how long does it take to toilet train a pup

scotty1971

my mini dachshund of 20 weeks is driving me nuts with toilet training,he always seems to do his business in the house,even after being out,prime example was last night went for a walk for about an hour and he waited until he came home and was in the house before doing his business!!! when he does do it outside he gets plenty of praise for it.anone any suggestions?

cheers

scott

krlyr

There are lots of variables, e.g. whether the breeder kickstarted things by using a patch of turf in their indoor pen as a toilet, whether they just used puppypads (which can teach a pup it's OK to toilet indoors/on soft surfaces), etc.
What methods are you using at the moment? With my pup, I found that she cottoned on fairly quickly but we were strict in offering toilet breaks over and over - every couple of hours, even throughout the night, and we stayed out until she toileted. When she was 'going', we not only gave praise but introduced a command - so it was "Well done, good girl, well done", and eventually her cue to toilet was to "Do a well done". We decided that this would sound a little less embarrassing to say in public than "Do a doodoo" or anything!
If she didn't 'go' then it was back indoors but another toilet break in 5/10 minutes time. Sometimes they get too distracted by all the interesting sights and smells, so taking a break and then trying again 5 minutes later can help.
At night, we alternated turns to get up every 2 hours initially - so final toilet break at 11pm, then someone got up at 1am, the other at 3am, one at 5am then we were both up by 7am. It was tough but it was only for a few weeks and I think it helped because she always had the chance to hold it and toilet outside - by leaving them too long overnight you force them to go inside and this gives a conflicting message about where to toilet.
Exercise can stimulate the bowel so that could explain why he got in from a walk and toileted, one of mine always poos on a walk even if he's just been at home before we left, and he's 5 years old! In that case I would have got in, offered a toilet break in the garden (some dogs are wary of toileting on walks - I had a dog who would hold it in until we got home, even if we were out for hours) and then tried again 5 minutes later. After a week or two, it was every 3 hours, then 4, then just one mid-night break before we left her through the night.
Also just as a side note, the general rule of exercise for puppies is 5 minutes every month of age. At 20 weeks/5 months, this means walks should be a max. of 25 minutes. It's not something you have to follow to the very letter - for example, 45 mins in a park with breaks is more acceptable than 25 minutes of constant walking on pavements (solid surfaces can be tougher on their joints), but it's better to not overdo it at this age as their joints are still forming and you can do permanent damage if you're not careful.
Good luck with it, remember that it's frustrating but not permanent, you'll get there soon!

Bettyspag

The times when they are going to go to the toilet the most are after they wake up, after they have had food, after they have had a drink so take the pup outside (in garden?) after all these and place on the surface you want the pup to go on and if he goes then make sure you give loads of praise
If he goes in the house and you are not around to see it happen then scolding at this time will not have any relevance to the dog
Keep him in eye sight when you are in the house and if he is going to stoop quickly take him outside
Some times they dont like us watching so do it subtly

easy

Oh blimey, it takes as long as it takes. As I type this my 12 week old spaniel is sitting beside me, he only came to live with us 2 days ago. I'm out of practice with house-training a puppy, it's 14 years since I last did (altho 5 years ago we adopted an adolescent king charles spaniel - she was 2 years old and her owners had never managed to get her house-trained, I got her sorted in 3 weeks).

It depends on a) how clever the puppy is b) how clever and diligent you are c) what the weather is like - puppies hate squatting outside in the cold and wet, and will happily hold onto bladder/bowels until in a nice warm house again d) whether the puppy has he own patch where he can leave his scent without fear - A young pup won't want to mess on what may smell like another dogs patch, so I wouldn't worry about walks for toileting yet, do you have a garden? If so, encourage your puppy to use a particular patch out there - if you don't have a garden, choose a patch in your yard/path/close to the house, put a square of turf on it and use that (obviously clean up poos every time) until your puppy is more self assured.

If all else fails, then place a good thick layer of newspaper just inside your back door, and take puppy to it every time he is likely to need it (as said before, after food and after nap), and whenever you see him start to squat - and yes he might leak on you while you are running there, that's tough. If you do that EVERY time, he'll pick up the habit quickly. Then when the weather is good, move the newspaper pad outside the door (leave the door open in the first few days so he can go out there and find it when he needs it), gradually move the newspaper further away up the garden, and eventually just do without it.

Trust me, it does work.

Chakani

Also, make sure you clean up accidents in the house really well, either with a proprietary spray, or a solution of biological washing powder, so he's not confused into thinking that the kitchen floor smells like a toilet (to him, obviously, I'm not suggesting your kitchen smells!), therefore is a toilet, especially if he almost always chooses to wee/poo indoors.

marmitepotato

Dachshunds are notoriously difficult to housetrain. If you google it you will find alsorts of solutions. I would be ringing the breeder up and asking for hints and tips. There are really good replies on this thread that are very helpful.

JennyW_2

scotty1971 wrote: »

my mini dachshund of 20 weeks is driving me nuts with toilet training,he always seems to do his business in the house,even after being out,prime example was last night went for a walk for about an hour and he waited until he came home and was in the house before doing his business!!! when he does do it outside he gets plenty of praise for it.anone any suggestions?

cheers

scott

blimey, he's only a pup, it can take months to get it right. As it has been said before, you need to take your dog out every hour or so, whether he wants to go out or not and when he does go, loads and loads of praise. This will also take committment from you but that's what dog ownership is all about

Never, ever punish him for going indoors, it's not his fault, he's a baby and needs guidance. They don't come preprogrammed so need help