Hi everyone, after long deliberation we decided not to go with a rescue dog, we did try but there were just too many obstacles (children and other animals) and we now have Benji arriving today, he is an older puppy (19 weeks), and is not housetrained but I have been told he goes on paper?! Please can anyone share their advice on toilet training, and also introduction to cats. I am really worried about it as we have never owned a dog before . Is it harder to train older pups. Any advice given on any issue relating to older puppies would be greatly received. Am feeling quite nervous about the whole thing! Also can anyone recommend any good dog training classes in Surrey.
Thanks.
Ali ( with a very sicky feeling in her stomach!! )

hi, it isnt any harder to toilette train a older pup than a younger one in my eyes, if the pup uses paper then you should put it where the pup is able to see it easy, if the pup uses it lots of praise is in order and day by day move the paper nearer to the door, and when at the door finally out and hopefully pup get used to going towards the door and then out the door, thats one way or you can go straight to the point and dont use paper at all and remeber that a pup will wee more often than you think so every 20 mins or so take pup outside stay with pup to encourage him to stay out and if he wees or poos do lots and lots of praising, also allow pup to walk to the outside world rather than carrying him as he will then get used to doing it on his own rather than you doing it for him, if you do have accidents in home then do not shout or smack pup for this, just ignor the toilette and take him straight outside, as for night time you might want o put a paper down so it is easier to clean up but dont put it right next to his bed as he might think it is ok to do it there all the time, as he gets older he should start to hold it longer so becoming dry at night a bit like a child patients and good praise works wonders

as for cats i have never had a problem with dogs meeting my cats as they tend to be more scared of the cat than the cat of the pup,

good luck

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Some good advice there from Nici - I'd just add to take the pup outside for toiletting as soon as he's eaten and as soon as he wakes up. As Nici said, the important thing is to praise when the pup toilets outside, and not to tell him off if he toilets inside. If you tell him off for toiletting inside he won't make the connection that it's because he's done it inside - he'll just think he's being told off for toiletting and then he'll be reluctant to go anywhere he can see you - either inside or outside.

The way I introduce a new pup to the cats is to use a crate - put the pup in the crate and let the cats come into the room so they can suss him out. Once you are satisfied that they are not going to freak, you can let them interact for short, supervised periods, gradually lengthening this time over a period of days until you are satisfied that they are going to be fine.

Hi Ali,

This is how I have been toilet training my puppy. I have had her for nearly 6 weeks now, she is now 15 and a half weeks old.

I have copied and pasted it from another thread I posted in about toilet training, instead of typing it all out again

I have had my puppy for nearly 6 weeks, and I haven't used any newspaper or puppy training pads. As someone else said, this in a way is encouraging them to toilet inside... which isn't what you want.

As soon as I got my puppy home I took her out into the garden to do a wee and show her where her toilet area was. I then would take her out every 30 - 60 minutes throughout the day to let her relieve herself. Even if I felt she didn't need to go, I would still take her out.

I would suggest crate training your puppy, this is what I have done and can help with toilet training.

Young puppies wont let you know they need to go to the toilet, so you need to look out for the warning signs, like circling indoors and sniffing the floor. If you see this, quickly take them to them outside to go to the toilet. Foxy doesn't really do this, she just goes! So I have to make sure I give her PLENTY of opportunities to go outside. Like I said, you need to make regular trips to the garden throughout the day to give the puppy plenty of chances to relieve itself in the correct place. Whenever your puppy does do a toilet in the correct place make sure you reward and give lots of praise straight away!

I also wouldn't suggest letting your puppy outside alone (while you wait indoors) when wanting it to go to the toilet, because it may ask to come back in and you might think it's done it's stuff when probably it hasn't... so it then comes back indoors and does it there! So supervise the puppy outside when it's time for toilets. Even if you are out there for 20 minutes, you just have to wait until they go! I've been doing this alot, but it's getting better. If they don't go, bring the puppy back in and try again in a few minutes time.

So if you decide not to use training pads or newspaper, you will need to be making trips to the garden during the night too. I did, I used to get up twice during the night. She'd go out at around 12am then I would go to bed, then I'd set my alarm for around 2:30am and so on... and get up and take her out for a wee. It was tiring, but it needs to be done. She now goes through the night (has done for a good few weeks now). She'll go from around 12am to 7am, then she wakes me up to be let out (she sleeps in her crate at night time).

Toilet training takes ALOT of time and patience. You really have to be very dedicated to getting it done proplerly and very consistent with it all too.

Obviously your puppy will be near on 5 months old, so there will be a difference with the amount of urination and how long it can hold on compared to when I got Foxy who was 9 weeks old.

Good luck with it all and let us know how you get on.

As for introducing cats to a new dog... I am in the same situation... and it's a bit of a nightmare here lol.

Thank you everyone for your advice, we appear to be doing well with the toilet training. We do have a major problem at the moment with barking at night and generally all the time. We just don't know what to do.

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"Properly trained, a man can be a dog's best friend."
Corey Ford

Hi there,

I didnt have my westie until he was 20wks old as his original owner changed their mind and took hom back to the breeder whom i knew.

I have to sae door that he was fantastic i think that as he was older he understood more what i wanted from him and at the time i was living in a third floor flat and he was scratching the door to go out within a week.

my best advoce and this has worked with every dog we have ever owned and we have never had toileting problems and that is as soon as the pup wakes up dont make any fuss just put it straight out the garden and wait until they have done a wee or poo then give the pup lots of praise and a treat.

i am sure you will be fine and that your dog is going to bring much joy and happiness tp your lives.xx