Dog Community

I am too old for puppy - help

Pam

Posted : 12/12/2006 9:41:44 AM

DH and I are 50. We were 40 when we had our last puppy and that was hard enough with 2 fulltime jobs. We have 2 fully trained adult dogs.

Problem - Lola is 8 1/2 months. We made good progress for a while but then it jsut seemed to go backwards with accidents everywhere. She was on a lot of antibotics so I can't be upset. I think she now smells the urine in the carpet even tho I use Natures Miracle and steam clean them.

She now refuses to pee outside.for the evening pee. I take her out at 8:30; 9:9:30 sometimes 10 and nothing. She decides to play in the mulch instead. I grab the mulch out of her mouth "NO MULCH" and "GO PEEPEE". Meanwhile Red has done his business and is finished. I've tried leaving Red inside and just having her outside...nothing. I've tried the cookie reward, but with that she jsut sat at my feet waiting for cookies so I quit that. Last nite at 6PM, after she had been out and did pee - then she goes poop in the LR. I took her right out,,,nothing. 2 hours later, she squats in front of me in the LR. I say "NO PEEPEE INSIDE -GO OUTSIDE" and take her out,,,of course nothing. SO of course in the middle of the nite she goes pee or poop in my walkin closet. I've been leaving a towel down to absorb the urine just in case.

I am so tired by 8:30 -9:00 but I do take her out - 10:00 is way too late for me (I work fulltime). She sleeps on our bed but is crated from 8-1 daily. Then MIL babysits from 1:00 til 6:00. I just can;t justify crating her all nite and then 5 more hours. We had her in the big bathroom during the day but she ate the drywall so we stopped that.

DH does take her out at 5:00 am if she wakes up.

BTW: she is spayed (7 months) and is healthy for the moment...

I have resigned myself to pull the carpets out when she is housebroke in a year or 2.

Pam

Posted : 12/12/2006 9:47:29 AM

PS - I have trained her to ring the bell in the bedroom. I jump up and take her downstairs, but I think she sees it as a way to go downstairs and look for food or hang out because she doesn't usually pee when I take her outside.

Firestorm

Posted : 12/12/2006 9:56:27 AM

I would get a crate and start crate training. She needs to learn that until she is trustworthy she needs to be crated at night. You should keep her tethered to you and take her out often. If you cannot crate then gate her off in the kitchen or someplace that is easy to clean. But the best advice I can give you is get a crate and keep her supervised all the time at home. No free run of house till she is potty trained.

forpaws

Posted : 12/12/2006 9:58:44 AM

Hollysmom, I think if you go back to potty training 101 and do crate her at night, it may help you and her to get her retrained quicker.

I had to do the same thing with my Skipper Doodle Bug because he reverted to soiling the house. I find if I crate him at night, and up at 5, he makes a bee line to go out and do his business with no playing or distractions.

That is the only thing I can offer. Hopefully someone else may have a better idea. I also think being crated for that little amount of time durring the day is not excessive in crating her at night. Just my opinion.

Erin B

Posted : 12/12/2006 11:12:52 AM

Crating the dog at night isn't cruel. If your dog likes the crate, then she'll sleep in there while you sleep in YOUR bed. She may not be a huge fan if hanging out in the crate while you go to work, but she will be fine, trust me. Plus, you'll spend less time on your hands and knees with an enzyme cleaner this way...

Pam

Posted : 12/12/2006 11:39:24 AM

Thanks, Guess I will start crating her at nite. It is a pain in the xxx to have her sleep on my pillow, as cute as she is. She is 40 lbs.

Pam

Posted : 12/12/2006 2:55:27 PM

Not that this has complete bearing but my pup has been thru so much in 4 month that we have her:.

4 months - infected tail (antiboitics)
6 months - demodex mange (ivermectin)
7 months - spayed, eye surgery, throat surgery, staph infection (antibotics)
8 months - kennel cough (antibiotics)

I really can't get upset that she has accidents. I've made sure she has drank enough fliuds. Yea, she's a purebred from a reputable breeder...

Firestorm

Posted : 12/12/2006 3:02:12 PM

Reputable breeder with a laundry list that long? Hmmm...

I don't what to say on that but...the two dogs I have owned we someone else's rejects....meaning they got the pup or dog and could no longer keep them. They were both purebred one with papers and one without and I have not had any extra vet visits for procedures or surgery. I guess that is pure luck at the moment.

I wish you the best with your pup!

dogslyfe

Posted : 12/12/2006 4:19:31 PM

Hollysmom, this is gonna stink, but.... I believe I'd start over from square one with housetraining... including supervision, etc. I wonder about her not going before bed... I wonder if something has scared her outside. Anyway, I'd start with squre one. Every time she goes in the walk-in closet it's re-inforcing her going in the house.

Edit to add - I would also crate at night to avoid accidents. If she whines to go out, take her out, no playing, then back straight to the crate. Good luck!!

Elizabeth

Posted : 12/12/2006 4:33:54 PM

I agree with everyone else, back to houstraining 101. What I would personally do in regards to her not going potty before bed is to give her one chance (and one chance only!) to go potty right before bedtime, then put her into a crate, and dont let her out until you decide to get up in the morning. If you start letting her wake you up to go in the middle of the night then she's going to get into the habit of doing it, so it's just better to start off right at the beginning to make her wait until morning.

Pam

Posted : 12/12/2006 5:36:15 PM

Believe it or not, all those issues are common bulldog issues except kennel cough. That was just the iceing on the cake! That is why they are 'high" maintenance.

I do think the chimes outside startled her, the cold she doesn't like, the leaves rattling on the ground, the far-away bark of a dog, and God forbid the rain tomorrow! She is an easily startled dog,,,I've never seen the likes before. Holly (our only dog) was a tough little girl but she listened, was smart, and peed on command from 8 weeks. This dog is very independent, stubborn, does not listen, perhaps has bonded more to Red our Golden male than us, perhaps thinks of me as a playmate not a leader (plays in mulch), gets her way with Red (he lets her obnoxiousness go unreprimanded).

But one nite, we sent her out with my SIL and she peed right away after she refused for me. So, does she see me as a playmate, not her leader?

On that line, I know I need to take her to obiendence class but after her near=pnuemonia bout with Kennel cough, I don't want her to be around other dogs until her immune system kicks in probably after 12 months..

DH will return from a trip on Thursday and thats when I'll start the crate at nite, so he can let her out at 5am.

jones

Posted : 12/12/2006 6:58:41 PM

I took her right out,,,nothing. 2 hours later, she squats in front of me in the LR. I say "NO PEEPEE INSIDE -GO OUTSIDE" and take her out,,,of course nothing.

I think the crux of your problem lies right there. After that time when you take her out and she doesn't go potty, I would not let her be free in the house, nor wait two hours. Crate her and take her out again in a half hour. There may be some confusion for her when you correct her for peeing in front of you in the house, and that's why she'll sneak off to the closet to go, or will go for your SIL but not for you.

Pam

Posted : 12/13/2006 9:21:14 AM

I found the distraction outside. It was a dead small bird that she was hiding behind a bush. I just assumed she was playing with mulch. SHe has had this dead bird for about 3 days.

Last nite I took her out at 8:30 PM. I found the bird and moved it. Then she went peepee on comand. I then tethered her for a while and when she acted like she was gonna pee in the house I took her out at 10:30PM. Nothing. So we came in and I crated her until 03:30 AM when I had to go pee myself. She was awake so I figured I'd take her out and she peed. Then she ate breakfast at 8AM and pooped and peed and is now back in the crate while I go to work.

I have noticed that she generally goes every 5 hours if given the chance.

We have a not dog friendly yard. The flat surface behind the house is totally bricked then slight drop to a terrace, then a very steep hill 30/40 degrees very steep hill, then a flat wooded area. It is impossible for me to walk down the hill except on a dry day. So I have to view the pooping from afar unless she goes on the 5 footx 100foot terrace. Prior to the new patio being built last March, there was grass and places to go pee. The patio was built because our rescue Golden had destroyed the grass and it was a muddy mess. His feet were always muddy. Now the mud problem is 90% gone.