Slinky
If you can't answer all of my questions, could you please direct me to a site that could? Thanks.
I have a miniature poodle and he won't stop peeing in the house. I also have a standard poodle and he's a little better housetrained but sometimes I guess he just wants to join the little one.
Everytime we see poop or pee on the floor, we grab the little one, stick his nose in it, spank him, and yell "NO!". Then, we put him in a crate in the garage with a mzzle on, since he whines and barks.
However, as much as it seems to shake him, he just won't stop. We even installed a doggy door into our fenced in backyard so that he could pee out there. He knows that he can pee there since we used to walk them around back there, but he'll go outside and come back in and pee.
I always wipe the messes with Kids&Pets, a cleaner that specializes in removing stains. It works really well and has a strong scent of cherries, but the dog always comes back and pees.
Can you give me any solutions?
Answer
First off, the way you are dealing with reprimanding him is not going to get you anywhere you want to be with this problem. I don't mean this in a finger pointing way, I just mean to let you know so that you don't continue to exhaust yourself without getting any results.
If you are not able to use a firm voice and say "NO" when the dog is actually PEEING (not later on after he finishes or when you come home to find peeps or poops on the floor), the dog does not have the ability to smell his pee on the carpet later on after it happened, realize what he did an hour ago, and then understand why he is being punished. Dogs have a short memory span. Unless you can catch him in the act, any punishment like this will only disrupt the trust your dog has in you. He does not have the mental ability to connect the cause and effect.
If you can catch him in the act, say NO firmly, and IMMEDIATELY put a leash on him and take him outside yourself. Walk him around until he peeps again, and give lots and lots of praise and encouragement.
Try taking him out every hour on the hour for an entire day (a weekend would be great for this--set aside a few days when you can be home, and you'll be able to nip this problem in the bud). The next day space out your potty breaks to every 2 - 2 1/2 hours. The third day, as long as all is going well and you are having minimal accidents, if any at all, space it out to 3-4 hours between trips outside.
During this training time, do not rely on the doggie door and sending him out on his own--you need to be right there with him to give lots of praise when he goes outside on his own and using a leash puts you in control and tells your dog that you are in charge.
Because you other dog is exhibiting the same, however less often, behavior, treat this dog the same way with the same routine. However, be sure to take each of them outside on their own for each break. It will be a lot of work, but after about 3 days time, most dogs will be on a regular routine and will have very, very few mistakes, if any at all, from there on out.
I rescue dogs, and many come in with major potty issues. It takes a few days, but it can be easily fixed with some diligent work by you. Its not hard, but it does take a time commitment. I rescue bulldogs (and saint bernards), in particular, who are notoriously hard to train (it takes, on average, about 3 times as long to train a bulldog as it does to train any other breed).
During this training period, I would suggest switching cleaners for any mistakes in the house, because your dogs already associate the cherry scented cleaner to one they can pee on freely (even though that is not the intention). Try a brand called FOLEX. It is available at Wal-mart, Lowes, Home Depot, Kmart, etc. It is a white spray bottle with purple writing. Safe to use with children and pets, and it takes stains out like a champ! This will keep your dogs from associating any carpet smells with doing their previous bad pee pee behavior in the house. You can always go back to the Kids&Pets stuff later on (say, after 2 weeks of perfect potty behavior) when the dogs are trained.
There is no doubt that this will take a lot of time. Set aside a weekend that you have off and can do things around the house. Don't go out to dinner, don't have friends over, just plan to read magazines, clean bathrooms, organize closets, or whatever you can do that you can pick and put down easily so that you are always ready to take your dogs out at the right time. Use the kitchen timer to remind you when to take them out, as it is very important to be on a regular schedule. When you take them out, they may not go every time (since you'll be taking them out at least every hour for the first day), but walk them in the same pattern each time, so they know that when they go out and they pee and you praise them, the routine will always be the same. They will come to understand this routine as "potty time" and will get better at doing it as soon as they go out, and will wait until the next time they go out before they use the bathroom and not do it in the house between outdoor breaks.
If you have any other questions or need clarification, just let me know. I've done this so many times, its become a completely auto-pilot routine, so I may have missed something or made this more confusing than it needs to be. I'll be happy to clarify anything you might be tripped up about. Good luck and I hope it all works out for you soon!
(PS--Be sure to rule out any possible infections that may be causing this issue. Sometimes when dogs have a UTI, they aren't able to calculate bathroom breaks very well, and end up going in the house because all of their signals are a bit crossed with the infection wreaking havoc on their system. A quick check with the vet can rule this out.)
First off, the way you are dealing with reprimanding him is not going to get you anywhere you want to be with this problem. I don't mean this in a finger pointing way, I just mean to let you know so that you don't continue to exhaust yourself without getting any results.
If you are not able to use a firm voice and say "NO" when the dog is actually PEEING (not later on after he finishes or when you come home to find peeps or poops on the floor), the dog does not have the ability to smell his pee on the carpet later on after it happened, realize what he did an hour ago, and then understand why he is being punished. Dogs have a short memory span. Unless you can catch him in the act, any punishment like this will only disrupt the trust your dog has in you. He does not have the mental ability to connect the cause and effect.
If you can catch him in the act, say NO firmly, and IMMEDIATELY put a leash on him and take him outside yourself. Walk him around until he peeps again, and give lots and lots of praise and encouragement.
Try taking him out every hour on the hour for an entire day (a weekend would be great for this--set aside a few days when you can be home, and you'll be able to nip this problem in the bud). The next day space out your potty breaks to every 2 - 2 1/2 hours. The third day, as long as all is going well and you are having minimal accidents, if any at all, space it out to 3-4 hours between trips outside.
During this training time, do not rely on the doggie door and sending him out on his own--you need to be right there with him to give lots of praise when he goes outside on his own and using a leash puts you in control and tells your dog that you are in charge.
Because you other dog is exhibiting the same, however less often, behavior, treat this dog the same way with the same routine. However, be sure to take each of them outside on their own for each break. It will be a lot of work, but after about 3 days time, most dogs will be on a regular routine and will have very, very few mistakes, if any at all, from there on out.
I rescue dogs, and many come in with major potty issues. It takes a few days, but it can be easily fixed with some diligent work by you. Its not hard, but it does take a time commitment. I rescue bulldogs (and saint bernards), in particular, who are notoriously hard to train (it takes, on average, about 3 times as long to train a bulldog as it does to train any other breed).
During this training period, I would suggest switching cleaners for any mistakes in the house, because your dogs already associate the cherry scented cleaner to one they can pee on freely (even though that is not the intention). Try a brand called FOLEX. It is available at Wal-mart, Lowes, Home Depot, Kmart, etc. It is a white spray bottle with purple writing. Safe to use with children and pets, and it takes stains out like a champ! This will keep your dogs from associating any carpet smells with doing their previous bad pee pee behavior in the house. You can always go back to the Kids&Pets stuff later on (say, after 2 weeks of perfect potty behavior) when the dogs are trained.
There is no doubt that this will take a lot of time. Set aside a weekend that you have off and can do things around the house. Don't go out to dinner, don't have friends over, just plan to read magazines, clean bathrooms, organize closets, or whatever you can do that you can pick and put down easily so that you are always ready to take your dogs out at the right time. Use the kitchen timer to remind you when to take them out, as it is very important to be on a regular schedule. When you take them out, they may not go every time (since you'll be taking them out at least every hour for the first day), but walk them in the same pattern each time, so they know that when they go out and they pee and you praise them, the routine will always be the same. They will come to understand this routine as "potty time" and will get better at doing it as soon as they go out, and will wait until the next time they go out before they use the bathroom and not do it in the house between outdoor breaks.
If you have any other questions or need clarification, just let me know. I've done this so many times, its become a completely auto-pilot routine, so I may have missed something or made this more confusing than it needs to be. I'll be happy to clarify anything you might be tripped up about. Good luck and I hope it all works out for you soon!
(PS--Be sure to rule out any possible infections that may be causing this issue. Sometimes when dogs have a UTI, they aren't able to calculate bathroom breaks very well, and end up going in the house because all of their signals are a bit crossed with the infection wreaking havoc on their system. A quick check with the vet can rule this out.)
Please help me with training my dog!!?
Emmy
I reward her every time she goes on the puppy pad and she loves her treats, but she thinks every time she goes potty, even if it isn't on the pad she should get a treat...I need help!! Any tips to potty training?
I do praise her too....
We had to puppy pad train her because she didn't have all her shots and couldn't go outside since there are a lot of strays around us, so chill guys...I also don't give her a treat when she does elsewhere, I ignore her....and by a treat I mean she thinks she should be praised...thats a treat!
Answer
You must never leave her free in the house unattended until she is potty trained. Let me guess... You have a toy dog of some sort....I don't know what it is about toy dogs but they seem to require more persistence when potty training. Keep her in a crate when unattended. Most dogs do not like to go where they lay down. Everytime you take her out of the crate (and this should be many times a day to both potty and play), take her to the pee pad or consider this. Litter training a dog: Get a plastic cement mixer box from Lowe's or Home Depot. Put newspapers in the cement mixer box and surround the box with an exercise pen. In she goes everytime she comes out of the crate and once again if u have had a long play session. Give treats when she goes in the box and immediately remove her from the exercise pen. Keep the box clean as many dogs unlike cats... don't want to go there if it is dirty. If she goes in the crate.. put her somewhere else while u clean it. She should not see u clean it.. It is her job to keep it clean. If she gets away and goes in the house, be sure to clean the spot with an enzymatic cleaner you can buy at a pet store. That way she will not be attracted to the same spot. Remember persistence... I have 5 dogs that are litter box trained.
You must never leave her free in the house unattended until she is potty trained. Let me guess... You have a toy dog of some sort....I don't know what it is about toy dogs but they seem to require more persistence when potty training. Keep her in a crate when unattended. Most dogs do not like to go where they lay down. Everytime you take her out of the crate (and this should be many times a day to both potty and play), take her to the pee pad or consider this. Litter training a dog: Get a plastic cement mixer box from Lowe's or Home Depot. Put newspapers in the cement mixer box and surround the box with an exercise pen. In she goes everytime she comes out of the crate and once again if u have had a long play session. Give treats when she goes in the box and immediately remove her from the exercise pen. Keep the box clean as many dogs unlike cats... don't want to go there if it is dirty. If she goes in the crate.. put her somewhere else while u clean it. She should not see u clean it.. It is her job to keep it clean. If she gets away and goes in the house, be sure to clean the spot with an enzymatic cleaner you can buy at a pet store. That way she will not be attracted to the same spot. Remember persistence... I have 5 dogs that are litter box trained.
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