Toilet Training

Puppies need to defecate and urinate several times every day. It is important that you quickly develop a consistent routine and learn to identify when your pup is mostly likely to need to relieve him/herself. A puppy will need to toilet after waking, after a period of play, and after eating. Changes in behaviour such as whining, sniffing or circling especially in a corner of a room are signs of this. It is unlikely that a puppy will voluntarily toilet in or near its sleeping area. They will much prefer to use a regular area away from their sleeping/living area or ‘Den’ such as a corner of the garden. Designate an area of the garden as ‘Dog Toilet’ and leave the grass a little longer to make it obvious to the pup that this area is for a certain purpose.

During the day take your pup to the designated area hourly to start with and use an encouraging command such as ‘go wee’ or ‘be quick’. These commands have harsh vowel sounds which the pup can easily recognise and learn to associate with the correct behaviour.

When they eliminate in the correct place at the correct time, give plenty of praise and fuss. If they do not perform then return inside without any fuss and observe closely. It is most likely that the pup still needs to go but was distracted by the change of environment when taken out and ‘forgot’ what was needed. They will very likely need to go again within a few minutes. If not observed closely you will end up with a pup that repeatedly doesn’t go outside and then toilets shortly after coming back in. This prevents them learning where the correct place to toilet is.

At night give the pup plenty of play time during the evening and before bed time take them out for a final toileting. This will make them most likely to sleep for an extended period over night and not need to toilet during the night. If they wake during the night and start whining they may need to toilet or may just want some attention. Let them out to the toilet area and if they perform then praise and return them to bed with minimum excitement. If they do not perform after a few minutes return them to bed without any fuss and leave them there. Do not respond to constant whining as this will reinforce this behaviour and the pup will learn that it can demand attention from you at any time of the day or night.

If they have an accident indoors, clean up immediately without any fuss using biological detergent to remove any pheromone smells that will attract them to use that place again. If you catch them in the act of toileting, quickly take them outside and go through the routine even if the toileting is over by the time you get there.

NEVER PUNISH inappropriate toileting, this can make the pup anxious about their toilet functions and may mean they will not toilet in the owners presence or will try to hide the evidence by going elsewhere in the house or eating it. NEVER rub your puppies nose in its excrement. This is a form of punishment from which they learn nothing and are likely to associate you with a highly unpleasant experience.

If good progress is not being made after the first few weeks come and discuss the problem with us.

Play Biting

Puppies have very sharp teeth and when very young do not know that biting is painful and unacceptable. Play biting and fighting is an instinctive behaviour where by pups learn to catch and kill prey, tear up a carcase and establish pack hierarchy. During play with other pups they will bite and get bitten and by this they learn that biting can be painful. They will then learn to inhibit their bite as they grow up.

If your pup play bites your hands you should respond with a sharp yelp or ‘OW’ and withdraw from any game or interaction with the pup. They will then learn that the behaviour gains them nothing. If biting is insistent then a sharp sound such a hand clap should be used to startle the pup and make them break off that behaviour. Again withdraw and do not fuss the pup until they are calm again and the over excitement has subsided.

Chewing is part of normal development and is inquisitive or playful at first. As the pup gains its adult teeth it will chew to help with the teething process. Once the adult teeth have emerged the pup will want to chew to strengthen its jaws and utilise its new found dentition. It is important to provide chews or indestructible toys on which your pup can practise to try and divert this behaviour away from your furniture and shoes!!

Jumping up

Pups will instinctively jump up at humans to gain attention and try to elevate themselves to our height. They rapidly learn that this gains them attention as it is very hard to ignore a cute puppy jumping up at you in greeting. Unfortunately this reinforces the behaviour and eventually you may have a large muddy dog which repeatedly jumps up at you and at strangers which will not be very popular. Dogs that jump up seem to always seem to make a bee line for people in light coloured clothes!!

To stop this behaviour the pup must learn that jumping up gains them nothing. If they jump up you should stand up straight, fold your arms and turn away giving no eye contact. If the pup then sits quietly you can give them fuss and praise but only when all 4 feet are on the ground. Gradually they must learn that to get your attention they must sit quietly and not jump at you even when excited.

Remember to get every one the pup meets to do the same otherwise the behaviour will be reinforced by other people, and the pup wont jump up at you but will jump up at strangers.

Separation / Crying at Night

During the first few days a new pup will be understandably distressed by being removed from its mother and litter mates and being in unfamiliar surroundings. It is reasonable to let the pup sleep close to you for the first night but after this they must learn to be alone without getting stressed. The pup should be confined to its chosen sleeping area after a period of play, followed by a calm time, then toileting. This will make the pup more likely to settle down and sleep. You can provide an old jumper that you have worn to give reassurance or put in place a DAP diffuser to help the pup feel reassured by the presence of its mothers pheromones. Ask us for details about DAP diffusers.

If the crying is constant then you can allow the pup out to see if he/she needs to toilet - see the toilet training section.

During the day you should leave the pup alone for short repeated periods in the same way. Leave a radio on to provide some of the everyday sounds of home and a chew to gnaw on or a Kong toy stuffed with treats to provide a distraction.

You should not respond to the crying if it is ongoing and toileting is not required as this will teach the pup that this behaviour will gain attention and so it will be reinforced. It is important that all pups learn to cope with being alone at certain periods as this may be part of everyday life as he/she grows up.

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