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Tue 26 Feb, 2008 07:49 am
Maybe I am being totally unreasonable. Maybe I am not. But I am going to kill Bailey.
Zoe was so easy to house break. She was 95% housebroken by the time we'd had her for 2 weeks.
Bailey, on the other hand, is still pissing and shitting all over the house. And we are using the enzymatic cleaner so it's in a different place almost every time!
I refuse to use puppy pads. They just encourage going in the house. Right now we take him out every 30 mins to an hour and he gets a goodie when he comes back in if he's pottied. He scratches at the door or sits in front of it when he has to go and we let him out immediatly. If we don't get there fast enough he pees/poos in the house but that is totally expected. At least he's trying. But like this morning I took him out and he peed and pooped. Then we came in and not 15 minutes later I see him pooping in the house. And I went over there and it was TWICE! I scooped him up and in the process he stepped in it. I was livid and I had to put him in his crate or I was going to lose it.
He does this at least a few times a day.
I don't know what else to do. He obviously knows that he is suppose to go outside to potty. Otherwise, he wouldn't scratch/whine at the door when he wanted out. So why is he doing this? Is it a male thing? He goes all night (8-9 hours) without going out so I know he can hold it. (he doesn't wake up at all during the night....very bizarre)
I am hanging on by a thread here (baby is sick, in process of offering on a house, etc..) and I do not want to take him to the new hosue if he's going to soil every surface in the house.
I don't want to give up on him. He is still young. I know he isn't doing it on purpose but it sure feels like it.
I need some new tricks to help him out. I feel terrible after the way I yelled at him this morning.
On top of this, he still had worms so his poo is not only stinky and dirty but dangerous to our baby.
I recall reading about a product that is essentially a large plastic bubble with air holes in it. You place the dog inside (the thing is like a large hamster ball) and the dog can navigate around the house with relative ease and, to use your rather quaint phrase, "piss and ****" to its heart's desire.
When there is too much fecal matter in the ball, simply roll it outside and hose it down with your garden hose.
Simple, effective, and aesthetic.
In the above photo, a Doggie-Ball salesman is showing the sturdy construction of the ball by firing a bullet from a handgun directly into the material. "Guaranteed to stop even the sharpest of canine teeth" says an excerpt from the brochure.
You might try using the crate a bit more in the daytime, as pups do not like to besmirch their sleeping nest. As you point out, he can hold his fire for 8-9 hours at night; therefore, it would not be unreasonable or cruel to keep him in his crate in a quiet place for a couple of hours before he eats, then immediately take him out.
By the way, what is he eating, and how often? Puppy stomachs are sensitive. If you have any doubts about overfeeding or overwatering him, try cutting back a little. The water can be a particular problem, as most puppies do not know when to stop slurping it up. If you have any doubts about the appropriateness of his food, you can cook up rice and lace it with a small amount of turkey burger that you have boiled till done. Ask the vet if this is a complete diet for a pup. He might need veggie scrapings (short), too.
Although I am not a vet, and I am reading about your pup, rather than seeing him, my first investigation would be diet. Once they start going all the time, they tend to continue, because of slight inflammation, so you want to break up this routine quickly--as I'm sure is your desire! He'll come round.
Too late for now, but for future reference, if you find your puppy at a good breeder, the breeder will tell you which pups in which litter have a mother who pushes them outside the immediate nest when they start to relieve themselves. Our most recent standard poodle was basically house-broken by his mother. He made only one mistake at our house--and that was five weeks after we had brought him home.
Good luck. This situation can be infuriating, but some research and experimentation will bring both you and the pup through just fine.
How does he get along with Bella? Can you walk them together and praise her effusively for correct elimination?
The trouble with unhappy childhoods is that they linger in unsavory ways.
Bella
I'm having the same problem with Dolly and Madison. It started after I changed their dry food following the contaminated food from China scare. I'm going to return them to their original food to see if it makes a difference.
BBB
I thought this thread was about housebreaking the baby.
chai
Chai wrote:I thought this thread was about housebreaking the baby.
Dolly is too small to sit on a baby's potty seat; she would fall in the pot.
BBB
We are dealing with this as well Bella Dea. We have a lab mix puppy that we have been struggling with. The vet told me to keep her in her crate except when taking her to the bathroom. If she is in the house with us she has to stay on her leash next to me. If given space she will go pee and poop wherever. Then the vet said we can give her more room...like put her in a half bath or something. Always taking her to the same place outside to go to the bathroom. And that is the only time to get her out of her little area. If she does well there then the vet said we could let her have the kitchen and so on until she is able to be free without going somewhere you don't want her to. It is a LOT of work though...
She called it crate training and so far it is working fine. She is still in a half bath. When I put her in the kitchen she peed on my rug in front of the oven and I had to go back to the half bath. I guess the point being that they learn the only place they can go is that spot you take them to each time. My other dog did it naturally - he was a breeze. She is difficult at best!
I hope it works for us! Good luck in whatever you decide to do.
Miklos7 wrote:You might try using the crate a bit more in the daytime, as pups do not like to besmirch their sleeping nest. As you point out, he can hold his fire for 8-9 hours at night; therefore, it would not be unreasonable or cruel to keep him in his crate in a quiet place for a couple of hours before he eats, then immediately take him out.
Not possible. He is in there all day. I come home at lunch to let him out but he's in a crate the rest of the day til I get home.
Miklos7 wrote:By the way, what is he eating, and how often? Puppy stomachs are sensitive. If you have any doubts about overfeeding or overwatering him, try cutting back a little. The water can be a particular problem, as most puppies do not know when to stop slurping it up. If you have any doubts about the appropriateness of his food, you can cook up rice and lace it with a small amount of turkey burger that you have boiled till done. Ask the vet if this is a complete diet for a pup. He might need veggie scrapings (short), too.
Chicken Soup Puppy. And we do with hold water. He gets it after playing, after eating and that's about it. He doesn't get free access to water
Everyone gets a long great. Zoe and Bailey play and play and play.
I can't believe that he hasn't learned from Zoe.
Good advice, Mismi.
We have had friends who did this exact routine, and it worked. The real trial for them was always keeping the pup tied to them by the lead. Who was walking/watching whom?!
Miklos7 wrote:Good advice, Mismi.
We have had friends who did this exact routine, and it worked. The real trial for them was always keeping the pup tied to them by the lead. Who was walking/watching whom?!
This might have to be tried...however, with another dog who wants to play, it might also be impossible.
Bella--
Our present dog was adopted from the shelter when she was about six months old. She didn't so much resist housebreaking as ignore house breaking.
My determination eventually proved more powerful than her indifference.
Bella Dea wrote:Miklos7 wrote:Good advice, Mismi.
We have had friends who did this exact routine, and it worked. The real trial for them was always keeping the pup tied to them by the lead. Who was walking/watching whom?!
This might have to be tried...however, with another dog who wants to play, it might also be impossible.
yeah...that is a problem. She constantly strains at the leash to get to Pistol and he will come next to her every once in a while. But now she has gotten use to it and doesn't struggle - as much anyway. Let me just say it is not relaxing doggy time. But the vet told me that it was a short time. She would get it sooner than later...I keep hoping it will be sooner...though it really feels like later!
Bella Dea wrote:Everyone gets a long great. Zoe and Bailey play and play and play.
I can't believe that he hasn't learned from Zoe.
The only foolproof method I know is supervision combined with crate training. I don't know why anyone would torture themselves, or the puppy, with any other method. The puppy is not going to learn from Zoe. Actually, Zoe might start marking her territory over where the puppy has been doing his business. I remember you used to send Zoe to daycare, is there a doggie daycare that would be willing to help you with this problem? Maybe you could have the puppy go to daycare for training. I'm sure this a problem every new dog owner has if they can't be home during the day.
Green Witch wrote:Bella Dea wrote:Everyone gets a long great. Zoe and Bailey play and play and play.
I can't believe that he hasn't learned from Zoe.
The only foolproof method I know is supervision combined with crate training. I don't know why anyone would torture themselves, or the puppy, with any other method. The puppy is not going to learn from Zoe. Actually, Zoe might start marking her territory over where the puppy has been doing his business. I remember you used to send Zoe to daycare, is there a doggie daycare that would be willing to help you with this problem? Maybe you could have the puppy go to daycare for training. I'm sure this a problem every new dog owner has if they can't be home during the day.
It's getting better. SLOWLY but surely. No accidents this morning!!
I think what happens is that he knows he needs to go out but gets playing and forgets. Then, it's like, uh oh and he can't hold it.
Either way, we are making progress. He's a smart dog. He's already learned "sit" and we are working on "come here".
Bella--
How is your daughter reacting to a new family member?
She thinks the dogs are hilarous.
We put her in her jumparoo and she jumps and laughs at the dogs playing.
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