Coton de Tulear potty training

I have two Cotons, they are now 12 weeks old. I am paper training them, and they do well when they are confined to their crate which opens into a bathroom with puppy pad.

However, One is much better at going on the pad all the time, while the other seems lost, just doesn't get it. Should I just keep on doing the same thing and eventually the littler one will get it? Any help you can give is appreciated.

I can't take them out yet they have not had all of their shots. I have no yard of my own, so I am waiting til their last set of vaccines, then I can take them outside regularly. I'm really new to the dog thing, let alone puppies. Yikes, I feel like a new mother.

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Sep 29, 2014
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Potty training 12 weeks
by: Anonymous

I'm new to the Coton breed and amazed that CoCo learns so very quickly all that I say. I feel he's an ancient soul. His breeder did not train him. I quickly discovered that a little bark meant he needed out 'now' to pee, and crazy running behaviour and/or scratching madly meant he wanted out 'now' to poop. I added an extra water dish in his outside play area so that he can drink, play, pee & poop. He's got his poop area furthest away, under a tree and his pee area is directly across from that on the otherside, 15' away. He never poops where he pees and never pees where he poops. His play area & water dish are at the other end of this 50' stretch of area. I had no problem with his pooping outside as long as I used his dog food niblet's as treats while he played. Once I stopped that, he quit pooping outside. Inside he poops at one end of the house and pees at the other end. Since rain & cold season has started I thought indoor traing may be a blessing for him & I. I purchased peepee pads. He peed once & quit using them, preferring the carpet right beside the pad. I discovered the pads were with a treated scent he mustn't liked. I purchased scent free pads & trying that trick now. He refuses to use the washroom area where I wish for him to use them. I then placed them wherever he has peed. Each time be finds a new little spot to pee (never on the pad) while pooping in the same spot but not on the pad, never in the washroom for either. I purchased Lavendar. He hates the smell. I use warm water & add lavendar essential oil drops, spraying the areas I wish him not to pee or poop again. I figured that he thinks the pads are new & too good to pee/poop on (so sweet), the bathroom is too dark to enter (afraid) and wishes to hold it til we go outside. He wants only grass to pee on, dry or wet, sun or rain will do. But trying to house train him as an emergency alternative confused his clean track record. Now I must untrain him indoors if I wish to save my carpets. I discovered that I need to be more aware of his timing needs. My elderly mom says the no word too often over little things, each time he pees. I'm learning he prefers outside and prefers no stress or scolding however minimal. The more praise I give him the happier he is, the longer he holds his pee. He does what ever I ask, explain or command; sits, stays, comes, walks gentle when asked, runs when permitted, hops in the "go-go bag" to travel in the car. At night I don't even need to open the Lavendar bottle. He just looks at it in my hand and quiets down, goes 'sleep-sleep' when asked and just loves to go "outside" when ever called. He knows the route to & from the play area. No leash required. He's the happiest dog I've ever met and enjoys to please. He's not going to accept the indoor pads is my guess. I'll try a trainer box next with some grass and an unscented pad below the grass. It would be nice when it snows to have an alternative choice than freezing our butt's off 7x a day.

Jul 20, 2013
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How to learn them to pee outside
by: morticia93

Hi, i wanted to ask how can i learn my cotton to pee outside, she was to small for going out and without vaccine so she got used to pee on the newspapers ,now she won't pee when we are outside. How can i change that ?

Dec 08, 2012
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Potty Training
by: Anonymous

I have a coton de tulear and she is 7 months now and not potty trained. We let her out and she pees but then she thinks it play time. Then once we come inside she finds a place to poop. Now I think she is starting to pee inside nla too, anything i can do to stop it? We praise with treats once we get back from inside if she does pee outside.. Help!!

Sep 15, 2012
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Pooping indoors
by: Iris Miller

PS My 4 year old Coton Tuffy has always been very self conscious of going potty indoors, especially poop. When he was younger we lived in a small condo with an open floor plan. I had his pee pad in front of the sliding glass door that led to the outdoor deck. Tuufy would get very nervous and upset if he pooped on the pee pad, even though I never got angry at him and pretty much just ignored it and cleaned it up as soon as possible. I was having family over for Thanksgiving, the table would be extended further into the same room as his pee pad so decided to get a privacy screen to hide Tuffy's pee pad.What I found online was, cute, expensive, and too short to hide the area. My son built a nice tall wide privacy screen and we painted it and made a big deal putting it up. It worked perfectly, Tuffy had privacy, no more problem pooping on the pee pad, no more fearful dog. After we trained him to go outdoors we gradually removed the pee pads from the house. As I have posted before, he ha to be re-trained to go indoors on the pads again since I am not able to walk him, because of my recent surgeries..Now he goes both ways, he knows it's okay to use the pad in emergencies, and prefers to go outside when he can.
Best of luck, and wishing you much patience,
love, Iris and Tuffy.

Sep 15, 2012
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potty training my Coton
by: Iris Miller

I may have mentioned this some time ago, we moved into a larger, older home, the previous two owners had dogs, and the scent went through the carpet to the wood floors. That made a big challenge for us to try and get rid of the scent of other animals so Tuffy would not think the whole house was a pet toilet. The best product I've found is Woolite foam pet carpet cleaners(the have a pump bottle and also a spray can. It does an excellent job removing bad stains, even old ones. It also removed the odor so the dog knows, this is no longer an area to go potty in. In a pinch, I have also used baking soda, it neutralizes odors (and it even confuses ants if you put baking soda on their trail,) Good luck and love your dog, they are just like a child, eager to please, but they don't understand everything you are telling them. Be patient. Keep doors closed and keep them contained to smaller areas of the house, and take them out more often Good luck!
love and blessings. Iris & Tuffy

Sep 13, 2012
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Poop on pad?!?
by: Wag

We are having a great experience with 15 week old Wag. He will 99% of the time pee on the pee pads. We are paper training him and have no clue at all how to get him to poop on the pads. He is a baby, we know that but would appreciate any help in how to get him to poop on the pads so we know at least what to do to try to get him there.

Sep 07, 2012
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Challenge in Potty Training
by: Anonymous

I too am having trouble potty training my 6 1/2 month old Coton. When confined to the kitchen, he will use a potty pad. When let outside, he will relieve himself - all with praise. Once inside the main house with my back turned, he will pee where he shouldn't - and he's done this numerous times. I scrub the floor after his mistakes, but nothing seems to change. He's quick to learn other do's and don'ts, but we can't seem to get past this issue. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Jul 30, 2012
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Toilet training help
by: Elizabeth

My coton de tulear is almost 6 months and will go outside when I take him out. However, if given any freedom in the house he will pee anywhere. So, he is still restricted to my couch or his cage. I praise him when we go out. Am at my wits end---is he ever going to stop peeing/pooping inside. Any advice is welcome. Never had this problem with other dogs.

Jul 06, 2012
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ps to too many bathroom breaks on the floor
by: Iris Miller

If you time a walk outdoors about 15 or 20 minutes after your dog has a meal, especially if you see them drink a lot of water after eating,dog then go for a walk with them and take your dog to a sand or dirt space( if they don't want to go on grass), they should be able to go.Give the command poop/pee when you brining them where you want them to go.
Hope this helps.

Jul 06, 2012
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About two puppies on a pee pad
by: Iris Miller

I read the remarks by the new puppy owner and having her dogs in the crate in the bathroom with a pee pad. If the toilet area is too close to their food, they will not go potty if they eat there. If your dogs are territorial, maybe after one went on the paper, the other is afraid to go there because it is marked by the first dog. While visiting family I had my Coton and my sister brought her Chihuahua ? Anyway, I put the pad out on the patio for Tuffy, but my sister's dog Sparky went pee on it first and Tuffy took one whiff and walked away. I had to put a clean pee pad down for Tuffy in a separate area altogether so he could go too.
Good luck new mom, your Cotons are smart, they will sniff around and figure it out when you take them walking.
love and blessings,

Iris & Tuffy

Jul 04, 2012
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potty problems
by: Anonymous

Don't give up - some dogs just take longer than others. You need to get a very good cleaner to erase the scent entirely inside the house so she won't be attracted to them.

Jul 04, 2012
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Six months and too many bathroom breaks on the floor still urghhhhhelp
by: Anonymous

Our puppy is almost six mo old. She came from a reputable breeder. She used to use her pad only to pee on, never pooped on it. We take her outside every two hours and after the prime times of sleeping, eating, and playing. We praise and praise and still she will pee and crap on the floor. She never makes a sound or a movement to the door or do anything to motion a need to go outside. We have an eight yr old bichon and never had any of these issues. Not sure how I will ever get her trained esp since now she is used to going anywhere at her leisure.....urghhhhhhhhhhhhh

May 18, 2012
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Thanks to Gale
by: Iris Miller

Gale, thank you. As always, you are so very considerate and kind.
love from me and Tuffy

May 17, 2012
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Get well soon
by: Gale

Iris, so sorry to hear about your health issues. I hope you have a speedy recovery. I know Tuffy must be a huge source of comfort - he's such a special Coton.

May 16, 2012
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Pee pads re-visited
by: Iris Miller

I am reading here my past remarks and now find myself, this year, with Tuffy 4 years old, having had to re-train him after two years,to use both the pee pads indoors and go pee/poop outside when someone comes to take him out, because of a year for me in and out of hospitals and different stages of recovery. I am still recovering from the broken ankle (Nov.2011) and now a double abdominal surgery (Apr. 2012).
My smart Coton Tuffy knows what it's all about and will only use the pee pad near the door if it is severely urgent. Tuffy points with his nose to show me what he's done, I praise him for "going pee on the paper" and then put a fresh pad down in the holder for the next emergency. He will still try to hold his bowel movement for a trip outdoors, bless his little heart and soul. I do my best to get him outside whenever possible, even connecting two leashes together to let him out the door as far in the yard as he needs to go to leave his scent. He is definitely territorial, especially where the next door neighbor dog is concerned. I am truly blessed to have such a devoted and intelligent companion.
love, Iris &Tuffy

May 15, 2012
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Will not go outside!
by: VVB

Sue, I have the same problem with my 8 mth old female. But she poops on all carpets! She doen't like wet grass, and will hold it until she is inside the house. Have you resolved your problem? Please help!

Jan 04, 2011
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pee pad vs. the great outdoors
by: Iris Miller

I am reading these remarks with great interest, humor, and nostalgia (for the good old days of pee pads). Having grown up with many different breeds of dogs I believe I can testify that the Coton de Tulear is something else altogether, smarter, more intelligent and independently minded, a thinking dog. Maybe it's because I am closer to my Coton than any other dog I've had, and maybe because we are both so attached and aware of each other's emotions, whatever it is, I know that Tuffy, now 3 years old and only going potty outdoors (meaning a minimum of five trips outdoors on the leash, oy !), had a guilty conscience about his toilet habits when he was indoors and using only potty pads. The problem was. when he would step off the paper his wet feet would would leave the scent of pee on the floor, he would show visible signs of worry, sniffing it, going back to the paper and sniffing,etc., because he was trained from day one at six weeks to "go pee on the paper" and did not make a mistake. He was also self conscious about going poo on the paper ,my son built him a privacy screen which helped, but this was really something Tuffy knew inherently, that he should not be going poop in the house, and has proven that outdoors by going as far from the house as possible to poop, also, probably because he is very territorial.HA! i am sounding like a psychologist!
All I know is on snow days, freezing weather, creepy nights and times I can't go out or have to leave Tuffy home for several hours, I wish for that either/or option of paper or grass.
good luck all you lucky new Coton moms.
blessings and love.
Iris & Tuffy

Jan 04, 2011
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Paper training
by: Sue

Jazzy is just over a year and learned very quickly about going on wee wee pads. However, she will NOT relieve herself outdoors! We go for walks and she loves them but will "hold it" until we come inside and she goes on her pads! I have tried bringing one outdoors but it hasn't worked! I previously had 2 Maltese and I also paper trained them but when we walked outside they would also go outside! Has anyone had this problem?

Oct 20, 2010
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potty training
by: Anonymous

I have a 12 week old coton as well, I have learned the best way to get my dog to do what he needs to do is to be very generous with treats and praise. The way to him is thru his stomach. He still makes the odd mistake but for the most part he goes outside. I have paper on the kitchen floor all the time. He has open access to the whole house all the time. When I can't get to him, he will always go on the paper- never on the carpets. I never give him a treat when he wee's in the house. But always make sure to give treats and lots of praise when he goes outside.

Oct 20, 2010
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puppy pad training
by: Iris Miller

I am not sure but am wondering, even at that young age, can there be a territorial dispute? At a family gathering I put a pee pad down for Tuffy out on the patio and he went. Then my sister let her dog out who ran over and peed on the same pad. When I let Tuffy out to go again, he smelled the pad and went away. I had to put a new pad down before he would use it.
Maybe you need to change the pad more often?
Probably best to get those shots and let them each have a separate spot to go in the yard?
Good luck with your Cotons!!
hugs from Tuffy's mom

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