At first, it was an inconvenience; stepping on a damp patch first thing in the morning. But he keeps going back to the same spot and peeing, despite your best efforts to clean the area.
The whole situation is very frustrating. Not least because you work hard at getting rid of the smell, but a friend told you that the cleaning fluid contains bleach and is heightening the urine smell to the dog.
If you can't punish the dog and shouldn't use household cleaners, then exactly how do you end this anti-social habit?
Therefore, it's crucial to develop a strategy that involves retraining the dog as to where the correct place to go to the toilet is, alongside a rigorous deodorization of the area. Even then, this requires considerable dedication and patience, if you are to win out in the end.
Tempting as it is, never punish the dog. This is liable to make matters worse, rather than better, and damage your relationship to boot.
Sage will only pee inside on the rug. She will not leave the porch to go potty and won’t go to the bathroom on walks. Before adopting her she was kept as a backyard dog and was never potty trained.
Hello Kimber, First, when you take pup potty outside, I would take pup on a 20-30 foot long leash so pup can wander a bit away from you in a safe car-free area to go. Pup may not be comfortable going in front of someone or on a leash due to their past. The long leash can make pup feel like they are off-leash nd have more privacy. When pup is going, tell pup "Go Potty" calmly, then when pup finishes, toss a couple of treats over to pup, large enough for pup to find on the ground, to help pup associate going potty around you with good things. Once pup is comfortable going potty that way and going more quickly when you take them outside, over several weeks, gradually coil up your leash, one foot at a time, until the leash is as short as a six foot leash and you can transition back to a normal length leash again. I would also spend some time simply sitting outside with pup calmly or training with treats or playing with pup outside in a calm area if pup will play, to help pup get used to the area outside, in case pup is refusing to go due to nervousness or distraction while outside in that new area. When you take pup potty and pup won't go within 15-20 minutes, bring pup back inside and crate pup for 1 hour, then take pup back outside to try again, repeat this every hour until pup finally goes potty outside. Once pup goes potty outside, you can give pup three hours of supervised freedom in the home, less if pup has an accident sooner than 3 hours, before starting the process of taking pup out and crating if they don't go, until they finally go potty again when you take them. If you reward pup for going potty, are consistent with not giving freedom unless pup's bladder is empty, and stick to a schedule most dogs will get to the point within a few days where they will go potty more quickly when you take them out, but that initial process might be a whole lot of waiting, crating, and taking pup potty until pup finally starts going potty outside. Remove ALL access to the carpet and rugs unless pup's bladder is empty right now in order to make progress. Check out the article I have linked below and the crate training method. This method was written for younger puppies so the times can be adjusted to what I have listed above, but you will find more details on taking pup potty, tips like using a potty encouraging spray, keeping pup slowly moving around, and when to anticipate pup needing to poop. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Surprise method for crate training if pup isn't used to the crate yet. https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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Hi! I have had my dog for over 6 years now and have never managed to get him completely house trained. I have tried everything you could think of to sort this problem out. He is finally mostly house trained to the point where he will go to the door and wait for me to open it to go outside, however... every so often he will just walk into the bathroom and pee on the mat in there even when he has access to the outside, or has just been outside. He was a nightmare to potty train as a puppy as he would pee on everything that was made of fabric, including my bed, couch, towels or clothes laying on the floor (all of which have been replaced now of course). I believe this was due to him being trained with puppy pads initially, which he very quickly learned instead of peeing on the floor, and now associates everything made of fabric with a pee place. It also didn't help that my tolerance after a year of this was basically zero and I resorted to getting angry with him when it happened as nothing had helped stop it and I was just out of patience and ideas. I know this would only have made the problem worse. Because it is so infrequent I have no idea how to stop it now. It will happen once a month or even once every 6 months but it seems to never completely stop. Whenever it does happen I pretend that I haven't noticed and take him to another room, then go and clean it up without him seeing. I always to this day after 6 years give him a treat every single time he pees outside but still it doesn't change. I have also tried giving extra good treats just for peeing that are not given at any other time. The accidents have definitely become less and less over the years but I just don't understand why sometimes he just does it. He also seems to do it if he gets ignored or the attention is on someone else, for example when someone comes over. A couple of years ago I had a friend over and Chester wasn't given that much attention during the evening (had been for a walk shortly before) but decided to pee on the rug and then poop in the closet (which also happens on very rare occasions). This seems to be the most prominent time that he will do something like this as if he is protesting not getting attention. I know and have read that dogs do not pee out of spite but there is definitely a connection between him getting less attention and peeing on rugs. It also happens when there is a storm outside as he is anxious and also refuses to go outside in the rain. He is a very lovely and smart dog. He can learn tricks and commands very quickly and is generally very well behaved. He knows not to bother us while we are eating, he does not jump up on the couch or bed unless commanded to do so and he always sits immediately without commanding when you grab the treat bad. It only took a week to get him to stop chewing things as a puppy and to only play with his toys and not other things in the house. This is why I just cannot understand why he has this problem with peeing, as everything else with him is easily trainable.
I really appreciate any advice and help you can give me.
Kind regards,
Camilla.
Hello Camilla, I would do two things. If pup isn't already really good at alerting you when he needs to go out, or if pup goes to the door but it sometimes takes you a while to realize he is waiting there, I would teach pup to ring a bell to go out, that's hung by the door pup usually goes to. https://wagwalking.com/training/ring-a-bell-to-go-out#:~:text=Start%20with%20your%20dog%20in,Repeat%2010%20times. Second, if the accidents are just happening on the rugs of the home, I would cover those rugs with something non-absorbent for a few months, so pup has no absorbent choices to choose over wanting to go outside. The plastic that's used to cover carpet when selling a house, saran wrap if it's just a small matt in the bathroom (this will slick to your feet and be more annoying for you thought), or replacing the rugs with non-absorbent mats, such as colorful rubber mats, like the links below. https://www.amazon.com/Verodley-Citrus-Kitchen-Microfiber-Non-Slip/dp/B07RLDPFNS/ref=asc_df_B07RLDPFNS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=507941004686&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4757953923200897143&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1015474&hvtargid=pla-1211815202076&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/Toland-Home-Garden-Decorative-Colorful/dp/B00QNPSWI8/ref=asc_df_B00QNPSWI8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216493578477&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17364658265017432289&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1015474&hvtargid=pla-350980030298&psc=1 https://corkhouse.com/products/recycled-rubber-mats?variant=37311965626533¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-10-30&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=CjwKCAjw_o-HBhAsEiwANqYhp4Sj1OwRlg_E3xnaGsUvT5LSqYgd2-m0tPM_FrO4LqWHSuBhpa97aBoC4sEQAvD_BwE https://www.katebackdrop.com/products/kate-4x5ft-wood-colored-computer-printed-rubber-floor-mat?currency=USD&variant=32112051410&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1?q=rubber+colorful+mat&prds=epd:18010486864176542958,prmr:3,eto:18010486864176542958_1,rto:1,pid:18010486864176542958,tpim:CKzQgreum4XTzAEQ9cji053Dov8wGMCU3g8iA1VTRCjgseKHBjC55-cD&utm_medium=tu_prop&utm_content=eid-lsjeuxoeqt&utm_campaign=7992249 https://www.wayfair.com/Corrigan-Studio%C2%AE--Feickert-Comfort-Heavy-Duty-Standing-2-Piece-AntiFatigue-Mat-Set-X112555290-L7355-K~W001444189.html?refid=FR49-W001444189 Essentially you want something that the urine would pool up on instead of absorb so it's not as pleasant for pup to pee on that. You want pup's only absorbent option to be outside for long enough for pup to get into the habit of only going outside. A final option is to teach pup to stay off of your mats and rugs completely. If you go this route you will have to think about how this will effect other behaviors, like pup being able to come over to you for affection while on the couch if you have a rug right there, or come into the bathroom if there isn't a good way in without stepping on the mat. If you do decide to go this route, I would use the scat mats used to stop counter surfing on the floor on top of the various mats, or edges of rugs that pup tends to pee on. There will be a mild static electricity type shock whenever pup touches that mat. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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