Hi there,

As a new member, Im hoping that someone can perhaps kindly help with a dilemma I have. Phoebe a whippet/bedlington cross was confirmed pregnant on christmas eve and we are hoping to give one of the pending puppies a loving home. She lives in a terraced house just round the corner and we also live in a terraced house with a large patio partly paved and partly small stones outside but with two parks in spitting distance, one is a little one at the end of our street, and pitville park in cheltenham is a lovely huge one with a lake, only minutes away.

We are happy that we can overcome the lack of garden with these resources on a longer term basis, and have regularly looked after a rescue lurcher,but Im concerned about the initial toilet training as until injections etc we cant really take any chances with contact outside of home so once he has learned to go in a designated area in the kitchen and we are familiar with the pattern we will need to teach the puppy that outside is the place. I wonder if anyone has any practical advice on this. Do we perhaps designate a specific spot and put down a mulched area for example as we dont want her to see hard surfaces as the place to go or the patio ultimately.

Any help would be appreciated.

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Tricia

hi there

we also are just toilet training our 12 week old puppy the only problem we're having is during the night where he goes in his designated area but I guess this will ease off as he gets older and can hold on for longer. to get to this stage we spent a lot of time in our garden every 20 mins we were outside encouraging him to go on the grass and then every 40 mins now its every hour for wee's and we now have a rough idea of when he needs a poo (feeding at the same time every day). hope this helps!

kelly

you can get spray from the pet shop that will attract the dog to a designated spot, not sure if it works but worth a try!

I would start your pup on the paved outside area... then move your pup onto the grassed areas when he has had his jabs. I would avoid an area in the kitchen completely... in my experience this delays the whole training process.

i used newspaper to help with my 13 week old pup, were the paper is he will pee so eventually we moved it to back door and now he goes out on his own and does his toilet, we have a dog flap to and that helps as he can go when he wants and doesnt have to wait for the door to be opened, you can also try putting the pup out as soon as it has fed and as soon as it wakes up these are the more likely time a pup will piddle, but most of all dont shout and curse the pup for getting it wrong just put itout and praise when its right. good luck

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We always try to avoid having a designated area and newspaper in the house, preferring to take the pup outside every few minutes if necessary - much easier if it's summer and you can keep the door open. Our latest pup (a lab) is 5 months now and she has only had about 5 'accidents' in the house.

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www.overthegate.co.uk

Hi bought a spray, spelled terrible, puppy seems a little more interested but still not going outside, paper trained, put it on paper inside, couldn't bear it for long, smells like mens toilets. Using it outside no joy yet

Hi! I have two 1 year old golden retrievers. Potty training two was a challenge! Experience from training my other pups helped. I used wee wee pads instead of newspaper.They are more absorbant and some come with a baking soda scent. Always place a small section of soiled pad onto a fresh one so the puppy will smell their scent. Work your way to the door you will use to bring them outside. Bring them outside to the same place they used before &/or place piece of soiled pad on the ground. I also always let them out when they woke up, ate, played etc. I also chose a phrase that I used each time I let them out. I would say Go potty or Do Your Business! Consistency is half the battle! Also, do you crate train? Puppies do well with crate training. It's not mean, they really like having their own space. Plus they don't like to mess where they sleep. I hope this helps! Best wishes! Marianne

Hi I am having problems with my 10 week old border collie. She was doing so well for the past 3 weeks. Never did a 'pooh' in the house and only had occasional wee accidents. I was feeling very pleased with her training but the last 2 days she has regressed. We take her into the back garden - sometimes she goes and sometimes not. But the minute we bring her back in she goes on the kitchen floor (without any warning). I don't know what we are doing different. Because she was so good initially we are feeling a bit low and can't understand it. I appreciate that she is still very young but why would she be going 'backwards'.