Dog Community

Italian Greyhound - Potty Problems

Posted : 7/26/2006 7:09:12 AM

I bought an IG puppy from a very reputable breeder in May and since the beginning she has been very well mannered and easy to train. We chose to litterbox train where we used the scented pads and had two litterboxes. One in her extra large kennel and one upstairs in the master bedroom. Her training seemed be finished over a month ago with a litterbox success rate of over 95%.

A few days ago she aparently forgot altogether about her litter box and now urinates and defecates wherever she is. Last night, she peed in bed on my partner and this morning she peed on a pillow next to my head. Instead of going to the bathroom in the litterboxes she now lays and plays in them (they're both cleaned out completely 2x a day and fresh pads and paper shreds are put in, have been using the puppy pee here spray again as well).

I have no idea what could turn our puppy with perfect bathroom manners into a horrible messy monsters. I'm at wits end. Is this normal? Do we need to change to crate training? (not realisitic with our townhouse and poor weather).

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

rwbeagles

Posted : 7/26/2006 8:57:35 AM

arete, not sure what to tell you actually....this is a breed trait, being hard to housetrain. The below is from an IG website:

"1. What is there to know about housetraining an Italian Greyhound?
Italian Greyhounds generally require a longer length of time to housetrain than most other breeds. An IG owner should be prepared for the day in and day out rigors of patient, persistent and consistent housetraining. The minimum housetraining time is at least 2 ½ weeks and that is only if the IG was purchased from a responsible breeder. If the IG was acquired elsewhere then an owner should be prepared for at least 6 months of training and re-training. The #1 reason why Italian Greyhounds are given up to shelters and rescue groups is because of poor potty habits. Even though every Italian Greyhound is trainable...not everyone is prepared for the amount of hard work that may be required. With love, patience and consistent training every Italian Greyhound can become a well-mannered housedog with only the occasional "accident"."

I found several other references to them being difficult in this area. You might huddle with your breeder and ask their input as they likely know the breed well. Personally I'd crate the pup and see if she will indeed, go where she is or hold it. Whenever a dog is not trustworthy with potty habits the first thing to do is restrict their access to the home and watch them AT ALL TIMES. Meaning if you cannot...as when you are asleep....they are crated. Hope you can work this out....sounds like not so much fun!

rwbeagles

Posted : 7/26/2006 8:59:59 AM

Here is a link for you on breed specific housetraining:

[linkhttp://www.midwestigrescue.com/housetrain.html]http://www.midwestigrescue.com/housetrain.html[/link]

rwbeagles

Posted : 7/26/2006 9:03:42 AM

another site with mention of the potty habits of the breed, breeder's site...

"1. THIS BREED IS IMPOSSIBLE TO Potty Train in the traditional sense. Igs refuse to be uncomfortable and should not be expected to hold it more than three to four hours at a time during the day. Many people elect to paper train or litterbox train Igs. Nevertheless, your Ig WILL occasionally have accidents in your home!"

Melissa Camiel

Posted : 7/26/2006 9:05:28 AM

Maybe she is confused since you have more than one area for her to pee on. I use potty pads for my dog too, but its just in one spot in the basement.

Also, could she possibly have a UTI (urinary tract infection)? This is a fairly common problem for some dogs and I know it will really mess up their bathroom schedule if they have it. You may need to ask your vet about it.

Andrew Porter

Posted : 7/26/2006 12:08:37 PM

Thanks for the suggestion on the Urinary infection. She did have a pink spot in her urine a few days ago. I called my vet and she told me that is probably the issue, but I'm going in tomorrow.

Thank you again for all of the info.

Up until this point she was the easiest dog to potty train i've ever worked with!