Toilet training help - losing the will to live

Hi everyone. My staffy is just over 8 months old and toilet training him has been the Bain of my life for the past couple of months he has been good and not weed inside (apart from excited wees when we first come in after being out all day but have worked hard on preventing this). He did however decide to wee all over my kitchen floor last week for no reason after he had been doing so well.

I bought a new rug today after throwing the old one away as when we first got him he weed on it quite a lot. Decided not to get one for a while as I didn't want to run the same risk again. Needless to say I have had my rug five minutes and he has weed on it already. He is let out very often during the day and evening so I have no idea why he has done this. I took him to the spot which he was reluctant to do and smacked him on the nose telling him no and put him in his cage. Perhaps this was the wrong thing to do as I should have let him out first to wee but it really pissed me off! My lovely new rug

Any help and ideas would be very appreciated. Sorry for the long story!

The best thing you can do is toilet train him by rewarding him when he goes outside and don't buy expensive rugs until you're sure he's not going to go inside. If you always reward him outside he'll eventually get the message.

Smacking his nose won't teach him anything and will only make him fearful and untrusting of you. He's reluctant to go back to the spot not because he knows he's done wrong but because dogs don't like to sit near where they toilet. Also, by putting him in his crate as a punishment you're associating his crate with punishment which will cause problems later on.

Can only echo the above regarding the crate and not using it for punishment. How often do you let him out during the day and night?

What is the best way to reprimand him if he goes inside? I've always gone with the age old thing of taking them to the spot and smacking them on the nose and eventually they get the idea. It's not an expensive rug, but irregardless I was annoyed all the same for him going on it!

I do always praise when he goes outside just to keep consistency. Sometimes I give him a treat but not always as I think he started to realise he got a treat every time he went outside whether he done something or not

As for putting him in the crate when he's naughty I've never had a problem so far. When he starts to get a little too hyper I put him in there for a time out until he calms down. The door is kept open whilst we are home and he often goes in and out. If he is tired he will go in there of his own accord

When he goes inside, don't reprimand him. Simply clean it up without a word. What do you use to clean it up? You should use something that breaks down the chemicals and takes away the odour so they won't keep going there.

Ah I see. How will he know it's wrong to go inside in that case? I usually get a sponge run it under the tap with some washing up liquid and scrub it. If it's on the floor il use bleach and hot water

Uh oh! I'd suggest going back to basics and wiping the slate clean. Never hit your dog on the nose; do you have any idea how sensitive their noses are? And dragging him to the place where he pee'd will mean nothing to him; he's more than likely picking up on your angry energy and reluctant to be near you, rather than the mess.

Bleach will actually encourage your dog to go where it is!! I use a stain and odour remover from pets at home, or you can use biological washing powder mixed with water (1 part powder to 4 parts water). If he goes indoors and you actually SEE him doing it you can say NO and lead him (gently, with your voice and not dragging him by the collar) to his appropriate outdoor place and give toilet command. Whenever you are walking him/see him pee in the garden give him a toilet command immediately (I use "wee wee's" and praise him with LOADS of fuss and treats if he likes them. If you don't catch him in the act, simply stay quiet and clean it up. Let him out every 30 minutes and after feeding/napping/playing as you would a puppy. Never use a crate for punishment. You're being unclear, and inconsistent so it's more than likely a fault in your training rather than a problem with your dog.

How often is he walked? And at what time/s?