Help!!

I've read so much about house training a dog I think I'm going to go blind!! Some say paper training is best. Others say no that your encouraging the dog to go to the toilet in the house and confuses the dog. Some say that smaller breeds are harder to train than bigger dogs. Some people say that it takes a matter of weeks to get a puppy sort of house trained and yes others say it takes up to a year!!! I'm having a Cavalier king charles spaniel and he will be 8 weeks old when I get him. I have bought a crat because the breeder suggested it as he's in one at the moments and it may be confusing for him short term .And to put him in it at lease when we go to bed. Sorry for being a pain I'm asking the same question all the time. Is there anyone out there who can help me with my dilema, I think I'll go mad other wise. I just want whats best for my new baby. I'be got the book The perfect puppy which was recommended to me and I'm going crossed reading the bloody thing and the dog isn't coming for another wekk and a half. Such torment ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP

Congratulations on chosing a smart breed :D Cavaliers are usually quite quick to be house trained & I usually use newspaper inside & lots of praise when they go outside. My dogs have free access to the outside all year around unless it is raining hard or other bad weather & the last two cavaliers have taught themselves to use the catflap. They take longer to be dry/clean overnight than during the day obviously as their bladders etc have to develop enough to go for a longer period of time. They also take themselves off to bed in their crates

hello thanks for the info. I've been told they are very clever but I've never owned this breed before. To be honest I haven't had a dog in 10 years so this is like having a baby all over again. And I haven't used a crate before, but lots of people say they are a good investment. I'm having my baby on the 18th October and we've got a rota for puppy sitting duties so that we can watch him like a hawk during the toilet training time. Wish me luck!! Ah another thing I've bought puppy pads I read on the Net that they are useful for training purposes, because there's something on the pad that makes the pup want to wee there and not elsewhere do you have any opinion on this? Ta Kes :-)

Hiya
I agree that I think the house training pads and putting paper down causes the pup to be reliant on them. So I think the good old fashioned way of when the pup looks like it's about to go, call it outside (don't pick it up otherwise it won't know how to get out) and praise, also when the pup wakes up, after it's eaten and after it's had a play take it outside. That's what we did with my sheltie and she was housetrained at 11 weeks and is completely reliable now, asks to go out every time.
Gina

hi Gina thanks for the info.I'm going to try the "outside bit " Because I've got a crate I'll just use the puppy pads in there in the short term just to keep his sleeping area clean. See yah Kes

There should be no need to put any puppy pads in the crate to keep it clean as if the pup is kept in a small enough area he will not soil it, he'll let you know first that he needs to get out, that's the whole benefit of crate training

Just trained our Malamute pup, for the first few nights he woke us up at 2am to go out, we took him outside, after he'd finished it was back in the crate until 6am when he woke us again, we haven't used one piece of paper, or any pads to train him in 9 weeks we've only had 4 "accidents " which were probably our fault for not recognising the signs that he needed to go.

As for the pup not knowing where to go if you carry them out I have to disagree, we carried the pup out the first few times to make sure he went where we wanted him to go, if you rely on trying to encourage him to go outside he may decide he can't wait and go where he is.

So after they wake up take him out, after play, food and periodically , and praise him when he goes where you want , but don't punish when he doesn't

Hya thanks for repying to my message. I'll watch him like a hawk and if I see him circuling with his nose to the ground I'll take him outside and after food etc... Right next question for you guys. Chewing? Do some breeds chew more than others. I'm having Cav. on the 18th and he'll be 8 weeks old, do I need to watch out for anything. I know when we're in be he will be in the crate but obviously he's not going to be in there all the time. Any suggestions peeps?? All ears?? Well eyes hee hee!!

You are going to keep him in a crate when you are in-a joke surely ?

no no no!! my typing skill not so good. When we go to bed!!! not all day and night!!

Just need advice on chewing? What to give as good chews and stuff. I wouldn't do that it would be very very cruel and I don't intend to have a dog to keep it in crate 24/7. bye kes

Which is what I hoped :D

Be prepared to remove anything you do not want chewed out of your puppies reach-cavaliers will chew anything they can get their teeth into :o when they are puppies.

Lots of soft toys(without plastic eyes noses etc) small dental tuggies, nylabones, small kongs, Dental rasks or similar

Something that you can train for is getting your puppy to bring things to you & rewarding with a titbit-this is useful when your puppy has got something he/she shouldn't & means you can exchange the item for a titbit

Please no rawhide chews even with supervision they can go very slippery & cause untold problems. The Pedigree soft chews or similar are far better

I'm going to put a link to my website on my profile & here's a link to a cavalier resource that is full of useful information & there is a retired vet who can give general advice there too