Please can you help. We have 3 dogs. The first is a border collie who is 12 years old and she has no problems at all. The second dog is a border terrier and she is 3 years old and has never been house trained and does it anywhere in the kitchen.She knows it is wrong by the way she looks at you and will go outside when it suits!! Our latest edition is now 13 weeks old and he is a german shepherd. He knows he has to go outside and gets lots of praise when he does, but he just poos and wees all over the house. We have a dog flap, which all the dogs use, which takes them out to the large garden to do their business. I have even had him out in the back garden with me and he goes back into the house to do his business!!!! I wish I ready your tips when we got our 3 year old and I fear her bad habits are rubbing off!! PLease have you any ideas to help our new arrival!!
Although house-training is a vital part of a young dog’s education, I wouldn’t start panicking just yet as your puppy is still only 13 weeks old. If he is only a recent arrival at your house, chances are he is still getting used to the place and your routines, and so is not quite sure about which areas are used for toileting and which are not. It is good that you are praising and rewarding him a lot when he does go outside, as this positive reinforcement will encourage him to do so more often. If you catch him in the act of going to the toilet inside, you should say NO to him in a loud voice, growling at him and then taking him outside. Contrary to common recommendations, rubbing his nose in his mess is counterproductive and only serve to frighten and confuse him more. You must only tell him off if you actually catch him in the act, because puppies have very short memories and so will not be able to associate having made a mess with you telling him off later. You will also need to clean the areas that have been dirtied really well, so that there is no smell remaining that could encourage him to go again. It would also be a very good idea to house train your 3 year old dog too, although you may find this a bit too much to train them both at the same time. If she continues to go to the toilet inside, it will be much harder for your puppy to learn the ropes because there will be a lingering smell inside where he will want to leave a message too. It will be a bit harder to train your older dog as she has already gotten into the habit of going inside, but if you are patient and persist with her, she will get the message eventually. It is also be a good idea to get her checked out by a vet just to make sure that she doesn’t have any underlying health problems that may be making it hard for her to hold on.
There are some signs that you can watch out for to indicate that your dogs want to go to the toilet, including circling, sniffing the floor and restless pacing. You should also take them outside in the morning when they wake up, after playing or other exercise, and within 10 minutes of eating and drinking. Keep up with the rewards when they do go in the right place and eventually they will learn to go outside where you want them too.
I hope this helps and all the best with the training!
Have fun with your GSD -- they are my favorite breed!
Robyn has given you lots of good advice. Getting rid of the smells of your 3-year-old's toileting will go a long way to help your puppy. It is rather hard to believe he should go outside when it is obvious, to his nose, that the proper place is indoors! I suspect this is the major problem -- especially since you said he would hold it outside until he was inside. That sounds like a dog that thinks he is supposed to go inside.
You can get a black light to find the spots inside that need to be odor-neutralized.
