Toilet Training.
Every puppy client I have ever had has told me they have the puppy that will never learn to toilet appropriately. Thus far, they have all been wrong. Toilet training takes patience and consistency. It is completely normal for puppies to have accidents and they are likely to continue to do so for the first few months of their lives as they learn where to toilet and gain control of their bladders.
The key to toilet training is routine. I recommend taking your puppy outside for a toileting opportunity anywhere between every 30 minutes to an hour depending on your puppy. Take note of what times your puppy actually toilets, and then you can reduce toileting opportunities to those specific times of the day.
Practice good management to avoid toileting inside such as closing doors that don't need to be open, using crates and playpens, reducing access to certain areas of the home with baby / pet gates, and supervision where possible. If your puppy does have an accident inside do not reprimand them. Your dog will not understand they are in trouble for toileting inside and if they have toileted outside the aversive could have been avoided. As far as your puppy is concerned, they went to the toilet and got in trouble. This often leads to a 'secret toileter' - puppy learns that toileting in front of people is a scary experience and so they find hiding spots where they feel safe to toilet such as under coffee tables or behind sofas. If your puppy toilets inside take a deep breath, poor a glass of wine (or something stronger if you need it), maybe remove your puppy from the situation once they're done (take them outside, lure them into their pen or crate), and clean up with an Enzymatic based cleaner.
Using an Enzyme based product to clean accidents is quite important. These formulas break down urine stains and rid of the scent so that animals can longer smell it. Humans have approximately five million scent receptors - dogs have approximately two hundred and twenty million! So our regular floor or multipurpose cleaners don't quite clean these messes so that our puppies can't smell the scent anymore, and puppies are more likely to have toileting accidents in areas that smell to them like a toilet.
Teach your puppy to toilet on cue:
Take your puppy outside for a toileting opportunity. Do not engage in play. It is recommended toys are temporarily removed so that the puppy does not become aroused or overstimulated. Remain still and calm. Possibly walk over to the spot your puppy will usually toilet and wait patiently.
When your puppy goes to the toilet, say a cue calmly and casually once such as 'toilet' or 'busy' or 'wee wee', as they are getting the job done. We want to say the verbal cue as the dog is toileting so they can start to associate that word with the behaviour of toileting.
Once they have finished, and their bum is lifted, reward your puppy with praise and celebrate or engage in a game. We do not want to do this as your puppy is toileting as you could either scare them, or they will stop toileting to celebrate with you, so ensure the job is done first.
Eventually over time, your puppy will start to associate the action of toileting with your verbal cue.
