Housebreaking Problems

[Marilyn Minni]

My Maggie is 13 months old and I am still having problems with her housebreaking. She doesn't tell me when she wants to go out. We even leave the door open a lot so she can just go into the yard but she'll still go indoors many time. Now let me tell you about today. She went out this morning at 7:30 and did both with no problem. I was busy, the door was open, and she wet indoors again. I take her for long walks every afternoon - like 2 or 3 miles. She has full run of the house and yard and probably gets too much love. Whenever she "makes" indoors we clean it really good with Natures Miracle. We praise her for going outdoors and never scold her for going inside.

I am really frustrated............ any suggestions. She is the sweetest dog I've ever had but I have never had this problem before!

[Adina P]

Have you had her since puppy age?

Since she will go inside even with the door open, then it seems it won't matter whether you teach her to let you know.
My best guess is that perhaps her freedom needs to be restricted just like a puppy again. What this would mean:
--NO free run of the house unless you have BOTH eyes glued to her
--When you can't watch her closely, she needs to be in a crate, or attached to you by a leash, or in a small room (like a laundry room) that is safe for her to be confined in (nothing dangerous there to chew up or damage).

Then start taking her out for potty at regular intervals. If she goes then praise her and give her a yummy treat and give her a chance to play a bit with you. If she does not go potty then right back into the crate, or attached to you by a leash or in her safe room. Repeat as necessary.

The point is that she is not given the opportunity to pee in the house. AND if she does pee then you can catch her and loudly interrupt her and usher her outside. Notice I didn't say SCOLD or punish her. You don't want her to be afraid to pee in front of you...but you do want to let her know inside is not okay and you rush her outside. Sometimes just a loud.."NO!" then rushing a dog outside to finish will start to make it clear in her mind that even though outside is great....INSIDE is NOT the right place for potty.

Don't leave it up to her for now...you set the schedule for potty so that she learns.

Finally...in the meantime, perhaps take a urine sample into the vet to be sure she doesn't have a urinary tract infection or other medical problem.

[Marilyn Minni]

Thanks, I will try to do this. I hate to confine her but I'm going to have to. She just doesn't seem to get it. We just picked up our area rug because we don't want it ruined and although we clean it every time there may still be an order that she may smell.

I'll keep you updated. I appreciate all your help.

Thanks, Marilyn

[Suely Lohr]

This is good advice, but do you think it might work for my situation? We have two labradoodles-Missy and Benson . Missy is 3 years old and was rescued from a breeder that didn't sell her, so stayed confined in a cage. She had a foster mom had her for 3 months before we got her and for that period she was an outside dog as it was summer time, with access to a kiddie pool (she loves the water). She came in and was crated at night and back out to play with the other 5-6 dogs being fostered. She did OK with potty outside when we got her because they play outside on a regular basis with 3 acres to run and play.

However, the problem with going inside the house started when we took our first vacation and has continued now for 3 years. Benson is her age but we got him as a puppy and he has no issues with potty inside the house. We have a wonderful college student pet/house sitter who adores them but I guess Missy is not happy that we are gone and goes in the house. This happens for a few days after we come back and then she stops going inside.

Her trainer has explained that this is an emotional issue and we may never be able to correct it. She is otherwise a wonderful dog, doing wonderful things for other people. She is a registered therapy dog with Delta society and we visit nursing homes and an Alzheimer care center and is a mama's girl who gets a lot of love and kisses. So we limit her territory to living/dining/kitchen area where we have slate or stone and she can't damage the floors.

Any ideas?

[Adina P]

Oh my..I don't know if it will work in your case. It's worth a try I suppose. But bless you for rescuing this sweet girl!

[sandy b]

I agree with all Adina says and have a few additional suggestions. We started Max with the poochie bell when he was 8 wks old. Finally now at 10 mths he's really got the hang of it, although sometimes he teases us LOL Also, we don't have much of a yard but we fenced a small area outside our pool cage and that's where we take him. Always out the same door, always to the same place. Even at 10 mths he doesn't have full run of the house. Since I work at home he's usually in the office with me but if not I'm checking on him :-)

[cheryl & oliver]

Sandi, where did u buy this poochie bell?...That is how I want to train Oliver, just don't know where to buy one, thabks, Cheryl

[Cami Jacobs]

http://www.poochie-pets.net/

I got my poochie bells on ebay for some really great prices. I have also seen them at boutique or specialty pet stores as well.

[Adina P]

We actually use a small windchime and hang it on a hook down low NEXT to the door. I hate to hear bells and sounds every time the door moves...so it is next to the door rather than hanging on the door/door knob.

I've also made my own with craft store supplies.

I think though, that in Marilyn's case, above, they may not make a difference. Bell ringing is for the dog to give a signal so you can come and open the door. She's saying that even WITH the back door ajar...her dog still goes in the house.

[Marilyn Minni]

Hi Sandi,

I have a poochie bell for Maggie, it didn't work for me. I bought it at J&B Pet Supply in Hawthorne, NJ. Don't know where you live, but he is on the internet.

Good Luck..................Marilyn

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

I may get slapped for this. To begin with, I went by the book. Positive reinforcement. Reward everytime for getting it right. Ignoring accidents unless I caught her in the act, If caught midstream then shouted "NO!!" and rushed her outside. So she knew what to do and where to do it, but sometimes she would still come in the house to pee (after just having been outside for an hour!). Finally I said to heck with this and went back to my old school ways! ( I held her nose to it and gave her a loud scolding) She hasnt "went" inside since then. And she is perfectly comforatble going in front of me outside. All is well.

I wasnt cruel, I didnt "rub", I just made sure she got a good sniff and loudly stated "NO DUTIES IN HOUSE!! DUTIES OUTSIDE!!" Then brought her out to her place and pointed to the ground. She caught on, alright!

Sorry but sometimes the old ways work better. Kind of like when I was a child versus todays children. All my parent had to do was give me "the look" and I was in line! LOL . These days kids have such bad behavior (not my own of course.) LOL

[Mommy2Max]

I did the same thing with Max. I didn't rub his face into it. That, to me, is cruel. I just brought him over to it - he sniffed and I said "BAD POTTY!" Then I brought him to the bells and rang them and said "POTTY OUTSIDE". He never had another accident. Mind you he had been trained since 7.5 weeks but he started having accidents when he transitioned from crating to outside. I did the whole ignore and clean up thing but, he wasn't getting that the house was my crate. I watched him like a hawk but, he always snuck a pee here and there when you blinked your eyes - LOL. I only had to be stern once. Thankfully, he got it.

[Adina P]

Philosophical differences aside, the thing that bugs me about the whole 'rub his nose in it!' is that THEN you have a dog with a gross nose!