JackieG
Posted : 9/12/2013 6:12:33 AM
Ok, so lets review from a dog's point of view. Rudy, at less than three months of age is not completely housetrained. At his previous home, it was ok to poop and pee in the crate. He's adorable, by the way. :)
Now he's alone with his new family. There are different rules that he doesn't quite understand yet. After all, pooping and peeing are perfectly natural body functions so why is there so much upset and angst when he does what comes naturally? To a dog that's like getting in trouble for breathing or eating.
Stop punishing him for accidents. Completely stop. If he has an accident, say nothing. Put him in his crate and clean up the mess. I know it's hard not to feel angry and spiteful toward him. Wait, you said he's spiteful toward you. What possible reason would he have to feel spite? He has a new family who presumably wanted him and love him and enjoy his puppy antics. Why would he want to punish you in spite by having accidents? It makes no sense, so please banish that notion. It's not what's happening and you thinking he's spiteful is adding to the problem by affecting your attitude toward him.
I know puppies can be frustrating. Believe me, I know. lol Like children, they are learning and exploring and they do things we consider wrong. They chew the furniture and steal socks and all sorts of things. They need to be taught the boundaries in ways they can comprehend. Imagine punishing a young child who doesn't understand the language, doesn't know the rules and is in a new environment. It's simply not fair and believe me dogs do understand the difference between a fair owner and one who randomly (in the dog's mind) punishes behavior that is natural for a dog.
He's going into the office to poop and pee for a couple of reasons. He's trying to be discreet since the large humans get upset when he does his business inside, except when he does his business on a wee pad, which is very confusing and contradictory. Humans obviously have some weird issues and get upset at the sight of poop and pee at random incomprehensible times. From his perspective, he's got to go and going in front of a human has proven to be scary at times, so best to go somewhere out of sight and maybe avoid the punishment.
The scent of his previous accidents in the office are also attracting him back to that area to use as a bathroom. Use an enzymatic cleaner to remove all scent of his previous accidents.
Please, please remember that all these rules that humans have concerning dogs and living in the house are completely insane from a dog's point of view. It's a wonder dogs do so incredibly well learning how to get along with us considering how they would live without all the constraints of living with humans. Being such wonderfully social animals they do want to learn how to get along with us. Thousands of years of living with humans has created a species, the dog, that is very willing to adapt to our lifestyle if only given a chance.
Treat Rudy like the young pup that he is. You have a schedule for feeding and taking him out to eliminate. That's great! Now make sure when he goes outside he actually does his business. Puppies are notorious for going out and playing and chewing and exploring their world and they come back inside and all that activity has stimulated their bowels and they've got to go desperately now and they do. In the house.
Give him time outside to go. I don't play with a pup when I'm taking them outside to eliminate. Not until they learn that they're outside for a purpose. This can take weeks or even months, depending on how smart the human is. :) I just sit back and watch and wait. When the pup does his business, I praise lavishly and treat with something really yummy. If the pup doesn't do his business, after being given adequate time, I take them back inside and put them in their crate. Wait five minutes and take them back out.
I use a phrase with all my dogs to let them know it's time to do their business. You can use any short phrase you want. I use "do your business". I teach this initially by telling the pup, every single time they eliminate outside, GOOD business in a happy voice and toss a treat. This comes in handy when the weather is bad and you're standing outside waiting and waiting and waiting for your dog to do his business. I encourage a pup to use a particular area of the yard. Most dogs will eventually choose one spot but you might as well make it an area of your choice.
I'd tell you to take him out on a ten foot leash to potty but since he's been punished for going he may not go when you are in close proximity and actively watching him. You could try it though and see how it goes.
Housetraining isn't hard. What is hard is remembering that puppies have short attention spans and they don't understand the rules until we teach them. The more successful repetitions of a behavior you get, with a positive reinforcement from you, the quicker the dog will only offer the behavior that gets positively reinforced. That means the other behavior will fade away. Give it time. They don't stay puppies very long. He's still very young.
Ignore anyone who tells (brags) to you that their wonderful puppy was housetrained in five minutes and has never ever had an accident. So what? Raising a puppy isn't a competition. It's the time you form a bond of trust with your dog while you teach him how to get along in our world. Good luck and let us know how things are going.