[kloy]

I have a 2 year old rat terrier. He's not a puppy, but still kind of young. I am trying to get him to go on a wee wee pad. When I am gone for more than 6 or 7 hours, he has accidents.

I put some wee wee pads down, but he is not using them. I thought he would be naturally attracted to the scent, but he's not.

I'm told that when you see he has to go, lift him and put him on the wee wee pad. The question is, how can I tell when he has to go?

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by kloy

I have a 2 year old rat terrier. He's not a puppy, but still kind of young. I am trying to get him to go on a wee wee pad. When I am gone for more than 6 or 7 hours, he has accidents.

I put some wee wee pads down, but he is not using them. I thought he would be naturally attracted to the scent, but he's not.

I'm told that when you see he has to go, lift him and put him on the wee wee pad. The question is, how can I tell when he has to go?

A paragraph from the below site:

When you suspect your dog is ready to go take him to the potty spot. The signs are usually pretty clear. They’ll start sniffing around or walking a little funny. If it’s been a couple hours it’s probably best to just take them out.
More info from this site: Older Dog Potty Training Guide | Dog House Training

You will need to clean up very thoroughly with a cleaner that does not have an ammonia type ingredient/smell.--- Or the dog will continue to go where it has before!! And note that dogs can smell about 50 or more times better than we can! Any cleaner with ammonia has a urine type smell.

Off the net: Cleaning up accidents
Put your puppy (or adult dog) away out of sight while you clean up a puddle. Dog mothers clean up after their babies but you don't want your puppy to think that YOU do, too! Clean up on linoleum is self-explanatory. On carpeting, get lots of paper towel and continue blotting with fresh paper until you've lifted as much liquid as possible.

There are several home-made and commercially available “odor killers” that are helpful. In a pinch, plain white vinegar will work to help neutralize the odor and the ammonia in the urine. (Don't use a cleaner with ammonia - it'll make it worse!) Sprinkle baking soda on the spot to soak up moisture and to help neutralize odor, vacuum when dry. At the pet store, you can find a good selection of products that may be more effective. A diarrhea stain on carpeting or upholstery can be lifted with a gentle solution of lukewarm water, dishwashing soap and white vinegar.

Puppies are attracted to urine odors and their noses are much better than ours! Even when using a commercial odor killer, a teeny residue will be left behind that our dogs can smell. Keep an eye on that spot in the future! This remarkable scenting ability does have an advantage — if you must paper-train your dog and he doesn't know what newspapers are for yet, “house-breaking pads” are available at your pet store. They are treated with a mild attractive odor (too weak for us to smell), so your puppy will gladly use them!

Also off the net: Dogs have to go poddy when...
they wake up in the morning or after a nap
within 1/2 hour after eating
before they go to sleep

You may find some good info here too--Be sure to scroll all the way down to get the best info.--> http://www.dogchatforum.com/toilet-training-puppy.htm