***Potty Training??

[BeccaB00]

I know, I've been posting A TON lately, and mostly about my dog, but hey, this IS a place for help eh?

So my dog (Bridgit) Has yet another problem. we've had her for just a 4 months and she STILL pottys in the floor. No warning AT ALL. No 'go by the door' no 'scratch on the door' and no differences in her behavior besides going to sniff out a place..Which I catch her and disipline her for the most part, but other times I'll be on the computer, or doing school work, get up, walk into the living room and find a COLD present she may have done 20 minutes ago which I CANNOT disipline her for.

I take her out multiple times a day, but she still does it every now and then. Then, If I see her, she up and runs so I can't disipline her. as I've said in my other posts about her, I love her, I, myself could probably take a few accidents here and there, but my parents can't. And my parents are very nice and understanding about this, but Bridgit is VERY stubborn. any ideas?

ETA: Shes one year old. So shes full grown.. We got her from the shelter so no training was done with her!

 

[arabianequine]

If it were me and not everyone agrees with this but it worked with my saint. I would go get the puppy and put their nose in it and swat their butt and say no and put them outside and say go potty. Clean it up with out them watching and with something that will remove the smell like vinegar. At four months their attention span is longer and they puppy knows better if it is running from you. Also go back to letting the puppy out every half hour, as soon as it wakes up, right after eating and drinking.

Good luck!

 

[thebritt]

Assuming there's nothing wrong with her physically...I just saw the show "It's Me or the Dog", and Victoria (the trainer) had the people cover the laundry room floor where the pup stayed when not being supervised with pee pads. Every few days they'd remove one pad until just one was left, and the pup learned to only pee on the pad. Worked really well for them. The key is to never let the pup out of your sight in the house until trained. Also be sure the pup is taken outside evry 2 houts, after every nap and meal. Make sure you give the command, "Go potty" (or whatever you choose) and praise happily when she goes Good girl go potty!).
Good luck! Just be very consistant and you'll learn her schedule!

 

[BeccaB00]

Quote:
but my dog is about 1 year old

We got her from the shelter so not much training has been done with her.

 

[arabianequine]

Quote:
but my dog is about 1 year old

We got her from the shelter so not much training has been done with her.

I forgot to mention to praise for sure that is very important act like its a party....and make it fun when taking the puppy out.

I thought 4 months old but still should be able to be held accountable a little more then an 8 week old puppy....bad habits are hard to break. Running from you tells me the dog knows it did wrong and your gonna be mad or he knows he will be in trouble. That tells me he knows right from wrong in this situation. So make it so the dog does not like it.

 

[thebritt]

Is she running from you because she's afraid of being spanked? Or does your reaction cause her to fear being hit? She may be running to avoid punishment, not because she's associated her action (peeing) with doing wrong. Best thing to do, imo, is to never leave her unattended - keep her leashed to you or in her crate when you can't be with her. She needs to be set up for success. Don't give up!

 

[welsummerchicks]

Since it is an older dog, it may never have been house trained. It may have been kept in a dirty place and unlearned how to be clean.

To train the older dog to go outside, here's what I'd do.

First of all, I would never chase a dog and catch it and punish it. I would also never call a dog to me, and punish it. If I do so I will destroy all possible success I might have in any future work with the dog. Instead, I set things up so the dog cannot make a mistake. I don't like punishing dogs, so I set things up so that they learn without being punished.

I do not believe in shoving the dog's face in to its pooh. I don't want to get pooh on my dog's face or mouth, which i feel negatively affects their desire to stay away from their own pooh and stay clean. I also think that delays training, makes dogs more tense, as well as damages their relationship with me. I also don't believe in using pee pads, which I think also delays training unnecessarily, leaving a urine smell in the house that confuses the dog and makes training unnecessarily complex and long and tension-producing. I don't think either method produces a dog that is 100% reliable in the house in the end.

I would keep the dog in a crate all the time she was in the house. This is without any exception. The dog is either in the crate, or outside. No exceptions.

I would feed the dog once a day(if one year old), and offer water three times a day, with no water given after five or six pm.

After the dog drinks or eats, I take the dog outside. I get to know the dog and how soon it needs to go out after drinking or eating. I do not let the dog out of the crate and let it wander the house. This is very important.

I take the dog to the same area of the yard each time to poop and pee. I put the dog on a leash before it leaves the house, and I walk it around in that area til it poops or pees.

I praise the dog and give a small treat after it relieves itself. Then I play with the dog. I do not play with the dog until after it poops or pees. I probably would not let the dog off the leash to play with it. I want to be able to get the dog back into the house, into the crate. I don't want the dog to play outside alone for long periods of time until it is house trained. Instead, it will play outside for short periods of time. I know if I do this right, this training will last a very short time, so it won't be aa hardship for the dog.

The treat needs to be something that doesn't stimulate the digestion like a meal would. Something non irritating to the stomach (many dog treats irritate the stomach). No treats until the animal relieves himself. Just quiet walking around the area where he relieves himself.

In a very short time, usually a day or two, the dog will go to the door when it needs to poop or pee. We usually hang a bell by the door, and have the dog bump it as I take him out the door. The second he bumps the bell, 'Oh what a good boy!' and much praise, and out we go.

When I can't be home, the dog is in the crate, just as the dog is in the crate the entire time that I am at home. The dog is not in the house loose, at any time.

When I get home, I don't let the dog out of the crate and give it a huge wild welcome, which causes tension and anticipation and nervousness, which would be especially bad at this time. I try to maintain a schedule when I am training the dog, so he does not have to wait an unreasonable amount of time.

I feed the dog only once a day. The food is taken up after 10 or 15 minutes. As is the water.

This has never, ever failed me. If I follow this program, it works, and I end up with a very, very reliable dog.

 

[BeccaB00]

Thanks, She stays in her crate for about an hour after eating cause thats normally how long it takes her to have to go. Somtimes longer, but I do take her out alot, and when she dont poop, she does go back into her crate, as theres been many times where she goes outside, pees, and doesn't poop, then comes in the house and decides she has to go. She pees almost everytime I take her out though. The only bad thing is that shes EXTREMELY active, (boder collie/cattle dog) so staying her crate all the time makes her MORE active and then she gets broed to tears, and destroys everything. She even licks our walls through the crate out of boredom, so I dont like her being in her crate for long. When she DOES potty in the house, if I catch her, I make a loud short and destracting sound, snatch her up put on her leash and take her outside to let her finish. I have spatted her on the butt a few times but I dont really want her to be afraid of me.. And I dont want her to develop bad behaviors like eating whatever she does in the house to cover it up, and she wont get disaplined as Ive heard of dogs doing that before.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Perhaps the dog needs to play outside longer, after relieving itself. They very often pee first, and then poop after they run around a bit. That also tends to prevent them from needing to relieve themselves right when they just came in.

The dog sounds like it also needs a good long play session outdoors each day, to get rid of some of that extra energy. A few hours of playing and running helps a dog to relax and the dog will also learn faster.

 

[BeccaB00]

thanks Im definatly trying your method!