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MariaChapinFarm3 · Jan 5, 2020 3:37 AM

Hiya lovelies!

I adopted a dog a couple days ago and come to find out
her previous owners taught her how to sit and shake, but NOT how to pee and poo outside.

Im at a total loss.. Ive set timers and taken her out for long walks, but she doesnt ever actually do her business. So far in the past day and a half she has peed three times in the house and pooped (generally in the same area). I almost broke down in tears last night because it was so frustrating.. I get that this is a new house and she needs to acclimate, but ive done literally everything that ive been suggested (take her outside after naps, after she eats ((which she hasnt ate much either, but i think that's because of the medication she is on)) and whatnot. Every couple hours id take her out. Someone also recommended that i shouldnt go on long walks, because she would just sniff everything and wouldn't concentrate ((apparently)) which i tried out but it didnt work, etc)

What do i do? She chooses NOT to go outside, but to pee in the same spot inside. Please someone help

BlaxkDiamond · Jan 5, 2020 4:28 AM

Oof that’s lovely.
1 confine her to a smallish area preferably with hard floors if you have them. Like a kitchen or dining room. They cannot leave that area unless they are with you. Another thing is dogs don’t want to soil their den, so a lot of breeders when their first potty training split their kennel into two areas, a bed and a spot away from the bed puppies automatically go to the bathroom away from the den. You can look that up in more detail. My point is put her in a kennel when you can’t watch her besides teaching her good life skills it should also keep her from making messes when you can’t prevent them because you aren’t there.
2. Put a bell on the door where she can get to it. Ring the bell every time you go outside with her. My first dog would go to the door when she had to go to the bathroom but wouldn’t wine or bark so we had no idea we needed to let her out. It may help your girl.
3. Timers should be every 30 minutes for potty breaks until she’s more reliable. We’ve always told our puppies to go potty. And then given them a treat when they do it. The tastier the treat the faster they get it. A piece of hot dog the size of your pinky fingernail works wonders.
4. It’s also not a bad thing to scold them for making a mistake. I’m not saying rub their nose in it. But still telling them no, then putting them instantly outside and telling them to go potty. Every dog is different and some dogs need firmer scolding, while others a firm no is all they need. You’ll figure you’re girl out.

These are different things that have helped my family with our dogs. Also something we watch is Cesar Millan, or Dog Whisper from National Geographic channel. It’s really helpful.

SummertreeFarms · Jan 5, 2020 4:36 AM

Get her a crate. Dogs generally won't pee or poop in their beds, so it has to be a crate that she can stand up and turn around it. No bigger. Take her outside after every meal for about 10 minutes, if she does her business she can stay loose in the house. If she does not, it's back in the crate for half an hour, then outside to try again. The crate is not a punishment, but it will help train her bladder if she doesn't want her bed to be gross.

I used to HATE the thought of using a crate, but I am now a true believer. My dogs have all treated their crates like their bedrooms. They go in them when things are too hectic in the house, when they have a treat they don't want to share, when they want some alone time, or when the vacuum is out. :D

ETA: In response to BlackWylds post (which I agree with!). Cesar Milan has some really good ideas, but some of them are over the top. Pick and choose what works for you.

RipshinCreekFarm · Jan 5, 2020 4:53 AM

That can be very frustrating. Zelda may have never been housebroken, or maybe she was, but is still adjusting. Have you looked into crate training?

ETA: Great minds think alike. I used to hate them as well, but our youngest three dogs are crate trained. They like having their own spot that no one else gets.

Justa · Jan 5, 2020 5:22 AM

Another thing to remember with a rescue is she could be a pup who was taught to go indoors.

First of all, stress over where she messes at this point doesn't help you or her at all. Take a step back, breathe, and try to remember she's been living in a kennel where she had to mess 'in the house'. She needs time to relax and start thinking of your home as her home, not just somewhere she's staying for a while before she gets thrown away again.

Try starting the process by putting puppy papers in her chosen spot in the house and letting her get used to using them. Just let her go there at first, and don't scold her for it or praise her or anything. If she goes while you're not watching, pretend not to even notice it happened. Just take a few days or a week to learn her routine of when she needs to go (after naps, eating, whatever).

When you get her routine figured out, you can start to change it. When she goes to use her spot, catch her in the act and tell her good girl and whatever cue you want for her to do her business. Throw her a puppy party when she's done and try to make sure she connects the cue with good things happening immediately after she goes. It may take a couple weeks or even longer to get the connection in her head between the cue and doing her business strong enough, but eventually you should be able to tell her to go before she actually does it. She needs to learn that doing her business when you tell her to makes you happy, and when you're happy she gets treats and good things.

Next step is moving one of her puppy papers outside (one she already used!) and then taking her straight out to her puppy paper at her usual 'gotta go' time and telling her to go on the paper with it outside. You'll have to really be consistent and keep taking her to her puppy paper she's already used before until she finally gets the idea and goes out there, even if it means you have to stay out for hours. Once she has done it once, though, you'll have a start with teaching her to go outside all the time! After that it's just repetition and making sure she only gets treats and praise for going when she goes outside. If she goes inside after the first time you get her to go outdoors, she gets no treats, no attention. It may take a lot of work, but it will be worth it!

Something to keep in mind, it's not always a sign of a stubborn dog or a dumb one when a dog doesn't get housetraining quickly. My Border Collie started doing service dog work at three months old by her own choice, just jumping in and helping my previous service dog when he helped me. She is the smartest dog I ever met and she was completely reliable on about twenty-five cues by five months old, but she was still nearly a year old before I stopped needing to keep puppy papers down for her in my bathroom. As smart as she is and as willing as she is (Well, was. Now she's old and stubborn and prefers to train people, not the other way around. Lol) to learn, she just could not connect that one thing. She's not dumb or bad, she just didn't get going outdoors to do her business. I didn't go outside, after all, so why should she? Lol

Justa · Jan 5, 2020 5:32 AM

And I agree on the crating, for what it's worth. My dogs actually argue (very politely!) over who gets to sleep in one of my crates because they all have the same favorite, the one under my desk. Lol Sometimes I'll look down when I'm at my desk and find all three of them in there with the Border and my Pit boy both curled up in a tight ball to fit and the Chihuahua my mother left to me laying on top of one or the other, all of them sound asleep. :))

FallenShadows714 · Jan 5, 2020 5:43 AM

One thing I recommend is to invest in a good enzyme cleaner for those spots she tends to potty in as well. Your typical carpet/hard flooring cleaner probably isn’t enough, because it can (and will) still leave behind residue or scent that she can smell and it will attract her to go there again.

I also agree with the crate training. It’s not a punishment, and please don’t ever yell at her and then toss her in the crate or she will come to associate the crate as a punishment. When I had puppies we used the crates up until they were about a year old and could be trusted to be left in the house by themselves without destroying things or messing, and it wasn’t ever used when they were naughty. My two lab mixes knew the command “crate” and would go in and lie down the minute I said it, even if we were outside. They would go to the door and sit and wait for me to open the door, then they trotted right on over to their crates.

You can also try (and I know this is gross) but if she has a solid accident, move the solid out into the yard in an area you are ok with her using the bathroom. When you take her out, take her to that spot and let her smell. She will begin to associate her scent with this area and be more willing to use the potty outside. I think they also have attractant sprays for this if you live in an apartment, you can just spray a certain area where you will normally walk her.

You can do this, and so can she. This is an adjustment for her just as much as it is for you, and when you are calm and relaxed she will be calm and relaxed.

Waldgraf · Jan 5, 2020 8:40 PM

You've already received a lot of helpful information - crate training, careful timing of when you take her outside to potty and rewarding her when she's successful is the key. One common challenge with dogs from shelters is that they've learned to go inside, in their kennel - so potty training can be a bit of a challenge. Hopefully, she still has enough of the instinct to keep her bed clean - which is the foundation of using a crate. It is possible she's lost that instinct, especially if the kennel at the shelter was small. If that's the case, there are strategies to work with that.

I strongly recommend never correcting/punishing a dog for having an accident, even if you 'catch them in the act.' Dogs are very situational in their learning - the most your pup is likely to learn is that going where you can see them leads to bad things, making them afraid of toileting with you when you're outside with them. Also, because they never get corrected when they have an accident where you can't see them, they'll quickly learn that going behind the couch / chair / under the bed, etc is okay. I'd much rather have the accident out in the open, where it's easy to find and clean than hidden!

Before starting vet school, I was a professional dog trainer for almost 20 years. 10 years of that I taught women inmates to rehabilitate shelter dogs and train them as service, therapy and companion pets. I supervised the house training of close to 300 shelter dogs and can assure you this can be handled!

If you're interested, I have the instruction packet I wrote for my inmate trainers that goes through the process of both introducing a dog to a crate and house training. I'm not sure if we can send documents, or how to do so, but if it's possible, I'm happy to send it to you.

SummertreeFarms · Jan 6, 2020 12:00 AM

Yeah, the part I like about getting my dogs young is that they learn that the house is MY kennel, and ANY bodily excretions are NOT appreciated.

HTRanch · Jan 6, 2020 12:25 AM

You've already received a lot of good advice! You've only had her for a little while and she is still a puppy, so this is all part of transitioning. Like others said she may have had to go in her kennel or crate previously as a shelter dog so she is probably just as confused as you are!

1 - blaxkdiamond recommended a bell - this is how we trained our dog and it works great! Every time you go outside, ring the bell before you open the door so that she learns to associate the bell with the door being opened for her. That way she has a way to communicate her needs with you.
2 - If you catch her in the act, pick her up and carry her right outside (ring the bell before you open the door). Don't make a big fuss about it, but if she pees or poops outside at all, even if she already went in the house, shower her with praise!
3 - find out what her favorite types of reinforcement are- some dogs prefer food, others prefer scratches, some like toys (or certain types of toys). If she takes a step in the right direction, reward her in a way that motivates her.

As far as crates go, when used well they are awesome! My adult dog's crate is his "house" - he snoozes in there pretty much all day, and makes nests out of his favorite toys and blankets. It's his "space" that is specific to him, and now that he is older, has bladder control, and has adjusted to the family routine, we hardly ever need to lock him up anyways.

PeppermintC · Jan 6, 2020 1:27 AM

All good advice. My youngest was not house trained when I got her at 4 months. My oldest has always been potty trained (I got him at 9 years) but when he first arrived (under a high stress situation as a foster dog) he was prone to marking, and now that he is 14 he leaks if not taken out frequently enough or left sleeping too long.

It may be a good idea to look into physical issues as well, such as UTIs if it seems to persist and/or the dog is just going far too frequently, though certainly more likely a training or stress issue.

Bandit1119 · Jan 6, 2020 3:00 AM

While I agree with everything everyone else said I want to point out that some medications cause increased possibilities of accidents.

My dog rarely goes in the house (or only in certain houses. At my exes she will go to the basement and go beside the cats litter box but one of his cats pottied all over the basement so she figures that’s the bathroom) but she was on some medications for an ear issue and she had 3 or 4 accidents in a week. Mostly overnight because we were sleeping and she’s just recently starting to verbally signal (still a super quiet wheeze/whine) that she needs to go out and she’s 9. Usually her signal at my moms she goes and sleeps by the door until someone notices her and lets her out and at my house she’ll come in and stare at me for a while until I notice that she’s tiptoed in

Cheers · Jan 6, 2020 5:18 AM

One final bit I haven’t seen—and so far you’ve gotten some great advice!

If you have a spot where it’s appropriately private, consider peeing outside with her. Easier if a male friend/boyfriend/husband/brother/son can do this. It helps her understand what you’re actually doing out there for 20 minutes at a time! If this isn’t an option (yard overlooked by apartments for instance) then definitely taking a soiled pee pad out with you can help give a scent cue of what you’re looking for. Again, if you’ve got a yard, find a way to anchor it out there in the area you want her to use as a toilet to encourage her. (Meaning, don’t just put it right outside the back door because that’s where she will go and you’ll constantly be stepping in stuff!). Also, while I am a strong proponent of cleaning up after your dog regularly in your own yard, for the first few weeks try to leave her poos in place for a few days if you have the space to. This will help the scent “stick”. Obviously if she’s on medication for internal parasites this is NOT a good idea and please pick up thoroughly to remove the parasite load!

Wildtm · Jan 6, 2020 4:58 PM

Another tip if possible is tying her out for 20 min while watching from a distance I have a dog that will not go if you are right there if that’s not possible try a long leash n just let her wander for 20 minutes without pointedly watching her but once she goes praise n treat also remember once in desired location say potty n wait

SummertreeFarms · Jan 6, 2020 5:36 PM

My dogs learned the difference between 'go pee' and 'go potty'. Go pee means 'get it done, our class is starting in 5 minutes' and 'go potty means 'we've got some time, if you need to poop'.

(I've always been an advocate of putting words to as many behaviors as possible. I use it like an on/off button. My tervuren used to pull the hair out of his beautiful tail chasing it, so 'get'cher tail' was the on switch, and 'that's enough' was the off switch.)

Looper · Jan 6, 2020 7:23 PM

All of this is fantastic! :) The only thing I could really add is to take one of the suggested potty pads outside once it's been used and "mark" an area with her smell, as long as it isn't raining anyway.

They also make canine pheromone attractants to use in the yard to encourage peeing outside.

Use an enzymatic cleaner made for urine odor to remove the pheromone marker that encourages her to come back and pee in the house. Most household cleaners actually won't remove the pheromones that a dog can smell.

WhiteMountain · Feb 6, 2020 10:45 PM

Lots of giod advice. Never forget that the pee-er is connected to the sniffer. For her to pee in the yard, it would really help if some other dog has peed there.
For house training, have her in a crate if you cant watch her, or on a leash at your side, in the house. She won't have a chance to mess in the house.

Xceptional · Feb 7, 2020 10:12 PM

I have always used the same method Confluence has. It works great and fast. Remember to pick the dog up from the crate and carry her outside. That way she can't sniff in the house on her way out and go. Of course if she is a large dog it would be difficult. Then keep her right at your side. I used to give mine a half hour of playtime in the house if they went outside. If they didn't go outside or went again during playtime it was right back in the crate. Believe me it is not mean. It is actually less confusing for the dog.

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