Help with housetraining our 9 week old puppy! We had a new puppy 6 months ago who very quickly was clean with the use of the pee pads and being taken out straight after a meal or a sleep. Our new little girl however doesnt seem to be understanding it at all, Im doing exactly the same thing, she is crated over night with a bed and a pee pad, she has stopped having a poo in her crate now, she is put outside first thing when she comes out of her crate in the morning and regular intervals thru the day, she has access to her pad all day but just goes wherever she wants to doesnt seem to be understanding. I know to expect accidents, had several puppies before, I found the pee pads a god send with the last puppy and made house training very quick and easy. I know they are all different and it could just be that it will click in time, just wondered if anybody had any tips?

When you say she has access to a pee pad all day at you not taking her out at regular intervals during the day encouraging her to go to the toilet ?

She is also only nine weeks assume you have only had her a week so you are really asking alot of a baby to be toilet trained by nine weeks .

I'm curiuos as to why you're using pee-pads. On the one hand you're (correctly) taking her outside at frequent intervals to teach her to toilet outdorrs, yet at the same time you're encouraging her to toilet indoors by having pee pads down. You need to decide if you want her to toilet outdoors or indoors; if outdoors, then remove the pee pads entirely. If indoors, then leave them down and don't take her outside; but if you have access to outdoors why would you do that?

I said in my original post....I am taking her out regularly throughout the day, I am doing what worked previously, if i happen to be upstairs and she wakes up then the idea of the pad is that she uses that if im not there. It worked with our last little girl so naturally with success once I decided to do the same again. And secondly I dont expect a 9 week old puppy to be house trained at all, I was asking for any tips to help her along the way!!!!!

I am correctly taking her outside and also using the same technique that worked very well with a previous puppy, I was asking for tips to help her not criticism!!!

>if i happen to be upstairs and she wakes up then the idea of the pad is that she uses that if im not there.

What works with one puppy won't necessarily work with another - thery'r all different. With this puppy it seems that she just doesn't 'get' the idea of pads, and teaching her to use them (but only if you're not there) is asking a bit much of her. Personally (and of course you're free to ignore this!) I'd ditch the pads and simply keep her on a moppable floor in a puppy-proof area when I wasn't there to supervise her. If I came back to a puddle or a mess I'd ignore it, take her outside for a play then clean up.

I said that too in my original post, they are all different. I have owned dogs for over twenty years and was merely asking for tips, thank you for your input I am open to trying a different way without the pads, just thought id try as it was successful before.

You are being given information by experienced people here. I also dont rate puppy pads as they give mixed messages to the dog. Dont forget to clean the area thouroughly with biological solution.

I don't think anyone was criticising you ?
I too never use pee pads as I think in a little puppies head it can make them confused. You were lucky with your first pup and it worked, maybe with time it will with this one as well but I am a firm believer in starting the way you mean to carry on and that will mean a trip outside every 1/2 hr with a baby pup. A washable safe pen is a god send for those moments when you cannot be there to supervise and in time your pup will cry to be let out as outside will become the place to go. Not only that but knowing pup is in a safe area while you are upstairs gives piece of mind too. No chewed wires to come down to...
When I have a new pup I seem to spend the biggest part of my days out in the garden...LOL the neigbours must think I am mad as every 1/2 hr they can hear me chatting away to apup encouraging them to "Spend pennies" but it works and all my grown up girlies will "Spend pennies" on command...very handy at shows etc..
Good luck and persivere.
Aileen

Im experienced too but we dont know everything! I have never been on forums before, and I have to say I dont think I will bother again as its seems you leave yourself wide open to criticism for asking a genuine question and seeking help or advice.

Thank you Merlot, your answer has been the only one that has come across to me as friendly and useful. I will carry on taking her outside, shes very clever and already starting to go on the command go wee wees, im glad i dont have neighbours!

Rather than using a pee pad (which this pup doesn't seem to understand) perhaps you could put a piece of turf in a tray in her pen or by the back door instead, for the times when you can't be watching her? That way pup (what's her name, by the way?) will still be getting the feeling of 'performing' on grass, and it'll be a different texture to anything else indoors? It'll make the transition to never toileting indoors that much easier.

No I wasn't critiicising at all just pointing out that a week into having a puppy you would not expect them to be any where near being toilet trained and your other one is definately an exception. If you feel that is a classed as critism then that is your prerogative but I class it as a realistic view on puppy toilet training :-)

I too would ditch the pads and go back to good old praise when she toilets outside and clean up without reaction if she does something inside. Make sure you use biological washing cleaner as that will get rid of any lingering smells that could also encourage her going to the toilet inside.

Sorry if it sounded like criticism, it certainly wasnt.

As you say we dont know everything.

I also thought Merlot's post was good. I used to set a kitchen timer for every half hour which i then extended the time as pup grew. Each of my 4 (3 different breeds) have been different in their house training, one was 99% reliable at 8 1/2 weeks, another barely trustworthy at 8 1/2 months. good luck :-) 

I used pee pads with my pup. He's 5 years old now and the pee-pads taught him to pee in the houue in my abscence - preferably on something absorbent (door mat, towel left at door to catch muddy foot prints, sofa, his bed). :(
He slowly seemed to confine his weeing to his bed after we started to put dining chairs on the sofa to stop him weeing on that during the night.  I have broken this habit now - as I now sleep in the livingroom with the dog (on a sofa-bed, it wasn't possible for him to sleep upstairs with me)!
I took pup out every 30 mins AND after meals, drinks, playing, waking, during the day. I left puppy-pads down at night so if he had an accident it would contain it - seemed like a good plan, but pup just learnt to wee in the house when I wasn't about.
Next time I get a puppy, I will be taking it out in the garden for loo breaks during the night :)

My tip would be to ditch the pee-pads and get up in the night to let pup out for the loo in the garden.

Some puppies simply take longer than others.  I too would ditch the pee pads as you may find your 6 month old puppy will regress now there is a baby pup on the scene and if she has got used to pee pads she'll think it ok to go inside again

I see from your other posts that you have a few dogs (is it 3 or 4?) if they are anything like mine they'll sometimes play before peeing.  This is ok for older dogs but not great discipline for puppies so take her out on her own every 20 or 30 minutes then as soon as she has toiletted you can let the others out to join her.  Keep her on a lead to wee if necessary and use cue words to help her learn to go on command.  Like Merlot has said it's a huge advantage whilst showing or travelling to have dogs that can wee on request!

When you cannot watch her keep her contained behind gates on a wipe clean floor but try and make sure she's 'empty' before leaving her.  I find a diary is quite useful in the early days to calculate timings - she'll probably have a pattern already established and you'll soon notice she's gradually increasing timings as her bladder capacity improves.  As others have said there can be huge variation between dogs, even of the same breed.  One of mine was almost perfectly dry indoors immediately and another was still wetting his bed at 6 months - I did exactly the same things with both of them...

> Keep her on a lead to wee if necessary

Great tip, otherwise pup spends thier garden time fafing around instead of toileting, then does a piddle the moment they're back in the house :-D

Ditch the pee pads (you're just confusing the dog, as Jeangenie explained, by saying it's ok to be dirty indoors) and crate the pup when you aren't watching her.

Can I add something no-one has mentioned yet?  Treats!  Good, ole tasty, blackmail.  I used a bum-bag when I was training mine so which I sat in the kitchen so everytime I passed it to go out with the pup, i'd clip it on.  Funny how quickly they catch on when they are getting chicken or liver cake!!:)
I think you must be doing great! Pups still alive so that's a bonus!lol(we say that about our 3 yr old!!)  Just takes time and patience(I have neither!)

I find that treats have to be used discretely or the pup just stands there staring at you, not getting on with the job. It can be a distraction if you're not careful.

Are you taking her out at night so she does not soil her crate/bed, or are the pads being used to minimise mess? 

If the latter then you would be sabotaging house training, as the idea of the crate is that the pup does not soil it's bed ever, and holds on until it can go outside, but in order for this to work the pup cannot be left in it's crate for longer than it can hold on, which for most puppies of this age will not be many hours/all night.

I personally prefer to have a full nights sleep so simply allow pup to have enough room to pee away from it's bed and clean up in the morning, and in the day concentrate on teaching the pup the right place to go, fully expecting the odd accident if I am not there and clean up carefully.

The only use for the pee pads I can see is to place close to the exit the pup would use for those times it is left (mine would simply shred them though like they do with newspaper.  Also to lien a crate when travelling to soak up accidents as obviously you can't always stop, or pup may be sick