think we're having a little step backwards...... :(

my 12 week cavalier has been pretty good about toilet-training for her age. she does go in her cage at night (in one partic place - we usually leave a pup pad in at night to reinforce that this is where to go at night), but its a v big cage for her - i meant it to be more like a playpen, rather than like a crate for usual crate-training, just so she has her own safe place.

she always used to hate going in her cage and be very very keen to get out of soiled cage in the morning. thing is in the past week or so she's stopped this & is quite happy to stay in her bed despite soilings being in there.

then even worse, this morning when dad got her up, she stayed resolutely in her basket first thing, so he didn't push it to get her out (personally i would have picked her up & put her outside anyway but hey) so she got out at her leisure - doing a wee on her pup pad on the way out! lazy mite....

do you think this is a step back? do you think i should restrict the size of her crate, so she doesn't have such a comfortably far away from bed loo spot?

also - i think this has arisen as its got cold: she was taking herself outside to go to the loo in the day when it was nice weather, but now its cold she has a ferret round the kitchen and then will go to her cage and start to scratch at floor, so then i call her outside and we go in her proper loo spot - thing is it worries me that she will associate the cage as her prime toilet spot cos she doesn't want to go outside, get her paws damp and cold!! (i do pre-empt it quite a lot during the day by takiong her out regularly - also i ALWAYS treat her if she goes outside but i just ignore it inside.)

any thoughts?

thanks, as ever :)

Katie,
I've just read your post and it seems we have a similar problem, I've just written "going backwards" as my post today and I'm wondereing if Cassie is also going inside cos she doesn't like the cold either??

deb

well with ruby i'm almost sure that that's what's up with her - am going to have to seriously de-wuss her about that one! little minxy - she is quite a lazy dog, in the nicest possible way, but i think that's the breed for you.

maybe that is it with cassie - although if she's suddenly started going in the night, maybe that would be a bit strange to have started up from the cold. sorry to state the obvious, esp as am no expert, but is she going last thing at night? also - i read in some books/posts that some dogs although housetrained can develop a habit of going in the night - there are ways of solving this, but i htink hte ones i've seen involve getting up in the night :( - anyway i'm sure someone more experienced will give you some better advice before too long!

its disappointing though, isn;'t it, when you thought you were doing well? but i'm sure we'll take a few steps forward again before too long :)

mines the same ,clean one day, not the next,although she will bang on the glass door to go out if i'im there,but i don't use a cage she has a basket in the kit/diner with a puppy pad on the floor ,she always goes on the pad.