Looking for some help with toilet training...

[skinnydipper]

I too would be saying NO! and shoving her outside. How is she supposed to twig this isn’t a wee place ?

You teach a dog where you would like them to toilet and praise and reward when they get it right. Gently guide them when they get it wrong. No shoving.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I feel like it just takes consistency and somewhat extreme vigilance.

Everytime she goes in the house, put her outside. Everytime she goes outside, associate a command with what she's doing, and praise. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Also make sure you're taking her out frequently to try to better your odds and give more opportunities for command and praise.

 

[AmyMay]

I too would be saying NO! and shoving her outside. How is she supposed to twig this isn’t a wee place ? No, I’m not advocating rubbing nose in it or similar nonsense but she is old enough to be discouraged now. You can do it after she’s squatted but it’s likely to be more effective as it happens. At four months she probably should be virtually clean when she’s with someone in the house….not necessarily overnight but certainly daytime….

Christ, I hope a young pup never has the misfortune of ever having to live with you.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would maybe consider allowing her to see you clean it up. I had two female dogs who I struggled to get house trained (one pee, the other poo), I followed the don't-let-them-see-you-clean-it-up school of thought religiously with both of them but when they eventually saw me clean up after them is when they finally stopped going in the house, some people would probably accuse me of anthropomorphizing but I swear they felt bad when they realized it didn't just magically disappear.

Your girl is incredibly beautiful, I hope you continue to post photos of her. I love all the setter breeds but sadly don't have the lifestyle they would need.

I've never heard of 'don't let them see you clean it up"!

 

[splashgirl45]

I had a lot of trouble with my little terrier , he used to come in and wee in his bed which I was very surprised about. I think he was a bit scared of going in the garden and felt safe indoors. It took a long time, I didn’t tell him off if he squatted indoors but as he was little I scooped him up and rushed outside so he finished in the garden and I praised and gave him a treat. I’m not suggesting you can scoop up a larger pup but maybe she has got worried about being in the garden, all you can do is make the garden the best place and maybe use treats every time she does the right thing

 

[Books'n'dogs]

I've never heard of 'don't let them see you clean it up"!

It's the prevailing school of thought in the USA, I've seen it in every puppy training book I've ever read and they have covered a wide range of training techniques, I assumed it was a global philosophy.

 

[suebou]

Christ, I hope a young pup never has the misfortune of ever having to live with you.

I’m not talking about a young pup! At 18 weeks, a pup should ( medical issues aside) be able to indicate to an observant person that they need to go out!
Luckily, over the years when I’ve had numerous puppies (I’m very old) I or someone I trust, have done the initial stages of house training, using all the good practices mentioned in this thread. At 18 weeks, daytime accidents would be rare, and proper overnight management reduces accidents to a minimum.
I hope this reassures you that I am not a dog beater/abuser but if you are unable to objectively view a sensible contribution to a genuine concern, I cannot help that.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

It's the prevailing school of thought in the USA, I've seen it in every puppy training book I've ever read and they have covered a wide range of training techniques, I assumed it was a global philosophy.

I've never heard this in all my years in the USA, nor have I read it. I guess I live under a rock! Or maybe it went into one ear and out the other

 

[CorvusCorax]

For the love of God, would people read the entire thread. We've managed to establish that said dog has spent a lot of the early imprinting phase toileting on wood. The OP has wooden floors. The dog does not KNOW it's wrong because it's all it's ever known. It's a baby and roaring a word it probably doesn't fully understand the meaning of yet, is just futile.

If you're buying a puppy, check out/pay attention to their toileting sitch with the breeder. Forewarned is forearmed.

 

[scats]

We had this issue with Lily-Rose. She took ages to get the hang of toileting (probably about 1 once she got it totally sorted) We didn’t make a fuss about it, just tried to get her out as often as possible into the garden, thoroughly cleaned where she went (so no lingering smell to encourage repeat performances!) and she got there in the end.

Some are just slower, like children I guess.

 

[bonny]

We had this issue with Lily-Rose. She took ages to get the hang of toileting (probably about 1 once she got it totally sorted) We didn’t make a fuss about it, just tried to get her out as often as possible into the garden, thoroughly cleaned where she went (so no lingering smell to encourage repeat performances!) and she got there in the end.

Some are just slower, like children I guess.

They all get there in the end!

 

[Clodagh]

If I saw S heading for a bed I could make a distract noise, maybe a squee noise and belt to the door and he’d follow me. If he was already going and I say a firm no I’m saying no for actually having a wee. He didn’t know it was wrong when I got him.
If he went to cock his leg now he’d certainly get a bellow.

 

[Chippers1]

Thank you everyone as an aside - she does see me clean it up, I didn't know that was a thing either! She's not worried about being in the garden either as she loves to go out there and will sit by the door if she wants to, I just want her to do that when she needs a wee
I definitely think it is a floorboard thing and I am pleased to report we've had a full 24 hours without any accidents, just being really vigilant in taking her out. For example, I said in my first post that the night before she had her treat then got out of bed and weed on the floor on the way to the kitchen, well last night I took her straight outside after her treat and she did go out there so it's just a case of me needing to be better!

If anyone also has some fun things I can teach her (as well as working on the basics that we do everyday) let me know! She recently learned spin and kiss, and she loves to learn so I'd like to add some more

 

[Chippers1]

Oh forgot to add a photo...waiting for some treats last night (excuse the half painted cupboards!)

 

[Chiffy]

Lovely photo of your beautiful pup Chippers. I have just read the whole thread, lots of helpful advice and some very unhelpful!
It is so easy to be judgemental but it makes a huge difference how life was like at the breeders. Our youngest is a whippet who arrived at 9 weeks and absolutely knew to go outside to wee. As long as you took her out regularly or saw her go to the door, it was a doddle . She never made a mistake in the house. Most of my flatcoats got the idea very quickly just by being taken out every half hour. Someone posted on here some time ago Puppy awake, puppy out. Puppy fed, puppy out. Puppy play , puppy out. With a young dog, you do spend a lot of time in the garden!
As for the shouting No, poor dog will think it isn’t allowed to wee!
You obviously have the problem of your wood floors, pointed out by CC , but you will get there if you can get a regular routine going and make a great fuss, excitement and encouragement when the wee is in the right place.

 

[poiuytrewq]

It will happen, I really thought I’d never get there with mine!
It seemed impossible, I mostly work from home and seemed to spend every waking moment taking him outside, only for us to come in and him wee!
Some days the house was a sea of dog wee.
He didn’t sniff or circle so as much as I watched he’d just very suddenly squat.
I’d just jump up and say “outside Bert” and off we’d go (often still pee’ing along the way!)
Loads of fuss when he finished off outside. (We had the peepee in the garden song )

Anyhow, one day I realised I hadn’t cleaned up any wee, and I haven’t done since!

Don’t despair just keep going!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

For the love of God, would people read the entire thread. We've managed to established that said dog has spent a lot of the early imprinting phase toileting on wood. The OP has wooden floors. The dog does not KNOW it's wrong because it's all it's ever known. It's a baby and roaring a word it probably doesn't fully understand the meaning of yet, is just futile.

If you're buying a puppy, check out/pay attention to their toileting sitch with the breeder. Forewarned is forearmed.

The easiest pups we've ever had, ex ept those we bred ourselves, are the 2 Labs we have now whose breeder allowed them free access to the garden along with their dam and 2 other adult dogs who modelled doing the right thing as a matter of course. It did help that they were summer pups.
The dog I mentioned above who took a while to be house-trained had never been outside the house until she arrived at my friend's garden. Her reaction to grass tickling her paws was very funny.