We have two dobermann bitches, one is 10 months old and one is 6 months old. They are very happy to go and do toilets in the garden but only if the back door is open constantly. This was ok during the summer but now the weather is getting a bit nippy we need to shut the door. As soon as they see that the door is shut they do it on the floor. The 10 month old will go about 2 hours but the 6 month old is a nightmare and will only wait 30 minutes unless you are holding her or distracting her in some way. Its driving us crazy. Also I cant really keep the door open all the time as the big one will bark at anyone who walks past our back gate and this is a nuisance to the neighbors. These dogs bring us so much joy and they are very much part of the family, this is our only major problem with them. Any ideas would be appreciated. I also have a westie who is very good at holding herself, I dont know where I have gone wrong with the dobes. I never dreamed it would take this long to toilet train them.

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Hi, I think it's a matter of going back to basics and retraining them just as you did when they were wee puppies - it's one of the joys of having 'summer' puppies I'm afraid and why I always advise new owners not to fall into the trap of leaving the door open all day just because it's nice and it makes your life easier to not having to keep jumping up and down to take the pup out - now you have to jump up and down to take the dog out, and it's cold and wet and raining :(

Thank you for your reply. Your right. It was for convenience. I suppose I thought that they would make that their special place for toilets and wouldnt want to go anywhere else after a while. I was wrong. The youngest wees in her crate at night as well, so im constantly washing blankets. Luckily the older one doesnt wee in her crate but she is 4 months older. I suppose I will have to go back to half hourly garden trips with the little one, but I cant really do that with the older one as she wont bother until she has a fuller bladder but that is a good thing as that means she is catching on slowly but surely.