Tips on easy toilet training for your cat or dog
Q We are getting a new puppy. Do you have any tips for house-training? Training can seem daunting, but try not to get stressed or angry. It won’t help, and will just make things harder for you and the dog. Accept that you’ll be in and out frequently – puppies have limited bladder control and may need to go every hour or two during the day.
Feeding at regular times makes things more regular and predictable. You will soon get to know when your puppy needs to go – usually after a meal, when he wakes from a nap, or when he starts to circle and sniff. Go out into the garden with him, encourage him with cue words, and praise him when he gets it right.
Most puppies are keen to please their owners, so be patient and kind. Toilet training will soon be over, and you and your new pet can enjoy getting to know each other. Q My dog seems to pee a lot – what is normal? It’s hard to say what is normal as all dogs are different. Some will hold on for one long wee, while others do more frequent, smaller ones. Peeing is part of the dog’s natural scentmarking behaviour, so a normal, healthy dog may do many little pees during its daily walks.
If you are worried that the amount or frequency are becoming excessive, then it would be advisable to take the dog to your vet. Ideally you would bring a sample of the dog’s urine with you so it can be tested. The first wee of the day is the most useful. Admittedly, catching a sample can be a challenge, but you can find some helpful tips by searching on the internet.
It will also help the vet if you can measure the dog’s water intake over 24 hours, or – better still – take an average over a few days. This will help the vet decide whether to carry out further investigations such as a blood test. Q We’re thinking of getting a rescue dog, but is it possible to toilettrain an older animal? Yes, it’s perfectly possible, and in theory it’s easier as older dogs should have better bladder control, but it can be hard work if the dog has fears or ingrained habits. You need to make retraining a positive experience. It takes patience, and you may need to take time off work to fully implement a new routine.
The key to it is lots of praise. Don’t punish the dog for accidents as you may make him scared to go in front of you at all – even outside, where you want him to. Some people find crate training useful as most dogs won’t wee in their bed crate. Q My cat keeps weeing on the carpet. What can I do? First things first, make sure you clean up the area so the smell doesn’t encourage her to do it again in the same place. Use a special pet stain and odour remover, as some household cleaning products smell like urine to cats and can therefore actually reinforce urinating in the wrong place.
Next, you need to think about why she it doing it. If it has started out of the blue, it could be a sign of health problems such as cystitis, so a trip to the vet might be called for.
Alternatively, it could be stress-related. Perhaps there are new cats in the area, new people or animals in the house, or you have building work going on – any of those could set off the problem. Make sure you have enough litter trays. The general rule is to have one more litter tray than you do cats, so two cats need three trays, and so on.