A somewhat complicated need to house train

[chlothefrog]

So I am fostering Marlowe and her brother, Finn. They are 6 weeks old and just now got their second round of shots so for the last week or so that I have had them they weren't supposed to be let down on the ground, so I had no choice but to use puppy pads. They did pretty darn good with them, one or two poo accidents over the week and pee pees here and there. The problem is that now that I can let them outside to use the bath room I dont know what to do. They obviously think it's fine to go inside. I was thinking of once Finn is adopted in a few weeks, getting my carpets steam cleaned and completely cleaning my room so it doesn't smell like a place they've gone in before, and then starting from there? They also won't go poo outside. I've taken them out right as they started to squat but once they get outside theyre either too distracted or just want to go back inside. What the heck am I supposed to do! Theyll go pee outside but they have no control over their bladders right now. I really dont know what to do because I cant say good job you went potty outside if they never do it.....and I dont have time to sit with them for hours every time they should go potty.

[kian]

First don't try to housetrain a 6 week old puppy, get a exercise pen where you can contain them and use the potty pads right now. They have no concept of bladder control and thier attention span is non exsistent. With mom around they would follow her out and potty, it helps alot. Save yourself some trouble and let them be puppies as they should be at this age. In the best scenario they would be with mom and littermates in a secured area at this age. You are fostering, so I have to believe something has happened to mom, that is sad.

It isn't easy taking pups in this young, so do the best you can and don't stress out with potty training. By all means do not separate the littermates until at least 8 weeks of age, if you can hold onto to them a week longer that would be better for the new owners. At 8 weeks I would start the housetraining without puppy pads, I keep my puppies crated, tethered to me and or close to the door. It becomes my priority and it pays off. Good luck fostering, it isn't easy.

A exercise pen, crates are your best helps. Also see the housetraining thread. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6565

[chlothefrog]

Yes, I've fostered plenty of times before but usually they have been kept in an area where they were allowed to go outside through a door. But I have these in my apartment bedroom. They won't be separated until next week at the earliest and they would be almost 8 weeks then. I am not aware of the exact age. I got them last week and it was estimated that they were 6 weeks so they should be 7 weeks now. I really don't know though. Theyre using puppy pads very well and I wasnt really trying to potty train them yet, I was more asking about later on when I am trying to potty train the female is it going to be really hard since shes already used to going in my room on a pad. Sorry if there was a misunderstanding. They're also pretty calm and intelligent pups, I would say their attention span is about double the average puppy for this age, and I've fostered at least 12 others in the past. These are probably the smartest and most focused, I would guess they were older but physically it's pretty clear they arent

[kian]

Yes by all means check out the thread link I posted, I'm sure we covered most everything there. If not, please ask on that thread so others can see it and we will be happy to help you out.