer during the day? He holds it all night since we took away his puppy pads inside the crate, so I know he can do it. I'm not sure whether I should start crating him during the day to encourage him to hold it, but I would prefer him to have a bit more freedom. We tried him in a puppy pen when he was younger and he hated it, plus it takes up a lot of room in the kitchen.

Sorry for the long post, but I would really appreciate some advice or reassurance that this is normal at his age!

[EDIT]
I forgot to mention that Teddy is extremely excitable when meeting other dogs on his walks and at puppy class. He sniffs them but then tries to jump all over them and make funny yelping noises as if they are hurting him (which they are definitely not as they usually stand still!). At puppy class he barks at the other puppies, which he did not really do previously. Is this normal and does anyone have any thoughts on how to encourage calmer behaviour? It is not making him very popular with the local dogs we see regularly on our walks!

Thank you,
Laura and Teddy xx


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## Lottierachel (Mar 3, 2013)

I think he still just needs a bit of a helping hand! Tilly was 20 weeks before she was reliably house trained, and even longer at my parents' house because there was so much to distract her and us!

Keep going with the 'outside every hour' technique that has got you to where you are - he will get there eventually, but he's still a baby who probably forgets himself a little sometimes!

P.s. He's gorgeous  xxx


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## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

Teddy is still a baby and enjoying been a puppy by bouncing on the other dogs, they will put him in his place if they need to.
Your poo won't calm down until past the two years stage, enjoy his cheeky chappy ways, keep up with the puppy class & always have extra tasty treats to distract him if needed.
He will soon get the toilet training - he is almost there, it does sometimes seem like one step forward and two steps back,
He's so cute he can get away with it!! X


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Love the 2nd pic! Teddy is a cute pup!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

I consider house training and reliably asking to go out are two different issues - so he is perfectly house trained if you notice he needs to go out and you need to learn his signals he needs to go out. Poochie bells have worked for some for them to tell you but I have never used them so could not say.

As for in the day needing the loo - he is only a baby and still developing - it is not fair to compare with night as he is sleeping at night and not active so less likely to need the loo.


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## bearthecockapoo (Mar 17, 2015)

I am having similar problems with my baby poo. He is 6 months old. He is fine to sleep through the night and he is fine with no accidents if he is crated while we are at work.

90% of the time he goes outside when we are home, but occasionally he still goes on the rug. At puppy class and at other people's houses he will go inside.

I was told this is because he only knows where our door is at home. I would appreciate any advice on this too!


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## Janey153 (Mar 26, 2015)

I would think such a cute puppy could get away with anything! 
Sorry I cant offer any sensible advice, my pup isnt here for another month and I suspect I'll be too soft if he looks anything like yours, but hopefully not


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## Sassy (Mar 20, 2015)

Laura, is your avatar a photo of Teddy when he was much younger? Your avatar looks like my poo. I'm so curious. Trying to figure out how she'll change. Still a baby, but Teddy looks so grown up now.


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## lauraclarke91 (Dec 29, 2014)

Thanks for your messages, it's a relief to know that this is normal and we aren't doing anything wrong.

He really is a cutie, he melts my heart! Sassy - my avatar is Teddy at 7 weeks old  i don't think he's changed that much, just got bigger and fluffier! Your poo is gorgeous, he will be gorgeous when he's older.

Laura xx


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## Sassy (Mar 20, 2015)

I'm enjoying this puppy stuff so now, but I wonder….. Is it because she's so cute? I just have to remember not to allow her to get away with behavior that's less tolerable when she's older, like jumping.


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

Having to housebreak two puppies at the same time, I swear by the poochie bells. But you have to be committed and not give up. they get it eventually and then they get it consistently but it took what seemed like a long time before they even got close to ringing it. But every time I went outside I would ring the poochie bells with their noses before opening the door. Whether it was to toilet or not, going outside meant the poochie bells are rung first. Even when they figured out the doggie door for a very long time they would still ring the bells required me to give permission that it was ok to go out. I take the bells with me when I travel. 

Beemer particularly likes to communicate other things with the bells. They will both ring it if they need to go out and something is blocking their way or we are in a new place without a doggie door. But Beemer rings it and then sniffs at the place where I feed him when he's hungry. And when we are outside and Beemer is done and wants to be inside because it's dinner time or bedtime, he will come inside through the doggie door and wait. if we don't follow him, he will ring the bells from the inside telling us it's time to come indoors. He and Lexi will use the doggie door to go to the bathroom by themselves but if one has pooped, Beemer comes in and rings the bells to let me know I need to pick it up. 

Also, my two were not given pee pads in the house. Perhaps taking the pads away and starting again with the house training or moving the pads outdoors so he associates toilet ing with outside may help him understand where it is and isn't ok to go. And then to generalize that learning to new places. 




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