moggy Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 We got Sophie 3 months ago and toilet training is really dragging out. She sleeps through the night and in the morning races outside to wee and poo. We praise her and everything is fine. Usually through the day she goes in and out the doggy door and does the right thing. BUT for no reason at all sometimes she just squats on the floor without warning and wees. Or we find a little poo deposit she has left on the floor. 90 percent of the time she is fine. Will she ever be 100% trained? Has anyone else has this problem and should toilet training take so long? Would appreciate other's experiences. Thanks, Moggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neatz Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I had the same problem with my pup Scarlet who is 6 months now. She knows to go "wewees" and will even scratch at back door, but a few times when she was playing it was almost like she didn't realise she had to go out until the last minute and then all of a sudden she would squat in front of me as though nothing were unusual. Just keep taking the dog out as much as you can and praise the good stuff. It will grow out of it. Scarlet needs to be let out a lot less now as well which is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) These things take time and you have to be patient. Just keep doing what you're doing and as your dog matures she will learn what you want her to do. IMO those who say they have completely toilet trained dogs at 3 months are mistaken (this is only 12 weeks old and 1 month after coming home ) Just because you haven't found anything inside doesn't mean they are 100% sure of where they need to be going. I would not 100% trust Cooper until he was about 8 months old. He stopped doing anything inside well before then, but until it is completely in their heads and the dog has matured more and is not still in the real puppy stage, I will never completely trust them. Just be patient and it will all work out. There is no time limit as to when a dog is toilet trained :p Edited January 25, 2008 by BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) 2 and a bit years it has taken me to 100% trust my Stafford inside. She could go for a few nights with nothing, then i would get up one morning to see she had pooped. I crate trained, but the second i let her have run of the house, she went to the loo :roll: Thankfully i have had a few months with nothing, she has had run of the house at night and wakes me when she has to go out My Bull Terrier is 5 this year, and he has only ever gone to the loo inside once, and that was when he was sick. Good luck!! Edited January 25, 2008 by Terrorbull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moggy Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Thanks for relating your experiences. It makes us feel better. She is 6 months old now and is much better than when we first got her at 3months, but it is so frustrating when she goes a few days and then whammo disgraces herself. She is adorable though even if she does drive us round the bend.lol Moggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 but it is so frustrating when she goes a few days and then whammo disgraces herself. Moggy can be frustrating but it will pay off sooner rather than later :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Mmm, sounds like toilet training a child, couple of steps forward, then a step backwards. Goal is to have patience and remember they are only babies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy_and_Missys_Mum Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I had great problems with Roxy when she was a pup. It was almost as if she didn't want to miss out on anything by going outside, so she'd do it right then and there in the loungeroom. When we moved to a new house and got Missy I had a bit of an easier time with her. Getting a doggy door helped with the process but it still took my younger one (Missy) a while to get the hang of it. If your girl has access to outside, she will eventually make it a habit of going outside. Just when I thought my dogs would never be toilet trained, it just happened! Missy is almost 7 months old now and hasn't had an accident inside for quite a while (with the exception of a few weeks ago when we bought her home from being de-sexed and she was too groggy to walk outside). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyB Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Took me about 7 months to get Gypsy toilet trained, she's still not perfect, but generally really good. She can hold it through the night now, or if get up to go to the toilet she will let me know if she needs to go out too, so she goes out, I do my thing and then bring her in again. The last time she had an accident was my fault for not paying attention when she asked to go out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyandjazz Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I think it is just one of those things, i have 13 mth and 11 mth shetland sheepdogs. The 11 mth sheltie never has an accident but the 13 mth does for some reason have a fasination every couple of weeks of having an accident on our rumpus room lounge (leather at least so wipeable) if someone has left a towel or sheet on it. I have a feeling that her breeder, was using a box with a sheet when she was a pup and since she had her till 16 weeks, it was already a bit of a habit once i got her. She knows it is wrong because if i catch her she is extremely remorseful but i think she sometimes regresses. I just have to remember not to leave anything on the lounge. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tali Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 So good to see others having probs too - Jess (10 month old sheltie) still has lots of accidents inside the house, despite being growled at quite firmly everytime we catch her or find a "present" (we take her to the present and she definitely knows what the issue is!). When we were home a lot over Christmas it never happened, but now we are at school and work 3 days a week it has started again - just in the shed and the hall when we are out, with the odd accident elsewhere when we are home... I'm not sure how she got it right for 3 or 4 weeks and now has it all muddled and wrong again!! We've tried citronella oils and various sprays, biozet cleaning powder, etc all to no avail. She even has a reliable old Tali to model the doggy door for her, but Jess seems not to learn by example! ARGH! Hubby keeps threatening to flush her down the toilet (thankfully sheltie's don't fit!). AT least I know we arent the only "teenagers" still having toilet troubles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 So good to see others having probs too - Jess (10 month old sheltie) still has lots of accidents inside the house, despite being growled at quite firmly everytime we catch her or find a "present" (we take her to the present and she definitely knows what the issue is!). You cant tell them off unless you actually catch them doing it. Taking her to the accident and telling her off only makes her scared and she will most likely start to hide when she needs to go. If you find an accident and haven't actually caught her in the act just clean it up and leave it at that. It's like the "myth" of rubbing their nose in it. Dogs do not understand what they are getting in trouble for so when you catch her in the act just firmly say NO and take her straight outside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Jess (10 month old sheltie) still has lots of accidents inside the house, despite being growled at quite firmly everytime we catch her or find a "present" (we take her to the present and she definitely knows what the issue is!). No she doesn't, she is simply reacting to your body language and the sound of your voice, she knows that you are displeased. but has absolutely no idea why. Dogs live in the present and taking her back to something that she may have done an hour ago and telling her off will simply confuse her. If you are going to discipline a dog you have to catch them in the act for it to be effective, otherwise they just don't understand. Actually the stress you are causing the dog may even be contributing to her problems in the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tali Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 My problem is mainly focussed around the dog being given access to the garage and a cool hallway while we are out - the simple solution is to shut her outside altogether... which would definitely cause her MUCH more stress. I was advised to take her to the scene of the crime so to speak, ask her in a disappointed voice (which is what i mean by telling her off) "who did this? what a bad dog" and then clean it up while she is there by a very experienced dog trainer. I dont' think she is stressed at all - and the minute I look at a puddle and look at her, without saying anything, her tail goes down. She knows what the problem is. I do not rub her nose in it - never would. I think if i was the cause of her stress the problem would have worsened when we were all home, not disappeared. But thanks for your feedback. I think patience is my main solution - I was mainly posting to note my appreciation that there are others out there in similar situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I was advised to take her to the scene of the crime so to speak, ask her in a disappointed voice (which is what i mean by telling her off) "who did this? what a bad dog" and then clean it up while she is there by a very experienced dog trainer. I dont' think she is stressed at all - and the minute I look at a puddle and look at her, without saying anything, her tail goes down. She knows what the problem is. I do not rub her nose in it - never would. We are only trying to help here and I agree that this could be one of the reasons why it is taking a little longer to train. I think this "experienced dog trainer" needs to be retrained because your dog really has no idea what you are upset about, just that you are upset, and this is due to your body language, not the fact that you looked at the mess and then looked at her and asked if she did it !!! We cannot expect them to understand what a human child would. Tail going down is stress, and probably because she does not know what she is in trouble for. As I said in my other post, "Taking her to the accident and telling her off only makes her scared and she will most likely start to hide when she needs to go" eg, she is going while no one is home, which is a sign on confusion and stress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odette Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 We had loads of problems toilet training Odette, tried all the usual methods (i was against rubbing her nose in it, still am) until my partner decided to put her nose NEAR it (not in it), say "NO" very gruff and then put her in the bathroom for time out for 5 minutes. When she did it outside, she got praise and reward. I had a lot of problems with the nose near it thing, and i dont do it... But i hate to say it, it has worked.... She doesn't go inside anymore.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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