Ok, I really think I'm messing up my pup's potty training now as he doesn't seem to understand that I want him to go potty outside and not on the kitchen floor. I cannot be teaching him right and I'm worried that if whatever I'm doing wrong carries on he'll become used to going inside. He's only 11 weeks old, I know I can't expect too much from him but I'll try my best to outline the major issues we have.
I crate train him at night, which he is doing really well with. He has had a few wee accidents at night, but I think that is because I just haven't got down to him fast enough in the morning. My alarm will wake him up and he'll often pee like lightening as it's always a fresh one. I thought setting my alarm 30 mins-1 hour earlier may help?
In the day (I work from home) he is free to roam the kitchen with my 1 year old sheltie. They play and have a great time together and he's kept inside the kitchen with the use of a baby gate. I take him out every hour during the day, reward him for doing potty outside whilst I watch and I take him out straight away after playing. Darla my one year old seemed to catch on fast with going outside, she would even whine to go, but Hugo will go inside, even inbetween the hours that I take him out to potty. The other day he went 3 times in the space of 20 mins! I think he was playing alot with Darla that day and he just couldn't hold it.
When accidents happen, I send them off outside and mop up the floor without a fuss so it doesn't draw attention to it. I thought he had stopped having poo accidents until recently when I found remnants of poo on the kitchen floor. He has pooed inside and eaten it, with perhaps the help of Darla. Today I actually caught him in the act, after he had been outside to potty 10 mins previously, and he was trying to eat it. I said 'leave' and sent them both outside so I could clean up.
He's had a full vet check, no UTI and the vet just said some pups eat their poo implying not much I can do. But is this common for them to poop inside and then eat it? He never does it in front of me, I only caught him on the off chance as I set up a camera in the kitchen which allowed me to spy on them. I had given him several chance to poop beforehand but he didn't seem interested, he just sat down outside and stared at me. I'm not sure whether he doesn't like going in front of me, Darla is a bit like that. Mostly because she wants to eat it or she thinks I will pick it up and take it away for myself. So these indoor poos are never done in my presence and the evidence is always swiftly cleared away, leaving a few tell tale traces.
Now, should I be crating him for an hour or so at a time during the day too to help potty train? The reason I haven't done this is because he loves playing with Darla and snuggling with her during the day. But this could also be causing the large amount of wees too as he is constantly playing and excited, making it very hard to keep on top of his weeing schedule.
I've read that pups under 12 weeks really don't have much control over their bladders, so I do feel sorry for him and I know it's not his fault at all. I just don't want to confuse him and make this a huge issue.