We have been lucky with Toby re overnight because he has never once needed to pee during the night.

Tried to crate him once during the day but he howled and howled so we let him out. At bedtime he sleeps on a large doggie cushion on our bedroom floor and zonks out all night til we get up

We got a 4 month old Airedale about 3 weeks ago, and he was crate trained but not house trained.
He too doesnt like going outside, and we've come close to sending him back because the peeing/crapping in the house is beginning to wear thin- we have two young girls also.
We'll take him out for 30 mins, and he'll come in and wee in the kids toy room. To be fair, if we time it right he'll go outside but so far I've not got him to do anything beyond the garden...eg/ when we go out for a walk, he wont do anything, but he will in the garden.

The key is to watch for his signs. I caught him this morning about to squat in the hall, so I had to grab him quick and put him out. We've only had one day so far with no accidents, but today (so far) might be another.

I'm using the next 4 days to spend some time getting him house trained....

Thankfully, he sleeps through the night but we bring his crate in to our room. The first two nights he cried/barked until gone 1am.... He's fine in our room.

Please tell me you're joking! I hope you weren't seriously going to send a puppy back for weeing & pooing - you've bought a puppy, not a robot! He doesn't know what is and what isn't acceptable behaviour, you have to teach him. Would you have sent your children away for not learning potty training quickly enough?!?

If he's outside for 30 mins at a time without going to the loo then it sounds as though he's getting confused about what he needs to be outside for. When you think he needs to go (after each meal, after play, when he gets up from a nap, etc) then take him out on a lead (so he knows it's not playtime or just general sniff around the garden time) and take him to a specific place where you give him a specific 'cue' i.e. some words which he'll eventually learn as a voice command to go. Wait 5 mins and if he doesn't do anything then come back in and try again after another 5 minutes. That way he'll soon learn what you're taking him out for. If you let him spend 30 mins in the garden (particularly if you're not with him) then he won't ever realise what you are expecting of him. When he does go, loads of praise and a treat.

If he does go in the house then do not scold him whatever you do (can lead to submissive weeing which could last his entire life so you could have a permanently leaky dog on your hands that pees everytime he sees you!), just ignore him and take him straight out to the place you want him to go, again using the cue word - even if he's already been as it will reinforce the message. Then scrub the spot he went in in the house so that the scent is removed.

You literally have to watch him all the time to try and get him outside before he has an accident. And then go in and out of the house until he does what you're after! Yes, it's time consuming and a pain in the bottom for a couple of weeks but he'll soon learn and then you'll have no problems.

I don't know if they sell it in Canada but a great puppy book is The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey. It's fantastic and two of the rescues we foster for swear by it so much that they won't rehome a puppy to anybody unless they can prove they own a copy!!

Best of luck, enjoy him.

My book says about 6 weeks........I can well believe it too!

The take out/take to pads, prompt with command, treat does work. Our puppy still has lapses but the majority of eliminations are onto the pads and now increasingly outdoors. Takes much time & attention tho.

We do all that (honestly) but we deliberately didnt buy a "new" puppy because we wanted to avoid the mess. We live in a rented house- I cant afford to lose my deposit (or worse, be evicted) because he's ruined the carpets. The breeder we bought him from specifically said he was house trained, so we drove all the way in to Saskatchewan when I could have gotten one in Edmonton.

In all seriousness, he's a lovely dog. Quick to learn tricks (when theres a treat involved) and hasnt shown any aggression towards the kids (despite their best efforts).

We've bought a couple of books- including one by the dog whisperer, and will see how things go.

Always put her outside or on the pad as soon as she wakes after a nap...after she's eaten and every couple of hours in between. Watch for her running around with her nose to the ground...that's a sign she needs to relieve herself. I also tell my dogs to 'Be Quick' when I put them outside...they soon recognise that's what you expect them to do and should soon respond to the command.

I prefer to train the pups outside...even when it's well below freezing and only use the pads for emergencies.

When she performs in the correct place praise her...if she has an accident don't scold her...but if you see her put her outside/on the pad immediately even if it's too late.

Please bear one thing in mind...your pup may know that she should go outside or on the pad but her bladder may be too immature for her to time it just right.

Hi Katie, you've been given great advice - can we have some pics of your pup please

A four month old puppy is STILL a puppy in new surroundings learning what is expected of him. If he is treat motivated them maybe you should try treats when he goes to the potty outside. Maybe you should look into clicker training - supposed to be a quick training method. Try googling a breed forum and see if you can get any advice from them.

Adult dogs that have been thrown into a new situation can revert to messing inside out of fear and confusion. Give your new puppy time.

i sometimes wonder why dog-people have it figured out, that a rewards system works better than a punishment system, and so many other adults haven't.

On the subject of puppies, any ideas how to stop them from jumping up??
Ours seems to like tackling my youngest daughter- usually jumps at her from behind.
No amount of telling him "no" is working. We keep a water spray handy for when he jumps on the sofa, but even that doesnt work.


And to follow up on the house training... no accidents yesterday. Wahoo!
Today he let us know he wanted to go out by pawing at the blinds at the back door. We let him out and sure enough he needed to go.

Saying anything, even 'no', just gives attention for a behaviour you want to dissuade! The best thing to do is completely ignore him (turn your back and walk away if necessary) and only greet him when all 4 paws are on the floor. That way he'll soon learn that he doesn't get paid any attention at all if he jumps up.

Make sure that visitors are aware of the rule too, don't let them even look at him if he's jumping up, and if necessary put him on a lead when the doorbell goes so that you can control his behaviour more.

One word of caution about the water pistol - you are teaching him to be scared of you which is perhaps not the best idea, particularly as you have young children. A scared dog is a potentially angry dog. And if he's not scared by it then you obviously have a boisterous, confident puppy - who will see it as a game and as a reward!

Well done on cracking the toilet training though, fab news! Hope it continues (although be prepared for several more accidents before he totally cracks it).

I was recently advised by a really good local trainer regarding unacceptable behaviour. If the puppy is jumping up, you should take him and hold him gently to the floor gripping him at the neck/head and on the body. Hold him in this submissive position without hurting him until his body relaxes then just let him walk away but don't pay him further attention for a short while.

This is supposed to establish your position as "pack leader" as it is what another dog would do to establish dominance. We are beginning to try it with one or two patterns of behaviour so we will see if it works. If anyone else has had any success with this it would be good to hear from you.

Someone I know was taught this at classes, the "flat" command. She is about 20st so the puppy certainly went flat. Gorgeous pup.

totally agree.

We recently adopted an almost 3 year old dog, and we had 2 accidents, because we didn't know his signals and he didnt know where we wanted him to "go". So you have to teach them what you expect from them.

Good luck

Re Jumping up;
Holding to the floor by the collar certainly works in some instances to correct unwanted behaviour. It's a technique I still use with Henry when he's being a teenager

But for an example this morning when I was walking Henry, he decided it was time to play Henry style. (Never got a ball when he's like this and it's only very occasional). This is a behaviour that is unwanted and happens out of the blue. It's like he gets the devil in him and he jumps and snatches at gloves (he only does it when gloves are worn). I tend to turn my back to him and ignore him and only when he has forgotten what it was all about do we move off. If he doesn't calm down quickly I will step on his lead as close to the collar as I can so he can't jump. I will release when the devil look goes out of his eyes.