Question regarding my ABD and soiling inside...HELP!

wilykit

Hi,

I have posted on here before regarding my dogs and training etc, but I wondered if anybody has any advice...

I have 2 dogs but the one I am posting about is my 1 year old American Bulldog called Mia.

We got her in July, and she had been kept either in the small yard or the kitchen all her life, mostly in the yard I think and was never allowed in the front room of the house.

Sometimes she can cower - as if she thinks you are going to hit her and can be a bit skitty and sort of creeps between your legs.

When me and my partner were at work we would come home to a kitchen full of poo and wee and assumed that it was because we worked most of the day.

I have been out of work for the past 3 weeks and have been inside with the dogs pretty much 24/7, the only time they are left alone is on a night when we go to bed.

Mia spends most of the day on the seat next to me on the sofa, having cuddles ....my other dog usually squeezes on too!!

However, the problem with her messing when she is left alone has not been solved or at least reduced.

Last night we put her in the kitchen for bed and less than a minute later I needed to go back in and I found her mid-poo. She stopped as soon as I walked in and I told her it was naughty and cleaned it up. She seemed to know she did wrong as she gave me 'the look'.

We decided to shut the door again, wait a bit and go back in - and this time she had done a massive poo

We carried on doing this and the next time she did nothing and went to sleep in her bed.

I got up this morning and she has wee'd ALL over the kitchen and left 2 more big poos.

We put her out regularly for the toilet but I cannot see how to stop this? I think it might stem back to how she was treated/kept in her previous home and could possibly be separation anxiety? I am no expert obviously!

I know there are a few of you on here who are really good with dogs and training and I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Thanks and sorry for the long post!

sarabe

To house train a dog you simply have to make sure that they are outside when they need to go. Putting her outside frequently is not going to help because she has no idea that she has to go to the toilet out there until she is house trained. She might go whilst she is out there giving you the illusion that she knows but equally she will go indoors.


Before bed make sure she has emptied.

It sounds very much as if she waits until your back is turned before going because she gets into trouble for going to the toilet.

How would you feel if every time you sat on your toilet someone jumped out of the airing cupboard and yelled at you? You wouldn't think the toilet was the wrong place to go, you'd just check the airing cupboard for an attacker first.

Take her to the garden after she has eaten, when she wakes and at least every half an hour unless she is asleep and especially before bedtime.

The chances are she is going to be reluctant to go in front of you so just watch her in your peripheral vision whilst appearing to do something else.

What do you feed her on as some foods produce a lot more waste than others?

elsien

I took mutt on from a rescue centre when she was 1-2 ish, and it took over 12 months to get her clean at night. She doesn't like going in the yard (will do a wee but nothing else) so putting her out had no effect at all - she didn't seem to know why she was out there.
I had to put the lead on and take her for a walk every hour, starting at 6 am, wait till she did something, praise her to the skies and bring her home. I slowly increased the time between walks as she got the gist of it, but it did take a very long time. She stopped pooing in the kitchen comparatively quickly, but weeing overnight went on for months.
Also she seems to "store" it at times, then goes into pooh overdrive, so if she hasn't done 3 over the course of the day I know I'm going to get a prezzie overnight. Sometimes it means longer walks and staying out till I'm sure she's done.
As Sarabe says, no point telling her off, it didn't achieve anything, just made her more scared. Perhaps if you catch her in the act again, without telling her off see if you can get her outside to finish off there, then you can tell her how wonderful she is.
On a positive note, although it took us a heck of a long time to get there, mutt can now go all day without going out or messing the house. It is possible, some dogs just take longer than others.
I think mutt had been kept in poor conditions and had just never learned that you don't mess in your own living space.
How often do you feed - once or twice a day? A couple of smaller meals might make her feel less "overloaded". We also found a strict routime re feeding and walks helped as well, and try to keep to similar times every day.

hethmar

"Last night we put her in the kitchen for bed and less than a minute later I needed to go back in and I found her mid-poo. She stopped as soon as I walked in and I told her it was naughty and cleaned it up. She seemed to know she did wrong as she gave me 'the look'.

We decided to shut the door again, wait a bit and go back in - and this time she had done a massive poo "


Im surprised you dont say you took her outside when you caught her mid poo? You should be taking her out every half hour or so and praising her madly when she poos or wees outside.

Poor girl must feel frantic about being "naughty"

jonesya_2

what about her feeding times too? do you feed her at the same times and take away her food after?
What seemed to work well when training my puppy is we feed her at the same times everyday and only leave her food down for about 20/30 minutes that way her toilet business is regular too and if you know roughly when she needs to go each day you can time her walks then to avoid it happening in the house. good luck!

twinklie

I agree to take her outside especially if you catch her mid poo/pee. I had a little box of our monsters fav treats which I used to take out with me. Cue silly high pitched crazy woman squealing lots of fuss and treats!!!! I use key words as well. "Wee wee" and "Get Busy". If she gets distracted and thinks she's out there for a sniff....say the key word and she refocuses and produces the goods. Even if she doesn't need to bless her....she'll put in a token effort!!

We still have accidents (she's only 7 and a half months), but they stem usually by something spooking her in the night or us letting her down and not taking her out when she tells us she needs to go - some messages are clearer than others.

No point being rude to the OP though...I think they obviously posted to get some of the wisdom of others. Good luck and keep us posted on how you get on. I'm on my own challenge with mine at the minute of nighttime seperation anxiety. We seem to be getting there again...fingers crossed.

wilykit

1. There is never any food left - she eats it when she is given it. She has breakfast and tea.
2. When I caught her doing the same last night I just took her outside and let her finish off. Surprisingly, yesterday evening she asked to go out for the first time - we praised her a lot and gave her a treat.
3. Hethmar - you say she must feel frantic. I never said I shouted at her, I just told her she was naughty.
4. Sarabe - you say putting her outside frequently will not help...but then tell me to put her out every half an hour? I don't put her out and force her to wee, but my EBT regularly asks to go out and I let her out too (she always wants to go out when he does) incase she needs to go. If she doesn't go I don't make her.
5. When I put them out or if they ask to go out I say 'wee wees' lol.

Sometimes when you ask for advice on here people judge or jump down your throat - I came on here because I need advice, not a lecture.

Thanks to those of you who tried to help, I appreciate it.

skippythebushkangaroo

I think Mia is suffering from seperation anxiety. I think this has more to do with Mia being left alone than actually not being house trained, she does not like it when you leave her so has a 'dirty protest' . This is almost certainly to do with issues at her previous home. You may need to consult a behaviourist regarding this problem as they can be quite time consuming and difficult to sort properly.

Firstly start by leaving Mia for short periods of time alone but it is important that you don't make a fuss of her before you leave. This also applies when you return after being away from her. Don't let her initiate the welcome back. If there is any poo clean it up without saying anything to the dog and wait for her to settle down and walk away from you before making a fuss of her. I find the problem gets worse if a long goodbye and a welcome back kiss and cuddle are given as the dog starts to worry when this happens. You coming and going should be without issue. Taking her to the toilet immediately before leaving her is unlikely to stop her pooping as she will always squeeze one out because she then has your attention for a while on your return when you find the mess. You MUST ignore her on your return.

I find that D.A.P. diffusers and collars (dog appeasing pheramone) can be a huge help. These give off a synthetic copy of the pheramone that is given off by a !!!!! when she suckles the pups, therefore making the dog feel relaxed and happier. These aint cheap though!

I have had a wee bit of behavioural training but if you are still struggling to sort this then some insurance companies will pay for a behaviourist referred by your vet if you have pet insurance.

Good luck xx

wilykit

hi skippy, we were meant to have somebody come down on Wednesday but due to the snow they couldn't get here and we are going to re-arrange her visit.

I will try that tonight when we go to bed. I feel sorry for her as it is obvious that there is something bothering her and it is probably due to how she was treated in her previous home

Thanks for the advice

sarabe

wilykit wrote: »

4. Sarabe - you say putting her outside frequently will not help...but then tell me to put her out every half an hour?

No I didn't. I said

Take her to the garden after she has eaten, when she wakes and at least every half an hour unless she is asleep and especially before bedtime.

Then you know if she has been or not and can respond positively when she does thus helping the learning process.

wilykit

It's the same though, I always take her and keep an eye on her, I never just put her out and shut the door