Why is my puppy using her bed as a toilet

Hi i was wondering if anybody else has this problem with there puppy
Kaya is now 11 weeks and since we first brought her home she always
uses her bed for the toilet.
we wash her bed daily and as soon as its dry she goes and wets all over it again.
Also her wee has a smell of stale fish ideas anybody as im at a complete loss
why she is doing this and how to stop her..

Does she do it all the time or just overnight?

The smell doesn't sound quite right - she could have a mild infection that may need antibiotics to clear.

The smell doesn't sound right, I would take her and a wee sample to the vets, she may need antibiotics. This could be the reason she is weeing on her bed.

How long is she in her crate? At 11 weeks old she should be taken outside every 30 to 45 minutes, like human babies pups internal organs are not developed enough to hold the wee, babies wear nappies until they are developed enough to hold it.

Are you washing it with something strong enough to completely get rid of the smell (even to a dog's nose)? Because if she can still smell it, she'll still see it as the place to go. Besides that, I'd suggest going to the vet, just because it's not normal for dogs to go to the toilet where they sleep, they (understandably) avoid it if possible.

Cyril baby wrote:The smell doesn't sound right, I would take her and a wee sample to the vets, she may need antibiotics. This could be the reason she is weeing on her bed.

How long is she in her crate? At 11 weeks old she should be taken outside every 30 to 45 minutes, like human babies pups internal organs are not developed enough to hold the wee, babies wear nappies until they are developed enough to hold it.

Hi she has not been in a crate yet.. she has her papers and uses them for a poop and a wee she uses bed for a toilet as well.. she goes out on a daily basis in our back garden.. Its not like a random think as she stands up and wees on her bed then she lies in it

kayas_mummy wrote:
Hi she has not been in a crate yet.. she has her papers and uses them for a poop and a wee she uses bed for a toilet as well.. she goes out on a daily basis in our back garden.. Its not like a random think as she stands up and wees on her bed then she lies in it

Are you teaching her to toilet on paper? If you are you are teaching her that it is ok to toilet in the house, some dogs you can then teach to go outside but many never learn that.

This is how I teach a dog to be clean and dry in the house, it works.



It is very important to us humans for our dogs not to toilet in our homes but teaching a dog not to seems to be causing a lot of problems. It doesn't matter how young or old your dog is, they can still be toilet trained but you have to be very consistent, slip up once, and it will set your dog back.

First make sure you have several days free to concentrate on toilet training your dog, you need this to get it established for yourself and your dog. Dogs learn by being repetitive, miss and your dog goes backwards.

1. Never try to teach your dog to toilet on paper or pads.
Many dogs taught this way never learn to toilet outside because they have been taught it is ok to toilet inside, dogs don't generalise and don't understand that they can't toilet inside when there is no paper or pads.

2. Keep all outside doors closed while you are toilet training no matter how hot it is.
If you have the outside doors open your dog doesn't know where the house stops and the garden begins, this really does confuse your dog so all doors must be closed.

3. Always take your dog outside, never put him out while training him.
If you put your dog outside you can't see when he goes, if you can't see him go you can't tell him that is what you want him to do by giving him lots and lots and lots and lots of praise, party, make him feel is the best thing since sliced bread. Many give dogs treats but I prefer to use praise.

Puppies do a double wee, they go outside, you praise and bring them in only for your puppy to go on your lovely, white carpet, this is normal, with pups once they have gone and you have had a party, take him for a walk round the garden/yard to give him the chance to do the double wee.

4. Take him outside as soon as he wakes up
Dogs normally want to toilet when they wake up so take him outside and give him the chance to. This is for afternoon snoozes or anytime your dog sleeps.

5. Take him outside before and after he is fed.
Some dogs prefer to go before being fed, some after and some like to go before and after they have been fed.

6. Take him outside after a training or play session.
Often after a play or training session the dog relaxes and needs to toilet so give your dog the chance to do this by taking him outside as soon as these are over.

7. Take him outside ever 30/45 minutes for pups, every hour for adult dogs.
Pups like human babies are not developed enough to hold when they need to go, they have to release it, we have nappies on our babies but expect pups to know they have to go outside, they don't. We have to give them the chance to toilet where we want them to by taking them there at times that will suit their needs not ours. If you go over this time to finish a job you are doing and your dog toilets in the house, that is your fault not your dog's so roll up a newspaper and hit yourself over the head with it saying "I must take my dog out to toilet when he should go".

8. If your dog does go inside, put him outside before you clean up.
With many dogs or pups it won't matter if you clean up in front of them but with a sensitive dog it does. No matter how much we try if a dog toilets inside our body language changes, dogs pick up on this and think they have done something wrong, they haven't, they have not yet learnt to toilet outside. By putting the dog outside before we clean up, the dog doesn't get the same chance to think he has done wrong. Dogs that think they have done something wrong are harder to train. They will sometimes try to hide it or do it behind the furniture which you don’t want.

9. What to clean up with.
Never use normal household cleaners, most have ammonia in which encourages a dog to toilet in that spot again. Even though we can't smell the wee, our dogs can because they have a much better smell than we do. You have to take the smell away for the dog as well as us.

You can clean up with white vinegar or biological washing liquid or buy something for the job from a pet shop. They will all take the smell away for your dog which is very important when you are training your dog.

Some breeds are easier to train than others, some dogs are more excitable than others, some dogs are slow to pick things up like this, no matter how quick or slow your dog is it is very important to be consistent, only by being consistent will you succeed in teaching your dog to toilet outside and not in.

With pups remember that their bodies are not mature, they may not be capable of holding so don't expect them to. It is normal for a pup to go through the night even though they are not mature enough to hold, this is because their bodies, like ours, slows down when we are asleep. With very young pups, they will be clean and dry quicker if you get up during the night to take them outside to toilet, by stopping them from toileting in the house completely by taking them out, they don't get mixed messages.
If you have an adult rescue dog that isn’t toilet training you don’t know what has been tried in the past so treat this dog as not having any training and start at the beginning. Many are still taught to toilet on pads or newspaper, this will make it more difficult but can be done especially as you don’t know how they have been taught. Some maybe toilet trained but their time in rescue may have stopped this, this happens a lot, and of course there is stress, often a stressed dog will toilet inside for many reasons.

It isn't difficult to toilet train a dog or pup but does take a lot of work but well worth the effort when they are clean.

She could have a UTI. Also the smell may be left over and that is causing her to go there again.

kayas_mummy wrote:she goes out on a daily basis in our back garden..

How many times a day do you take her into the garden?

Caryll wrote:

kayas_mummy wrote:she goes out on a daily basis in our back garden..

How many times a day do you take her into the garden?

Hi she goes out every 20 mins to 30 mins for play and toilet time..
we have just brought her back from vet and she has a large anal
gland what had to be emptied and she has vagalosis which vet
recomended we leave till she has her first season at around 9 months..
Might explain the awful fishy smell.
I have took note on what you recommended and i am going to push toilet training with her starting
today thankyou so much for ideas and comments to try with kaya it is
greatly appriciated

Get the toilet training right and she will be clean for the rest of her life unless there is something wrong with her, it is a good way of telling if there is something wrong.

Did your vet give antibiotics for the agalosis? Ellie got it with her first season with me, she was an ex breeding bitch who was thrown out when she wasn't any used again. Not knowing when her season was due, with the rescue's permission, we left it until she had a season, she never hand another. She really suffered with that until the antibiotics started to work. My vet wouldn't do anything else until she was completely clear of it. My vet said she was lucky, it is the same infection as pyrometra but isn't as dangerous.

Poor Kaya, I find crate training the best for potty training. I would get her a new bed so she can't smell the old wee. If possible keep papers down to a minimum and watch her for any signs of wanting to go to the loo then rush outside with her> They always want the loo when they wake up. nice to see another Geordie stafford on the forum

@ Chiara , split the post so we aren't hijacking it you can find the rest here

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t23967-geordie-staffs#339976