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Supreme Being
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OK folks. I know there are a ton of animal lovers here. Maybe one of you can help me.
We recently adopted a new dog. Our vet seems to think she may be about four years old. She was found as a stray, so I have no idea what her background is. We are having some real problems with housebreaking this dog. She adamantly refuses to go outside if we are watching her, or if she is being walked on a leash. She has had several accidents in the house, and tends to destroy things when we're gone. OK, so we get a crate. I think she may have been exposed to crates before, because she has had no problem going in and staying there for bit. She even goes in when the door is left open sometimes. However, we have found that she is peeing in the crate, and also on my greyhound's bed. The crate is not too big for her. It is big enough for her bed, and for her to be able to stand and turn around and that is pretty much it. Because her bed is in there, it took us a bit to figure out that she was peeing in there because it absorbed all the moisture and we didn't see it - only smelled it after a couple of days. Same with the greyhound's bed. On top of that, she hates to get wet. Prissy little thing. So since we've had rain pretty much every day this month, she has been trying to sneak a pee inside even though we try to force her outside at regular intervals. We cannot catch her in the act, and on the times we have seen her actually go outside (she has to think we're not there or she won't do it) she does get tons of praise. We even praise the greyhound when he goes outside in front of her thinking maybe she'll make the connection. I'm running out of ideas.
She is a very sweet girl who is trying so hard to please in every way. If we even speak sternly using only tone and no yelling she is doing the submissive dance and showing us her belly. She comes up and wants to give kisses. Very good dog, but this is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. We're stumped. Also, she had her first vet visit last week and passed with flying colors, so it is not a health issue.
Tara
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Supreme Being
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| Hey Tara, I haven't had a problem like this in a really long time. Might I suggest that you click on the link in my sig file and go over to that forum and ask your questions? There are a TON of professional animal folks over there, rescue folks, trainers, plus just plain animal lovers of every breed, and they may have better answers for you there. There is a forum just for issues like this, as well. I feel like someone will be able to help you there. If you don't want to do that, let me know and I can post your question over there and forward the replies to you. I am guessing that she is majorly stressed from being at the shelter away from her home, etc.. If I remember correctly, when dogs gets stressed out they tend to pee everywhere. It could also be a territorial thing, but that seems less likely especially if she is spayed. I have often wondered if male and female dogs get along in the same house, and I have also wondered if a new dog coming into another alpha dog's house would act out like that. Seems just a wee bit territorial because she is peeing in your other dog's bed, too. I hope someone either here or on the other forum can help. Happy 4th!
I am SO loving my MT career!
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Supreme Being
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| WOW, not sure I can offer any suggestions you havent tried. First let me thank you for giving this girl a chance at life. I have been a foster parent for the local shelter for several years and ended up with 6 rescues of my own. And 3 cats, all rescues. My first thought was the crate, that seems to always be the easiest way to housebreak any dog, old or young.I am stumped about her peeing in her bed. I had one that did that briefly. Can you hook 2 leashes together to give her more room to get away from you to do her business? turn your back when shes sniffing and looking for a place? any bushes she can get behind? Can you provide a privacy spot with a couple hay bales etc? I dont know your layout just shooting off the top of my head here. I believe praising your other dog is a good idea. I have tried hitting the floor with a newpaper around the "accident" ( never the dog, only the spot) it works with some, ignored by others. Clean and scrub and disinfect all traces from her crate. I dont know about the stuff they sell in pet stores, never tried it.Its good that she goes in the crate on her own. Thats her "den" her safe place. Do you take both dogs potty at the same time? Might help. Hard to tell what has happened to her to cause this. Sounds like the crate is a safe place to relieve her self. ARe you familiar with casar millan? I do think you can go to his website and ask for help but I would expect it to cost. You might find a solution on his website from questions others have had. Worth a try to look anyway. Sorry I wasnt more help. Hang in there. And bless you for helping this girl lead a normal dog life. Sharon
ON TO 15 ( old 17) YES ! There is a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Member AHDI
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Supreme Being
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When we trained our puppies, we keep them on a leash at all times, in the house, outside, etc. I know she's four, but you might want to try that. A very, very long leash. Then maybe you can catch her in the act. If she's not on a leash, then in the kennel. I would take the bed out so if she does pee in it, then it will be easy to clean.
We were told to do this with dogs that we potty trained, by our vet. It has been fool-proof!
Also we were told to limit her water when she went into the kennel for long periods of time (like before bed, or when you go to work). And no liquids in the kennel.
Has the vet checked her out completely to see if anything is wrong with her?
Good luck! I hope she comes around!
Krista
Krista
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Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes time and annoys the pig.
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Supreme Being
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Oh yeah, the vet also told us that if they don't go when you let them out, into the kennel/crate they go for 20 minutes. Then take them back out again, and continue the process until they do. Izzie (my oldest Scottie) hates peeing in front of anyone, dog, person, etc. She actually goes and hides, but we got her to pee on a leash with this process. Scotties are also extremely stubborn and smart dogs, so it was a longish process. Although she was just a pup.
Hope some of this advice helps!
Krista
Krista
Proud working M-Tec Graduate!
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Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes time and annoys the pig.
~Mark Twain
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Supreme Being
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We were very spoiled with our greyhound. He went from the track to a shelter to a foster home back to the shelter then to us, and they trained him at the foster home. I figured there would be some training involved with this new dog, but I didn't realize how tough it can be. The whole dominance thing can be an issue. The greyhound is the most docile dog I've ever seen, and she is in control - at least inside. Outside, he takes over because she foolishly tries to challenge him to a race. She is a quick little hound, but he is not about to let ANYONE get in front of him. It seems like she's dominant indoors and he is dominant outdoors.
Tara
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Supreme Being
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I had a difficult time housebreaking our 8-month-old cattle dog. We went to the vet and hired a dog trainer. Turns out our pooch was already marking at 3-months-old. Neutering at 4 months did not prevent the marking.
The one thing I can suggest, after lots of failed methonds, is since your dog already went in the house, your dog thinks that is where to go. Their urine leaves behind a distinct "pee here" smell. We grabbed a recently soiled item and let it drip on the grass where we wanted our dog to pee. Then we bought Nature's Miracle and used it where he had went. It's expensive and you practically have to leave the house for half a day (the neutralizers are very strong), but it's the best thing to get rid of the "pee here" spots.
After the "pee here" spots are all gone, work like mad constantly watching your dog for the signs that they are about to go. If he started to tinkle, I grabbed his leash (which I always kept attached) and lead him outside (never correct or they'll think they were wrong for peeing, not for where they peed), praised praised praised. He usually wouldn't go. So I brought him inside then started all over again. Eventually they have to go and if they are standing outside they'll be forced to urinate there. In the morning it would be a half hour process between going in and out, in and out, before he just had to go. If they do go in the house, make sure to immediately use more of the neutralizer. Very long process, but we now have a housebroken dog 
Lacy
Working on final test in basic section!
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When training our puppy he kept going in one room in particular. I asked our trainer and she had me thouroughly clean the room by taking a black light to find all the spots, dribbles, etc....and then neutralize them. The product I used was called "Pure Ayre". It has a pepperminty smell to it which is not so overwhelming. I was SHOCKED to see all the spots, big and little, that I had missed. After doing that, he only had one or two more accidents in that room (which were promptly neutralized) and was good to go from there.
I don't know if this will help and it can be a very tedious job, but by finding all traces of the urine you eliminate the 'smell' marker that tells the dog it is OK to pee there.
Good Luck!!
April
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Supreme Being
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Hi there,
Thank you for adopting a dog to give her another chance. I currently have 2 rescued dogs and they are great, now that we have worked through some issues.A few months ago I was at a presentation re: dog training and dog behavior. The person giving that talk said that for an adult dog it takes at least 1 month before they typically get settled in to a new place with new people. Maybe you're still in a transition phase... Maybe you could tie the dog outside on a long lead and watch from the house 'til she's 'taken care of it.' As noted in earlier posts, it helps if you can catch them in the act and usher them outside right then. One of our dogs took quite a while to train - we went through a LOT of towels and carpet cleaning stuff - and then all of a sudden she just caught on. You might do a search on-line re: housebreaking dogs and see what other hints there might be. Or try something like the Dogs for Dummies book which might give additional ideas. (Not saying you're a dummy, but the Puppies for Dummies book was helpful to us.  One other suggestion would be to check with the Humane Society or the ASPCA. I'm sure you're not alone in this struggle! Good luck and keep the faith.
Kris We must have courage, faith, and lunch together sometime soon.
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Supreme Being
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Thank you for taking a friend in need! She sounds like she will be in great hands!
I have had some problems with dogs doing this in the past, the Nature's Miracle is a great product to neutralize odors to take care of the spots she has already hit. I would remove the dog bed from the crate and leave a nice towel, or preferably nothing, until she gets through this. I know she passed her check up with flying colors, but I would take her in for more tests. She could have a bladder infection that was just starting, or stones, etc. It is also possible that she has associated urinating with getting into trouble, that may be why she tries so hard to hide it. In this case I would tone down the praise when she pees and just go to praise for going outside, or to the door even. Work your way up (and quietly) to praising for going outside. One of my dogs never wanted me to see but he learned to ring a bell I put at the door to let me know when he needed to go outside. The other option I would (hate to) suggest is to put a wee wee pad someplace where she can always get to it. It would be a mess, but at least it would be contained.
I have just found when you have a dog going in it's crate it is either physical or psychological. So double check with the vet, and then put on your thinking cap!
Good luck!
Laurel
Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment.
--Mark Twain
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