Hiya
Lovely photos from everyone as usual . You are far further than we are with young Simba, Karen. Judith, I love the photos of Binks disguising himself as a zebra and I keep hearing Bon Jovi....:)
I'm glad that floor cleaner combo is working, Lins. We had real trouble with cleaning up cat widdle when one of our cats got upset and started widdling in the 'tv room'. That is our only room with laminate and the widdle had got down the cracks, Penny. I got a black light torch and it showed quite clearly (I don't know if it works with dog widdle, but it should as I believe it picks up on the ammonia in the urine).
All dogs are different and some take a lot longer than others to get the hang of house training; it can take 8 months, or so, before pups are completely clean, particularly at night. Beecham was such an easy puppy, but he was a real monster with the widdle training. I'd take him out and he'd widdle, bring him inside and he'd widdle again, outside and he'd widdle and so on. But then he became a tank, just like Wooster (our first LM) was almost as soon as he came to live here. But I tend to forget that Wooster widdled when he got over-excited and all visitors had to wear old shoes, lol, and it was nothing to do with whether he'd gone out before or not...
Whatever the whys and wherefores, please everyone, just remember NEVER EVER to scold a puppy for widdling indoors. If you see puppy starting to widdle, shout. 'Custard' or 'spaghetti' will do as you are aiming to startle the pup and not alarm him. Alarming the pup is detrimental in the long term. Don't pick him up either. Shout, to startle him, and run to the door, calling enthusiastically so that he follows you. I know it is hard not to pick up pup to avoid a mess - I did it with Beecham at times, particularly in friend's house - but it really lengthens the house training process.
Penny as someone, I think Karen, said, if Lola runs inside from the garden to widdle in the kitchen, she may be confused as to what you want her to do. We aim to take a pup outside very hour plus after playing, sleeping, eating and before & after any visitors ro excitement. Pups also widdle when they are nervous or stressed. It is easy to get frustrated when the pup is widdling inside, but the pup can easily pick up on it, which makes 'accidents' more likely. I know that it's difficult, but try not to compare her as each dog is very different. When you take Lola in the garden to widdle, always go the same spot. Stay outside with her and wait a few minutes. Praise her and if you are using a command, repeat your phrase. Ours is, 'chop chop'. When the pup goes, we say 'chop chop' and then praise when he has finished. We use a crate here, so when I've not been able to watch the puppy, he's been in a crate (but not for too long at any one time). I've only had three Muensters, but they have all be very different including their house training, their biddability, their response to training etc etc, but they have definitely all been Muensters through and through - intelligent, loving, beautiful, funny and maddening :)
Good luck, Penny. The photo of Minden & Lola on the stairs was lovely.
Sue
