Residential Dog Training

abby1234519

He has already asked me to rehome her. I am just very very very attached.

From what I understand, Jack Russells tend to be rather incontinent.

We went to his nans the other night and she was all well and good, she started sniffing at the floor so I stood up to go out but she squatted and went on her floor in front of all of us.

MrsTinks

Never heard of Jack Russells being incontinent... My DHs ex has two - a rough haired and a parsons (longer legs mainly) and both are older now but have no incontinence issues. Several of my friends have had JRs and again never noticed or heard of this being an issue...
I don't think she's incontinent if she's squatting - it's a deliberate act. If it was involuntary then she'd not have squatted but widdled as she walked as it were...
The widdle in the floor at his nans could either be a territory thing or just that she simply hasn't grasped that you don't wee indoors...
Personally if my oh had considered asking me to get rid of my dog because she messed inside I'd have gotten rid of him before her... She came with a variety of training issues - list was long and included food aggression, resource guarding, dog aggression, pulled your arm out of the socket when walking, snapping and was alledged at times people aggressive too... Oh and then she chewed most of our skirting boards, gnawed the walls and demolished anything left out including post and LOTS of beds...
And my now DH knew that asking me to get rid of her would have been more likely to mean then end of him than her!
Hard work - lessons and if need be get a professional trainer in to help you.

This is also one of the reasons I tell people not to get puppies unless they know how to train dogs and are experienced... it can be tough toilet training a puppy, something infact made a lot easier if you already have an older dog as they learn from the older dogs example

foreign_correspondent

abby1234519 wrote: »

He has already asked me to rehome her. I am just very very very attached.

From what I understand, Jack Russells tend to be rather incontinent.

We went to his nans the other night and she was all well and good, she started sniffing at the floor so I stood up to go out but she squatted and went on her floor in front of all of us.

Do not rehome this dog unless you have to - and if you do, do it very carefully - getting rid of a dog at the moment, especially a not very house trained one can be a death sentence as they are not the easiest to rehome and many pounds and rescues are full to bursting.

I have nevr heard of jack russells being incontinent - unless there is a specific medical problem - and we have had a JRT and several JRT x's. Without more info it is difficult to advise. The only jrt x I had that ever weed indoors had diabetes, so kept getting water infections which made her pee with little control. Poor little dog used to be very upset aout it as she had always been so clean in the house.

If your dog does not have a medical rpoblem it should be resolvable with training

So we an advise better, please do let us know...

how old is she? - oops sorry, I just re-read OP - 8 months?
is she neutered?
how long have you had her?
where did you get her from (breeder, rescue, friend etc) - what do you know about her background?
how long is she being left alone in the day?
and what have you already tried doing to improve the situation?

thanks

fc

Kerriebaby

Okay...sounds like everyone is getting a tad upset, and sounds like Pup is a bit confused as to what she is meant to do.

Start from the beginning, on the hour, every hour take her outside ( go with her, and be very boring ) when she performs give a cue ( I use Tiddles ) and when she is finished, a yummy treat and a quick game ( so that she learns having a poo/pee outside, = a treat and a game with you )
at night time, you need to go out with her every two hours. If you cannot watch her ( if you are out or busy, ) then crate her. If she has an accident in the house, get a rolled up newspaper, and hit yourself on the head with it " I wasnt watching the dog"

JR's are a tad stubborn, but they are not impossible to house train, however I would recommend a check up at the vets to ensure that there are no underlying problems.

Also what are you feeding her on and how much?

Raksha

If she's not speyed, she may be about to come into season.......

abby1234519

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

Do not rehome this dog unless you have to - and if you do, do it very carefully - getting rid of a dog at the moment, especially a not very house trained one can be a death sentence as they are not the easiest to rehome and many pounds and rescues are full to bursting.

I have nevr heard of jack russells being incontinent - unless there is a specific medical problem - and we have had a JRT and several JRT x's. Without more info it is difficult to advise. The only jrt x I had that ever weed indoors had diabetes, so kept getting water infections which made her pee with little control. Poor little dog used to be very upset aout it as she had always been so clean in the house.

If your dog does not have a medical rpoblem it should be resolvable with training

So we an advise better, please do let us know...

how old is she? - oops sorry, I just re-read OP - 8 months?
is she neutered?
how long have you had her?
where did you get her from (breeder, rescue, friend etc) - what do you know about her background?
how long is she being left alone in the day?
and what have you already tried doing to improve the situation?

thanks

fc

She isn't neutered yet, I felt she needed her first season to ensure proper hormonal development which was recommended by all the vets i spoke to. We are off to vets tomorrow to check that she isn't pregnant or anything like that and she is due to be spayed Nov 26ish
I've had her since middle of august. she is learning quickly at training classes just not toileting.
She was bought by a man as a puppy however she hates cats and goes MENTAL at them so he very nearly threw her out on the street I found out this was going to happen and I fell in love with her

Shes left alone from 8.30am till 11.45am and then from 12.15pm to 2.30pm
other than those times someone is home.

suki1964

It just sounds to me that you arent picking up on when she needs out quick enough so it really is back to basics and out every hour or so and stay out till the business is done - which means you out there as well watching, using the trigger word, and praising like a loon once shes been.

Its not easy, it is hard word, there is no easy fix. Re homing could indeed be a death sentence esp in this economic climate so I urge you to get back to basics and give this little lass the chance she deserves

foreign_correspondent

ok, well, she is quite young but didnt come to you as a pup, but at about 6 months old, from someone who was about to get rid of her.

I wonder if he had done a bad job with the house training when he first got her, not taking her out enough etc and as a result she has got into some bad habits and does not know what is expected of her?

You need to start right from the beginning - ideally a few days off work would be useful, because you need to focus on this very intensely till she gets the hang of it. If you allow her to get it wrong (by not being about, or not getting her out enough) and she 'goes' in the house she will get confused again.

As she is confused, she is going anywhere and will inevitably need to go whilst you are out, so go in the house, which re-inforces her bad habits.

A few days intensive work from you should get this resolved, but you need to be very very consistent. The more consisitent you are the quicker she will learn. I would be working on getting this resolved well before she goes in for her spey.

You will need some biological washing powder, doggy poo bags for when she goes outside, and a warm jacket for all the standing outside you will be doing!!

You need to treat her as if she is a new pup you are housetraining...

First - Get some biological washpowder mixed in water and first thoroughly clean all the areas where she has toiletted to get rid of any scents whish will make her think it is a toiletting area.

After every meal take her straight out, do not make a fuss or give her attention, let her sniff around, and as soon as she has a pee or poos, give her a fuss, praise and a treat (a sliver of cheese is good!)

On the first day I would do this every 30 minutes, on the next day perhaps once an hour.

Take her out last thing at night and early in the morning. The less time she has to hang on the less likelihood of accidents Some people use a crate at night, but you need her to get used to a crate gradually if she isnt cratetrained.

Also, get her out on two good walks a day, and again, let her sniff around when she wants to, and praise/fuss/treat every time she does a pee or poo outside!! (make her think it is amazing every time, make it lots of fun). Take her out and let her sniff about - often dogs will 'go' where they can smell other dogs have gone -mine always waits till she gets to the dog poo corner of the local park!

In between, of you see her sniffing at the floor in the house, pacing around, circling, or going to the door, taker her straight out - she probably needs the toilet - if she pees/poos outside, praise treat etc (you get the picture by now I am sure!!)

When she does have accidents and goes inside - if you catch her in the act you can try and call her to come out through the door to finish outside. If she has had an accident in the house do not get cross or make a big fuss, done even acknowledge it really, just clean it up and wash with biological powder again. (some people say move the dog away to another place whilst you clean up, so they dont watch and learn that they should clean it up, by eating it - don't know if this reasoning is correct, but may be worth doing!)

Good luck,

fc

Sagz_2

Kerriebaby wrote: »

Start from the beginning, on the hour, every hour take her outside ( go with her, and be very boring ) when she performs give a cue ( I use Tiddles ) and when she is finished, a yummy treat and a quick game ( so that she learns having a poo/pee outside, = a treat and a game with you ) at night time, you need to go out with her every two hours. If you cannot watch her ( if you are out or busy, ) then crate her. If she has an accident in the house, get a rolled up newspaper, and hit yourself on the head with it " I wasnt watching the dog"

Fab advice!!

She's a baby and you have to think for her at the moment - you can't rely on her making the right decision about where and when to 'go'. So you have to take control and decide when and where, just like potty training a child, and if you can't be there then she needs to be in an area (crate maybe?) where she is allowed to mess if she needs to and won't upset the OH.

You mentioned that she just flooded when you came in and expected an 'excitement' pee...... I'm afraid that was your fault. If you ahd taken her outside you would have been able to reward the 'flood' rather than get upset and have to clear it up.

You've got to be one step ahead of her all the time!

How about carrying a squeaky toy around with you to distract her with? If you see her sniffing, or about to squat give it a squeak to stop her and quickly take her outside.

You mentioned that pup was improving so how about keeping a diary and showing the OH that things are improving? It may buy you enough time to make the concerted effort and get the pup housetrained before his patience runs out.

I don't think sending her away is the answer, as other have said she will learn one set of rules there and then come back to you and will have to be taught a new set of rules. Thats a lot for a little dog to learn.

Remember this is not an unusal problem, most pup owners have to go through this and she will learn - it just takes time and consistant training.
Good Luck!

abby1234519

Thank you all!
Shes just such a lovely funny puppy.
We have started going out constantly every half hour at night and the same int he morning.

I have taken a week off work but it doesnt start till last week of Nov.
So shall have to get the idea in her head now and then spend that week proper cementing!