toilet training rescue pup

lesley

Hi everyone. I was wondering if anyone can help with my problem. I have just got a rescue puppy who is 6 months old and he is very nervous. I am trying to toilet train him but he is holding himself when we go for walks and wont pee outside. He waits until we get home and pees in his crate over his bed. Any suggestions please would be brill!!

littlelab

Ah bless, well done to you for taking on a rescue.

I am afraid its back to basics with toilet training, I would first of all perhaps close the crate all day so he cannot go in there other than overnight.

You are then going to have to watch him like a hawk, as soon as he goes to pee, then a sharp but friendly No and pop him outside, as soon as he pees there even if its a little, then praise him like mad.

Don't tell him off when he does go in the crate.

Make sure you wash the bedding and crate with either White Wine vinegar or Biological Wasshing powder, this will eliminate the smell which might be encouraging him to go.
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Natalie and Co xxx

Violette

Had slightly similar problem with a previous dog. (We think she had been kept inside, and didn't know what the outside was for!!!)

In the end, we had to keep her outside with us nearly all day for a few days (it was summer, and we were working in garden anyway), until nature took its course and she simply had to go because she couldn't hang on any longer.

It meant watching her like a hawk, and being ready with loads of praise when she did eventually spring a leak!

She caught on quickly, though. It seemed to take forever at the time, but looking back now, it was maybe only a few days. At least at that age, they have the bladder control - it is a matter of getting them to understand where to go.

I see you also have other pets - presumably other dogs? Your new pup will learn from them too, once it gets past the nerves.

All the best! This too will pass.

Violette

Was talking to other family members this afternoon, and we remembered some other things we did to help Misty (the dog with the similar problem to your dog's).

Not very nice to talk about, but when she poo-ed indoors, we took the evidence and - instead of disposing of it immediately as we would normally have done - left it outside where we wanted her to go. When she had wee'd, we blotted it up with kitchen paper or newspaper, and left that paper outside in the same spot - weighted down with a stone. Given that the toileting is often triggered by smell, it made sense to have her scent in the right place..... I think it did help give her the idea.

Also wondered if - given that your new pup is very nervous - maybe the scents of any other dogs you own outside has intimidated him? Are they dogs or bitches? If he has unsettled background of rescue dog, and is very conscious of being the new kid on the block, surrounded by the territorial markings of other dogs, he might be very afraid of encroaching on their territory, and only feels safe "going" when he is in his own territory in his crate. If you think that might be part of the reason, then maybe giving him some time outside on his own with you (other dogs closed up, or kept away) to help him relax in that environment (and start to see it as his territory too) might help.

I hope I'm not coming across as a "know-it-all" here - I most certainly don't! But I have had a wee bit of experience with rescue pups, and I remember how frustrated we got with Misty, and yet how much she gave us back in return for the patience we forced ourselves to have. She was a beautiful Norwegian Elkhound, and after we got her wee problems sorted out, was a faithful and loving friend and companion for another 14 years. Misty, this is for you.