House trained dog going toilet indoors

[AimeeDoug]

Hi,

 

I have a house trained dog who has just started going toilet indoors. Always in the same spot.  He has a dog door that allows him to go in and out as he pleases and we thought the rug he has been using might have a scent on it so had it steam cleaned yet he still did it.

 

Does anyone have any advise about why this has started all of a sudden?  He is not very old either (2 years)

[RuralPug]

Steam cleaning by itself won't remove the scent on the rug. You must use an enzyme cleaner - most professional carpet cleaners will apply enzyme cleaners if told that the dog is constantly using that spot.

If that hasn't happened you will have to apply an enzyme cleaner - most large pet stores stock them. Some common brands for clean up after inappropriate deposits are Urine Off, Nature's Miracle and Yours Drooly. These are also great for removing other biological stains such as blood and vomit.

There could be a hundred different reasons why it first started. Perhaps an upset tummy one day that caught him by surprise, perhaps a noice frightened him, heaps of reasons.

Once it happened, there are two main reasons for the return to that spot the first is odour, treat as above, the second is something called "substrate preference", which means that your dog prefers that surface for his poo and/or wee.
The best way to treat substrate preference is to change the habit by removing access to that substrate - in this case, take away the rug or place alfoil on top of it when you can't supervise him in that area.

You should also reinforce the preferred toileting area by removing or blotting inappropriate deposits with a tissue or paper towel before enzyme cleaning the spot and placing that tissue or paper towel outdoors on the preferred spot.

[westiemum]

Hope you don't mind me jumping in Aimeedog but I've the same problem. 

 

I have a new 4 year old westie here who's only been here ten days - and she is insisting on weeing inside.    Its now driving me up the wall and being in the middle of moving house is not helping.  I take her outside on the grass, she sniffs around for ages, occasionally does a wee outside which I reinforce her positively for but most times she just sniffs outside, then comes inside and next thing I know she's weed on the mat inside.  I'm taking her outside at least 5 or 6 times a day but she still wees inside.  I was going to roll up the mats she's been weeing on but I'm worried she'll then just wee on the carpet (this is a rental!).  I've been really diligent in trying to reinforce weeing outside.  

 

She's a lovely westie but this is really driving me insane.  I'm too busy to supervise her 24/7 - particularly since I was told she was house-trained.  Also had the same problem with a 4 year old female foster late last year - so maybe its this house?  But Andy, my older westie is genuinely perfect and never wees or poos inside.   Go figure.  Hoping the move next Tuesday to a new house might help with the problem.   

 

Really grateful for any advice anyone.  TIA!

Edited May 23, 2018 by westiemum

[westiemum]

I've just sprayed the wee spots on the mat with white vinegar  and lightly sprayed the rest of the mat - will see if that helps. 

Edited May 23, 2018 by westiemum

[mackiemad]

Westiemum are you wandering back and forth for a few minutes when taking her out to toilet? They're more likely to go when moving around ime. Might be worth taking her for a tiny walk halfway up the street and back and giving massive rewards whenever she goes as this reinforces the toileting outside and encourages it by the movement. 

 

To the op - does the dog hate the wet weather? Maybe he just objected to getting his toes wet one day and a new habit developed? Worth really properly cleaning the area with an enzymatic cleaner and then going back to basics of toilet training to reinforce the behaviour you want - make sure you reward the toileting outdoors of any kind. 

 

It's also worth thinking, because it's poop, maybe time the walks so they're about 12 hours after his meal? It'll be when he's about ready to go anyway and can assist in the going back to basics of toilet training. For instance my dog gets his dinner around 6pm and we are always out the door by 7am and within the first 5/10 minutes he always poops. 

[westiemum]

Thanks tons MM - I've just walked around with her in the garden and she weed on the grass outside!  WooHoo!  So I've made a big fuss of her and given her a little treat! 

 

Edited May 23, 2018 by westiemum

[jemappelle]

Give the dogs a cue word when they wee (and treats) - makes it all so much easier if they will wee on command.   

[Dogsfevr]

House trained can vary bigtime ,our dogs are house trained but we have a doggy door open 24/7 .

Another persons idea of house trained is a dog asking to go out.

If we place an older dog out we stress to anyone without a doggie door the effort of training they need to put in they don’t want a door .

 

 

As to the OP what sort of doggy door do you have ? 

I know plenty of dogs who have been put off using the door because it is a heavy door and has hit them or caught there leg .

We use butchers clear plastic .

If a hard door consider strapping it up to see if it happily wants to go in and out again 

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I've been told many of the surrendered dogs i got were "housetrained" - not sure in who's universe because none of them were.  I've housetrained them plus very elderly dogs who have never been in a house, kennel dogs and Italian Greyhounds - one of the trickiest breeds to housetrain and they are much slower than others.  I have to work full time so i really focus on Sat and Sun and the time before and after work, it's the best i can do.   

 

I close all doors, pick up all rugs etc before dog comes (I may have next one arriving on Monday).  I get an old ice cream container filled with a Napisan scoop and water.  I have plenty of white vinegar on hand (1 part vinegar to 3 parts water).  

 

Males are easier than females i find usually but terriers are the brightest generally.  I just assisted another foster carer with a female poodle x that wouldn't wee when taken outside last thing at night but would then go during the night as the carer doesn't provide access to get out.  This went on for weeks and the carer was really hacked off about it.  I suggested when she took her outside to give her a treat as eating/drinking are a precursor to weeing.  Feeding her the treat worked perfectly so no more toileting in the night.  She's gone to a new home where she has a dog door thankfully.

 

If the dog isn't freely going out the dog door - and most aren't, i spend 5-10 mins each morning and night training them to use. My current foster dog simply would not get it (an Italian) so i had to tie the door up and use shredded plastic over the gap and she was straight in and out, amazing after coming home to wee/poo filled house for 3 weeks, i'd had enough and for me that is saying something!

 

Happy to help but i think all the clues are in what i've written above.  Cleaning the mats and rugs with something like the Napisan rinse is crucial.  If you aren't removing the scent properly then it all smells like the dog's toilet to them.

 

[westiemum]

Thanks to all the DOL brains trust for all your help and advice - very grateful.   And apologies to the OP for the thread high-jack... but maybe it might help... 

 

An update.  Please don't laugh too loudly but I had a light bulb moment this morning (which might help someone else - and yes I can be a bit slow at times! LOL!).  Anyway, this new little  westie girl apart from a couple of weeks in the breeders house I think has been an outdoor dog - and there's no doggy door here.  So the poor thing has probably been as confused as hell about toiletting since she arrived last Sunday week.  

 

Anyway, it was a beautiful sunny autumn day here today - so I left the back sliding door open and bingo!  She's been wandering in and out every now and then for most of the day, and really enjoying following the suntraps around.  And yesterday we were visiting Leo the mini Schnauzer in the Adelaide Hills and she had a doggy door there and spent a lot of time outside with the boys.  And no accidents inside either in the Adelaide Hills or at home since Wednesday night - not even when I got busy this afternoon.  And the level of tension in the house has melted away.

 

We're moving to a new rental house next Tuesday so I think the key to this is easy outdoor access - so I've rung my favourite doggy door man - and I think what I'll do is put on a 'new' back door from gumtree and then install a doggy door - and then when I move out take my back door and doggy door with me and put the original door back on! 

 

Here she is.  Meet Mia, 4 years who now lives with Andy and me... 

 

Mia on the bed and Andy...

 

 

And Mia in a sun-trap on the lounge this afternoon...