What are we doing wrong?

Ok, here's my problem. We have Maska who is almost 11 months old. He was a breeze to train, he picked things up quite quickly, never had any "oopsies" in the house, not once. And then we have Loki, who is 11 weeks on Sunday. She's been with us now for 2 1/2 weeks.
My problem is that she doesn't listen, she doesn't pay attention, she poops and wee's in the house, even though the door to the garden is open (and that I take her outside after eating, drinking, sleeping and playing), and I get up every 2 hours during the night to take her out.
I don't know if we are doing something wrong. Had staffs for a long time now, but this is the first time that we've owened two dogs at the same time. Do 2nd puppies just take a bit longer - we are doing the exact same thing with her than with Maska, and he is there as an example to her. Maybe Loki is a slow learner, or a late bloomer , but she just doesn't grasp things as quickly, she still doesn't even understand sit, even though we make them sit for treats, before meals etc.

Any advise here?

Thank you

Have you tried using a spray bottle?? When my dads staffy was naughty he sprayed her in the face with it. Nothing bad just enough to shock her and distract her from whatever she was doing. I also used this method for my sisters staff. He was a terrible chewer when he 1st arrived but now he only chews his toys

Hi,
I have never had 2 dogs at once but I must say Stella was a slow learner when it came to toilet training as well.
I had training puppy pads for her and it was summer so I was leaving the door open but unless I led her out she very often stayed inside and did it there
I must say I stayed relaxed because I didn't mind cleaning after her I only wanted to have a happy confident dog so I stayed very patient and never lost belief that she would get better and she did, eventually.
So I just kept on taking her out as often as I could and giving her treats and praise when she did something outside. We have a key word "do a wee pee" and it worked.
I have never ever told her off when she did a pee or poo inside because I learned here on the forum that patience and positive reinfocement is the key
But it was not until she was maybe 6 months when I could be sure she won't have an accident at night. And it can still happen now when she has runny poo or something that she is unable to last until morning but now it is exceptional (she is a year now).
I just think every dog is different but they all get it in the end, no worries Good Luck!!! xxxxXX

What are you cleaning the area with where she does go inside?

Some cleaning products can leave a strange smell that may be attractive to them and so they will continue to mark there. Make sure the area is cleaned well, you could try a spray called Febreeze to eliminate the odour.

Some dogs just take longer to learn than others. I wouldn't start using aversives (like a spray bottle) with a young pup.

I also wouldn't leave the door open, everytime she goes outside, you need to be there to reward and reinforce the behaviour, if she takes herself outside and does her business without you noticing then she won't get rewarded for it so will take longer for her to realise that's where she needs to go.

Stick at it, sounds like you're doing the right things, you'll get there in the end

Good point about the cleaning products. The best thing to use is a biological washing powder or a cleaner specifically designed for cleaning up dog accidents with enzymes to get rid of the smell.

Agree with the above .. Max is my third bull breed, but by far the most headstrong, stubborn, frustrating lump that likes to do things in his own time, and always has been he was tiny

Though now almost 2yrs, he is starting to tow the line a bit more thank god ... stick with it

Like kids, all dogs are different and learn at different paces. My boy had many accidents in the house, and wasn't fully house trained until he was 6 and a half months olds, even though he was obedience trained by 3 months. It varies hugely from dog to dog.

Leaving your door open constantly is a no no. If your pup has constant access to go outside, she'll never learn to hold it or to let you know when she needs to go when you are somewhere else or when you do shut the door.

She is only 11 weeks old, still very much a baby, and everything is exciting, listening and doing as she is told is not very high on her list of priorities right now.

Please be patient, be consistent with the training, she WILL get there. She sounds like a totally normal little pup to me, but they all get it in the end, and in their own time. Good luck, she'll be worth the effort

lilembem88 wrote:Have you tried using a spray bottle?? When my dads staffy was naughty he sprayed her in the face with it. Nothing bad just enough to shock her and distract her from whatever she was doing. I also used this method for my sisters staff. He was a terrible chewer when he 1st arrived but now he only chews his toys

I certainly wouldn't do this for house training, after all, she's only doing what comes naturally.

She just sounds a slow learner, some of them are. Dempsey wasn't fully house trained until he was over 6 months old (although he is thick, to be fair).

She sounds quite a hyper pup, so she may be so engrossed in what she's doing that she forgets herself & pees/poops wherever she she! Keep at it & she'll get there in the end!

She is still really little and it has only been just over two weeks. I agree that you need to take her out physically and praise her when she does her business. Its a good idea to give a word to associate with the act such as 'good girl - wee wee' - This helps to get them to go when you want them to later on. Be patient and consistant.

Thank you for all the advise. Hopefully I didn't sound too harsh, I do have patience with her, and I don't tell her off for doing her business inside.

The door to the outside is in my office, so she has to come past me before going outside, and if she does I follow, to praise her for doing the right thing. I just cant close the door, because it is the only things Maska is used to, coming and going at will. (dont want to upset his gentleness )

Yes, we have a cleaning product specifically for dog and cat urine. It breaks down urine and takes away the smell. (The one benefit is that she chose the bathroom with tiled floors as her pee pad). Maybe she is just taking a bit longer. I wouldn't have done the spray botthe either, all our dogs were trained with positive reinforsement, and wouldn't want to scar her as such a young pup (besides - its winter here now and her being so tiny, she shivers just drinking water).

I will just stick to what we're already doing, it's worked well for all our dogs and maybe she will just take a bit longer.

I was just wondering, because like I said, never had two dogs before and I'd rather sound clueless.

Thank you

You don't mention if you're using a crate? That really helped us with Ralph... He never once pee'd in his crate so that could be an option for night time.

we're going through it now with our 2nd , although he's just gone 8 weeks and we've had him 1 week today.
We take him out regularly and the accidents are getting less but TBH its more like, well if they not going to take me then i'm going to do it here
I think after reading this we are making a big mistake with the crate as we have half for a bed and half for a toilet, then leave him through the night and ignore him when he cries but the last 2 nights his paper has been wet as he's wee'd, as expected as his bladder is tiny, (we don't leave water in his crate overnight and try and get him a last drink 30 mins before bed and make sure he doea 1 last garden trip) So now I'm thinking that we should get up through the night for him, and maybe at set times (not his times from crying) to put him out for a wee until he can hold himself.
I noticed more as we left him in his crate for an hour and went out this morning , and we have done on several occasions and when we returned the paper was wet. Before we started to leave him through the night I could put him out , then crate him and and hour he would be fine, so I'm thinking I'm actually educating him to go to toilet in his crate.

Yeah – lots of people told me to do exactly what you did – half of crate for bed and half for toilet. I decided against that – and actually made his crate really small with a divider so that he only had enough room to be comfortable – hoping that a dog will not pee in his bed. Which he did no. I did not leave any water in there – only letting have water an hour or so before bed and making sure he’d had a ‘wee wees’ before settling for the night.

There was a down side to this – because of the little bladder, Ralph would howl every 2 hours (on the dot) which meant getting up for him and letting him out – but with no cuddles, no fuss, just out, wee wee’s and back in the crate.

He’s now 15 weeks and sleeps right though until the hot water comes on at 6.45 on the dot! I think this wakes him!

We also haven’t had an accident in our house now for about 3 weeks – so I think we’re doing ok!

It's still early days for you though.

@ Jellytot and @ davemck3834

I don't use a crate, I don't have a problem with people that do, just a personal preference not to. I must be honest, Loki hasn't had a wee in the room once, maybe because I get up every two hours to take her outside, and as Jellytot said, without a cuddle and without any fuss, then she goes right back to bed. A little advise as to wee breads, which the vet told us about with our very first dog.

Up until the time they are 3 1/2 to four months old, you take them out according to this "recipe". They should only hold their bladders for an hour of their months in age. So if they are 8 weeks old (2 months) they should be taken out every 2 hours. 10 weeks, every two and a half hours etc. The vet said that because the bladders are still developing, you don't want them damaging it by letting them hold it too long, regardless if they manage to sleep through the night or not. It's a bit of a nightmare starting with 2 hours at a time, but I think it's worth it in the long run. (They only way I made this work, was to go to bed at 12, then I only have to get up twice during the night, and the 3rd time would be getting up for work time)

We also don't let her have water for about an hour before we go to bed.

On a lighter note, it is 4PM here right now, and Loki has been up since 6 this morning. She had not done anything in the house, and actually went out in the rain (which she does NOT like) to do her business. Maybe I jumped the gun a bit, but holding thumbs that maybe she is starting to get the idea that it needs to be done outside.

to all others going through this - good luck, and thank you so much. All help is much appreciated.

Duke of Lorraine wrote:@ Jellytot and @ davemck3834

I don't use a crate, I don't have a problem with people that do, just a personal preference not to. I must be honest, Loki hasn't had a wee in the room once, maybe because I get up every two hours to take her outside, and as Jellytot said, without a cuddle and without any fuss, then she goes right back to bed. A little advise as to wee breads, which the vet told us about with our very first dog.

Up until the time they are 3 1/2 to four months old, you take them out according to this "recipe". They should only hold their bladders for an hour of their months in age. So if they are 8 weeks old (2 months) they should be taken out every 2 hours. 10 weeks, every two and a half hours etc. The vet said that because the bladders are still developing, you don't want them damaging it by letting them hold it too long, regardless if they manage to sleep through the night or not. It's a bit of a nightmare starting with 2 hours at a time, but I think it's worth it in the long run. (They only way I made this work, was to go to bed at 12, then I only have to get up twice during the night, and the 3rd time would be getting up for work time)

We also don't let her have water for about an hour before we go to bed.

On a lighter note, it is 4PM here right now, and Loki has been up since 6 this morning. She had not done anything in the house, and actually went out in the rain (which she does NOT like) to do her business. Maybe I jumped the gun a bit, but holding thumbs that maybe she is starting to get the idea that it needs to be done outside.

to all others going through this - good luck, and thank you so much. All help is much appreciated.

Good news for you we hope , and thanks for the advice . On a little aside , we only use her crate (as we did with Tilly) to contain the littl terror until he can be trusted and then it's run of the house and sleep on mummy and daddy'd bed

Same! Otherwise I'd come home to the staffy version of this!

Jellytot wrote:Same! Otherwise I'd come home to the staffy version of this!

Cats are such a problem...........

Hi Don,t think i can really add much its mainly been said i have mainly always had two staffies together, but although Ava was completely amazing she never wet once over night even on day 1 at 9wks and was completely toilet trained in two weeks I didn,t do anything different too what i did with all my other pups patience consistancy and routine, so i truly believe its down too each individual, you sound like a great owner your doind all the right things stick with it and she will get it, i am glad you won,t go down too the spray route shouldn,t be used for toilet training like you a prefer positive training treats and praise when she does go outside, glad today is going better for you with your little cutie x