Toileting

[JudyCollins]

I have had my Springer Spaniel puppy for 3 weeks now. I know this is still very early days but I want to start out on the right foot. The first week he was good as gold and we didn't have a single accident inside the house. When he woke up from sleep, I would take him outside and he would do his business, in the spot in which I placed him, for which I would give him lots of praise and treats.  He was even starting to go outside on his own after a short play session. I have a courtyard garden which is mostly a deck. This is surrounded by a low box hedge and beyond that is a metre of earth on two sides (the house makes up the other 2 sides) There are two trees in this area also. 

Now however he refuses to go to the toilet on the dirt and will either try to sneak back inside and do a wee (or sometimes a poo) in there or else he goes on the deck. I usually wait about 10 mins and if he hasn't gone, I take him back inside for a short play and he immediately squats and pees. 

Previously I didn't reward or praise him unless he went in his spot on the earth and am reluctant to praise him for weeing on the deck but at least that is preferable to going inside the house. Any advice on that subject?

My other option is to put him on a lead and take him to the nature strip out the front which is grass. However, I am reluctant to do this because this is not convenient as he gets older as he can't just go out there on his own. Also he has not yet had all his vaccinations.

At present, I am still taking him outside after his sleep and putting him down on the dirt beyond the hedge, but he always crawls back onto the deck straight away. I wonder whether I should keep him on a lead and stand on it so that he has to stay in that spot? I don't want to be cruel and wonder if I am expecting too much, too soon, but I also want to start off with good habits so that he will learn.

Any advice greatly appreciated. 

Many thanks

Judy

[Adrienne]

Hi Judy,

Welcome to the forums,

Lovely deck!

 

It would be important preventing rehearsal of the weeing behavior on the deck or indoors. Going potty is intrinsically reinforcing and therefore, the more the puppy goes on an undesirable surface, the more he'll want to keep going on it. If this happens too often, we risk that he develops a substrate preference for going potty on these surfaces rather than the dirt area. 

 

Since you mention that going on the front strip is not practical for the future and your pup hasn't finished yet his vaccinations, I would therefore suggest sticking to the dirt areas if that's where you're planning for him to always go in his future. So if you want your puppy to learn to potty on dirt, you need to make it happen as much as possible on those surfaces, praising and rewarding so to create positive associations. Make sure the dirt areas are easy to access.

 

While you're there, aim to train him to go potty on command. With time and consistency, if you take him out when the urge is strong, you should be able to establish a routine where he'll go potty right away once outside because of a strong reinforcement history. Here's how to train it: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/

 

Keeping him on lead when you expect him to need to go would be important to prevent him from wandering back to the deck area. Maybe he's also going to the deck because he's trying to re-unite with you. I would therefore suggest literally walking him back and forth on leash on the dirt area (so you are with him) if you can and wait to see if he goes. When he does, praise/reward (hand feed a treat) and let him have some fun after ward in the yard. 

 

If he doesn't go, you can take him back inside, but watch him like a hawk in case he gives signs of needing to go. Keep him leashed to you or in a crate or small area nearby the door with unobstructed views and be ready to take him back outside on leash to try again in the next 10-15 minutes. Keep it up until he goes. Praise/reward when he does, and then unleash him and let him have some free fun, especially if he did number one and number two on the dirt areas. 

 

A few tips that come to mind:

 

-Strategically placing some of his waste initially in the dirt area can help tell your pup the area is his "new bathroom." If your dog had an earlier accident in the house or on the patio, collect it if it was poop (or paper towels you used to soak up urine) and place it in the area. Your dog might smell it and learn to use this area from now on.  

 

-Make sure to clean messes on the deck and indoors with a good enzyme-based cleaner to prevent future accidents there due to lingering smells. 

 

With time, he should learn to go potty in the area without the need of the leash because it has become so rewarding to go there (he should follow you there first thing when you go outside with him, then he should gradually learn to go there with you at a distance when you tell him to go potty.

However, something to consider is that things may eventually regress if you keep your pup outside eventually on his own unsupervised. When Nature calls, should he happen one day go on the patio or other area by mistake (like he got distracted or couldn't hold it anymore), this may cause a bad habit to establish. It goes without saying therefore, that it's best to accompany him to his designated area as needed, tell him to potty, and a praise and reward when you can, so to maintain the behavior strong. 

Hope this helps!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Best,

Adrienne 

[JudyCollins]

10 hours ago, Adrienne said:

Hi Judy,

Welcome to the forums,

Lovely deck!

 

It would be important preventing rehearsal of the weeing behavior on the deck or indoors. Going potty is intrinsically reinforcing and therefore, the more the puppy goes on an undesirable surface, the more he'll want to keep going on it. If this happens too often, we risk that he develops a substrate preference for going potty on these surfaces rather than the dirt area. 

 

Since you mention that going on the front strip is not practical for the future and your pup hasn't finished yet his vaccinations, I would therefore suggest sticking to the dirt areas if that's where you're planning for him to always go in his future. So if you want your puppy to learn to potty on dirt, you need to make it happen as much as possible on those surfaces, praising and rewarding so to create positive associations. Make sure the dirt areas are easy to access.

 

While you're there, aim to train him to go potty on command. With time and consistency, if you take him out when the urge is strong, you should be able to establish a routine where he'll go potty right away once outside because of a strong reinforcement history. Here's how to train it: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/

 

Keeping him on lead when you expect him to need to go would be important to prevent him from wandering back to the deck area. Maybe he's also going to the deck because he's trying to re-unite with you. I would therefore suggest literally walking him back and forth on leash on the dirt area (so you are with him) if you can and wait to see if he goes. When he does, praise/reward (hand feed a treat) and let him have some fun after ward in the yard. 

 

If he doesn't go, you can take him back inside, but watch him like a hawk in case he gives signs of needing to go. Keep him leashed to you or in a crate or small area nearby the door with unobstructed views and be ready to take him back outside on leash to try again in the next 10-15 minutes. Keep it up until he goes. Praise/reward when he does, and then unleash him and let him have some free fun, especially if he did number one and number two on the dirt areas. 

 

A few tips that come to mind:

 

-Strategically placing some of his waste initially in the dirt area can help tell your pup the area is his "new bathroom." If your dog had an earlier accident in the house or on the patio, collect it if it was poop (or paper towels you used to soak up urine) and place it in the area. Your dog might smell it and learn to use this area from now on.  

 

-Make sure to clean messes on the deck and indoors with a good enzyme-based cleaner to prevent future accidents there due to lingering smells. 

 

With time, he should learn to go potty in the area without the need of the leash because it has become so rewarding to go there (he should follow you there first thing when you go outside with him, then he should gradually learn to go there with you at a distance when you tell him to go potty.

However, something to consider is that things may eventually regress if you keep your pup outside eventually on his own unsupervised. When Nature calls, should he happen one day go on the patio or other area by mistake (like he got distracted or couldn't hold it anymore), this may cause a bad habit to establish. It goes without saying therefore, that it's best to accompany him to his designated area as needed, tell him to potty, and a praise and reward when you can, so to maintain the behavior strong. 

Hope this helps!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Best,

Adrienne 

Thanks so much Adrienne. I will try putting him on a lead - didn't think of that as I usually carry him out from his crate. A friend also suggested that maybe I could get a piece of fake grass and put it on top of the dirt in one corner of the garden, so thought I would give that a go too.

Sooo pleased that I decided to invest in your program!

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome! 

The fake grass trick can work if your pup has developed a particular substrate preference for grass. In general, puppies develop a preference around the age of 8 weeks/ 8 weeks and a half. If you notice he readily goes when you take him on grass, it may be worth a try!  It would be good to know what the breeder was using, but they don't always share these details.

[JudyCollins]

Hi Adrienne

I thought you might like to know that your advice has worked wonderfully! He seems to go pee on Cue now, even if its only a tiny bit. Have only had 2 accidents on the deck since I started and those were probably my fault for not getting him to go potty earlier. No accidents inside the house. 😁  

Thanks so much!

Judy

[Adrienne]

Hi Judy, 

Great to hear you are starting to see improvement already, you're doing an excellent job! Training dogs to go potty on cue has been the best return in investment in potty training dogs for me. It takes some time to teach, but if we're out with them anyhow, why not?

When there are accidents, keep track of them and evaluate whether you may need to tweak up a bit potty times (like next time try taking your pup out a little earlier). 

Thanks for the update!

Best,

Adrienne 

 

[JudyCollins]

On 12/4/2020 at 12:01 AM, Adrienne said:

Hi Judy, 

Great to hear you are starting to see improvement already, you're doing an excellent job! Training dogs to go potty on cue has been the best return in investment in potty training dogs for me. It takes some time to teach, but if we're out with them anyhow, why not?

When there are accidents, keep track of them and evaluate whether you may need to tweak up a bit potty times (like next time try taking your pup out a little earlier). 

Thanks for the update!

Best,

Adrienne 

 

Thanks Adrienne

[Adrienne]

You're very welcome! Keep me updated and feel free to ask any other questions!

Best,

Adrienne