how can I maintain her toilet training while there?

Dogs generalise very poorly, so ”don't toilet in the house at home” won't translate to ”don't toilet in the house at Grandma's”.

So, sorry but yes, it will be back to taking her out frequently. Whether she understands the word - only you can say. But if she doesn't respond to it in your own garden, she isn't likely to respond elsewhere. You may need to spend a bit more time using it every single time she is actially in the act of toileting until it clicks that that's what it means, and only then can you start using it as a cue. Until then, it's only a sound with no meaning for her.

 

Thanks - she definitely understands it, because when I say it, she starts sniffing around until she’s about to toilet - then comes back to me looking pathetic, and sits in front of the door. Whereas, if I let her out and don’t say it, she beelines for her toys or patch of grass.

I think she is just either very easily distracted by all the fun outside smells (even though we play out lots!) or is not yet fantastic at knowing when she needs to go. Or she doesn’t appreciate my bossy tone of voice, which would be fair enough!

(She’s my lovely, beautiful girl, who I love very much, but we’re having a bad day today due to lack of sleep on both our parts - so I will hold myself back from saying the unfair and untrue, “she is just contrary”. Even though it feels like it sometimes, I know in reality, it’s just not clicked for her yet. I’m so tired, though!)

I did suspect it would be back to the beginning. Maybe I can wait for a sunny day and bring grandma with us on a very slow beach walk with lots of sniffing, so we’re mostly outside anyway.

 

Your fortunate you can take her on the train. Trains in the U.S. do not allow dogs to travel with their owners, which I wish was not the case here.

 

Another question then - will dogs ever really generalise? That is, if Nina learns at home, that we go outside for the toilet, then learns it at my grandma’s, then at my best friend’s house, then at my brother’s house… Will there come a time that she understands what “inside” and “outside” are and that she can only go to the toilet outside? I suppose since the majority of dogs will be on a schedule by their adulthood, it might be quite tough to always know - if you’re out with them at specific times, regardless of setting.

 

That is, if Nina learns at home, that we go outside for the toilet, then learns it at my grandma’s, then at my best friend’s house, then at my brother’s house… Will there come a time that she understands what “inside” and “outside” are and that she can only go to the toilet outside?

Yes, she will. I could take my dog anywhere after the age of about a year and not worry about accidents.

 

It sounds like you are on a slow roll to success; you just haven't got there yet. Right now think of her like a three year old child going off to pre-school. Maybe she will remember her toilet training; maybe she will regress. Either one is completely possible and completely normal for her level of maturity. I'd recommend packing some piddle pads to protect your grandmother's floors for this trip. (Not a lot different from parents traveling with a diaper bag.) Remember, six months is the typical age for a puppy to gain the physical ability to control their bladders. Even after that, it's quite normal for them to make mistakes about where they are allowed to pee or to get stressed and piddle where they stand. My guys were mostly pretty good about not marking in the wrong spot after about 8 months, but I did have a few accidents as late as 2 years. You have a bit of an advantage with a girl dog, because she will have less drive to tag everything like a graffiti artist. I won't say she will have zero drive to mark things, but it will be much less than the boys.

 

Ah yes - well, I would say she hasn’t got that drive at all, but we’ll have to see how she does with marking after she hits puberty. That’s when the rabbits started territory marking, and even after spaying, they still do it! Still - not a problem just yet. She’s fascinated by places other dogs have marked on walks though!

 

Seconding Joanne. I have never had a dog who didn't learn toilet training very, very thoroughly once they really got the idea, and never had one who had accidents past a certain age, no matter where we were.

I was once living in a "third world" country with my dog, in a place only accessible by small boat (no roads, etc.) I got delayed due to circumstances beyond my control and missed the last boat taxi home, had to spend the night. My dog was in the house, but had access to the roof and I figured she'd just go up the stairs to the roof since that's outside, after all. Got home and she hadn't gone to the bathroom in all that time. Guess she figured it was still indoors on the roof. I sure felt terrible for her. But that's an example of a very well house trained dog.

 

Thanks everyone! Even though I’m sure you’ve said it before, it’s always reassuring to be reminded how little she is. Like, she’s not having accidents because I’m bad at training her, she’s having accidents because she’s not quite four months old. 😊

 

Exactly!

 

I line the rabbit litter tray with extra large puppy pads, so even though Nina didn’t use them with me, I have plenty. I’ll make sure to bring some with me!

 

I think a lot of people don't take their puppies outside enough, and/or they send the puppy outside unsupervised and/or they expect the dog to signal it wants to go out and/or they attempt to substitute pee pads for regular outings.

I think a lot of people make the mistake of asking a friend how often their middle aged retriever gets taken outside. Friend shrugs and says, "uh, um, two or three times I guess." Middle aged retriever is completely inactive, spends most of the day asleep, and gets fed once a day because otherwise he would inflate like a blimp. He isn't producing a lot of waste. So yeah, he can probably cope with 2-3 outings a day. In contrast, puppies have fast metabolisms and produce a lot of waste for their body size. They also have tiny bladders and tiny colons. They don't have a lot of waste storage space. This is especially true of toy breed puppies. So, puppy with a bladder the size of a peanut is taken outside on the same schedule as a sedentary adult dog. Surprise! Puppy has lots of potty accidents inside. If the puppy is a toy breed, the owners may not even realize the puppy is toileting inside, because it's easy for a tiny puppy to hide a tiny puddle in an inconspicuous corner of the room.

I think a lot of people also make the mistake of pushing the puppy out the door instead of supervising the outing. The puppy might be scared and cling to the door instead of going out into the yard and attending to potty needs. Alternatively, the puppy may get so distracted by everything outside that he doesn't remember to potty at all. Ten minutes later he gets called back inside. At that point the puppy remembers, "Oh, yeah, I need to pee." Splat, right inside the door. Even worse when such a dog is expected to communicate when he needs to go out. If the dog can't manage an unsupervised potty trip, he's not going to manage a notification plus an unsupervised potty trip.

Pee pads can be confusing for puppies, because the puppies don't really understand the difference between pee pads and other textiles. Once the puppy learns to piddle on a soft surface it can be difficult to teach which textiles are a toilet area and which are not. I really prefer to start puppies out on grass, dirt, or gravel, even if it means giving the puppy a hunk of sod in a litter pan while waiting for the puppy to be old enough to go outside. The exception might be a toy breed puppy that lives in an urban high rise apartment. Such dogs often don't get taken outside to potty due to the logistics of putting the dog in an elevator and then finding an appropriate spot outside. For such a dog I might set up a pee pad in a pan in the washroom. I would still treat the puppy like I was housebreaking him outside, with regular supervised trips to the potty pan and lots of praise & rewards for successful toilet.

 

I think a lot of people don't take their puppies outside enough, and/or they send the puppy outside unsupervised and/or they expect the dog to signal it wants to go out and/or they attempt to substitute pee pads for regular outings.

I think a lot of people make the mistake of asking a friend how often their middle aged retriever gets taken outside. Friend shrugs and says, "uh, um, two or three times I guess." Middle aged retriever is completely inactive, spends most of the day asleep, and gets fed once a day because otherwise he would inflate like a blimp. He isn't producing a lot of waste. So yeah, he can probably cope with 2-3 outings a day. In contrast, puppies have fast metabolisms and produce a lot of waste for their body size. They also have tiny bladders and tiny colons. They don't have a lot of waste storage space. This is especially true of toy breed puppies. So, puppy with a bladder the size of a peanut is taken outside on the same schedule as a sedentary adult dog. Surprise! Puppy has lots of potty accidents inside. If the puppy is a toy breed, the owners may not even realize the puppy is toileting inside, because it's easy for a tiny puppy to hide a tiny puddle in an inconspicuous corner of the room.

I think a lot of people also make the mistake of pushing the puppy out the door instead of supervising the outing. The puppy might be scared and cling to the door instead of going out into the yard and attending to potty needs. Alternatively, the puppy may get so distracted by everything outside that he doesn't remember to potty at all. Ten minutes later he gets called back inside. At that point the puppy remembers, "Oh, yeah, I need to pee." Splat, right inside the door. Even worse when such a dog is expected to communicate when he needs to go out. If the dog can't manage an unsupervised potty trip, he's not going to manage a notification plus an unsupervised potty trip.

Pee pads can be confusing for puppies, because the puppies don't really understand the difference between pee pads and other textiles. Once the puppy learns to piddle on a soft surface it can be difficult to teach which textiles are a toilet area and which are not. I really prefer to start puppies out on grass, dirt, or gravel, even if it means giving the puppy a hunk of sod in a litter pan while waiting for the puppy to be old enough to go outside. The exception might be a toy breed puppy that lives in an urban high rise apartment. Such dogs often don't get taken outside to potty due to the logistics of putting the dog in an elevator and then finding an appropriate spot outside. For such a dog I might set up a pee pad in a pan in the washroom. I would still treat the puppy like I was housebreaking him outside, with regular supervised trips to the potty pan and lots of praise & rewards for successful toilet.

I actually grew a giant litter tray full of grass for Nina to use outside, because I have decking. She… Doesn’t use it, ever. However, she looooves to flop out on it on a hot day and to take her splinterless sticks out there. It is like her storage space for splinterless willow sticks (robbing from the rabbits again…). But since she’s ok to go on the decking, I’m not making a fuss right now. I’d love to one day get her to a specific spot, but it feels like it might be something to try when the more general toilet training journey isn’t so tough!

I did have one, very judgey friend, when I mentioned that I was growing her some grass, opine that it was disgusting that I expected her to use a litter tray like a cat, and I obviously had no idea how to handle a dog… But I ignored her!

 

Try to encourage her to toilet on different surfaces. If, for example, you have a dog that likes to poo on grass, and you are in a city for several days and the only grassy areas prohibit dogs, it's stressful for both of you.

Been there, done that ...

 

I stay away from people who give me a lot of negativity about things that I do or want to do. Constructive advice or criticism is one thing, but what you are describing doesn't sound constructive at all. Maybe you need not to listen to those people any more.

 

Already done for all the ones that aren’t family! It was unusual and out of character for the friends though!