Sera_J
Posted : 4/12/2006 1:19:20 AM
Anoush is a smart dog, leave it to the BC to figure this out!
I'd recommend starting potty training all over again. No treats, she's got you basically trained in that regard! Or you can wean her off the treat, give her a treat ever 4 times (then every 5... then ever 6.... etc.) she does go outside to potty. What happened is when she figured she wasn't getting the treat anymore she figured "why bother?" smart dogs will do that. They'll also "fake" the stunt that got them the goodies. This is why weaning a dog off treats once they are reliably performing the stunt/trick/potty is an essential part of the training process. I personally don't train with treats, I only use praise. I think you may want to reconsider treats for this particular dog and this particular situation.
So, take her out first thing in the morning, praise her when she goes. Take her outside every hour or so. Make sure it's a POTTY run and not a fun thing. No playing. If she doesn't go after about 5 -10 take her in, but keep a VERY close eye on her. Some people tether the dog to them, some put theme in their crate, whatever is going to work so that you see what she's doing. Once she does go, since she's an older dog, wait another 2 hrs or so, and begin all over again. Until she is reliably going outside for several weeks again.... i'd watch her very closely.
You may also want to pick up some really good pet stain remover as the smell can attract her to use the house instead.
Goodluck, that's a smart pup you've got! [
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