My puppy is 9 weeks old and i've had her nearly a week now. House training is going quite well, she took to weeing outside really quickly but she just will not poop outside. She will only use the paper or do it in her crate. I've tried picking it up and putting outside where she wees and staying outside for ages after a wee but she'll hold it till i give up and bring her back in.  Any ideas anyone? Any help will be great. Pen

Hi Pen
She's still only a baby. Perseverance is the key. Make sure the puppy pad of paper is right next to the door.As soon as you see her squatting down on the paper, pick her up and carry her outside.  She'll soon get the hang of it. Make sure you give plenty of praise when she does finally do it.

If I were you I would do away with the paper.  It seems a bit counter-productive to teach them to use paper to foul on but then expect them to go outside.  Some dogs get very confused with just where they are supposed to go.

I've always taken mine out every hour on the hour when they are awake and just after playing, feeding.  All of mine have had their last toilet break at 10.30pm and all have gone through the night until 6.30am without ever fouling in their crate.

Always make sure you praise them for going outside and they'll soon cotton on.

Thanks. I do always really praise her when she goes outside, i think thats why she picked up on weeing outside so quick but thats why i can't understand why she is so determined not to poop out there. I will deffinately keep trying, and take her out very regularly. I just know that once she's been out there once and got my praise she'll want to do it every time.  
I keep paper down in the kitchen where she sleeps so she can go at night if she needs to but if she would go outside last thing at night i know she'd probably sleep right through.
Do you think its worth having her sleep in my room and take her outside if she needs to go?
And do you close the crate at night at 9 weeks old?
I do close it some times in the day and it doesn't bother her at all and wonder if closing the crate at night and taking her out if she wakes instead of having paper down might help?

>she is so determined not to poop out there

She's not really making a conscious decision not to, but anxiety about unfamiliar surroundings doesn't help.  As soon as she's got the hang of going in your garden to pooh you'll notice that it may take another few months before she's confident enough to do it outside of your garden!

In the meantime do make sure you are outside with her long enough.  You'll soon notice the timings between input and output follow a fairly regular pattern with established mealtimes but even then she'll probably need plenty of time to potter about before going.  If she has had an accident indoors try taking some of it out to a corner of your garden and walking her to that spot each time you go out.  With patience and perseverance she'll soon work out what you want.

Good luck

I too would do away with the paper -I know a lot of people do use it but I find it teaches them just the thing that you are trying to stop happening... they are allowed to toilet indoors. I took my pup outside, whatever the weather, after feeding, playing, sleeping etc at regular hourly intervals to begin with. Your puppy is very young still so will probably still need to go out during the night. I would leave the last toilet visit until as late as possible and then set my alarm for a few hours after bed time. When you take your pup outside put her on her lead, walk outside to where you want her to go and then ignore all attempts to play etc but praise/reward like mad once she has performed. When you take her back inside pop her back into her bed without any fuss and go back to sleep yourself. I would also make sure I set my alarm for early morning so I could take her out again.

If you don't allow your pup to toilet indoors by being vigilant and spotting the signs when she needs to go and by also making sure she is given every opportunity to be taken outdoors (not just have the door open so she has free access because this is not the same as actually taking her out) you are setting her up to succeed and not setting her up to fail which is the key to all training IMHO. Make sure she has plenty of praise for performing and add in a cue word when she is actually going and eventually she will associate the word with the action and you will be well on the way to having a housetrained pup. My dogs will perform when asked now and it does make life much easier if they can go before a car journey, being left etc.

It sounds as though your pup is well on the way to being housetrained but do remember there will still be accidents - never tell her off just quietly and calmly clear it up and remember to be more vigilant next time

Did she have access to the outdoors where she was reared, or was she kept entirely indoors?

From 4 weeks old my puppies can go outside, and I have found that very quickly they will only go to favoured spots outside and certainly by the time they leave for their homes they would never dream of pooing indoors.

Have you tried putting some of the poo in your prefered toilet spots outdoors.

No access to outside till i picked her up but she's taken to it really well. She was paper trained and i think that helped as i used paper outside for the first time then she just did it outside from then on.
I have tried putting some out there, a few lots, each time she just sniffs and turns away.
I do take her out every hour and 15-20 mins after food and after exersise and tried staying out there with her for a while, but poor thing would just get stressed so i'll bring her back in and she'll go on paper in the kitchen.
I'll keep it up and i'll try her sleeping in my room tonight (no paper) and see if that helps.
She wees outside every time so i'm sure she'll get there soon.

Thanks all for info and advise. Will keep you updated.
Pen

I find that they get into a pattern of when they are going to poo.  Mine always went straight out for a pee first thing in the morning but then would get so excited to see us after the long night that she would rush back in and would then accidently poo inside.  I soon learnt to give her a bit of fuss outside then send her off to 'hurry up' which is my training word for -do the toilet.  She would then only pee till mid-afternoon when I would have to watch for the circling signs and take her out and then after dinner she would go again.  It just takes a while of reading them properly.  Mine is now 15 weeks and is totally housetrained(touch wood!!).  Also, I locked the cage door from 8 weeks and she was fine holding it all night.
Good luck.

I would say get rid of the paper for a start.

I would definitely shut the crate and remove the paper. It is the instinct not to dirty their own bed which helps you with house training with a crate and if she can leave the bed then there's no reason to hold it. Obviously you don;t want her to be uncomfortable so a midnight walk would probably be a good idea though my mum recently got a 8 week terrier pup and she was never dirty in the crate with last walk at about 10 and then when they got up which is usually 5ish.

If you leave her crated (not too big a crate for size or she'll just use a corner) when you come downstairs in the morning scoop her up and straight outside until she's gone.
when you say she gets stressed if you stay outside what do you mean? Does she ever play outside or only go out to toilet? I was just thinking that if you instigated a game of fetch or something the exercise would probably stimulate her and she would be less likely to be bothered by the big wide world!
good luck, sure it'll work out fine in a few weeks!

Update....Poppy went poo outside for first time today. Only once, but she went. I spent all morning and afternoon with her, i didn't let her out of my sight. She kept wanting to go, looking around for a good spot and when she stopped and went to crouch down i'd pick her up and take her out to her toilet. It took a few times but she had to go in the end.
I got rid of the paper the other day and she was just doing it on the kitchen floor and her bed (i'v got through a lot of kitchen roll this week) even though i take her out every hour, so i just hope that she understands now what i want her to do. I know i praised her enough because my neighbour came out to see what all the noise and fuss was all about, i think she thought i was having some kind of episode! lol.
Will keep doing as much as i can. It's been really hard as i have 3 kids, a 7 yr old and 3yr old twins, so the quicker she's house trained the better.
Lucky i have lots of patience.

Well done!

I know it's not easy but at 9 weeks I'd still be taking her out every 20 - 30 minutes (every hour is too long and might explain the huge amount of kitchen roll you are getting through!).   If you have a kitchen timer or travel alarm clock set it as a reminder.  She may also start to associate the sound of the alarm with going towards the back door which will be an advantage

Remember to expect two steps forward and one step back.  House training can sometimes take ages and she may continue to have accidents right up to 6 months.

Think of your puppy as not quite as old in toilet terms as your 3 year old twins, more like an 18 months toddler.  She will be at their stage at around 6 months.

Well done! Hetty will go outside if she has the option, but won't yet alert me to needing to go, I have to keep an eye on her which I am rubbish at. But we'll get there in the end. I can just imagine your neighbour coming out to see what the fuss was, it's so embarrassing to make the amount of fuss you need to isn't it!