Dog Community

So far, so .... well....

Posted : 9/25/2008 11:42:47 AM

Hello all, I'm new to this forum, but after reading several posts I decided I would post here and hopefully get some good response from you all!

I have a 4 month old female puggle (pug & beagle). She's a great dog... good with the kids, active and playful. We are currently crate training her which is mostly going well. She does well inside her crate which is loaded with her favorite toys and snack filled Kong. For the most part she holds her bladder and does well going potty outside – still on her leash.

The problem we are having is with her eliminating. Being an active dog, she seems to “forget” she has to go to the bathroom until the last minute. She has only gone #2 once when taken from her crate to the designated potty area on leash. Every other time has either been on a walk, or an accident in the backyard off leash. We utilize the ‘out to the area and back into the crate when no potty occurs’ method – taking her out again after roughly 10 to 15 minutes. She still will not eliminate after the third time or so. By then I figure she doesn’t have to go so I let her off her leash for some exercise.

Her favorite spot seems to be by the back door looking inside the house. Without warning or signs, she will be running around playing and then will suddenly squat and do her business. She has taken to going potty outside in the correct area, but getting her to eliminate in the same area is not going the same – she seems resistant to this.

Anyone have any ideas or ways we can get her to go on #2 on command in the correct area? This whole going by the back door and inside the house thing is too much!

Thanks for any help!!

glenmar

Posted : 9/25/2008 12:38:43 PM

To be very honest with you, I suspect you are expecting too much too soon. She is, for the most part, pooping OUTSIDE, and that in itself should be cause for celebration.

Exercise stimulates the bowels to move so it's not unusual for her to have a sudden urge on a walk or while playing. Please don't ever scold her for this. Rather, just be prepared with a bag to clean it up and move on. I would FIRST get her consistently pottying outside and then slowly start moving her piles to her "place" and encouraging her to go there.

At four months, she is still very much a baby and she isn't going to understand that it is NOT ok to eliminate OUTSIDE as opposed to a very specific place to eliminate. That will take much more time to come.

Chuffy

Posted : 9/25/2008 3:45:05 PM

Move her No2s to the desired area and leave them there till the next time she goes. Then dispose of the old one and move the new one.

Try giving her a cue for eliminating. Take her out and just wait for her to go. AS she goes, say your cue. Then step up and pop a tasty treat in her mouth and give her LOTS of praise. After several successful repetitions she will begin to associate the word with the action and you can eventually GIVE her the word when she is in the "right place". Our youngest dog will pee within about 3 seconds of being "told to". As a pup she would literally do it "on the spot", looking right at you the whole time, and then come dancing up for her treat. This made teaching her to go in a specific area embarassingly easy.

Once your pup is consistently going outside, you can fade out all food treats EXCEPT for when she goes in the right area, or close to it.

Glenda is right, getting her to potty in a specific place outside might take a little bit of time.... Do acknowledge though that shes doing GREAT to be toileting outdoors fairly consistently already... don't be too down on yourself or her by concentrating on what you haven't achieved yet! It will come with time.

grab01

Posted : 9/29/2008 1:22:07 AM

Aesop went through a brief phase like that at about that age. He'd frolick outside and not completely empty his bladder and then it apparently hit him in the midst of playing inside. I didn't correct it, although I'd interrupt him and take him out anyway. He was a really clean pup and outgrew it after just a few incidents.