Help With Puppy Toileting

[DobieMum]

The background of this pup, she is a Tenterfield Terrier and she is a pet shop puppy, but I did not buy her. The people who bought her already had a Jack Russell and thought they would get on so well, he tried to kill her first meeting. I was looking for a small dog for my son (he's a tiny 8 year old) and heard about her and took her. She's been great with my son, we've done obedience with her at home which she's picked up pretty quick and we start obedience with her tonight. She's about 6 months and fitted in here perfectly (even putting up with my big dogs) other than her toileting habits. She will go anywhere, anytime and doesn't matter what surface, my back patio is a fantastic place, she seems to think.

Things I've tried, if i've caught her, I've rushed her to the place I want her to go and praised her for going there. I've made sure she was outside after playing, eating and drinking. I've even tried crating her, but she's just gone in there and slept with her back to it. When she goes inside (and this is both peeing and pooing) she seems to find somthing to do it on, which I am putting back to being in a pet shop.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, cause I've run out of them. I realise she's probably been puppy farmed and this is probably the cause, but I need solutions not flaming. Please.

Edited September 22, 2011 by Pauchel

[persephone]

Oh dear how disappointing. I think you need to treat her as a baby again.. take her out every 1/2 hr ... have her on a longish lead attached to you indoors ... also take her out on a long lead..to where you want her to go ..and stay there ;)

She sounds as if she is used to toileting on concrete etc .. probably brought up that way .

I;m sure others will be along to help .. best of luck with her.

[poodlefan]

How old was she when bought from the pet shop. If she was in one of the cages for several months (and it sounds possible) then you've really got your work cut out for you.

Keep on what with what your doing and reward like crazy for eliminating in the right spot. It will take time and patience to undo months of reinforcement for eliminating wherever she can.

[~Anne~]

Treat her like an 8 week old puppy. Take her outside to the toilet, on lead if need be, every time she wakes, eats, finishes playing and just every so often for the sake of it. The more times you get her to toilet in the right spot and praise her, the quicker she will catch on. Don't wait for her to want to go, you pre-empt her going and take her before she goes.

You need to apply the 3 P's

Patience

Persistence

Praise

The more persistent you are at this time and the longer you keep persisting, the better long term outcome.

If this means you have to stop what you are doing 20 times a day, so be it.

Clean the areas she has toileted thoroughly with an enzyme based cleaner and drop some lavender oil around the spot.

The way that she is toileting on 'things' may have nothing to do with her being a pet shop puppy. It may simply be previous training or her instinct. I can pick a puppy trained to paper or towels because they will always find a mat or paper on the floor to toilet on. never train a pup to paper, take them onto the grass and train them there.

Edited August 28, 2011 by ~Anne~

[The Spotted Devil]

When I was teaching my youngster not to toilet on the deck I used her daily ration of food to reward her every time she toileted in the correct spot. She got food for no other reason for a few days. That helped make the connection for her and she started toileting so often in the hope of a reward I thought she had a UTI. Also, a play pen that you can walk her into (not lift into) in the correct spot might also help if she doesn't like toileting on lead. Good luck!

Has she been given the all clear by a vet? Just in case it is a medical problem.

[DobieMum]

Thanks for your answers, I was thinking this, but hoping there might be something else as well that I haven't tried.

Has she been given the all clear by a vet? Just in case it is a medical problem. Yes we have, I've discussed it with him and he checked her for me and came back all clear.

Clean the areas she has toileted thoroughly with an enzyme based cleaner and drop some lavender oil around the spot. Thankyou, I didn't know about the lavender, they obviously aren't impressed by this?

How old was she when bought from the pet shop. No idea, when I was talking to the owners about taking her and they mentioned Pet Shop my OH steered the conversation away real quick, cause he saw the look on my face.

I'm going to get there in the end, cause she's well worth persisting with, she's been perfect with my son in all other areas and gets on well with my big guys. I really appreciate your help

[loveretrievers]

we bought a vac and as soon as we found an accident we cleaned it up, the best way I found to get it all up. Then used the right cleaners and we used lavender too. If you have carpet.

[tdierikx]

I've noticed that females can be right grotty little buggers as pups... I've fostered quite a few pups for rescue, and it's always the girls that are the messiest in the toileting regard... *sigh*

All good advice from the others above... but I thought I'd just let you know that I feel your pain, and you are not alone, OK? *grin*

T.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Here's my method that I've used to train dogs of all ages, inc my 14 yr old rescue in March, she'd never been in a house before:

HOUSETRAINING TIPS

Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it “do wees”) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days.

Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying “Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees” – give the dog treats every time.

First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command “do wees”. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes.

The dog’s aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house – say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded.

NB: Please note that the smell of urine must be properly removed for any housetraining to be successful. There are products on the market such as “Urine Off” but they are very expensive. A mix of white vinegar and water is a much cheaper alternative and should work for tiles and other surfaces although you should always take care with wood etc. For carpet/rugs, I use either a mixture of Napisan/water or bicarb of soda and water. I completely soak the stain using a dab on technique with a cloth. When it is very wet, I use an old towel to soak up the excess moisture. Again, be careful on any expensive carpet/rug, I have never had any problems but I cannot guarantee any method here.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Puppies can take quite a bit longer. I've had some mistreated dogs take longer too.

Edited August 29, 2011 by dogmad

[DobieMum]

Puppies can take quite a bit longer. I've had some mistreated dogs take longer too.

Thanks Tdierikx

Dogmad we're mostly tiles(other than the carpeted area, which we're going to get professionally cleaned shortly), so I can use that mix. Thanks

[DobieMum]

Double Post

Edited August 29, 2011 by Pauchel

[Christina]

Some dogs are just more difficult to train & take longer no matter what method you use but they generally get there eventually.

Maybe go back to step one but use nappies or bitches britches for a couple of days.

You will have to take her outside & remove the nappy very frequently but may help if they stay on her.

[~Anne~]

Thankyou, I didn't know about the lavender, they obviously aren't impressed by this?

They don't dislike it, but it seems to stop their desire to toilet in that area. I have had a couple of adult rescues that it hasn't worked with (males marking mainly), nothing is a miracle cure, but by and large it works for most of them.

Mind you, your house ends up smelling like Grandmas...but that's better than the smell of urine!

Edited August 29, 2011 by ~Anne~

[DobieMum]

It's amazing the things that work. I had 2 patio's, one on each side of the house. I got another puppy and to keep him safe I decided to kennel him, but the kennel needed to be put on the other patio, so that he could have both concrete and grass. To keep him sane, I swapped both patio's, put all the dog stuff on one patio and put the human tables and chairs on the other patio. Still scratching my head, but instant solution. All of the toileting issues have cleared up. I even put her in with the new male pup, in the kennel and she goes on the grass where she's supposed to. Sometimes a "Change" is as good as a holiday.

[luvsdogs]

Glad to hear you found a solution. Now we need pics of your 2 new pups.