Dog Question

[Zooey]

I have noticed a lot of you have dogs, so I thought I might ask for some advice....

We just got our dog Ali, on Sunday.  She is one year old and a Pekingese Mix.  She came from a woman who was moving and no longer wanted her.   So far, it has been going pretty well.  She has been confined to our kitchen and another small room when we are away and at night.  (We also have 3 cats)  As far as we can see, she has not gone to the bathroom in her 2 rooms when we are away or at night, but she does go on my carpet when she has access to the whole house.  She does it right in front of me, like it's nothing wrong.  
Does anyone know why she is doing this?  She seems to be for the most part house-trained.  And, what do I do to stop her?  I've read so many different things, I'm confused!!!

By the way, this is my first dog.  I've always had cats!

Thank you,
Zooey

[Miss-Teri]

I would start with taking her in and making sure she doesn't have a UTI (urinary tract infection).  If she's not going in those two rooms, it's doubtful she does, but it would be a good starting point.

After ruling that out, there are a couple of things you can do.  One would be to paper train her with "piddle pads" so that if she can't hold it long enough to get outside, she has a backup.  

The other is to go back to potty training just as if she's a puppy.  Only let her out of her crate/area if she's just "gone" outside successfully and only under your supervision.  If she doesn't go when you take her outside, put her back in her area.  Keep taking her out until she potties, then praise her.  Only then can she be let loose in the house.  

Also, she may just not know when to let you know she needs outside, or you may be missing her signals.  You can teach her to "speak" when she wants out, or hang a bell by the backdoor for her to ring.  Teach her on the bell by pushing her nose against it, then saying excitedly, "Outside? You want to go outside?  Good girl!"  and opening the door.  Eventually she'll get the picture that when she rings the bell she gets to go out.  

Good luck!

[SactoCampers]

I have noticed a lot of you have dogs, so I thought I might ask for some advice....
 
We just got our dog Ali, on Sunday. She is one year old and a Pekingese Mix. She came from a woman who was moving and no longer wanted her. So far, it has been going pretty well. She has been confined to our kitchen and another small room when we are away and at night. (We also have 3 cats) As far as we can see, she has not gone to the bathroom in her 2 rooms when we are away or at night, but she does go on my carpet when she has access to the whole house. She does it right in front of me, like it's nothing wrong.
Does anyone know why she is doing this? She seems to be for the most part house-trained. And, what do I do to stop her? I've read so many different things, I'm confused!!!
 
By the way, this is my first dog. I've always had cats!
 
Thank you,
Zooey

Zooey,
 
I ran into the same problem as you when my dog was a puppy some time ago.
 
She's probably doing it because she recognizes her smell and thinks that's her spot to do her thing. Have the carpet cleaned to remove her smell and then start over again with the house/potty-training. Crate-training can work by putting them in a spacious crate and then letting them out. Dogs don't want to go to the bathroom where they are sitting.

[MommaMia]

My advice is to start frm the beginning with crate training.  Not "give her a whole room or two training" but crate training.  Both you and your dog will be happy that you did in the long run!

[K-man]

Go to the pet store and by some "simple solution" it will remove the smell from the carpet.

Since the dog is one year old, I am sure she has the idea of going outside down.  What she needs is some reinforcement of "it is bad to go inside, and good to go outsitde."  If she goes inside, yell no, pick her up and take her outside.  When she goes (to the bathroom) outside, make sure you praise her everytime.  Also, make sure you let her out often.  And remember, praise, praise, praise. She'll get the idea pretty quickly.

[whitestar505]

Zooey,
 
     You might want to go to this web site to ask your questions.
http://forums.petlovers.com/vb/index.php?s=
 
 

I have noticed a lot of you have dogs, so I thought I might ask for some advice....
 
We just got our dog Ali, on Sunday. She is one year old and a Pekingese Mix. She came from a woman who was moving and no longer wanted her. So far, it has been going pretty well. She has been confined to our kitchen and another small room when we are away and at night. (We also have 3 cats) As far as we can see, she has not gone to the bathroom in her 2 rooms when we are away or at night, but she does go on my carpet when she has access to the whole house. She does it right in front of me, like it's nothing wrong.
Does anyone know why she is doing this? She seems to be for the most part house-trained. And, what do I do to stop her? I've read so many different things, I'm confused!!!
 
By the way, this is my first dog. I've always had cats!
 
Thank you,
Zooey

[Zooey]

Thanks for all of your help!

She has not gone to the bathroom inside since last week.  Maybe she just had to get used to her new surroundings.  She seems fine now.  She still does not have access to the whole house when we are not home, but that is mainly because of my cats.  She still likes to chase them, and I feel I should still supervise her for awhile.

Thanks, again....
Zooey

[Garrett]

We got a year old dog a couple of years ago and had the smae problem.  He would even come in from outside, walk straight to the living room and hike his leg.  I know this is against all the modern advice, but after fighting this a couple of months, I finally got frustrated and beat the tar out ouf him with a newspaper.  Never had another problem!  I know that would not work with another dog, but with this one you sometimes just plain have to get his attention. I have had to resort to those tactics three times whith him.  First  was for going #2 in the house, second for the hiking the leg thing and finally for coming when called.  He is actually a pretty good dog most of the time.

[Lablover]

Garrett,
     Please explain "beating the tar" out of your dog with a newspaper. You are right, this is not a popular method of house training an animal. There are certainly many more humane ways to solve this problem. It would seem that this method would make your dog afraid of you. Respect is one thing but fear is altogether different. I guess I just dont get beating anyone if you love them. For Zooey, using a crate for mans best friend solves a lot of issues. Crates are not used for punishment but provide a safe and clean space for our pets. They actually love them once they get used to them and choose to go there when they wish or feel threatened. Glad this problem has been solved.
     Lablover

[jonathan]

My advice is to start frm the beginning with crate training.  Not "give her a whole room or two training" but crate training.  Both you and your dog will be happy that you did in the long run!

I will second this opinion. Crate training is one of the best methods outside of reward and praise. When we brought our Jack Russell Terrier (Terrorist) puppy home, we had the same problems. Once they use the bathroom on the carpet, "their scent" stays in the carpet. Special chemicals must be used to remove it or they will keep coming back to "their area".

We went to Wal Mart and bought one of the largest (within reason) foldeable pet carriers they had. Then, we started a pretty rigid schedule of going outside for bathroom breaks. In other words, after a few days, he knew when it was time to go outside. He was not out of the pet carrier unless someone was watching him. Another rule we have is as soon as he exits the pet carrier, he goes directly outside.

It has been almost a year and a half since we brought him home. He rarely goes to the crate (or his room as we call it) and has free run of the house. The rigid bathroom schedule is all but gone and he will come to you when he needs to go outside.

Lastly, i believe in praising and rewarding your dog. In the beginning, we used treats when he went to the bathroom outside. Then, slowly stop rewarding with treats outside. Use "potti" words only and the dog will learn them. When he does good say "Good potti" and praise him... they love please!