Dog training issue
Figured I'd ask here since so many of you guys have dogs. :)
I've had my little pup since February. When we first got him, he was underweight and it was winter, and we could not for the life of us get him to potty outside. So we resorted to potty pads, which he took to within a day. Over the last two weeks (seriously, midwest weather is way too unpredictable) it has finally gotten nice enough to take him outside every day. We've been taking him out quite frequently, but have kept the pad inside until he's 100% not using it.
Problem is... as of the last week, he's been pooping in the apartment, but not on his pad. He'll pee on his pad, but then he'll walk over a few steps and poop on the floor. Thank GOD we have wood floors, but they're older floors and have cracks in them. Yeah, getting poop out of those cracks sucks bad (his poops aren't solid because of the way we have to feed him). My boyfriend is thinking this is happening because we're taking him outside, where he can poop wherever he wants. But if this were the case, wouldn't he be peeing in the apartment too?
I need advice from you awesome dog folks out there, this is my first puppy (have only adopted in the past and never had to potty train) and I am a bit lost. We will be putting him through a training class for basic commands, but that's not for another month or so (money), and we can't use treats to train because he has a birth defect. Other than this, he's a freakin' great dog, so I really don't want him pooping all over to spoil it.
Original Post by kelrantymus: This worked for our Boston. Maddie would play play play play and then, oh I need to potty and it really doesn't work for me to go outside so I'll poop right here and then play play play. So, she had to be leashed to me and then everytime she started sniffing, I'd take her to the door and make her sit. When she sat, out we went and big praises and kibbles (she is very food motivated) when she went outside. Now, she will sit at the door whenever she needs to go out. At my mother's she has a bell she rings with her paw when she wants out. I don't know if it was just Maddie or Bostons in general, but she was harder to house train than any of my other puppies.
Nibbler is too, which is why it sucks he has his birth defect. We can't reward with treats. :(
I would LOVE to teach him to use a bell or some other kind of thing like that!!! I know that he's smart and he's been fairly easy to train, so if I could get him using a bell or nudging his leash or something, oh god I would be a happy girl.
The bell training is really easy. Just hang it from the doorknob and hit it with his paw or his nose every time you take him out. It's just a series of mental connections he needs to make: outside = pee, bell = outside, pee = bell.
Original Post by lysistrata:
The bell training is really easy. Just hang it from the doorknob and hit it with his paw or his nose every time you take him out. It's just a series of mental connections he needs to make: outside = pee, bell = outside, pee = bell.
I am SO buying a bell after work! I didn't realize that bell training is that easy (well, hopefully).
Original Post by sukibahsoun:
Original Post by fionaaleksoska:i agree.
get rid of the pads, thats somthing you should really never have started with in the first place. if you catch him going to pee/poo make a loud sharp noise to brake his concentration and whisk him outside right away.
he needs to be taken outside everytime after he wakes up, eats, drinks and otherwise hourly. make sure you are feeding him at the same time everyday, dont leave food out continuisly for him to graze on. when he wakes up in the morning take him straight outside, then feed him and take him out again. everytime he wakes up from a nap during the day take him out again. take him out before he goes in his crate when you're going out and again when you get back home, before you go to bed last thing at night and hourly during the day if none of those other things apply at the time.
you will soon notice a cycle and you'll be able to tell when hes due to go.
also about using a proper cleaner specifically for animal pee/poo which gets rid of the smell so he doesnt go back to pee/poo there again.
good luck! it can take a while but you need to stick with it. in a few weeks all your hard work should pay off!
what kind of birth defect does he have? could that be interfearing with his toileting?
The only thing his defect (megaesophagus) interferes with is the consistency of his poos, which makes clean up extremely hard. We've tried Benefiber, pumpkin, nothing will firm his stools up. Other than that, I don't think it is effecting his behavior.
the only thing i can think of is if he has diorreaha he cant hold it in and just goes on the floor without any signal.
Original Post by lysistrata:
The bell training is really easy. Just hang it from the doorknob and hit it with his paw or his nose every time you take him out. It's just a series of mental connections he needs to make: outside = pee, bell = outside, pee = bell.
or bell = outside --> squirrel = bell, boredom = bell, skunk = bell, neighbour = bell, neighbour-dog = bell, truck = bell, hockey fans = bell...no thanks!
Original Post by fionaaleksoska:
the only thing i can think of is if he has diorreaha he cant hold it in and just goes on the floor without any signal.
We thought this at first as well, but have elliminated that idea. We are extremely consistent in not only his food, but his feeding schedule, and are currently adding Benefiber to his food as it has had the best effect on his stools.
Original Post by pgeorgian:
Original Post by lysistrata:
The bell training is really easy. Just hang it from the doorknob and hit it with his paw or his nose every time you take him out. It's just a series of mental connections he needs to make: outside = pee, bell = outside, pee = bell.
or bell = outside --> squirrel = bell, boredom = bell, skunk = bell, neighbour = bell, neighbour-dog = bell, truck = bell, hockey fans = bell...no thanks!
I suppose I could see that happening with some dogs but Madeline much prefers to be inside with all her toys and her chair so while there was a brief period when she first figured it out where she wanted out every ten minutes (either ringing the bell or sitting by the door touching it with her paw), after a week or so, she got bored with it and now only sits, touches, rings when she genuinely wants out.
This does occur sometimes, however, if she remembers a toy she wants is outside.
Original Post by pgeorgian:
Original Post by lysistrata:
The bell training is really easy. Just hang it from the doorknob and hit it with his paw or his nose every time you take him out. It's just a series of mental connections he needs to make: outside = pee, bell = outside, pee = bell.
or bell = outside --> squirrel = bell, boredom = bell, skunk = bell, neighbour = bell, neighbour-dog = bell, truck = bell, hockey fans = bell...no thanks!
Damn computer not letting me post my crap. Argh. I want to see if we can train him with the bell since we want to eventually let him roam the place a little more. Right now, the way we know he has to go 99.9% of the time is that he'll move to the edge of the couch, wait for us to move the coffee table (we have a for serious small place), then he runs around and waits for us to leash him and take him out. So if we do the bell and he uses it for every little thing, at least we can always hide it. :)
Original Post by kelrantymus:
Original Post by pgeorgian:
Original Post by lysistrata:
The bell training is really easy. Just hang it from the doorknob and hit it with his paw or his nose every time you take him out. It's just a series of mental connections he needs to make: outside = pee, bell = outside, pee = bell.
or bell = outside --> squirrel = bell, boredom = bell, skunk = bell, neighbour = bell, neighbour-dog = bell, truck = bell, hockey fans = bell...no thanks!
I suppose I could see that happening with some dogs but Madeline much prefers to be inside with all her toys and her chair so while there was a brief period when she first figured it out where she wanted out every ten minutes (either ringing the bell or sitting by the door touching it with her paw), after a week or so, she got bored with it and now only sits, touches, rings when she genuinely wants out.
This does occur sometimes, however, if she remembers a toy she wants is outside.
Well, you can try to solidify the associations early in the potty training by just using the outdoors for peeing and keeping the playing inside. This probably works better with an eight week old puppy than a six month old, however.
Wally only rings his bell to go out, and he goes outside every time he rings it, so I'm ok with that, regardless of his motivations for wanting to go outside. ;-)
Original Post by kelrantymus:
Original Post by pgeorgian:
Original Post by lysistrata:
The bell training is really easy. Just hang it from the doorknob and hit it with his paw or his nose every time you take him out. It's just a series of mental connections he needs to make: outside = pee, bell = outside, pee = bell.
or bell = outside --> squirrel = bell, boredom = bell, skunk = bell, neighbour = bell, neighbour-dog = bell, truck = bell, hockey fans = bell...no thanks!
I suppose I could see that happening with some dogs but Madeline much prefers to be inside with all her toys and her chair so while there was a brief period when she first figured it out where she wanted out every ten minutes (either ringing the bell or sitting by the door touching it with her paw), after a week or so, she got bored with it and now only sits, touches, rings when she genuinely wants out.
This does occur sometimes, however, if she remembers a toy she wants is outside.
This is what I'm hoping will happen with Nibbler. He would MUCH rather be playing with his toys or sitting on our laps (ultimately he just wants to lay with us).
I think most normally socialized dogs have to be pretty darn bored before they'd prefer being outside by themselves to inside with you. ;-)
Again, he thinks he is to go on the pad, that is what he knows right now, you have to take the pad outside and have him go on it. He is going poo in the general area of the pad inside right now. My dogs did the same thing. The only way to not confuse him any more is to take the pad outside so he knows that is where you want him to go. Do not put a pad down inside again. Once he is going on the pad outside remove the pads and don't use them anymore.
Original Post by pgeorgian:
Original Post by lysistrata:
The bell training is really easy. Just hang it from the doorknob and hit it with his paw or his nose every time you take him out. It's just a series of mental connections he needs to make: outside = pee, bell = outside, pee = bell.
or bell = outside --> squirrel = bell, boredom = bell, skunk = bell, neighbour = bell, neighbour-dog = bell, truck = bell, hockey fans = bell...no thanks!
bell-stop reading and pet me, bell-patrol the yard, bell-sit in the sun for a while, bell-chase the neighbor's cat out of our yard, bell- yell at the joggers, bell...
yeah. No bell for me either. heh.
Original Post by kathygator:
Original Post by pgeorgian:
Original Post by lysistrata:
The bell training is really easy. Just hang it from the doorknob and hit it with his paw or his nose every time you take him out. It's just a series of mental connections he needs to make: outside = pee, bell = outside, pee = bell.
or bell = outside --> squirrel = bell, boredom = bell, skunk = bell, neighbour = bell, neighbour-dog = bell, truck = bell, hockey fans = bell...no thanks!
bell-stop reading and pet me, bell-patrol the yard, bell-sit in the sun for a while, bell-chase the neighbor's cat out of our yard, bell- yell at the joggers, bell...
yeah. No bell for me either. heh.
Well, that's just part of the security package that the dog offers, right? I mean, you really can't trust kitties not to do something super horrible and try to steal beds, toys, food and peoples. ;) I will admit, when the black kitty from next door is on the fence, there's a lot of bell ringing. But I have Maddie trained on "You scared it, good job!!!!" So then she gets happy she scared the kitty and goes back to laying down, usually. Usually is the key word, there.
Nibbler really pays no mind to cats outside, just his big sister (the crazy cat from hell that I love dearly). They'll chase each other around like crazy, though now that he's bigger than her he's learned that he can take her down. So he'll tackle her all the time.
For the most part, he could care less about being outside. There's too much inside that he loves. :)
I suck at training. I think that's the difference between us, KT. heh.
I report to a committee. Some of whom are appointed cats, some elected dogs, and the rest co-opted on a bi-annual basis. It's a quorum, so to speak...
Original Post by kathygator:
I suck at training. I think that's the difference between us, KT. heh.
I report to a committee. Some of whom are appointed cats, some elected dogs, and the rest co-opted on a bi-annual basis. It's a quorum, so to speak...
Madeline makes it really easy. She can learn a trick or command in twenty minutes.
My rat terrier? Not so much. What commands? Come? To you? Why? You have bacon? Nah, no thanks. Sit? Sure. On the couch. Lie down? Let me go find my pillow, I'll be back. Probably. Not.
The parrot? Forget it. I have managed to teach him to say like 5 things and that's it. And he still bites me. :)
I am a very good teacher at everything except not pulling on the leash. Oh, and not jumping on people. And not whining for attention. And staying out of the kitchen while I'm cooking. And not harassing the cat!
But for everything else, I rock. ;-)
I use that gentle leader thingie for Mo-Mo, and it keeps her from tugging at all. I can even convince her to walk at my heel like we know what we're doing.
Original Post by lysistrata:
I am a very good teacher at everything except not pulling on the leash. Oh, and not jumping on people. And not whining for attention. And staying out of the kitchen while I'm cooking. And not harassing the cat!
But for everything else, I rock. ;-)
I've come to the conclusion there is no stopping this. :)
