[waterbuffalofarmer]

Little Rhosyn is growing very well and has a very big dog cage to sleep in. We have managed to train her not to poop at night time and we get up at 8Am to put her out for a poop, any later and she will poop. Problem is she pees all over the bedding she has, even though we have tried so hard to train her not to, she does it even after she has been out for one and if we are not watching her for 5 mins she will pee in the hallway or on the stairs even though she knows she is not allowed on the stairs. Today I, foolishly, let her out and had to go do something for a few mins, when I came back a horrible smell greeted me and she wasn't in the hallway, she had run up the stairs, pooped on the landing and had tread it in all down the stairs and over a lot of the landing, so I literally pushed her outside to play with Ruby whilst I had to clean up the mess, this takes 30-40 mins. My qestion now is (I know she is too young to sleep with Ruby where Ruby sleeps, as weather is too cold at night, although warm in the day) how can I potty train her to not poop anywhere in the house if I leave for just a few mins (max 5-10) She is really wearing mine and mums patience thin..... Oh the joys of puppies people.

[in the hills]

How old is she? Isn't she a tiny baby? And by that I mean just a few weeks old?

I know that it is hard but you must be very patient.

We use a small dog crate for nights. Only really big enough to sleep in, stand up, turn around and so on. Keep all bedding really clean to avoid the smell encouraging the pup to mess in there and of course so that it is pleasant for pup and seen by them as a nice place to be.

In the day I keep the pup with me and watch them very carefully for signs that they need to go eg, sniffing, Take outside as soon as you see signs and stay with pup and praise if they do something. If I need to leave pup I pop them in their crate after first having taken them outside to empty themselves Take outside straight away when you return to the room where pup is sleeping.

Take outside after feeding.

Take outside if pup wakes after a nap.

It is a full time job but I've never found with our retrievers that it took many weeks though of course dogs all vary in the time it takes. In fact both the dogs that I have now only had about a couple of wee wee accidents during the daytime.

In my opinion it is of no use to be cross with her at all if she has an accident in the house, if she is as young as I think she is. Just as you would n't be cross with a human baby.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

She is coming up for 9 and a half weeks old now. we do put her ouside after a meal, but she sometimes doesn't go and instead when she comes back in goes inside the house, which isn't very good. Thanks for the advice though, will bear it in mind

[Sbom]

You have to stay out with her until she does do something!
I'm sure I spent hours outside in the freezing cold when mine was a pup. Worth it in the end as she's 100% trained now and never has accidents.

[in the hills]

Yes, I second that, may as well live outside yourself  .... But it is the only way. Maybe play with her outside until she goes.

91/2 weeks is nothing.  She is just a tiny baby.

Unless there is a physical problem she will get it.

I never do but so e people teach a command which means empty yourself. Often something like 'be busy'.

[CarolineJ]

What are you cleaning up with?  Most cleaning products have ammonia in them, which is also a component of urine, so she may well be smelling that after you've cleaned and thinking it's okay to go there because she can smell (to her nose) pee.  If this could be an issue, switch to cleaning with just water and bicarbonate of soda until house training is fully cracked.

At her age, I would think it's very unlikely her bladder is large enough to make it all the way through the night.  A rough rule of thumb is they need to go out at a rate of an hour for every month of age during the day and a bit longer than that overnight, so at 9.5 weeks she needs to be going out about every two hours as well as after meals, before bed etc.  Stay out with her until you see a result or you're certain she really, really doesn't need to go.

Other than that, it's just time and consistency - there were times when I despaired with Jack, especially when I let him out in the morning, he had a big wee in the garden and then half an hour later would have an excited sprinkle on the carpet while playing with our other dog, but we haven't had any indoor accidents for a couple of months now.

[Jukes Mum]

Puppies are very hard work.
If you want any chance of house training her quickly, you must, must stay outside with her until she goes. As soon as she starts to 'go' say your cue words (I use "hurry up"). As soon as she is finished, lavish her with praise. I use the cue word so that, once she's learnt it, you can take her to her toilet spot say "hurry up" or similar and they go. They know they are not outside to play etc. It makes it so much easier if you are in a hurry or it's raining if you know they will go on demand :-)
I am by no means criticising you, but if she toilets inside, see it your fault not hers.
We do it by spending most of the day outside with our pups. Once they are inside they are usually straight in the crate. As previously said, the crate should be as small and snug as possible, so she only has her comfy bed, which they are unlikely to toilet on. As soon as you let her out the crate, let her straight outside and stay there until she's toileted, praise and let her in. Let her out as after each meal, after each play session etc. Unless you are 100% focused on her and interacting with her, pop her in her crate. This will only usually take 2/3 weeks so don't feel bad about it. It also stops the pup from being constantly overstimulated, and get used to spending a little bit of time alone.
At night, at 9.5 weeks old, I would expect to let her out at bed time (and wait until she goes), set your alarm for the middle of the night to take her out (and wait until she goes), then first thing in the morning. Again, you won't need to do this for long, but if she's already learnt to wee in her bed then you are now going to have to un--teach her not to.
Unfortunately, she has already learnt to go inside, so it may take a little longer than usual for you to housetrain her, but putting in the hard work now will make life much easier for you.
Good luck, and keep us posted!

[Ghdp]

We used the same focussed crate using approach as Juke's mum WBF and although it was a huge commitment at the time it soon worked out for all concerned.  We then only had excited wee ing when visitors arrived (from the dog!) but that stopped too when she was ignored.( and we discretely mopped up!) Just keep a very warm coat near the door; stick with it - and it will improve.
I went into puppy owning with my eyes wide open but even then was surprised at how much it was like having a new born baby in the house again. 

[in the hills]

How are you doing WBF?

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Puppy still hasn't got it yet, but will keep working at it.

[in the hills]

She will get there.

Pop her back in her crate when you can't watch her. They sleep a lot anyway at that age.

Weather getting better this week. It will be easier for you.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Yeah I suppose so, although she is not sleeping that much, just wants to play all the time. She sleeps mostly at night and a couple of hrs in the day. I think when she is older I will harden her off gradually so she can sleep with Ruby, in the trailer, but only when she is a few months old. she was raised in a barn, so maybe that's why it's difficult to potty train her?

[in the hills]

I don't think that being raised outside would really slow down her house training. Our dogs are out of working dogs so were reared outdoors in kennels.

If she is awake and on the go a lot she is probably too busy and forgets.  I think that you may need to take her out every 20 minutes or so during active periods.

She is probably in a pattern of doing it indoors now so it may take you a little longer than it would have done.

You have to be almost obsessive about it at the beginning. That way the pup doesn't get into the habit of going inside. It saves time and energy at the end of the day though.

She is still very young, she'll get it. Enjoy her.

[doganjo]

I'm going to be brutal here. everyone else has been nice and you still have problems

She is a tiny baby dog. She needs to wee and poo a lot FACT!

Human babies wear nappies - if they didn't, and in some countries they don't, they would just wee when and where they need to. 

In your case that is inside because you are not keeping her outside till she empties herself! 

You won't succeed unless you do that.  You must stay outside with her for as long as it takes.

They don't sleep for hours at a time except at night.  They catnap for a few minutes at a time and must be taken outside as soon as they waken - not when you've finished washing the dishes or having a cup of tea or miking a cow - now! Right this minute!

Her cage must be small or a bit blocked off so she hasn't room to stand up and wee.  I use a large cage but I put a firm bed or cardboard box inside at the back, just big enough to sleep in, and newspaper in the other part.  If she rips the paper, so what, it keeps her amused.
If you do these things she will become potty trained for wees in a couple of weeks.  If not she is ether stupid or she has an infection.  Poos sometimes take a little longer

[Marches Farmer]

If a pup pees in its cage you may also need to wash the cage - anywhere they pee will be a place they go back to.  Moving the cage to a different location or spraying the area with something like room scent spray may help.  We hope to get a new pup this Summer and I'll be saving newspapers from next month!  Our puppy cage is on a tiled floor, so cleaning up is easy.  Our dogs are only allowed in the heated side porch they sleep in overnight.