Hi. I'm new to this forum, I hope some people can offer me some advice.

We've just got our first puppy, an airedale terrier. I've done lots of research and so far he's been well behaved and learnt quickly with the things we have done with him. The only problem we're having is with toilet training. He is 4 months old, which has made a lot of things easier, but he seems to be used to toileting inside only. No matter how much we take him outside, he only goes to the toillet when we go back inside the house. Due to his age he does not need to go to the toilet very often, so we're finding it difficult to catch him before the act and to reinforce the idea that he should go to the toilet outside.

Does anyone have any advice? Many thanks in advance.

Rich

Hi Rich he is still only a baby and as such wont yet have full controll of his bladder some dogs take longer than others , I am assuming he was either at the breders before you got him or you have had him second hand so to speak . What was the situation of the previous owner did they paper train him indoors first , this often mucks up them then swapping to going outside to pee, All i can sudgest is ignore him when he pees, in the house dont even react to it clean it up with disolved washing detergent its best for removing the smell and get him in the garden it may mean watching him for ages untill he eventually goes , when he does make a huge song and dance about it loads of praise this renforcesthe good behaviour but ignors the bad , its perserveance and vidgilance that pays off . Also have you got him a crate ? having there own space is great for them keeps them safe from harm when you cant be watching him /her and as they generally dont like to foul there space it may make him hold himself longer . Rule of thumb a young pup will pee often so trips to the garden every 15 mins isnt unrealistic and most will want to poo after 10 - 20 mins after eating , most accidents are our fault for not recognising there body language , after a nap is a good one for going outside too hope things improve
Andrea

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Thanks for the quick response. We got him from a breeder so we think he probably hasn't spent a lot of time outside before. We are crate training him and he is happy to go on the newspaper half of his crate. We were just a bit worried that as we got him at 4 months old he may have already got into habits. We have managed to catch him half way through a pooh a couple of times and he has finished off outside and got lots of praise. We haven't been able to get him to do a wee outside at all though. If he does go inside we just clear it up and he doesn't get told off. Its early days though. As he is that bit older than when people often get puppies, he holds it a lot better and is only weeing maybe 3 times a day, so it is hard to be alert all the time and see when he is about to go.

Dont worry you sound like your doing the right things then it may just take a bit more time , the breader may have had them in a large pen and as you say may not have had basic toilet training .they are an intellegent bread so he will get it dont panic in the mean time a good suply of cleaning cloths lol . try and limit him using the crate to pee in unless its over night or if your out for a time in the day always use the garden as the first choice .

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