help with toilet training adult dog..

nothavingfun.. · 31 October 2008 at 11:28AM

i have a 2 year old pooch which i have recently rehomed. in her last home she was allowed near enough constant outdoors access and so quite happily did her business outdoors - she was effectively house trained.

unfortunately in my house i have no back door so cant give her that access, and she has taken to going near the front door. she doesnt seem to associate walks with going to the loo - they are for playing! as soon as i put my coat on or touch the lead she goes loopy, so attempts to stand in the garden with her on the lead until she goes are futile as she starts chewing thru the lead

i have never caught her in the act, so havent been able to show my displeasure with her messing indoors, but when she does go outdoors i praise her as she is actually toileting.

however, i'm getting to my wits end - shes a lovely beautiful dog in every other respect and i love her to bits, but i really need some advice!

foreign_correspondent · 31 October 2008 at 11:34AM

This should be easily sortable with a bit of intensive work - take her outside every half an hour or so and at any signs of needing the loo - walking around, sniffing the floor, especially by the front door - when she goes outside give her a big fuss and a treat. If she goes inside do not react at all.

Also clean the area she has been going in with bio washing powder solution to remove any smells which may encourage her to go there.

What sort of dog is she?

Best wishes,

fc

p.s - it seems that she needs to chill a bit in general - I would be trying to wait till she calms down before putting the lead on - ignore the loopiness and walk off if necessary, and keep trying till she stops reacting too much, then pop her on the lead, and take her out.

Foxy2008 · 31 October 2008 at 12:17PM

Good luck, I agree with foreign correspondent .

pboae · 31 October 2008 at 12:44PM

To add to what FC has said, if you aren't catching her in the act, then you aren't seeing her go to the front door and asking to be let out either. So you need to be looking for a pattern in that as well.

Milford_Cubicle · 31 October 2008 at 5:27PM

Just to try another tack...perhaps it's worth putting a puppy pad down in the place you know she goes (by the front door), then if you're not catching her in the act it will save your carpet/floor. After a few days, make a show of placing the puppy pad (with her wee already on it) outside the front door/on the grass (depending on your garden) and give her lots of praise and a treat when she uses the pad outside. Now there's no pad next to the door, try taking her out every hour (like you would a puppy) and after a little while, remove the pad from outside too, give her lots of praise and a treat when she goes outside in the garden or where ever. Hopefully this might a) discourage her from going indoors and b) encourage her to go outside.
Also go with the cleaning idea, remove all traces of her urine from the carpet with some bio washing powder before you put the pad down.

Alternatively keep her with you all the time for the first week or so and as soon as she gets up to go somewhere, follow her. If you catch her about to pee, then pick her up (well, depending on how big she is!) and place her outside the door. Keep doing this until she gets the message. Lots and lots of rewards should see a change in her behaviour. Don't give up if it takes a little longer than you'd like it to, adult dogs are a little more difficult to train than puppies are, especially if they already have one 'ingrained' idea.

Regarding the walks problem, try picking up her lead, then sitting down on the sofa quietly with it. Wait until she calms down, then clip the lead on and praise her. If she goes loopy, remove the lead and sit quietly until she calms down again. Repeat until she associates her lead being put on with remaining calm. The key is lots and lots of praise and a treat when she does what you want her to, and not to react at all when she does something you don't want her to.

Good on you for taking in a rescue pooch and good luck

elsien · 1 November 2008 at 10:22AM

When I got my rescue dog I had the same problem ( she was a similar age) and I thought I'd be taking her out for half hourly walks for the rest of my life!
As others have suggested, I took her out every half an hour and we stayed out till she did something, even if it was only marking her scent. Then we slowly built up to longer periods until now when I'm working, I can leave her for seven hours.
I have to say though it took months to get past a couple of hours, and it probably took a year or so until she stopped messing on the floor at night. Some dogs learn quicker than others - mine is obviously one of the slow ones, so you may really need some patience to get it sorted. I would advise though that if she does have an accident indoors you clear it up without comment - the dog doesn't know why it's being told off and if she's already a bit hyper, it won't help at all.
Good luck - it'll be worth it in the end.

adandem · 1 November 2008 at 4:14PM

I'd treat it like training a puppy and go right back to basics, like others have said, put her out at regular intervals. When she does go, give her lots of praise and give it a name, we say 'toilet', they will soon learn this;)

Where she's gone indoors, clean the area thoroughly, use a biological powder/liquid and the scent will attract her back to that place. She will scent areas outdoors and be drawn to those quite quickly.

nothavingfun.. · 3 November 2008 at 7:58PM

thanks everyone

have cleaned the carpet, and am keeping her away from there during the daytime. am also getting the lead out lots, and i think she is starting to get desensitised to it - shes not going loopy whenever i pick it up!

am taking her out every 40-60mins, and just standing there with her on the lead, but she still isnt doing anything - shes just saving it all up and doing it at night or when i'm out! does anyone know if theres anything else i should be doing?

foreign_correspondent · 3 November 2008 at 9:46PM

hmm, maybe she has been scolded when her old owners have seen her go in the house so now she thinks she has to do it where/when you cant see her...
Does she ever 'go' when she is out and about with you? Does she go when she is out on a walk? - exercise ie. walking seems to make most dogs need to empty themselves.

nothavingfun.. · 3 November 2008 at 10:26PM

she will occasionally do a wee when we are out, but very rarely anything else

would using newspaper just open a whole new can of worms do you think? its just that my carpet is getting wrecked and she doesnt seem to be making any progress

ETA - i dont think theres any medical reason although i suppose i could get her checked out. stools are always passed asap when i'm not looking(!!!) & are normal, & no signs of pain or anything when she wees on walks...

foreign_correspondent · 3 November 2008 at 10:29PM

Although I can nderstnad your motivation, I would not start with the newspaper to be honest as you are training her to do something that you will have to train her out of later.

Do you praise and treat her if she wees whilst out walking?

Do you have a garden where she can go unnacompanied to toilet? (whilst you aren't looking!)

Do you have an area she could sleep in that does not have carpet so is easier to mop up?

help with toilet training adult dog..

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free