Hello

I could really do with some advice before we get our puppy. We live in a medium size ground floor flat with a small balcony and also have a private garden that has to be accessed by going out of the main building and around the back. What I would like to know is how it would be best to house train the pup. If she needs to go to the toilet we would not make it out the flat and round to the garden in time and I was wondering if it would be feasable to train her to start out using the balcony.

Can anybody help with this at all?????? Has anybody trained a pup whilst living in an apartment and if so how did you do it? Or is it just not an option and should we give the idea up until getting a house?

Please please I would be so grateful for some advice.

Van

Hi Van,

What breed are you considering? Is the private garden a communal one used by residents and do other dogs have access to it? If it is, it might not be a good idea to go there right off the bat since you pup wouldn't have had all vaccinations.

I'm in a similar situation. I live in a house with an enclosed tiled varandah, but to access the private front garden I too need to go all the way around. I paper trained my dog on the varandah. When your dog is older and needs to 'go' less, and is better able to hold it, perhaps you could then switch to outdoor training.

If I remember correctly, Brainless once mentioned selling a pup to a couple who lived in an apartment, and they trained the dog to go outside straight away, with lots of messes in the doorway etc for awhile.

If it's a very small dog like a toy poodle, you MAY be able to train it to go in a litter tray.

I'm sure there are others who can help you further though. :)

You may also need to consider if children use the garden too. And to make sure that the veranda/balcony is safe for pup - especially if its a pup that is prone to jumping etc .
When are you planning on moving to a house? If its in the not too distant future it may be worth waiting until then . It will be easier to train pup too.
Good luck
Lel

Hi Lel
Children do not use the garden it is private so that is ok and the balcony is most definitely pup proof. I hope we will be moving to a house soon though.
Thanks for your help
Van

Dear Maiko
Thanks for writing I really appreciate it. We are planning on getting a labrador pup, I have been told that they are pretty smart on the uptake when it comes to house training. Our balcony is fenced in so there would definitely not be any chance of the puppy falling through or jumping over as it is high. What type of dog do you have? did it take long for the toilet training to the balcony to work? Did you put paper down leading right the way to the balcony door and leave the balcony door open? How exactly did you do it? Like yours our verandah is also tiled which must make cleaning up a lot easier also.
Van

I have a Maltese x Cavalier, a lot smaller than a Lab! Our varandah is over 23 feet long and 7.5 feet wide, with the laundry leading off it which is where she sleeps (if not on my bed!). Obviously we don't paper the entire varandah, just a rectangular area about 2 newspapers long and 2 wide. This varandah is also where she has her food/water/toys and is where we put her if we're out or unable to watch her.

Labs are pretty smart so you shouldn't have serious problems. Like with any toilet training, expect some accidents at first. In Singapore there are a lot of apartment dogs who are balcony/paper trained. After your pup gets all its shots, try taking him outside to do his business as much as possible.

An observation. While a lab puppy "may" not be able to get out of a balcony or a verandah - an adult will jump over it with ease. It will therefore not be suffucient to keep a lab enclosed and it will be one of those things that happens out of the blue like babies crawling to the other side of the room before you realise they can and have done it.

Pam n the boys

Many years ago when we had our first dog and lived in a flat we had the same problem. We ran a shop underneath it so we were around during the day which helped. We had a fairly large bacony and I bought two large seed trays from a garden centre, filled them with compost and turfed the top. It worked, she soon got to know that was her toilet area. We only had to use it for a few weeks until she had her jabs and we could take her out. It just got us through that difficult period.

Sandra

Hi All
Just managed to get to the computer to read your messages. I think it is a great idea to cover the balcony with compost and turf it is something that I will look into during the next few days. Our balcony is not overly huge but I think it would be a start for training and as you say after all her injections we can begin to take her outside all the time. I often wonder how people who live in appartments in NY manage with having big dogs and no gardens at all. It is reassuring to know that this is possible though and as our dog gets older we will begin to take her round to the garden. I am sure that as long as we train her well it will be ok.
Thanks for all your help - Van

Sandra, doesn't the grass die pretty quickly if the dog is continually doing its business in the same place?

Ok, so I have been thinking, how about seed trays but filled up to the brim with wood chips so that after the puppy has been to the toilet the chippings can be emptied out and refilled again and again? Do you think this might work? If not we could wood chip the whole balcony or turf the whole balcony. Do any of you know roughly how long it takes to house train a labrador?
Van

He'll probably want to eat the woodchips. :)

Maiko
Good point you are so right ok so I must think of something else. By the way it is great to meet a fellow Aussie, my husband is from Sydney I saw on your profile that you are in Perth, Lucky thing, I would love to visit Perth, have heard how beautiful it is there.
Best wishes
Vanessa

Some pups climb rather than jump (these are normally the jumpers later on) and I have had 8 weeks olds getting over 3'6 with no problem

Christine

I found this link which you might be interested in. They're a Florida company but the concept seems to be what you're after.
http://www.nelsonsbackyard.com/

I'm actually going to try out this idea for myself. I like it as grass is obviously more absorbent than newspaper. I went to the hardware store today and they're going to put together a wooden frame for me. Now all I have to find is the metal tray for the bottom and a roll of grass! I'll let you know how it turns out :)

I'm just worried about her eating and digging in the grass. :rolleyes:

That is a great idea thanks for the link, thing is I don't think the grass would survive in the UK it is not the warmest here and sadly Winter is on the way again. I do plan to go the garden centre though to get some ideas and perhaps see if they can suggest another type of grass.
What about a regular large seed tray as was suggested earlier on in the posts to line the bottom? I am thinking the large tray and then maybe some soil/compost and then the roll of grass over the top.
Please let me know how you get on.
Van

A large seed tray should work great, but I couldn't find any that's all :)

Hey Maiko
Sorry you couldn't find a large seed tray, did you try also hardware stores? Maybe the garden centre could get some in for you though.
Van

I got the box section today (still need to get the tray, turf, soil) and I put Nikki's papers inside so she could get used to the whole idea. She did it alright, but couldn't get out again! She just sat there all pitiful and whinged like her world was falling apart. :p It's only 20cm high. Anyway, it'll be better once the turf is in there since it'll be like a little step rather than a wall.

(Reason I'm doing this isn't as a temporary toileting spot until the dog's old enough to make it outside, it's permanent. We don't have a backyard, and going to the front yard at night wouldn't be practical for security/safety reasons.)

We lived in an upstairs apartment when we had our puppy, and we just carried him down the stairs when we thought he wouldn't make it in time (also he was too little to walk down the stairs). After only a week and a half, he got the picture and was housebroken after that. You have to be really on top of taking him outside, though. You're going to be running up and down the stairs for a while, but it's worth it. I've heard of many, many people who got their dog trained to go on papers and then had the worst time getting them to go somewhere else. I think it's best to start off the way you want him to do it so he gets the picture right away.

I can't help agreeing. I lived in a flat when I got my two whippet puppies (eventually re-homed one of the whippets after 4 years). I trained them to go on paper in a corner of the living room, because I wouldn't always be around to open the balcony door for them. They picked this up fairly quickly. However, it's a messy buiness (literally), as paper isn't always that adsorbent, and when I came back, the mess would be trodden around that area of carpet as well. Also, when I started to take them out for longer walks, they would hold on and hold on, and as soon as they got back to the flat, they would rush over to the newspaper and relieve themselves. It was such hard work trying to housetrain them properly after that. I would start off as you mean to go on. I eventually bought a house, because it was just too impractical with two pups in a flat. I think you could succeed if you are determined. Be prepared for some hard work and tears of frustration (you'll wonder what you've done when you bring the pup home), but it'll be worth it in the end.

Hi Sammy & Nicola

I thnk you are both right, if the puppy is taken out from the start to the park then she will get to know I hope pretty quickly that this is the place to go. I am glad I am at home so I can take her out every hour and after she wakes, eats, plays etc. Would you say then that it is not wise to start off taking her to the balcony and then as she gets a little older and more trained to the park? Or will she always associate the balcony as her "toilet place" and not go in the park? Gosh this is confusing and we haven't even got her yet!!!
Van

As I said before, I think that it's best if you start right away with where you want the puppy to go to the bathroom. That means the very first time you bring her home. Since you will be at home, you are in the perfect position to do this. Yes, you will be running up and down the stairs like a lunatic for a while, but just keep in mind that it's not forever. As she gets older, she will need to go less frequently, and eventually she will start giving you signs that she needs to go outside. Just keep an eye on her so that you can pick up the signs. For some reason, our puppy always stood in front of the closet whenever he had to go out, even though the door was across the room. Still, a sign is a sign! And if your pup should start to have an accident inside, scoop her up and immediately take her outside. This might not always be the most pleasant thing, but if you're willing to have a few unpleasant weeks in the beginning, it will make up for a LONG time for the rest of her life!

Also, ours was a lab too, if that's any consolation. They really are very smart dogs -- try giving her a treat right after she goes in the correct place, and gradually move that up to giving her a treat when she gets back inside. This will help reduce the amount of time they spend sniffing around outside because they'll be more eager to just go and get back inside.

Hi! Actually I got my goldie puppy in an apt (also am hoping soon to move to a house). I also have a balcony, and a big, huge garden my dogs can use. The problem with potty training her was that we have to go downstairs to go out the front door. It took her forever to learn this!!! Also, she learned on her own that the balcony was 'outside' and she started using this!!! Now I have made a box with drainage and I put rolls of sod in it for the balcony, but now she uses the balcony less for potty (they like to roll around on the sod though :) ).

If I had to do it again, I think I would get the 'sod box' first & teach her to go there. Then, once she started to get better control, teach her that outside, in the garden is better.

PS. She also has had a recurring bladder infection problem, which made me think she didn't care if she went potty inside or out. She is on meds again now, so hopefully this thing will clear up. But, just in case ... if your puppy seems trained, then all of a sudden doesn't seem to care, it could be a bladder infection ...

Sorry to hear about your dog's bladder problems -- that can't be easy for anyone. Still, I'd have to advise against having puppies go on balconies. I honestly feel that some are just setting themselves up for problems later on. Since the poster has said that she will be home all of the time, I think that it would be worth the extra difficulty in the beginning to save a headache later on. (This is not to imply that you didn't spend enough time in the beginning, just my own personal experience)

Mcdoggy
I am also sorry to hear that your golden retriever has had bladder problems, I hopt that the infection clears up fast and she will be right as rain and back to her usual toilet training routine :-) I think that like Sammy says we may try and start off taking her outside ever time she shows the urge to go and every hour etc. As I am at home it will be easier for me to watch her and luckily we are on the ground floor so stairs are not a problem there are only 4 outside the front door of the block and I will carry her down and up those ones.
How has your Golden adapted to flat dwelling other than the above problem? We did consider a Golden Retriever originally but then decided that it would be a little too much hair in the flat and with a Lab it might not be as much!
Van

Well, as for living in an apartment, she doesn't seem to know!!! I do have an older dog too, and the only problem is they can get very rambunctious together, and chase around & around the furniture. But ... I really want a house with a yard that I can let them play in. Everytime we go outside, all they want to do is roll around, smell the grass & lie with their tummies in the sun. Then, I have to bring them in ... :(

Good luck with your puppy :)

I know exactly how you must feel about wanting a house. We also can't wait to get a nice house with a good sized garden. I hope you find the right house for you soon.
Van

Sammy
I would love to know other than the house training. Has your lab adapted well to living in an appartment?
Van

I think that he does well in an apartment, but that's probably because it's all he knows! We are very, very careful to make sure that he gets PLENTY of exercise. That's something you won't have to worry about as much at first. When labs are very young, romping around the apartment and short walks are usually enough -- you don't want to overdo it. But when your puppy gets older, you should try to find a fenced-in area, or another place that you can take her where she can run, run, run. Of course, this depends on the dog, too. We happen to have a VERY energetic lab -- not all are like that. All labs will need exercise, some more than others. Our apartment complex was nice enough to erect a small fenced in area where all of the dogs can play, so he goes there several times a day to run a little. It's still quite small, so we try to take him to the park or the beach at least 3X a week. Again, he's a very active dog, so you might not have to do as much. You will know when your lab isn't getting enough exercise because that's usually the reason why they chew, bark, and become destructive and badly behaved. The best rule of thumb I ever got -- a tired lab is a good lab, or a tired lab is a happy lab. Labs also love to train (they work very well with treats), and that also tires them out mentally, so I would start training as soon as you get her. Start with short lessons, no longer than five or ten minutes, and gradually work your way up. Always end a training session on a good note with lots of praise.

Hope this helps!

Dear Sammy
Your lab sound wonderful. I think it is also fantastic that you have fenced in an area for dogs to run in, that is a great idea. When we get our lab and she is old enough we will take her to the park and to the heath to run. I think that we will have to teach her to return to us though as I am concerened that she may run away in such large open spaces. There is a training class in our area that begins when the pups are 12 weeks old after the second injections. We will go and take a look at it and then hopefully enrol her for the course. Hopefully this will really be of help. It must be lovely to be able to take your dog to the beach though I bet he has heaps of fun by the sea.
Best wishes
Van

Only just caught up on the posts. Woodchips would be great but I think the pup would dig and kick them around. The grass will eventually turn yellow but it is only meant for the short period before the jabs are effective. (Mind you it doesn't feel like a very 'short' period at the time)

Good Luck
Sandra

Definitely practice the "come" command before you let her off a leash. Our lab is not perfect, and we only let him off the leash when we're sure that he won't get away from us. It took a while! Good luck.

make a suitable box with a long rope attatched when she needs to go stick her in box and lower her into garden and throw a treat in the box when you want to bring her up