Hi everyone,
we have just got a puppy which is 9 weeks old we have had him now for a week and he goes most of the night without messing, if he does need to go out he will let us know by yapping at the bottom of the stairs we will then get up and let him out he will do what he needs to do then come back to in and go back to sleep. that bit is not the problem, the problem is in the day after he has been out after about 5 mins he will just squat and have a wee, he does not let us know he just does it is this normal and does anyone have any ideas on how to solve this he is a collie and very excitable, i have read most of the posts on the site and there is nothing on them related to this.

many thanks

Brian

Use a key word when you take him out for a wee ..I use *hurry up* ...keep saying it until he does a wee...then praise lavishly :) He is just a baby at 9 weeks old and will probably take a good few weeks until he is SURE that weeing outside is the right thing to do :)

we have him out every half hour or so at this early stage and we praise him lots we even give him a titbit and everytime he goes out he will always squeeze a wee out without a problem, we are pretty new to this and justr want to do what is right for oscar, many thanks for your reply keep them commin as all will be taken on board

thanks

You are welcome ...it is worth bearing in mind that pups thrive on consistancy ...don't give up on the titbit and praise after a week or two ...he will forget very quickly ;) A lot of people assume that, after a short time of getting it right, the puppy will *know* what to do ...think of it as toilet training a toddler and the hours that go into that ;)

Another thing....IF the pup has an accident, don't scold him...just take him out and repeat your normal actions. Clean up the accident using non biological soap powder and hot water as this willhelp remove the scent :)

Good Luck!

thank you very much we will go out now and get some we will keep you informed as to his progress many thanks again

thanks from a very tired couple

You're doing pretty well if you're pup is already asking to go out! :-)  I wish my 2 little hooligans had been so obliging!  But he (it is a he isn't it?) will still forget because he is still so very young hence the accidents in doors.

Pups need to wee the minute they wake up, the minute they've eaten, they minute they get up after lying down for a bit, the minute they stop playing...the list is endless hence the huge number of opportunities for accidents.

All you can do is carry on with doing what you're doing ie taking out every half hour and giving huge amounts of praise for performing and after a while, when you're pup has more control over his bladder (which he won't have developed yet) then all your hard work will be rewarded with a housetrained pup.  Sometimes this can takes months unfortunately (as I have been learning with one of my 7 mths old - his litter broth however was an angel...go figure!) but patience is the key.

Sounds like pup is doing really well for his age :) As Melodysk mentioned key words can really help - I use "wee-wee" :D - Our pup used to go wee's every 10 minutes and I had to go with her because she found the garden sooo interesting she would forget what she went out for :rolleyes: and of course to generally supervise what she is up to!  Even now at 7 months old I have to stick my head out the door and tell her "wee-wee" or she will forget!
Sarah

we have noticed that he will want to go for a wee as you mentioned everytime he gets up and after food ect, we have been setting alarm clocks through the night but do not want to wake him to let him out, is this a good idea or do you think we should wake him up. as i have said before he will yap to let us know if he wants to go out or he will sit by the door. should we try and get him into a timed routine or should we just let him tell us when he needs to go out, help as we need some serious kip any ideas???? he kips and we dont oh to be a pooch.

many thanks again all

brian and sarah

My personal opinion is that during the night, I would allow him to tell you when he needs to go as opposed to waking him up.  During the day, however, when he's obviously going to be more active, then just keep taking him out every 30 minutes or so and after a few days (maybe weeks depending on his bladder control!) reducing this to every 1hr or so until you know you (and he) have got it sussed.

Good luck, sounds like you're doing great!

Bet you didn't imagine it would be this exhausting eh? :-)

Hi Everyone.

Thought it would be nice to give you all a up date on Oscar. He is doing really well with his potty training,eveyone's advice has really help and you are right he rembers alot better when it involves getting a nice treat and lots of fuss when he does it corect,we have also been putting him in bed when he has been misbehaving, ie eating my flowers and digging in dirt!!!!!!!!,he seems to have a mad hour of pure naughtyness everyday usually around four to five and no matter what games we play or amount of our time you spend watching him he always manages to sneak of and course trouble.He still likes us to stand out with him at a night even though we have the outside light left on for him, and he can always see us,is this normal?.
      Other than that he is making good progress,his trips to the loo at a night are gradually getting less and less,however the cat is getting jelous and has statred to poo in our bedroom,so my husband and i have decided that we are going to have a carear change and become poo'ologists as we now believe we are experts in that field!!!!!!!. 
      After his first lot of jabs on monday he went visiting to see Polly who happens to be a pretty but seriously derranged cocker spanial puppy, he totally enjoyed himself as he took it apon himself to repeatedly violiate her in the bushes to my mothers horror. . . . . 

many thanks Sarah and Brian  

Well it sounds like he's a pretty normal, happy little pup...well done.

As for wanting company outdoors at night...remember, he's still a baby and needs to be told what to do when outside rather than just being watched to make sure he gets on with it.  Yes, you'll still have to go outside with him...I always go outside with my 2 pups to give them encouragement and to make them concentrate on the job in hand, as it were, whether it's broad daylight or nightime.  It just reinforces what you're asking of them.

Not sure about the sending to bed when he's been naughty...perhaps others may express a view on this.  His bed should be a sanctuary for him, not a place to be told to get into as punishment.  A good way to give a dog "time out" if being naughty, is to shut them out of the room for 5 minutes to allow them to calm down.  This is in effect removing them from the pack, which will always have an impact on a dog.  Perhaps you might like to invest in a cage and give him "time out" during the day or evening as a matter of course.  You would do this long before he has his mad time and put him in his cage with his toys or a stuffed kong and that way he learns to play quietly and not hog the limelight all the time!  Same as his bed, the cage should not be used as a place of punishment, it is only his sanctuary.

Anyway, sounds like he's doing ok though, keep enjoying him, puppy stage lasts for such a short time...

Thanks for replying.
Have you got any advice my friend as to how we should make it known to him that he has been naughty, we do not believe in hitting him nor shouting harshly as we dont want to frighten him or make him scared of us. By naughty i meen scrounging for food when we are eating, we have given him his tea when eat ours but will leave it and come and sit by us or jump up if we ignore him, we also have put him the garden but barks and jumps up at the door, it doesnt help as our dinning room leads of out to the garden threw the patio doors.
       We also believe to that his gage should be for his space away from us when he wants, he has got his gage also a little bed in the front room so he always is near to us. The last thing we want to do is upset him but we are at a loss of how to tell him that we dont want him to jump up when we are eating as when we tell him no he will stop it and sit, so he is doing what he is told so then we give him a treat but by doing this are we confusing him?. as we dont want him to think by sitting by us he will recieve food or treats. we have been picking him up and putting him on his little bed in the front room with a treat or his yummy bone and then my husband and i will take our dinner into the front room so he doesnt feel left out. How did you do it with your pups, blimmy its really hard to know what to do for the best!.
       I know it is early days for him with his traing and he is doing really really well, and i know in time he will be just fine, he has responded so well to everything and has surpassed all our expectations, he is such a joy to have. Its amazing how quick he picks things and understands.
       How old are your pups?,and what breed.I bet you have some funny stories to tell especially with two.

Sarah and brian

Until my dogs are old enough to learn that they should settle down quietly when we're eating we simply shut them in the kitchen as soon as they pester. If they are 'good' they can stay in, but if they start to become a nuisance out they go. Your idea of putting him in his bed with a chew is a good idea, but I personally wouldn't then go and eat in there with him - it's almost like putting temptation in his way! I'm assuming he has never, ever, ever had any titbits from your plates or while you are eating?
:)

No we have never given him our food, when we first got him though he was on hunman food all the time, he never had been given any puppy food and because of this he used to have a really upset tummy and sit in the kitchen while we are cooking hoping it was his dinner. We have slowly changed his food and his tummy has settled down, we also have not stopped him sitting in the kitchen while i cook, when our food is ready i give him his so he thinks that he is getting ours,the people who we got him from paid no attention to his health nor did they make any effort to get him into a routine in any way. He was full of worms when we got him and to be honest it was so upsetting to see the amount that he had,i know that they are born with them but they had made no effot to take him to the vets. He has started to leave some of his dinner now as he isnt feeding the worms, so i am hopping that he will carm down and get full up on his food so he wont feel the nead to beg for ours. Time will tell but he improves day by day and we are so proud of him.
    we cant put him in the kitchen as its open plan and our dinning room joins onto it but we could try the front room but to be honest i dont like leaving him alone where i cant see him, i dont want him to feel that he is being punished more like that he is still being really good but we would rather him sit away from us while we are eating.

Sarah and Brian

Sarah and Brian, it sounds like you're doing ok...don't worry! ;-)  I've got 3 Staffs, the bitch and her 2 7 mth old sons.  As soon as we're about to sit down and eat, be it in the dining room or in the sitting room eating off our laps, then the dogs are asked to "settle down" (that's our phrase to tell them to be calm and they can either settle in their beds or just lie down wherever they are).  We then ignore them completely.  One of the pups (Marmaduke - he's a little pickle!) will try to creep up to us to beg but he is told no, quite firmly, which is word he understands ie it means cease doing whatever you're doing and then he is instructed to "go and settle down".  If he doesn't, then he is led away from the table, calmly and firmly and requested to lie down and praised for doing so.  He is then ignored again until we have finished eating.

It has taken a long time for him to comprehend what is wanted of him and he does still try to beg from time to time but is lot less determined about it now.

You could invest in a child gate to separate him from you in the sitting room so at least you could hear what's going on as I guess you wouldn't be able to if the door were shut.

Or, just before you sit down for dinner, ask him to get in his cage or bed with his favourite toy (perhaps not a food item) and you then get on with your dinner.  If he tries to beg, lead him calmly back to his bed, and tell him to "settle", or whatever you may say, so he learns mealtime for you and your family is quiet time for him.

It won't be an overnight learned process I'm afraid...it's taken months for Marmaduke to click, but then he's not a Collie and unfortunately he was at the back of the queue when the brains were handed out, but his brother and mum have learnt quick so there's no reason why your boy won't either.

Just keep at it but whatever you decide to do, stick with it and don't chop and change your requests, some things take weeks to establish.

Good luck. :-)