Help/advise about training a dog

[PRINCESS UP]

hi i hope you can help me. ive a 1 year old bitch dog witch we have had from 3 months.am having problems in a lot of areas with her.the first is toilet training.we first started with paper on floor so she could go there then we moved the paper and started to go outside witch all was going ok.still doing the odd things on floor.now over the last few months till now.see goes out first thing in morning for a walk and to do her thing but most time its just a wee.then go back home within 1/2 hours when my parnter get up she wees and poos on the floor.then after about 1.1/2 hours when my parnter get back home she done the same again on the floor.after that she has good walks and later at night she has more walks and does her thing.most time she still wees and poos in the middle of the night. as when we are with her she never does anything in the house its only when she on her own witch is not much at all. only for the odd few hours.so we cant understand why shes still doing this in the house.because before we go out she has a chance to do her thing.one of the other thing is she always sniffing the ground when we take her for walks and pulling on her lead. weve tryed stopping and starting walking again keeping the lead short so she walks at side of us but still no luck and now she started to jump on here back legs when she sees people in street and has a short lead shes doing this.any advise would be good but please silly comments only looking for good advise thanks

[Strix]

the first thing is that paper training has probably left traces of urine scent on the carpet which is attracting her back to the same place. You need to clean the area with biological washing powder or steam cleaning

 

Another thing is that dogs (including bitches) will scent mark their territory if they are left to look after a large area all on their own - so it's not unusual to have apparent 'house training' problems if given the run of the house when you're out. Crate training not only makes them feel safe when you're not there, but they're disinclined to soil their bed, so far less likely to use the crate to toilet

[PRINCESS UP]

thanks for that i will give you an example for last night i went for a walk about 5pm for 1/2 hour she had a wee then again about 8.30 for about the same time she did nothing then again at 11pm a little wee then again about 12.30am nothing got up this morning shes had 2 poos and a large wee.ive taken up the tiles we had on floor and give it a good clean with bleech a while a go.most of the time out last night all she did was sniff the ground and look around.i cant understand why if most the time she out side and wont do anything.i can understand about marking there territory but most people we no with dogs dont have this problem there dogs goto the door or they have a time when they are taken out.when would you say is the best time for feeding her.could this be why its at night and early morning thanks for you reply

[Sarah1985]

I completely agree with Strix about the crate. They really dont mess their own beds (mostly) and also it means any mess of damage shes causes in confind to the crate.

 

It could be that she doesnt think she's allowed to go when shes on a walk. I have a puppy who knows to poo outside when shes at home but ive noticed that now we're walking her, shes been holding them till we get home so she can go in our garden.

 

So Last night i kept her out till she did it and then gave her a huge jackpot of treats so she knows shes ok to do her business in the park. Have you tried waiting it out? Once shes been rewarded for going in the park she shouldnt have any problems going again next time your walking her.

[Sarah1985]

Are you walking her on grass? If shes used to pooing on grass at home she might find it easier to generalise if you walk her on grass on your walks.

[Strix]

Bleach doesn't have the correct enzymes for combatting urine scent for dogs, even though it smells like it works for humans

 

Dogs don't have the same concept of 'inside' and 'outside' that we do - they return to a place that smells right - hence a reluctance for a puppy to 'go' outside of its own garden to start with. Once that pup knows it can 'go' where other dogs have been, you're cooking on gas. For extreme problems with this, it's useful to collect some urine from your dog and deliberately lay it elsewhere to encourage toileting elsewhere

 

All dogs are different, with different hang ups, just like people! Don't measure your own dog by what anybody else's does!

[Moonbird]

Sorry I don't have much time to put up a long answer, but I am wondering if it might help to feed your dog earlier so that she will not need a poo so late, a very simplistic answer but will try to add more later.

[Strix]

The fact that she's pooing twice in rapid succession suggests it's stress related rather than 'needing' to go

[PRINCESS UP]

thanks for your replys i will feed her in morning and also i will give her treats when shes done her thing outside. as we are first time pet owners we want what is best for all of us.as we would never want to get rid of her as it would upset the kids.plus us too. i will try what ever it takes to get there with her and be patiant with it as its not her fault.thanks again to you all and the more advice you can give would be very helpfull to us.

[Lotti]

Some great advice so far You should get on well with that.

 

I would add re. the toileting, as Strix says it sounds more like stress than a housetraining problem but if she doesn't like to poo on a walk I'd definitely take into account what Sarah says - I've had the same trouble with pups who don't want to poo away from their garden. Even my 4 and a half year old would rather poo on grass and has to really be persuaded to poo on road walks!

 

Definitely go for the crate - it doesn't need to be huge, but big enough for her to stand up in and turn around in. No need for extra space for her toilet as you're trying to say this isn't ok. She's not a baby anymore who can't hold it, so just fill the crate with a bed.

 

Make sure you leave her with stuff to do - it sounds like she's anxious about being left so ensure she has things like stuffed kong toys (stuff them with different types of food/treats or smear the inside with peanut butter/sandwich spread or even fill with yoghurt and pop it in the freezer so it takes her a bit longer to get it out).

 

When you leave are you putting the radio on? Lots of people do this and you may find that if you are it's actually making things worse. The idea is that it makes it less quiet and still human voices but if you're putting it on just before you go out, it could build her anxiety levels as she knows that the radio goes on, you go out. Try putting it on a good while before you leave so it's not pre-empting you going.

Also, make sure you vary the way you get ready to leave, instead of shoes, coat, keys, leave try coat, keys, shoes, coat, shoes, keys, keys coat, shoes etc. it can help if the dog isn't building a pattern before you go.

 

Make sure you pop her in her crate with something to do a few minutes before you leave and don't make a big fuss of her before you go. When you return, don't make a big deal of it. Ensure you keep entries and exits as low key as possible so that it's not getting her wound up. Many people will say goodbye and kiss their dogs or cuddle them before they go and then get in and say 'hello baby! Did you miss me!' and give them a big cuddle - this only serves to remind the dog that it's so much better when you're there. Let her get engrossed in her kong, let her feel that it's no big deal that you're going because you're coming back.

 

Finally, do a few practice sessions a day, putting her in the crate, getting ready to go out, leaving the house and coming back in, leave it a couple of minutes, then let her out of the crate (with no big fuss!) so she's getting used to you leaving and coming back.

 

It should help to reduce her anxiety.

 

As for pulling and sniffing... well - that's a dog thing!

Takara loves to sniff, and as a result, I've taught her that if she walks nicely next to me, I'll tell her to 'go sniff!' and she gets to sniff. This way I don't get dragged towards piles of leaves/lampposts/walls etc. that she wants to sniff, she just looks at what she wants to sniff and then makes a point of walking nicely by my side and I'll either say 'leave' and reward with an alternative reward such as a treat or I'll say 'okay! go sniff!' and she gets to go sniff it.

 

However, sniffing is also a displacement behaviour. Be careful to ensure you don't find yourself getting frustrated (which is very easy to do!) or pulling on her lead. If you do this quite a bit on a walk, she may be doing the sniffing as a displacement behaviour in an effort to appease you (she doesn't realise it winds you up more) and will be pulling to get away from you whilst sniffing the ground to show you she's no threat. Ensure walks are kept relaxed and you use at worst, a neutral tone - although always a happy tone if she's doing it right. If you get frustrated she'll become anxious and pull more.

 

Good luck!