Couple of questions about my dog..

Lifeisbutadream

A couple of things - I have a lovely dog, who is (almost!) perfect - I could do with advice on a couple of things:

1. How do I stop him from shaking himself inside? When he is wet I leave him in the shed to dry off then bring him in - he always shakes straight away! why cant he do that outside!:( he shakes hairs and water everywhere which is a real pain!

2. How do I get him to poo and wee in the same place? outside I have a decking area and then stones then grass - I want him to wee and poo on the stones, which he does usually, but has recently started to do in on the decking, which is ruining it. I have cordoned off the grass whilst the weather is so wet, so he cant get on there, but I cant cordone off the decking.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

sarah*a

Lifeisbutadream wrote: »

A couple of things - I have a lovely dog, who is (almost!) perfect - I could do with advice on a couple of things:

1. How do I stop him from shaking himself inside?

2. How do I get him to poo and wee in the same place?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

For the 1st question - I don't think you can. (I maybe wrong and others will speak up if I am )

I see it as a change in temperature thing. You know when you get out of the bath and the bathroom, which a second ago seemed lovely and warm, is now really cold and you have to dry yourself really quickly to warm up? Well thats what it's like but in reverse

He'll probably have shaken himself in the shed and his body temperature will have stabilised and then when he comes into the warmer house he realises he is still wet - so shakes again.

Have you tried towelling him down in the shed or are you just leaving him to 'drip-dry'? If you used a towel to get rid of the worst it would probably help

As for question 2 - can't help there - I'm just grateful mine go outside :rotfl:

Lifeisbutadream

sarah*a wrote: »

For the 1st question - I don't think you can. (I maybe wrong and others will speak up if I am )

I see it as a change in temperature thing. You know when you get out of the bath and the bathroom, which a second ago seemed lovely and warm, is now really cold and you have to dry yourself really quickly to warm up? Well thats what it's like but in reverse

He'll probably have shaken himself in the shed and his body temperature will have stabilised and then when he comes into the warmer house he realises he is still wet - so shakes again.

Have you tried towelling him down in the shed or are you just leaving him to 'drip-dry'? If you used a towel to get rid of the worst it would probably help

As for question 2 - can't help there - I'm just grateful mine go outside :rotfl:

Yes - I towel him first then he goes in the shed - I used to bring him straight in after towelling him, but he just ran around wetting everywhere! now the weather is a biut warmer I leave him outside..

Actually there have been a couple of occasions when he has wee'd inside because we have a wooden floor I think he is getting confused between the decking and the floor, which is another reason for trying to get him to go on the stones!

Tropez

Lifeisbutadream wrote: »

2. How do I get him to poo and wee in the same place? outside I have a decking area and then stones then grass - I want him to wee and poo on the stones, which he does usually, but has recently started to do in on the decking, which is ruining it. I have cordoned off the grass whilst the weather is so wet, so he cant get on there, but I cant cordone off the decking.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

In this instance, you need to go with him every single time he goes outside to the toilet, rain or shine, with a pocketful of small treats and if necessary have him on the lead. Take him to the spot you want to him to do his business (bearing in mind that stones can be painful to little doggy paws sometimes) and make sure he does it there. When he does it there, praise him exuberantly (to the point where any onlookers would think you a raving lunatic) and give him a treat.

The more he associates going potty in that spot with getting praise and treats the more he will want to continue going potty in that spot. Gradually phase out the treats (but keep the praise) but don't forget to continue to treat occasionally so that the dog continues to feel there are potential rewards coming to him if he potties in a particular area.

You also have to make it as hard for him as possible not to do his business where you want it done.

I expect you're cleaning up the poops which is fine but do not feel so compelled to clean up wee's as the dog will associate the smell of their own wee with the toilet area.

Lifeisbutadream

Tropez wrote: »

In this instance, you need to go with him every single time he goes outside to the toilet, rain or shine, with a pocketful of small treats and if necessary have him on the lead. Take him to the spot you want to him to do his business (bearing in mind that stones can be painful to little doggy paws sometimes) and make sure he does it there. When he does it there, praise him exuberantly (to the point where any onlookers would think you a raving lunatic) and give him a treat.

The more he associates going potty in that spot with getting praise and treats the more he will want to continue going potty in that spot. Gradually phase out the treats (but keep the praise) but don't forget to continue to treat occasionally so that the dog continues to feel there are potential rewards coming to him if he potties in a particular area.

You also have to make it as hard for him as possible not to do his business where you want it done.

I expect you're cleaning up the poops which is fine but do not feel so compelled to clean up wee's as the dog will associate the smell of their own wee with the toilet area.

I clean up both the wees and the poos as the wees are staining the decking and I try and get it before it ruins it. I definitely clean it up when he wees in the house!

I will certainly try going out there with him - to be honest, 90% of the time he goes on the stones (so I dont think they are hurting him) - just occasionally he seems to forget and goes on the decking and then very occasionally he does it in the house.

Tropez

Lifeisbutadream wrote: »

I clean up both the wees and the poos as the wees are staining the decking and I try and get it before it ruins it. I definitely clean it up when he wees in the house!

I will certainly try going out there with him - to be honest, 90% of the time he goes on the stones (so I dont think they are hurting him) - just occasionally he seems to forget and goes on the decking and then very occasionally he does it in the house.

Yeah, I wasn't clear enough. Obviously, if he wees anywhere he shouldn't wee get it cleaned up but when he's weeing in the correct place, particularly while training him, just leave it because the smell of the wee to him guides him to his toilet area.

You just need to give him positive reinforcement and that's where treats and praise come into play. The dog doesn't realise he's doing anything wrong so what you need to do is let him know when he's doing something right and the best way to do that is to reward him for it.

shelleuk

I have no answer for the first question, my dog shakes in the house and it stinks for ages when hes wet.

But with my dog we wanted him to do his business at the side of the garden behind the shed so the children wouldn't step in it when playing outside. What we did was take him to the area and then not let him past us untill he had done his business. After about a week we stopped having to blockade him the area and he just went there, if we saw him trying to do at in any other area of the garden we would just shout his name and he would automatically go to his designated spot. It was easier for us to clean the area because we knew where the poo was and once a week we would hose it down with bleach because it was the only area that was flagged.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

how about getting him a waterproof coat for when he goes out to cut down on the wetness?

Lifeisbutadream

Desperate_Housewife wrote: »

how about getting him a waterproof coat for when he goes out to cut down on the wetness?

:rotfl::rotfl:(just imagining what the coat would look like when we got home)

He is a springer - he doesnt get wet from the rain he gets wet from swimming in the river, or rolling in mud/fox poo/cow pats then getting hosed down by me..

Kittendreich

My friend used to have towelling 'bags' that her dogs went in when they were wet (a bit like a sleeping bag - it zipped up with just their heads poking out). They were very content in there and happy to laze about until they were dry. Depends how big your dog is as I can't imagine it being that successful with large dogs but their cavalier king charles spaniels were fine. I suppose you might be able to get/make a version with legs so that they can still walk about if your dog isn't going to be happy lying in one place...

Lifeisbutadream

Kittendreich wrote: »

My friend used to have towelling 'bags' that her dogs went in when they were wet (a bit like a sleeping bag - it zipped up with just their heads poking out). They were very content in there and happy to laze about until they were dry. Depends how big your dog is as I can't imagine it being that successful with large dogs but their cavalier king charles spaniels were fine. I suppose you might be able to get/make a version with legs so that they can still walk about if your dog isn't going to be happy lying in one place...

What a fab idea! although that makes me laugh imagining him walking round in a massive sleeping bag with legs.. :rotfl:

ETA - Oh my god they look fab!

http://www.muddypaws.co.uk/muddy-paws-grooming-health-dry-dog-bags-and-towels/the-original-dri-dog-bag/prod_214.html

Thank you kittedreich - I could kiss you !!!!!!