Looking for attention by pee'in??

[George]

I have a 5mths old puppy and he is a very good pup in general but we have noticed that over the last week he is pee'in indoors again and it seems to be at times when we aren't giving him 100% attention, i.e. when I'm brushing my teeth or cooking / putting away food in the kitchen! Is there any way we can stop this, he hasn't been getting any attention for doing it, we are doing what we did when we started to house train - putting him straight outside while we clean up and then leaving him there for 5mins or so. Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

[*Pauline*]

I'd say you are risking an accident if you leave him unattended. Some of those jobs, like putting away food, take longer than you think! I used to set a timer for 20 mins. I got nealy all the wees outside then and Dylan was almost perfect after 4 weeks.

[Karlin]

He is way too young to be left unattended -- you need to have him within arm's reach to take him out at all times, or crated, on a lap, or asleep - those are the options when housetraining. Expect him to be closer to 6-7 months before mostly reliable but you need to be vigilant until about 10-12 months.

If he is having to go very frequently make sure this isn;t a medical problem like a urinary tract infection as that can cause the dog to need to go so many times that they just starrt going inside and can't really hold themselves at all.

[angie]

do you treat him when he is a good boy and goes outside? i mean giving him a treat as opposed to a general "good boy" and ruffle of the head! we still give jadan who is 11 months a treat when he performs outside and also as we take him outside let him know where he is going. ie..."jadan outside" and take him outside, does his busness then "good piddle outside" then treat (or what ever word you use) then "jadan inside" so he got to know the difference of one from the other. and def no short cuts, be outside with him not in the doorway because its too cold etc. and then treat when he is inside as i have heard this confuses them and makes them think its ok to do it inside where they were given the treat! obviously if he went indoors there was no treat and a firm "no! piddle outside" he hasnt had an accident since he was about five months. but as the others have said..if you cant watch him at certain times then put him where you know it doesnt happen. crate or bed etc. good luck...it does get better as they get older and can hold more. i was told if they can hold it most of the night then they can go the same amount in the day. so if its all the time then maybe a visit to the vet isnt a bad idea.

[George]

Thanks for your replies, I was starting to get worried as he was doing so well. He is very good during the night and we never leave him unattended, when we're doing something he just potters around after us but lately as I said he seems to be going to the toilet in a way to stop us from doing what we are doing and focus on him - mabe we're paranoid!! We had been using the treat for going outside but since it has become such a routine we just use "good boy" now but have decided to go back to "good buy" and treating him to drum home the message again. Fingers crossed!! Thanks again..