Puppy Training

marty1985

Can anyone give me some tips on training him to pee in the bathroom and not in my room?
My place is pretty small, and since I'm in a wee studio apartment, and won't always be here, he's going to have to pee here anyway. My place is all tiled, so the clean up operations haven't been too bad so far. But I do want him to go in the bathroom. How can I achieve this? Should I buy a special tray or mat or something? Should I place his bed near the bathroom? Should I keep him in the bathroom until he goes? I have tried the latter for a while, but he begins to whine and yelp, and I don't want the neighbours hearing him. He doesn't seem to really like being in there at all. If he pees, or if I think he's about to, I pick him up and put him in the bathroom, but he wants to run back out straight away. It's also a bit of a step up for him to get into the bathroom, so I placed a cushion there. A few times it's worked for me, but he doesn't pee a lot, and then he'll end up peeing again somewhere else. Today I noticed he went in the bathroom while I was out, which I was happier about. Any help on this is greatly appreciated! He's about 5 weeks old, a little shephard mix that was abandoned, but has only been with me since Thursday night. I'm a newbie when it comes to taking care of a puppy but I'm doing my best.
All advice appreciated!

Bubs99

I feel so sorry for the por little pup being abandoned so young. This is the time when they should be snuggled under their mummy and being nursed etc.
Good on you for taking them in.

Having a puppy so young is fairly tough and it will take a few weeks for them to be fully trained, even more. This is the time when you need alot of patience. If you dont mind me saying so...it is best if you dont leave the pup alone in the house for a long time. They can get very confused and scared and lonely. If you know anybody who could keep an eye on them until they're a bit older (when you're going out for a while), that would be great.

I advise you to buy a crate and research crate training. It is the best way to train a dog. They learn to love the crate as their little comfort zone and to go in there to sleep, rest, when they're told to etc. some people keep them in their bedrooms the first few weeks so the dog will have their home but be near you, others dont. Its up to you.

About the toilet training, if they've started going in the bathroom while you're out, that is great...the one and only way this can continue is...if you praise them immediately after they do anything good, (unfortunately you were'nt home but you get my drift). You can get puppy training mats in petshops or argos.

Every hour, take them in to the bathroom and see if they do anything. They are very young and their bladders and bowels work very much like newborn humans. Every hour is vital.

In a few weeks, when they're vaccinated, make sure you begin to walk them straight away, small walks at a time and spend time, be patient, have fun, toys etc. It is vital also that you socialise the puppy with other dogs and humans of all ages now while they are young.

Main things are...please dont leave them alone for well over an hour. Bring them to the bathroom every hour then gradually move outside as they grow older. Socialise now! It is ideal to crate train them...vets will advise you or check out behavioural classes. Most of all...Praise them straight after they do something correct or do what they were told (with a treat and high toned voice)

Good luck...it will take time.

HelenT

Kudos on taking care of the puppy!!!

5 weeks is quite young to even try and toilet train. Personally I would surround him with newspaper and live with it for a while. Move the newspaper closer and closer to the toilet and eventually it will happen.

Don't forget the puppy is getting used to their surroundings and everything is brand new to them. I strongly advise against leaving the puppy alone in the toilet - that will only cause anxiety. Also I wouldn't leave the puppy alone at all right now. It has been used of the company of the bitch and litter since it was born so to find itself all alone at 5 weeks will be a complete shock to its little system.

Is there a local animal welfare group that you can contact for advice and some help? The pup is going to grow to be quite a sized dog if its a German Shepard cross!

JacksonHeightsOwn

5 weeks is very young indeed, and fairplay to you for helping him out

as the chap above said, you'll need some patience as he's so young

the puppy training pads are great, but quite expensive

these things are great Click this link, the pads that go into them are washable, so you'll save a few bob

its actually not rocket science getting them trained, and easy enough once you stick to the plan

basically all he does now is sleep, wakes up ,plays for probably 10 minutes, then sleeps again, am i right?

pretty much every time he wakes up from a n, bring him to the pad, dont let him leave until he goes, then give him a treat, and praise him.

when you finish playing with him, bring him over to the pad, and repeat the process ,

its tedious work, you'll be bringing him over to the pad it seems, every 15 minutes, but if you stick to it, you'll actaully see within days, that the little chap will start making his own way over there.

again, if you catch him about to go for a piss away from the bad, just say no, and bring him over, but if you dont catch him in the act, and only see the aftermath, you cant do anything, you just have to clean it up, and make sure next time the plan works

with him being so young, it might take longer for him to get it into his head where he's to go, but from 8-10 weeks old, you will see results

oh, and you'll have to keep rewarding him every time he goes to the toilet, pretty much for his first year.

oh yeah, another thing to remember, with him being so young, he cant hold his waste like an older dog, so just be patient with him,

and i know im repeating myselg now, but it actually isnt as hard as you think!