We recently adopted a small dog from a shelter. We believe her to be around 3 years old. Since day one she has been having accidents. We thought it was just her getting used to the new living situation. We have tried crating her, but now she pees in the crate as well. She doesn't seem to understand that when we take her outside, it is with the intention for her to go to the bathroom. Instead, she is extremely distracted by every little sound or movement. It has also been raining a lot recently and she refuses to pee when it's raining. Please help!
Queen from Brooklyn, NY
I had the same type situation. Ally was 9 months old when I got her from the SPCA, she is now 5 yrs old. She has a hard time paying attention to doing her potty when there is any kind of noise around. Trucks and kids and even someone closing the car door distracts her. I always tell her "go potty", she has gotten much better with this. Every once in awhile she has a tinkle accident inside.
I don't yell or scold. That is negative attention that you don't want to set up with the dog. Take the dog to the same place and keep telling it, "go potty". Don't let the dog be alone inside for a second either. As soon as any different kind of behavior starts, ask if they have to go potty. Ally will go to the door then. But if the dog starts smelling around, take him outside.
Hope this helps. Remember, you don't know what kind of life the dog had before you came along. Be patient. They may have let him go inside. (09/08/2006)
By sandy
Hello,
Thank you for adopting from a shelter, that was very kind of you. I have worked in a Veterinary Hospital for well over 25 years and my experience is that your new baby is just trying to get used to her new surroundings. You don't know if she has had any trauma from her past care takers.
Make sure to take her out about 10 minutes after she eats/drinks and first thing in the morning, do not wait. Make sure to give her lots of praise when she goes, you might want to offer her a treat, please do not scold her. Dogs sometimes do not like to go out in the rain, not because it is wet but because the sound hurts their ears. Dogs hearing is about 10 times more acute than ours.
I hope this helps. Take Care. (09/08/2006)
By Sherri
Just a thought, I wonder if your little one has been trained to go in a litter box by her former owners? You never know what has happened in her life before you got her. Thank you for saving her from the pound. We also got our family member from the pound 12 years ago and had to deal with what had happened to her in the past. She quickly learned to trust and love us as we do her. Good luck. (09/12/2006)
I wish that there was something I could be told that would reassure me that my dog will not pee in the house. I have a mini dachshund and she seemed very confused at first and would run in to the house to potty. I felt like it was a new environment thing at first. She would also go in her kennel, it didn't matter poop or pee, and not make a sound. So gross! It would get all over her.
I stay at home so taking her out was no problem and she gets plenty of exercise with my son chasing her and playing fetch. So inside I kept her on a leash with me or tie down so I could watch her more closely because she pees on my son's bed, under the beds, on any clothes that are on the floor any rug or pillow from the couch (basically anything).
The leash things works pretty good. She has started recently to actually go to the door to go out but it is quick I have to let her out right then or she's going. Watching to make sure they go before they come in the house is the most important but sometimes hard thing to do. She is so small sometimes it's hard to tell, but she would also fake it too. I couldn't believe it. I can tell a huge difference in her attitude if she isn't on the leash or hasn't been in a day. Expect the dog to come back out. Getting in my purse scavenging, diaper bag tearing, trash getter, sock chewer.
Sometimes it seems like the second I say "good doggy" I am regretting it, lol. She is 1 and a half now. I have started to think she has separation anxiety because I noticed the bad behavior more if I leave the house. So now when I come home I have been more assertive with her and not just petting her to death, which is probably a lot of the problem. But probably this all comes from her loving us and wanting to make sure she could never lose us. So we will continue to love her back. I will pray for you and your doggy, please pray for us. (04/16/2008)
By Hanna
I saw on one of the Dog training shows 2 things that may be applicable: One; take the dog out very frequently. And two; there is something called a "pee stick" that you can buy that is permeated with another dogs urine and seems to make them want to go on it. Good luck! (01/03/2009)
By Nancy
I recently adopted a 3 year old dachshund from dachshund rescue. The first week I had my new dog, it poured rain every day. Naturally, being a dachshund, the dog would not go outside. He'd have a few accidents in the house but for the most part, he would hold it. I believe I solved the problem by pretty much following him around the house. When it looked like he would go, I ran him outside.
I also purchased some spray from Pet Smart: "Simple Solution - Potty Training Aid." You use it inside or outside. I spray it on the two places where he did go. I don't know if this was a coincidence or not, but it worked immediately. Oh, I also signed up for a free potty training class at Pet Smart. (01/07/2009)
By Sunny
I have had a rough experience house training my puppy the last couple of months. I used pee pads, and it got to the point where she would only pee or poop inside (and she had bad aim, so she missed the pad about half the time). But I eventually got the inspired idea to put the pad outside until she got used to it. I don't know if it will work for a dog not use to the pads, but if they are the kind that attract a dog to pee on them, it might. Worth a shot. (01/29/2009)
By brandy
I like clicker training, I sometimes just make a clicking sound with my mouth. You click on a behavior that is good and offer a treat. Start with the sit command. The dog needs to learn to learn and that it is fun. Ignore mistakes in the house. Tell the dog to sit. Hold a treat in front of his nose and lift it up. When his but goes down, do a clicking sound and produce another better treat for him. Do this about 5 times every day.
When you go outside, make it seem exciting and fun. Throw new toys out there without him knowing that you did it. Let him find a rawhide or a treat or a bone from the pet store, act surprised when he finds it and praise him. Some dogs are afraid of outdoors because of the noise and many smells. When he eventually pees, make a clicking noise and give him a treat right then and say, "Yay, you went to the potty! Good boy".
I hope this helps! :) (01/29/2009)
By Robyn Fed
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