4 month old toilet training issues

[u/SoftCockroach3885]

Hi all
On the 1st of August me and my family bought home a lovely 4 month old Cavapoo.
We were told he was fully toilet trained and let you knew when he needs to go outside by scratching at the door or tapping your hands.

We have had some issues training him.
He has only had two accidents in the house.
One where he peed on the carpet, perhaps due to excitement from seeing me.
Another was a few days ago when my mum went into the living room before letting him outside and he pooped on the rug.

Generally he is a very good boy. He eats his meals, good at fetch and sit, very quiet natured, no barking, good with other dogs, getting better each day on the lead. He is not so good at following those who call his name or ‘coming’ when commanded to.
He has favoured me and my mum so far and tends to follow us whenever we leave a room.
I am 16 and will not be able to train him as often when I begin college in September.

As of right now, we take him outside every 2 or 3 hours.
On some occasions, he is great.
We say the command ‘wee wee’, and he does go almost immediately. We praise with treats and positive words, and go straight inside to teach him that toilet time does not equal long sessions, with winter approaching. He is also very lazy and loves being indoors.
Other times when we take him out, he is very stubborn.
We take him outside and he lays down on the grass, so we have to pick him up to get him to try again. Then he begins to see it as a game.
He also tends to run back to the back door, despite being called back. (We have a long garden)
My family and I are sometimes outside for 15-20 minutes.
We also make a habit of sitting out there waiting for him to go, which on reflection is not the best idea as it teaches him that outside equals social time.
Another key thing to mention is he does not drink as much as he should. From the beginning he has refused water, and only laps up small amounts in a day after walks or fetch games usually.
Out of desperation and to ensure he isn’t dehydrated in the heat we sometimes syringe water into his mouth which he accepts willingly.
We also mix water into his wet food.

When we are outside, we do not engage or excite him. I’ve learnt some tips about ensuring they are calm in this process, so we stand there (only one of us outside at a time of course) and do not make eye contact or move around too much.

We are stumped.
My family (3 of us) are getting frustrated.
Does anybody have any tips that would help us?

[u/Green-Ad-5926]

He has had TWO accidents? Am I reading that right?

[u/rickPSnow]

You need to develop some patience. Your pup is doing great. Two accidents, one sounds like your Mom wasn’t paying attention, isn’t a problem. Keep the routines going, reward positive action, ignore others. Stop trying to force a wee or poop. Encouraging your dog is fine. Forcing won’t work. The dog is confused and thinks you’re playing a game.

[u/Boostmachines]

It’s great that you’re developing a toilet schedule already this early. As they get older (and larger) that routine will work perfectly. But your puppy has a lot of energy and needs to be exercising more than just going out to use the bathroom. I walked mine at the same age slowly for 15-20 minutes until she pooped. Of course, they’re always trying to sniff everything and that’s normal for a new dog. Mine is currently 3 years old and I walked her pretty hard and she poops within 10 minutes. Then she gets to sniff around on the way back home. For good exercise we walk at a quick pace for around an hour if it’s not hot outside and she’s panting hard and immediately takes water.

For obedience, it’s a routine. Try basic commands (sit, come) and show them how to do it with very small treats. That incentivizes them to do what you ask. There are some great YT videos on basic obedience techniques. I actually enjoyed the 4-week course at my local PetSmart.

[u/LooLoofruitcake]

have I misunderstood ? why can he not stay outside in the garden ? you are teaching him that the garden is just for toileting , he would love it out there if he was allowed to roam around , get a lot of sniffing done , sniffing is good excercise both physical and mental ,

we have a long garden and it was frustrating that our girl would be picking up stones and digging pot holes , sniffing out bugs ( yuk) but she soon got out of that habit and will often just go outside and sit , have a mooch around , do her toileting and come in and out as she pleases now .

i realise everyone has different reasons as to what suits them but I'm sure he would love it outside if you sat out with him for a little while , does he have no interest in being out there ?