house training and Tito departs

"The house training seems to be a bit more complicated with this bunch than I've been accustomed to with earlier litters."

That's a line I started a draft blog post with a year and a half ago.  It never turned into a full blog post because apparently I was overtaken by events.  I have to say, with hindsight I don't actually remember those puppies being particularly difficult to house train, although their owners might have different stories to tell. 

What I can tell you, though, is that the Pippuri puppies were all asking to go out for poos by 6 weeks with most of them asking for wees by 7 weeks.  Amazing.  However, then it started raining and it all went to pot (so to speak). 

I received feedback that most of the puppies were doing well with the house training once they left here.  The ones who gave the most trouble were those left in the southwest in the truly horrendous torrential rain and ferocious wind.  And don't think it's just newbie owners who struggle with this -  I was finding it difficult with Tito too.  The classic house training problem (which is made so much worse in bad weather) is that you stand out there for AGES with the puppy usually just lying down in the wet, then you give up and come back in, at which point the puppy promptly wees on the floor.

The reality of housetraining a puppy during an English winter

This is the advice I give to my puppy buyers on how to house train a puppy.  It sounds easy, in theory.  And it often is actually easy in practice.  Until it starts raining, that is. 

The most important element in house training is to take him outside before he realises he needs to go. 

A puppy has a very small bladder and no control at all, so they cannot hold it even for 2 seconds.  As soon as they realise they need to go, then they need to go NOW and it’s too late.  Therefore, you need to get him outside regularly and often to encourage him to go before he is even aware he is ready.

Every time your puppy wees indoors is a lesson to him that it is ok to wee indoors.  Similarly, every time he wees outdoors is a lesson that it is ok to wee outdoors.  You don’t want him to ever learn it is ok to wee indoors, so you ideally want him to have every wee outdoors.  That means you will need to be vigilant and put in the hard work in the early weeks.

·         As soon as your puppy wakes up, whether it is first thing in the morning or after a daytime nap, take him immediately outside for a wee.

·         When your puppy is awake and playing, take him outside for a wee at least every 20 minutes.   By the time he realises he needs to go, it’s too late.

·         I suggest you take him on lead to the area of the garden where he may perform and give him a word of encouragement (eg. 'be quick', 'have a wee/poo', or whatever command suits you.  Be consistent in the words you use.)

·         When he obliges, praise him and give him a little treat.  Your patience at this time will be well rewarded as you will soon have a puppy who knows where to go and can be encouraged to go on command – most useful when you are away from home or it's pouring with rain!

·         He will wee many, many times a day at first, and will poo a few times.  If your puppy is looking very busy sniffing the floor, walking in circles, then he needs a poo.   Sometimes they get quite frantic with it – that’s normal, don’t worry.  Take him outside on a lead and stand in one place letting him move freely around the length of the lead until he obliges.  When he is done, praise him and give him a little treat.  Be patient – this can sometimes take a long time because your puppy will be easily distracted.  Don’t give up and return to the house for 12-15 minutes or he is likely to go as soon as you get back in!

·         If your puppy has an accident inside the house, never punish him for it – he doesn’t know any better.  If you punish him for these accidents he will be confused and he will learn to hide away from you to do it.  If he has an accident inside, simply take him outside to illustrate where he is allowed to go.  If you catch him having an accident, say “no”, pick him up and get him outside. 

·         It's a good idea to train your puppy to perform on a variety of surfaces such as grass, pebbles, concrete, etc, and when he is out and about to perform away from home as well.  You don’t want your pup to think the only appropriate place is one corner of his garden at home!

Always take your puppy for a wee or poo on lead and stand in one place waiting patiently.  Your puppy will suddenly find a dozen other things to take his interest and attention away from the job at hand.  Just wait him out and praise him when he finally gets around to performing.  

The key to quick house training is constant supervision.  Don’t leave your puppy to wander around left to his own  devices so that you can spot any accidents in the planning.

See?  Easy, right?  Uh huh.

I wish Tito's new family all the very best of luck with continuing the house training that I started.  Hopefully their weather is the southeast is better than we have been having.  He's a clever puppy and I'm sure he will catch on quickly.

Here he is setting off with the Carusos.

And here he is with Luca and Matteo settling in to his new home.

Cuddle time

And, finally, here is a wonderful picture that Matteo made for me of him walking Tito.