Doggie Dilemmas

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The Dilemma

Dear NSALI,

Last week my husband and I visited our local rescue centre (just for a look round) and came back with Hugo – an eight week old Labrador cross puppy! Hugo had been born at the centre as his mum had been abandoned and picked up by the dog warden.

Neither my husband or I have had a dog before – and while we adore Hugo, we have no idea how to toilet train him. Please can you help before we do something wrong – and before our hose becomes awash with pee and poo!

Our Expert's advice

Pee and poo seem to be two aspects of puppyhood many owners have a problem with. They worry that there is too much, not enough, or more likely, it is in the wrong place.

The good news is that puppies come pre-programmed to be toilet trained. If you watch any litter of pups, even as young as three weeks old, you will see that mum has already taught them to leave the bed or sleeping area when they need to toilet. The bad news however is that when we take them home, we unwittingly tend to undo all the good work mum has done!

So how do we make sure we get it right? Simple – just follow the rules mum has already taught and build on them.

The puppies should already know not to dirty their sleeping area. The secret of good toilet training is to limit the area the puppy has to sleep in. If they have access to the whole room at night, it is very easy to sneak off into a corner and use that as a toilet area and still keep the bed clean.

Invest in an indoor crate. While to us this may look like a prison, a puppy who is properly introduced to a crate will look on it as a haven to rest from the rigors of this new family life. Make the crate comfortable, line it with vetbed (nice fluffy bedding you can get from all good pet shops) to keep the pup warm and comfortable, and then leave the door open. When you are playing with Hugo, encourage him to go into the crate – possible to chase a toy, or just to get a tasty titbit. Make him feel happy about being in there. Feed him in the crate and while he is eating you can shut the door for a while. Whenever Hugo is sleepy, put him in the crate so he gets used to go in there whenever he wants a kip. Once he is happy and relaxed about sleeping in his crate, he can be put in there to spend the night.

This will simplify toilet training. Hugo will not want to soil the crate and so will do his best to hang on and go outside the bed as mum taught him. However you must remember that a young pup cannot hang on for very long – and nor should you expect him to. You have to play your part – and a big part it is!

• Do not feed him after 6pm – this way the amount of poo will be limited
• Take him out as late as possible for his last toilet visit – 11.30pm or later
• Get up in the middle of the night – perhaps 3am and take him out again (an advantage of having Hugo's crate next to your bed is you will hear if he has woken up and is therefore likely to want to 'go')
• Get up early in the morning (6am ish) and take him out straight away.

This way you don't get much sleep, but you do lessen the chance of Hugo making a mistake. The fewer mistakes he makes, the more successful his toilet training will be – and the quicker you will have a restful night!

During the day, vigilance is the key. It is usually easy to tell when the pup is about to toilet. They tend to turn in circles, sniffing before they go. You will also get used to the special tell tale signs in your own pup. There are also obvious times when Hugo is likely to need to toilet. These are just after he wakes up, after he has been playing, and after he eats of drinks. At these crucial times, take him outside to the area you want him to use as his toilet outside (carry him if it is a long way, otherwise he will go en route). Be prepared to wait. Puppies are very easily distracted by sights, smells, movements etc and no matter how desperate they are, other things can be more interesting.

When Hugo finally settles down to business, give him whatever you have decided your special toilet command word is ('busy' is a good one) and when he has finished, always reward him with a treat or a game.

If you catch Hugo getting ready to go in the house, simply pick him up and take him outside to your chosen place and let him carry on in peace. If there is an accident, make sure you clean it up properly. Disinfectant or traditional household cleaners are not good enough. It might smell clean to you but all you have done is disguise the smell and to your pup's sensitive nose, it will still smell like a toilet! This will encourage him to go there again. Your vet will be ably to supply you with an enzyme-based cleaner which will completely get rid of the smell.

NEVER punish Hugo for any mistakes, These hiccups are your fault for not being watchful enough or expecting too much. Give him plenty of praise when he gets it right and ignore him when he slips up. Many problems occur in dogs who have been told off for mistakes – especially at night. A dog has no idea that you are telling him off for something that happened several hours ago. They may look guilty when you shout at them but they are just reacting to your tone of voice and because you are angry – they don't know why. They will start to worry about you waking up in the morning because it leads to them being told off. Some dogs get to the point where they think it is poo that upsets you. Then they can resort to eating the poo to make sure you don't discover it. Others just try not to too at all until eventually they can't hold it any longer – with explosive results. It is not fair that people put their poor pups through all this trauma and stress just because they can't be bothered to make the effort to do it properly and don't want to lose a few hours sleep.

You are obviously caring owners and want to do it right – or you wouldn't have written to us.

The secret is to make life as simple as possible for Hugo – he is only a baby and needs to feel that his new life as a family dog is fun – not fraught with potential failure. Toilet training is the first serious thing you teach your pup and the more he trusts you and succeeds in this, the more you are building your relationship for the future. I am sure you are set to have a great relationship – and we look forward to hearing how Hugo gets on.