Issues house training a 7 week old puppy.

Great question! I have two dogs now 8 & 9 that I have had both since they were puppies one since 6weeks (shepardX) and the other (Lab) since 10weeks. I know all about “the being separated too early”, my now 9yr old shepherdx still sucks on a blanket as a a replacement for what he missed from his mom.

My 6week old puppy I had in the dead of winter and I took him outside in the middle of the night with no harm done, I live in Ontario and the Winters here can be horribly cold. I just made sure that my guy wasn’t out too long and I quickly warmed him up when we got in.

I think you are ok as long as you don’t exceed about 5 or maybe 10 minutes outside. If you potty train on the pad at night it could be useful but it may pose a problem that your potty training time could be delayed.

Either choice will work, I think it’s more personal, if you feel better with the pad do it that way. :) Good luck! Congrats on your new bff!

Don’t worry about the temp., she should do fine. And not confusing the issue with potty pads will help streamline the training process. I know it’s a hassle to get up during the night, but at 7 weeks, she’s seriously just a baby and would probably have trouble holding it all night. But just remember, the time and effort that you put in now will pay off over the next 14 or so years.

Yes, take baby ( puppy ) steps, but at 7 weeks she is far too young to master being house trained in the next few months. In all of my dog raising experiences over the years, it usually takes a good 4 months or so of consistent training and most puppies will not be fully trained in the first 4–6 months of their lives. The good news is some breeds are easier than other and considering the Border Collie is THE most intelligent of all breeds you may have quicker mastery but be prepared to work with her for at least another 3–4 months.
Often what will happen is they will get the hang of going to the door but if you aren’t there instantly they will go on the floor by the door. haha

My last dog had mastered the concept of going to the door by 4 months old but if I wasn’t right there he would pee on the floor within a minute or two.
After he was older he could stay indoors all day if necessary and never had an accident, although those days were rare.

She will be fine, just supervise.

@Coloma Oh yeah, I know we’re a long way from the finish line.

This week, either my husband or I have been home with her all day, so we haven’t had many problems. However, I have no clue what to do when we’re gone from 8 to 5:30. I know she can’t hold it that long, but I don’t know what people do in this situations as not to derail the house training process.

I should add – My husband can come home briefly at 11:30, but that’s about it.

@livelaughlove21 The easiest solution is to install a doggy door. Do you have a fenced yard?
My cats have a cat door installed in the kitchen door that leads to the garage and I keep their litter boxes in the garage, it works out purrfectly.

I would start as you mean to go on. Don’t use the pads; just let her outside.

@Coloma No, we don’t have a fenced in yard yet – saving up the $2000 it’ll take to pay for that. It’ll be hard to put in a doggy door because our back door is mostly glass and leads to a screened in porch with a heavy screen door.

I house trained a pup when DH and I both worked; she was started on paper-training when we got her. We closed her in the kitchen, with newspapers on the floor, when we were gone, and took her in the yard when we were home. It didn’t seem like she was unduly confused by the change… although she clearly didn’t understand we wanted the pee and poop on the paper, not just her little front paws while she was doing it! And that paper was awfully fun to shred…

If you have the yard and house for it, it’s lovely to train her to one door for potty, and to another door for play, walks, etc. This is a wonderful thing.