Puppy accidents!

disneymum

Hi all,

I have a good bit of experience with dogs and horses so just a quick question.. am I going mental?

Our new pup (here 8wks) is pee-ing EVERYWHERE, our bitch is 2 now and when she was a pup she used to pee in one spot repeatedly (off the paper -of course!) but the new fella pee's anywhere he fancies it. I used to foster dogs for a friend who was involved in a rescue kennel (if they had no room I got the doggie) and have never seen a dog pee everywhere. I know it takes time to train them but this guy is really doing my head in!!!:)

We've tried only rewarding the paper pee's and no scolding when a mistake is made but is it time to start with the firm no's and a tap on the nose??:(

jen_23

Hi disneymum

Congrats on your new addition! When I was training Gunnar I used to bring him outside during the day about once every 1-2hours and praise him when he went but if he didn't go tried again in an hour.
It used to get so frustrating though when after just being out he would come back in and pee on the carpet!
Once he got the idea though he's been perfect ever since

But it's a learning stage they are still trying to figure out whats wanted of them and they all learn at different paces.

Are you putting him on the mat every 1-2hours or are you getting him to find his own way?

disneymum

Hi Jen23 thanks for the reply.

We are both putting him there and letting him find his way, it's in the kitchen so he can see it most of the time. Our house is fairly open plan though so I can see where he could get confused. I suppose it's just a matter of time, he's great by night and there is rarely a mess when I come down in the morning before the school run it's just when we are around. We have a mad house too (3 kids from 9 down to 1.5, Duff (the bitch) and Ollie himself) so it probably is confusion, I just can't stop thinking it's attention seeking?

Picture of day 2 after we brought Ollie home. Duff wasn't so sure and kept trying to push him around! They're like mother and son now though!

jen_23

Oh he is handsome! A westie?

Oh it could be excitement maybe? The one time Gunnar peed everywhere on me was when people were around especially when people called or came home.

dontcallmecrazy

This might be considered cheating - but we got those puppy peeing pads or whatever they are called.

I think its something got to do with the smell they give out that attracts the dog to pee on them, but they work a treat, puppy wont pee anywhere else!!

disneymum

I'd use every 'cheat' under the sun if I knew them!
We used the training pads with Duff but she decided that they tasted better without pee so just pee'd beside them instead!!!:D Comical, you just can't be up to them, they're too cute!

'They' say to put Cheerios or a cork into the loo when training little boys (or for drunken husbands and friends on cards night;)) does anyone know of a trick like this for ikkle doggies?

Sigma Force

Stop tapping your dog on the nose. The pup is only 8 weeks old you are going to get lots of accidents. The wee wee pads can work but it's best to go out 8 times a day with the pup into the garden, after every meal etc.

Every dog is different and some takes a few months to get a handle on training. Be patient he's only tiny he probably can't control his bladder fully yet.

disneymum

Guineapigrescue,

Please READ the post again.:(
I never said we were tapping the pup on the nose I asked is it time to start!
I never said the pup is 8 weeks old I said we have him home 8 weeks - this makes him 17 weeks.
With regards to being patient, I AM.... all I was doing was asking am I going mental, what I meant by this was has anyone ever heard of puppies peeing literally everywhere??? I have years of experience (20+) with dogs and horses (also stated in the post) and have come accross puppies who don't pee on paper but instead pee where they fancy but never a pup who pee's everywhere. I also stated that I understand that training takes a while to 'get'!
Again, please read the post.

andreac

Hi Disney,

Yeah most pups will just pee anywhere at a young age, but your pup is 4 months now and should be somewhat trained.

Are you training the dog to go outside because if he doesnt associate going outside with rewards and encouragement he will continue to go inside.

I would stop with any paper or pads at this age now as its only confusing him. Does he pee in the house when you are there or just when hes on his own? When you are in the house you need to be bringing him outside and rewarding him when he goes, he needs to be brought out after every meal, drink, sleep and play session and then as often as you can at other times too.

Training takes time and patience but you need to put in the work too as they dont just know where to go themselves.

disneymum

Thanks andreac,

We have only started allowing him outside in the last few days, there was an error by our vet (nothing bad though) when it came to his Vac's. He had his initial parvo with the breeders vet, we gave him his 7 in 1 but obviously this meant that the only thing he had two doses of was the parvo. He had his second 7 in 1 about 10 days ago. We couldn't let him out prior to this as we have buckets of feral cats around our estate and they are disease ridden!
He seems to be 'getting' the whole pee and poo outside thing alright so I may just take your advice here and get rid of the paper! He seems to be copying the older bitch and only going behind the shed too which is fab.:D
We have a doggie door which Duff (bitch) uses and Ollie (pup) can finally get up the step to get in that now, so I can leave it open during the day for them again.

andreac

Ah right i see, well that explains a lot then, as hes still in the very early stages of training so.

Once you start being able to bring him outside it should make a huge difference but he needs a lot of encouragement as he has gotten used to going inside now for a few weeks.

Do the basics that i mentioned above and start by getting rid of paper/pads as that only confuses.
If you catch him going in the house, correct him and say no and bring him outside so he can finish.

This will take time as he has already learned to go in the house so just be patient, but you need to put a lot of work in now.

cianer

I know the advice is to bring them outside every half hour, after eating, waking up etc and it does work.
But what they don't tell you is if your pup is playing they can pee every 5 minutes! I'd imagine if you have 3 kids under 9 there's alot of playing in your house so maybe the every half hour to the pad is only the tip of the iceberg for your pup if he's playing alot? So it's not enough of a routine for him to get the idea of where to pee. It's probably why he's so tidy at night, alot calmer. Could your older child be brought into the housemtraining to help you, so there's 2 of you bringing him to the pee area every 5 mins while playing?

disneymum

Thanks guys,

Things being calmer at night hence him being tidyier seems to make sense. Having left the doggie door open since 7 am this morning we have only had one 'accident' inside the house. I must do the school run soon so I'll have to close it because I won't be here to keep an eye on him in the garden. It is enclosed but I don't trust the feral cats not to try and eat him and I don't like him disappearing under the shed either. We'll see how being stuck in for an hour goes for him again.

tk123

OP make sure you're using the right kind of cleaner to remove the scent or he'll keep going back for more!

cianer

tk123 wrote: »

OP make sure you're using the right kind of cleaner to remove the scent or he'll keep going back for more!

Very good point. Don't use anything bleach based, it has the same basic smell to a dog as urine and he'll just pee everywhere you've cleaned with it! I used to use Dettol, had no probems

lrushe

cianer wrote: »

Very good point. Don't use anything bleach based, it has the same basic smell to a dog as urine and he'll just pee everywhere you've cleaned with it! I used to use Dettol, had no probems

Or washing powder as it breaks down the enzymes in the pee / poop removing the scent

Sigma Force

Apologies op read post wrong.

However don't begin to start tapping the dog on the nose.
Still at 17 weeks some pups can't hold it in, some dogs are quicker than others to learn. Just a matter of being consistent some pups bladders don't mature fully until they are 8 months ish.

Keep rewarding the good and ignoring the bad.
There's also a plastic thing you can get you pop it in the ground in the garden, it's supposed to attract the dog to it to encourage the dog to pee.

Vinegar can help discourage them from peeing in the same place.

Obviously if it continues perhaps the vet should rule out any bladder weakness issues just in case.