I have a Chihuahua X Yorkie she is almost 11 weeks old, i have put paper down all around the house for her to do her business on, but yet she still wont do her business on the paper, she will go where ever she wants. Please Please Please has any one got any ideas???? i would love some tips. Also what would be the right methods of discipline.....We have tried sayin a firm NO and taking her to the paper, but have had no joy at all....any pointers would be great... Thank You

Hi :)

>i have put paper down all around the house for her to do her business on<

If you think about it, what you are training your puppy is that it is OK to toilet indoors - anywhere ;)   You should lift all the paper and vow not to use it again as of now :P  What you should be doing is taking her out every 20-30 minutes, immediately after waking up, playing, feeding, and waiting with her in the garden/yard until she performs her business.  As she begins to pee/poo, give a command word such as "busy" or "hurry up" and praise her lots when she's finished - this way she will quite quickly associate the command word with her actions and your immediate praise.  Dogs need habitual and consistant routines to follow - they don't speak any English after all so learn by associating actions and positive contact :)  Never scold your puppy for messing indoors - it is always OUR fault for failing to remember to take them out or spotting the signs they need "to go" - such as circling/sniffing or holding their tail at a funny question mark shape :D  If you are very consistant and vigilant even for just a few days you will notice a huge improvement in her behaviour and you should have very few accidents after about a week of intense work on your part.  HTH, regards Teri :)

I dont have many tips but a bit of support as i am in the same boat. My miniature schnauzer puppy is 11 weeks old, she won't go on paper either. I do take her out regularly but all she does is play and eats all the grass and plants, I stand outside for ages. she does go eventually and i just give her lots of praise when she does it outside and she is getting better. we have had 4 wee's inside today, I have one bit of carpet in the hallway and she always goes on that. I think she thinks it's her paper as it's hard floor everywhere else. I haven't told her off for doing it as i think it's my fault for not watching/catching her. some people use treats for praise, which i think is a good idea, but my pooch isn't really interested in food, If i gave here a daisy or a leaf i think she'd be happier!!!!! If you can get her to go on the paper or mop some of the wee up with some paper then put it on top of some fresh paper she may go where her smell is.. I'm sure someone else will have some good ideas..I also will be waiting for them.. just remember that she just a baby and she will learn to do it where you want quite soon. Good luck.. I think we need it??

Hi Schnauzababy :)  11 weeks is really no age at all to still be having accidents with puppies - they don't have control of their bladders or bowels at this tender age so the best we can do is remain vigilant for signs of them needing to go and then get them out a.s.a.p. :P  Sometimes we have to wait outside for ages in all weathers for a tiny piddle and it's not always easy to sound up-beat and cheery when frozen to the bone at midnight am or whatever but fortunately this stage lasts only a very short time and - on the bright side - we're not in the middle of winter at the moment :)

>If you can get her to go on the paper or mop some of the wee up with some paper then put it on top of some fresh paper she may go where her smell is.. <

Personally, the best thing to do is ensure that no area of your home smells of urine - remember, the aim is that the puppy learns that it is not supposed to evactuate itself at all indoors.  Areas already soiled should be thoroughly mopped with a mix of bio washing powder and water (including lifting the carpet and treating the underlay too if it has seeped through) to remove any trace of scent.   Put housetraining into the search facility here - you should find lots of useful threads to make things a little less complicated and time consuming.  Enjoy your puppy at this stage - they grow up far too quickly :)  Regards Teri

Hi, I have a maltese puppy who's 13 wks now. We brought him home when he was 9 wks old. We live in a topfloor flat so toilet training was even harder. Basically, the puppy would only do his business on the carpet. We went to petsathome and got Simple Solution puppy training pads and odor remover. We sprayed the odor remover all over the carpet. The puppy training pads have a special scent that attracts puppy to toilet. Plus the pad absorbs the horrible smell so it is fresh again. He learned literally in one day. He now knows that he has to do his business on the pad if in the flat. I am not an expert. Just thought this might help :-)

I don't expect my pup to be house trained at 11 weeks lol (would be nice though), she is getting the hang of it..bless her. I am using the puppy pads and she hasn't wee on one yet? I am using bio washing powder to clean up any accidents. even when i am watching her very closely, she is so quick and a wee is done before i can even get to her.she goes through the night 10.30 till 7 with no mess!!!which is brill,(she's in a crate) i thought something was wrong with her this morning when i got up and it was all quiet!!!!! your advice is great i wll take it and use it, i have found this site very helpfull, I was just trying to tell the other poster that she's not alone and that it's all trial and error with puppies I'm not too worried about housetraining really she has other issues like she still won't eat much which is worrying me more, she doesn't seem to like bowls? (well thats my conclusion??)  she'll eat from my hand or a spoon but i dont want to keep doing that, (well i have stopped it!) she eats one meal properly a day and just looks at the others it's the same food? I know she needs more food than what she is getting and it's an important stage for growth? she is on pedigree chum dry puppy food which is what the breeder fed her i haven't changed anything.  any advice welcome.

Hi regrding the toilot training there is lots of advice on this forum about it:see the next post onn "why is it not ok to paper train" for more!!! The trouble is what works for one doesnt work for another so in the end you have to go with whats right for u and u baby and the lay out of your home:-p. For me the pads just didnt work it was a combination of taking her out and rewarding her with food - if you say your pup doesnt seem motivated by food treats id find one that does. Once you know what pups loves you will see a VAST improvement ( my basset loved bits of corned beef and wafer thin ham) my freinds pup loved chunks of liver pate and her dog virtually trained in a week with this!!! My was abit longer but when i wwent out i did used to put newspaper down sometimes she would do it on it and sometimes she wouldnt :-(
I think if we could watch them all the time it would be so easier but given that we have to go out and work etc it is just not poss. My golden tip would be to watch for when s/he is circling or if they havent done for a bit then take out say the same word every time i.e. do wee wees then when s/he does massive fuss aand cuddles and treat. all the pups i have known were usually 90% dry by 16/17 weeks.
Good Luck
Deb

Hi again,  Apologies for not replying before this - only just got the email notification in for some reason and was a bit way-laid before that :P

Anyway, re. your girl not liking bowls, could you try using a baking tray or shallow cake tin - the type coated in matt black?  Failing that, would she eat off of one of your own dinner plates?

As to changing her food, perhaps you could first try adding a little (only a VERY little ;) ) bit of something tasty such as a small spoonful of mashed up sardines, cottage cheese, pate or meat paste, just enough to coat the kibble.  Alternatively, if she's really determined not to eat what she's already being given, have you ever used Nature Diet?  It is also a complete food - but a moist one rather than dry kibble.  They do a puppy variety as well which contains all the essential nutrients so you don't have to worry about whether she is getting enough of one thing or too much of another.  It's available at Pets-at-Home or on-line and comes in plastic trays with a peel off film lid.  The added advantage of the packaging is that it's easy to warm for around 20-30 seconds in the microwave which, apart from making it smell more appetising usually their appetite is stimulated a little more by serving food that is slightly warm.

Someone else may come along with some additional ideas but hopefully something here will help a little meantime.  I know that picky puppies are a real worry!!!  Regards, Teri :)  

>she eats one meal properly a day<

Do you mean that she eats one meal out of a bowl per day?

I think I have found the problem!!! It's me of course? I have been giving her too much food. I spoke to the breeder and told her what she had eaten in the one meal and she said that it was enough for 3 meals and thats why she wasn't hungry till the next day. I just have to get back into a normal routine for feeding and only give small amounts then maybe she'll be hungry at every meal time and not only one. Thanks for all your help and advice i might try nature diet is sounds good i have heard lots of people talk about it.

My puppy wasn't keen on eating from a bowl when we first got her home, we were using stainless steel bowl for food and ceramic for water.  We realised it was because her ID tag was "clinking" against the bowl as she ate.  We swapped the stainless steel bowl for another ceramic bowl which isn't quite as noisey when she eats, and she's fine now.

We do need to keep reminding her that the food is there, she is easily distracted!!

One of my dogs didnt like eating out of her bowl either,i then discovered these ergonomic feeders,ALL my dogs now eat happily,you can check them out at

[link]http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=160&pf_id=1208[/link]

They are brill :D

FTR i have never house trained a pup in under 2mths,it's usually closer to 3 I think i've just got stubborn moo's!! I wouldnt go the paper route,it seems this would just prolong the whole process?

Can someone please tell me where i'm going wrong with doing links? As above

Hi tippie,

I think when there is too much info on the url of the link it doesn't work - that's what I'm guessing because when I reduce them they seem to work out (but could just be a coincidence :D ) so for eg. the link you posted I'd put in as
http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp? but then of course you'd have to advise the poster what to navigate to from there (unless it was obvious on the site).

HTH (and works!)  Teri :P

Thanks teri :)

I think it may be easier to cut and paste my above link,as you have to go through 5-6 pages to finally get to the bowls :rolleyes: