Housetraining question (actually more 'when is he not a baby' question)

[BDJ]

Hi,  I have not housetrained a pup for many a year, and have a question I am hoping for some help with.

 

I have a 16 week old male sheltie.  Home situation is that during the day he has unfettered access to inside/outside.  Back door is always open and he can come and go as he pleases.   When it gets dark the back door is closed and I let him out every hour or so.  Overnight he is in a pen (approx 2m x 1m, not a crate, confined to a section of the room by a wire playpen) in the family room.  The pen area is open through the day and he walks in and out as he wants.   The pen area has his a tarp on the floor with piddle pads on top (also his bed and water etc).    The backyard is super secure, and there is no reason I keep him confined at night, just haven't stopped 'putting him to bed' yet

 

(I also have an adult collie.  She is perfect with her cleanliness and if the door is closed and she wants to pee/whatever she just comes up and asks me).

 

The thing is that he will often use the piddle pads through the day.  He does pee outside, but if he is inside he will go to the pad rather than outside.  He hasn't made a mistake (as in on floor or mat etc for over a month).  I had a piece of lambswool on the floor that I had to pick up as he was peeing on it, but I think that was confusion due to the colour.   Since I picked that up (fingers crossed) he has been perfect.  I have been observing his patterns and he still has the bladder of a mouse and a 'go when I think about it' mentality.  The standard 'take him outside when he first wakes up and after eating' etc worked perfectly, so it is not about not knowing where to go, more that he has two places (outside and pads)

 

So - at what stage do I pick up the piddle pads and tarp/pen and treat him as an adult (aka, no locking away at night, he will be inside/outside/wherever he wants overnight)?  I am trying to find the right window between risking him going backwards and making mistakes inside VS him getting to used to 'inside peeing' and no realising outside is normal.

 

thanks :-)

[Rebanne]

I've never used piddle pads and the last 20 years used a crate for toilet training. I don't know if shelties have a mouse bladder but it seems he has not learnt to hold on for any length of time. It's good he is going either outside or on the pads but time for a more traditional toilet training I think. Remove the pads, reduce the size of the pen and shut the door. Your pup is 3/4 there, just needs a little push to not wee at the drop of a hat. Good luck!

[kayla1]

You could also try asking on the Shelties Australia facebook group which has lots of great info and knowledgeable sheltie people

[Dogsfevr]

You are  training him that the 2 options are acceptable all day .
Its time especially during the day to make sure that outside is the only choice .

 

[BDJ]

Thanks guys, i reckon you are right and time to bite the bullet. 

 

Interestingly, we did a three hour each way day trip on Saturday.   Made a couple of stops going there and no stops on the way back.  He waited till we got there and later till we were home and had the biggest pee both times.  So that showed me (a) he is naturally clean where possible and (b) he can wait when needed, so will be able to take himself out when he needs to.

Thanks again

[BDJ]

Good morning - thought I would give an update (and that it also may be helpful for anyone else in a similar situation in the future).

 

I was doing some work which meant I was going in and out the front a lot on the Saturday, so both dogs were locked outside all day (I always do that to remove any chance of the front door being left open accidently), and I took the opportunity to take his 'night area' away completely and wash everything.  The only thing left in the house was his bed.

 

He was very confused when he came inside, with lots of wandering and sniffing.  That night I left the backdoor open and he could go in and out as needed.

 

I became hyper vigilant and at the first sign of sniffing took him out for a pee, and back to me taking him outside first thing every morning and after a nap - with heaps of praise for going outside

 

On night two there was a pee on the floor in the morning (no response from me, just wiped it up), and on about day four during the day he started to squat where the pads used to be.   I jumped up very quickly and ran outside calling him urgently.  I in no way growled at him, but he is not used to seeing me jump and run so fast, nor call him so 'quick, quick hurry' (I am usually quite slow ).   He came running outside (probably thinking that a horrible catastrophe was happening inside  ) with heaps of praise again when he went.  And that was the last mistake/near miss

 

Ongoing 'back to basics' for a week and my little man is now house trained.   We are both still learning his 'tells' when the door is closed, so I take him out/let him out more than needed, but I figure better a false positive or three rather than him being uncomfortable and/or making a mistake

[Rebanne]

excellent update!

[jemappelle]

That's great but be aware that he isn't reliably house trained for some time eg up to 9 months of age.  I find the boys take a bit longer than the girls and can't hold on for as long.