How To Toilet Train A Dog

[Rascalmyshadow]

Last weekend we had brand new carpet put in the bedrooms so I have decided to crate two of the dogs during the night because I don't trust them not to have accidents.

Last night Astro woke me twice to be let out, bit of a nuisance but better than ruined carpet.

Claudia however never made a sound but when I let her out this morning she had peed and pooped in her bed in the crate. How do I teach her not to go in there?

I took them all out before bed and she went then. She is a 1.6kg chihuahua that was supposed to be a show dog so she was in kennels before we got her at 8 months old.

[persephone]

I would think she is stressed pretty badly ..staying awake ..and so not shutting down the system as normal. perhaps get her back to basics .. and get up during the night to toilet her .

Has she spent time in her crate before last night?

being in kennels is absolutely no guarantee that she was comfortable in there- or was taught housetraining. many dogs are worse when confined

[Rascalmyshadow]

We've had her for a year and I've had to get rid of a few dog beds because she does it even if she's not crated, she was quite happy to go in there and went straight to sleep.

During the day she will go outside but every morning I was waking to an accident in the loungeroom, we have already replaced two rugs (not cheap) this year.

I work from home and take them out multiple times through the day, even though the back door is usually open.

[melzawelza]

Is the crate the right size? It should be small enough that she can only stand up and turn around, not much more room or she can feel comfortable to just toilet and sleep elsewhere to avoid it.

[persephone]

It seems as if she was never housetrained .

perhaps start all over again ?

[Dogsfevr]

yes you need to retrain her ,it is her normal to go inside ,if she didn't make the effort to tell you whilst in the house she won't in a crate .

Also kennel dog doesn't equate to a dirty dog ,our kennel dogs will never soil in there kennel & from a boarding kennel point of view you have those dogs that are spotless & wait to be let out & those that will toilet anywhere anytime & make no effort because its there normal .

Does she have free access outside during the day or do you let her out ??

[Dory the Doted One]

I had a dog like this. I used to set my alarm earlier than my normal wake up time and take him out. Took a little while to suss out 5am was his sweet spot and woe betide if you were 5minutes late, because he would just go.

I would also take him out at any time I was up myself. And taking him out was the last duty before bed, no matter what time I went to bed. So pretty much puppy training methodology.

We still had the odd stuff ups, but mostly we had it worked out.

[Rascalmyshadow]

During the day the backdoor is mostly open but I will close it if the weather is really bad, then let them out every hour or two. On the cold evenings it is shut she will go and stand at it if she needs to go out, but if no one is in the loungeroom she will go on one of the dog beds or the rug if its down.

In such cold weather she won't even come for a walk I think that's what is also making things worse.

[Dogsfevr]

Maybe consider an indoor toilet for her ,whilst im not a real fan of these i do now many toy breeds do very well using this method & giving she goes on a bed or rug maybe this could be a solution .Obviously this wont solve the over night thing.

I will say friends have Chis & some of them are the hardest to toilet train & they will go where ever .

Some are indoor toilet trained & do great & others are spotless & go outside in all weather .

I find with the Chi's i have been around they just don't give the signs to want to go & don't make an effort to hang on but i would go back to square one & give it a try .

When she goes outside does she go on the grass ??

[Rascalmyshadow]

Thanks for the suggestions, my other boy that will go inside during the night is a chi x pom at least he won't go in his crate.

My house is very small and even if I am in the kitchen I can see the backdoor and I saw my girl in the past just walk over and pee on the dog bed without even going to the door yet if we are in sight she will let us know.

I have got large pee pads, I started using them in the lounge ill gradually move them toward the back door.

Still don't like the idea of her sleeping in a dirty bed, guess il be setting an alarm during the night, I thought I was over the toddler/baby stage :).

Has anyone used those inside fake grass doggy toilets.

And she does go on the grass outside, never on the decking or paving.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Rascalmyshadow

[persephone]

if she respkinds to teh texture of fabric - maybe put some of these down ? Washable - hold HEAPS of pee .. and don't look an obvious dog toilet when indoors ;)

[Maddy]

We've taught two of our dogs to toilet inside in a certain place and it works well. It was necessary because neither of those two would go out to toilet during bad weather (and we get plenty of that down here, sometimes lasting for a week at a time ) so it seemed more sensible to teach them a suitable place to go than be constantly cleaning up random puddles on rainy days. What we didn't want was for the dogs to start toileting inside just because it was easier for them so they have their toilet towels (to cue them that toileting there is currently okay) that go in their separate spots only on days when it's bad outside. If the towels aren't there, they don't toilet there. It took a bit of time to get it reliable but it's turned out to be very, very useful. Much easier to wash and dry a few thick towels than it is to properly wash and dry carpet.

Edit-

if she respkinds to teh texture of fabric - maybe put some of these down ? Washable - hold HEAPS of pee .. and don't look an obvious dog toilet when indoors ;)

These look like an excellent option. They would've come in very handy last week when we had all the storms.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Maddy

[Rascalmyshadow]

Persephone thank you for the link, I will order a couple tonight. Looks like they are the perfect solution.

Seems the smaller the dog the bigger issue toilet training is.

I hate not having the two in the bed with me, so much so that my husband and I left our mattress in the lounge room

for a week and a half so they could still sleep with us.

[Christina]

Is the crate the right size? It should be small enough that she can only stand up and turn around, not much more room or she can feel comfortable to just toilet and sleep elsewhere to avoid it.

If she can't or won't hold on this would be awful for her having to lie in it all night. Some would just do it & sit there in it distressed.

I have used the dog toilets I made with a piece of fake grass put on top of an empty plastic storage lid quite successfully for some of my toy dogs & puppies.

The other thing I have found with some that won't hold on all night is that they always do if they sleep in my bed. My old boy was bad for peeing on the floor before I got up but in my bed he sleeps all night & always holds on until I put him out.

[Rascalmyshadow]

Claudia has slept in bed with us since the day she arrived but both her and Astro are so tiny I don't notice them get up during the night. I don't usually crate my own dogs (only fosters) but after spending $3000 on carpet for three rooms I just can't afford to have it ruined.

Her crate is big enough to move away from any accidents and she has a heated bed in it.

[melzawelza]

Claudia has slept in bed with us since the day she arrived but both her and Astro are so tiny I don't notice them get up during the night. I don't usually crate my own dogs (only fosters) but after spending $3000 on carpet for three rooms I just can't afford to have it ruined.

Her crate is big enough to move away from any accidents and she has a heated bed in it.

There's your problem, and the reason I asked the question. If the crate is big enough for her to move away from accidents it is doing nothing to deter her from toileting in it. If it's the correct size she should hold on, as she won't want to sleep in her toileting. That's how crate training works. If it were me I'd get a correct sized crate and use that.. The likelihood of her continuing to toilet in it is very slim (typically only puppy farm and pet shop dogs raised in their own excrement will have no problems toileting and sleeping in it as they've lost their natural aversion).

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

She might just be one of those dogs who can't go through the night, Italian Greyhounds commonly need to get up during the night for some reason.

I've just taken two Italian Greyhounds (at separate times) aged 11 and 13 who had been living in kennels/runs for years so were used to toileting in their environment.

IGs are notoriously hard to housetrain, similar to Chihuahuas and can still refuse to go out, even in bad weather.

You have to be very vigilant, the 11 yr old was OK to go to a new home after 3 weeks, I'm still working on the 13 yr old after 3 weeks BUT I'm getting there.

I think apart from housetraining thoroughly - I can share my method with you, if you pm me your phone no I'm happy to have a chat (I've housetrained puppy farm dogs as well as dogs who've been kennelled for years) - you may need to change what you are feeding and when.

Most dogs don't need to poo during the night. If she's not doing it every night, look at what you fed her that evening - is it very commercial food (tinned etc) or raw food? That can go straight through them.

My friend feeds her dogs their main meal in the morning so that they eliminate during the day. They get a snack when she gets home but that doesn't stop some of them having a poop during the night but it does reduce the likelihood.

Walking dogs will generally bring on the need to poop - can you walk her before bedtime? Do you take her out last thing at night before you go to bed?

Some things seem obvious but not everyone thinks of them and this is why housetraining can prove challenging.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Her Majesty Dogmad

[Rascalmyshadow]

I have a smaller crate but I can't fit her heated bed in it, she gets very cold but will still take jumpers off. I can't lock her up and be worrying she's freezing all night.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I have a smaller crate but I can't fit her heated bed in it, she gets very cold but will still take jumpers off. I can't lock her up and be worrying she's freezing all night.

Why would you take her jumpers off - I'm confused, wearing jumpers has nothing to do with housetraining and you are in Victoria, she's tiny - it's not a good thing to do.

If you buy a cat sized crate, you can have a comfy bed in there and also a heated disk - they are like Frisbee size, you heat them in the microwave for 4 mins and they last for hours. You could put that within a blanket so she could sleep on that.

I've housetrained hundreds of dogs, literally and only some of them were Italian Greyhounds, I have plenty of experience with other dogs and this is why I'm offering help - if you'd like it.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Her Majesty Dogmad

[persephone]

I have a smaller crate but I can't fit her heated bed in it, she gets very cold but will still take jumpers off. I can't lock her up and be worrying she's freezing all night.

Why would you take her jumpers off - I'm confused, wearing jumpers has nothing to do with housetraining and you are in Victoria, she's tiny - it's not a good thing to do.

If you buy a cat sized crate, you can have a comfy bed in there and also a heated disk - they are like Frisbee size, you heat them in the microwave for 4 mins and they last for hours. You could put that within a blanket so she could sleep on that.

I've housetrained hundreds of dogs, literally and only some of them were Italian Greyhounds, I have plenty of experience with other dogs and this is why I'm offering help - if you'd like it.

I think the DOG takes her OWN jumpers off ;) she sounds like someone who can't won't switch off all night -