Dog Training Question

[meanmachine13]

I just got a new dog (1 year old) from the humane society. He is a really well behaved dog and has bonded really well with our family and other dog.

However, when he has to go to the bathroom, he wont bark or let anyone know that he needs out (wont stand at the door, wont do anything). So unless someone is watching him constantly and putting him outside every few hours, he will pee/poop in the house. He will go wherever he is at the time, so its not even like he is 'marking his territory' or has a favourite spot in the house that he likes to go.

We believe that his old owners used to leave him outside and not allow him to bark, because he doesnt like being outside and never barks for any reason.

We have already tried taking him outside on a leash and giving him treats everytime he goes to the bathroom outside, but its not solving the problem. Does anyone have any other solutions to this?

[ken0042]

I split this from the "Quick Question" thread.

How often do you take your dog for walks? We've had our dog for about 4 months, and he knows the routine for his walks. More than anything, he knows what time of day he will get his longer walks. For example 5:30 am he knows it's a quick walk, but after work it's longer.

It seems to me that if he doesn't like being outside (I'm assuming alone), maybe he'd prefer some company and a change of scenery.

[Zevo]

How long have you had him? It sounds like you will have to treat him like a puppy. Unfortunately you will have to constantly watch him in the house for a few weeks and every time he starts to squat, give him a firm 'no' and usher him outside to do his business, followed by lavish praise.

Consistancy is the key. It's a tiring process as you will have to watch him like a hawk for a few weeks but it will be worth it. Our latest dog doesn't bark to go out either but she does stand at the door and will eventually jump at the door if we don't notice.

[hkstylez]

Whenever our dog desperately needs to go do her business, she just sits and smiles next to us indicating she needs to go out. We sometimes make it a game because we pretend like we don't see her and than she'll start scratching you.. haha.

Or we just wait the usual 2-3 hrs, ask her if she needs to go and she'll go.

[BOSSY]

We adopted a dog from a rescue society last summer and had the same problem... The first thing we did is had to make him understand that going in the house was bad... We would take him outside every couple hours constantly telling to "go pee" then make a big deal of it when he did and immediately let him inside. We also put a little bell on a string around the the back door and would go ring it it and say ring the bell before we let him out. Now he goes and rings it when he wants out ... We still have the odd accident when nobody here's the bell but he is doing pretty good. It's frustrating but stuck with it, it takes time and patience just remember he feels bad about it after you just have to get him to put two and two together...

[Old Yeller]

If you have a crate and the dog takes to it, this is one option. Dogs won't usually mess in their crates/den.

So if you're unable to watch him, he goes in the crate. Then as soon as you let him out of the crate put him on the leash and take him outside. If he does his business outside act like it's the best thing in the entire world and shower him in praise and treats.

You should also involve your other dog in house breaking. The new dog will probably pick up cues from the other dog a lot better than humans anyway.

Like Zevo said, whatever you do, remain consistent.

[Buzzard]

We are/(hopefully were) dealing with the same problem. I found this bit of info and found it pretty helpful.

Seems to be helping us so far.

http://www.dogforum.com/dog-training...ouse-he-14514/

[bagofpucks]

We had the exact same issue with our dog, who is also from the humane society, and found the bell method mentioned above to work very well. He knows that he goes outside at our back door, so it also helps that there are stairs there. Whenever we hear him clamor down the stairs we know he needs to go out.

I wonder if it has to do with them being a bit timid in their new surroundings. Our dog would never bark, but now that he is a bit more comfortable in the house he will bark a bit when people come to the door, but nothing serious. I'm sure it takes them a while to learn the "house" rules and even though I am very appreciative of the great work that humane societies do, I bet they pick up some bad habits during their stay. I know for our dog, he cannot be crated around a bunch of other dogs (at a groomer or dog sitter) or else he gets incredibly nervous and gets very sick.

What kind of dog did you end up getting? Good luck!

[meanmachine13]

That dog forum has tons of great suggestions. I will try them.

To answer some previous questions, we have had the dog for just over 1.5 months now. He goes for two walks a day, usually 30-60 minutes in length each.

We dont use crates, but he does have quite a few dog beds around the house. However, he has even pee'd on those.

Our other dog barks at the back door until someone lets her out. But the new dog wont bark. Its so strange. I want to be able to leave him alone at home for a few hours and not have to worry about him going to the bathroom inside while we are gone.

[bagofpucks]

I forgot to mention...we did have quite a house training "relapse" about 2 months ago. No matter what we seemed to do he was having an accident almost every day in the exact same spot. We made it so that he couldn't get to his spot anymore and that completely solved the problem. I actually don't think we've had even one accident since (knock on wood).