Toilet Training
 

PUNISH FOR ACCIDENT
If your puppy does have an accident in the house.... Go get a rolled up newspaper and give YOURSELF a whack on the backside. It was your fault not the pupp's. You shouldn't have allowed puppy free run of the house unsupervised in the first place. ;)

My sis cocker is quite toliet train at home. But over at my parents house where the dog is housed during day time, she pees and poo all over the house. Any idea how to solve this problem?

Three important points in toilet training :

1) Management - Confine dog in a small area (a cage, wire pen or a small room) except for toilet and exercise. The dog is never allowed free run of the house unsupervised. This way mistakes are prevented and the dog won't end up doing his business all over the wrong places.

2) Time Table - Take the dog from the confined area straight to your designated "toilet" (newspaper, pee pad or the grass patch outdoors) every 4 hours. Only after potty do you allow the dog a short duration of running around BUT keep an eye on the dog ALWAYS. Try to time it such that it's about half an hour after meals and/or exercise. The first thing in the morning is also an important time to take the dog to potty.

3) Training - Praise the dog for doing his business at the right place. You should reprimand for mistake but if you follow the above 2 instructions you would not have much opportunity to do that and that makes good positive training. Most of all keep a close supervision of the untrained dog and never let him of of your sight whenever he is let out for food or exercise.

With reference to your sis Cocker. Often in a new environment it is a good idea to run through the toilet training routine for awhile from scratch. There are a few things you have to pay attention to :
- What system of toilet training does your sis teach her dog at home?
- If using newspaper, is newspaper place at your parent's house?
- Make sure the toilet (newspaper) is at a easily assessible place.

A proactive approach is what is needed for success rather than letting the dog DIY (do it yourself) which is the approach many people take and it often leads to failure.

If in doubt follow the above three steps religiously. ;)

Frankie,
thks for your prompt reply. Your advise is a trully a great piece of information.;)

Toilet Train
 

I just bought a mix breed: Golden & Maltese 3 days ago. It is now 1 and 1/2 mths old. How do I toilet train him? Do you think it is still young to start training, coz it doesn't seem to understand yet. I tried to keep him in the cage but it seems to cry & bark sometimes. If i do not cage him, it will urine all over wherever he goes. How to toilet-train him? Any1 pls advise. Thanks.

love4eve,
Who on earth would breed a cross like this, why would you pay for/buy such a dog is hard to phantom. You could easily adopt a cross from SPCA or ASD. And at 4 to 6 weeks the poor puppy shouldn't have been weaned and separated from mum. Puppy should be weaned from mother's milk not earlier than 8 weeks. You should do a little research and ask questions before the big decision to buy.

It's not too young to train. A puppy is capable of learning as early as 4 week old. It's not that he doesn't understand, you need to know how to communicate in a way that he understand. You did right to cage him up till he is properly toilet trained. Obviously he is going to protest by barking if you confine him. Who would't? There's an earlier thread on Tiolet Training, please refer to it. ;)

Dogcom,
Actually I was supposed to get my Chivas,my puppy, only after 2mths. But as its mum has got milk fever & been in the hospital, that's why I need to bring him back to be under my care.

Whenever I hear his whining, I feel sad & painful. But I know this is a step to train him.

At night, I would cage him too when I was asleep. Is it fine? When I was out to work during the day, I would keep him in the kitchen to give him more space to run about. But when I got home, I would find the kitchen to be full of his urine smell. Am I doing the right thing?

love4eva,
Go and print out Post No.3 in this thread and follow everything I have written there. It's good to crate the pup at night.