[Elvis09]

So my roommate posted a topic about this about two months ago, but we are still having difficulties...

Elvis will NOT stop peeing in the house. I feel like he knows he is supposed to go outside, because I can always tell when he needs/is about to go, and he usually goes and sits by the backdoor. Well lately he has been sneaking off to closets, around corners, even peeing on walls /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/pimp.gif where we can't see, without warning, and sometimes literally minutes after he's gone outside. The second he comes out of the closet or around the corner, he hangs his head and puts his tail between his legs because he knows he did something bad, but I just can't understand why he keeps doing it or why he isn't trying to get our attention to let him out.

I just don't really know how to discipline/teach this. He's 5 months now, and I know they have setbacks, but it's weird with him. It's been pretty bad lately too. Every dog I've ever owned and housetrained gets used to it and usually barks and scrapes at the door when they needed out. Elvis will just sit there, so half the time we don't know if he needs to go or if he just wants to go outside and play...

If yall have any suggestions, please help! This dog is driving us crazy, and carpet cleaner is getting expensive! Haha.

 

[conniew]

I know how you feel...Polly is about 18 months, and I just cleaned up 2 pee spots...
We have to keep all the doors shut and just watch her.

By the way, one of those little Bissel carpet cleaners are wonderful--we have the Green Machine, I think, and it heats the water and does a nice job. wish I would have had it sooner.....

I know, I'm not much help, but at least you know you're not the only one battling it....

 

[DaisysMom]

Daisy is gated to the family room, and even with that she has her accidents. She peed on her own bed tonight /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/pureevil.gif Elvis sounds like Daisy in that she gives no indication that she has to go out. She was pawing at me for a day or so, but now she's back to no notice at all. I just take her out every hour or so to try and prevent accidents. She'll be 5 months old Saturday, so I do feel your pain.

Originally Posted By: Taurus MomI know how you feel...Polly is about 18 months, and I just cleaned up 2 pee spots...

18 months! Oh gosh I hope Daisy gets it way before then. Hopefully Polly will get the idea soon.

 

[Brisen]

Likewise, I can't offer much advice, as I'm smack dab in the middle of housetraining Maggie right now (with little, to no success, I might add) but just wanted to reiterate, you're not in this alone!

 

[deb]

Interestingly, I have not had many difficulties with training Peanut. But, I can honestly say that I have been lucky with her as she wants to do everything that her big brother does. So she is basically learning by example.
She is alone for several hours through the day and I have a pad that I picked up at PetSmart. ( It's great because I can spot clean it and can be thrown into the washer when needed.) I recently went and bought second one as a backup. She uses it when she just can't wait. She's twelve weeks old, so I am pretty proud of her progress so far.
I know that I probably am not much help with this post on offering help, but the "big brother mentor" program seems to have worked for me.

 

[fauxpasta]

Has anyone scolded him for using the potty in the house? That is one of the factors that can cause the dog to go to the bathroom in an out of the way place; they can associate going to the bathroom with being punished instead of connecting it with going to the bathroom *inside* the house instead of outside. That's what happened with our girl dog Bones, who has suffered some inconsistent housetraining with me, my boyfriend, and our roommate being caught up with work, Rock Band, Warcraft, etc. for the first month she was here. We've been giving her a lot more attention over the last month in particular, and she has been a lot better about using the potty outside or, if we don't catch her in time, by the back door. And I have asked the boys not to discipline her with sternness in their voices and occasional swatting of the rear when they discover she's gone inside, punishment which had happened before and which clearly wasn't doing any good since she kept peeing and pooping indoors.

Additionally, Bones came from a place where she was allowed to poop and pee on the newspaper-covered floor pretty much wherever she wanted until she was 5 months old (that's when we got her and tried to start teaching her that going inside was not cool). She just turned 8 months old this weekend, and she's still working on that potty training. It may seem initially easier to get your dog to go on newspaper or puppy pads, but letting/taking the dog out, I think, is probably better for your sanity in the long run.

Edit: I wish Bones would have followed the example of her big brother mentor, Spock! However, she has been dominant over him since she got here, and it's been a real struggle to get her to pay attention to us, be more than passingly affectionate toward us, and obey some basic commands. I'm just glad she didn't undo anything I taught Spock! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sick.gif

 

[Elvis09]

Eve, I will admit we probably have not been the most patient "trainers" with Elvis. When we first got him, if he would pee in the living room right in front of all three of us watching tv or playing games or something, we would FREAK OUT and yell at him and send him outside. The more we did it the more confused he constantly seemed, and the worse we felt for scolding/disciplining him.

We learned that yelling at him really wasn't doing anything but scaring the pee right out of him, but sometimes it is hard to restrain from becoming frustrated, especially if he pees in the house right after we let him outside /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/exactly.gif. After all, there is a lot of testosterone in our house, haha.

I guess the consistent theme here is to stay on top of where he is and when he last used the restroom. I still don't really know how to approach letting him outside though, being he loves the outdoors so much; I think that may be another reason he pees inside, because he knows right after that we're gonna send him outside to try and get the rest out. Should I keep him on a leash when letting him out to pee? Would that make a difference?

Man, now that I think about it, I feel really guilty for yelling and disciplining him... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif poor puppy!

 

[Murphys Dad]

I don't know if you crate train Elvis, but you probably should. It's true, at first he'll be "caged" a lot, but it will reduce in time and will help him train his bladder to hold it for longer periods of time. Then, you take him directly from the crate outside to potty, praise like there's no tomorrow and only then back in - back to the crate (unless you are there to watch him for a few minutes of indoor play).

I'm sure it won't be before long that he will be better.

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

How old is Elvis? He is very young, isn't he? He needs to be watched every second. You can close off bedrooms or put up gates so that he is in an area with you. Or if you want to do the crate training. He is to go in the crate or pen if you cannot watch him. Chloe's Mommy above describes the crate training very well. Good luck, he is still a baby, but he will learn.

 

[MrsNix]

Kioko is my beagle and she will not crate train. She was a pet store puppy (for lack of a better way to put it) here in Okinawa, and that means she lived in a crate and learned that her crate was the only acceptable place to eliminate. The "den instinct" that people talk about with crate training (which means that the dog will not poop or pee in its "den") does not apply to my beagle, and it likely never will.

I cannot begin to tell you what a MESS that was for us until we figured out the problem. Three baths a day...cleaning the crate 6-7 times every 24 hours. It was an unholy disaster, and I broke down crying after the first four weeks--just sobbing in my bathroom because I couldn't take it anymore.

There are precious few resources for our particular problem because very few people will admit that some dogs just cannot crate train. For that reason, I had to research really hard and lean really heavily on the folks here and at my other beagle group for advice.

Now. I know that Elvis is not having this same problem, and I strongly recommend that you try crate training as has been suggested. However, when Elvis is NOT in his crate, you shouldn't let him have freedom in the house. Get a 4' lead and attach one end to your belt loop and the other end to Elvis' collar or harness. When he is "free" in the house, he must be tethered to you. I play WoW, too, and you can put a chair or cushion next to the PC desk for him to sit on with a chew toy (STILL attached to your belt loop) while you play /grin. Tell the raid leader to take breaks every hour so that you can take him out. The smokers in your guild will /kiss you. And anyway, it simply must be done.

What this accomplishes is twofold:

1.) It strongly reinforces your position over Elvis as the Alpha dog.

2.) It ensures that he has no opportunity to run and hide from you to urinate in the house, which has become a habit for him that you now need to break.

If you do this for two solid weeks with consistency...meaning EVERY time Elvis is out of the crate, he is tethered to you or being held on a leash, and meaning that he is NEVER during that two weeks out of your sight long enough to run hide and pee in a corner where you can't interrupt him...you will see HUGE improvement. I promise you.

If my dog, who had no issue with lying in her own waste because of 7 months of horrible living conditions (that I didn't realize until too late) could make strides in house training this way, then I KNOW you can help Elvis this way, as well.

I wish you luck.

P.S. Take a soda can and fill it with gravel or kitty litter or something that will make a loud racket when you shake it. Cover the opening with duct tape and keep the can near you on your desk or wherever. Make several of these cans if necessary and keep them throughout your apartment.

DO NOT yell at Elvis, ANYMORE. Tell your roommates the same. Instead, pick up one of the cans and shake it HARD whenever Elvis squats to pee inside so that you interrupt him and then say, firmly, "No Elvis!" and then go outside with him. If simply shaking the can doesn't work for getting his attention and interrupting him, then you can throw the can onto the floor NEAR him (not AT him...near him). My Kioko ignores the crap out of me when she wants to, but she NEVER ignores that evil devil can. The noise this produces will do the same thing that three men shouting, "NOOO!!!" simultaneously can accomplish without making Elvis fear retribution from you. He'll think the can is evil as all hell, but he will not fear YOU anymore. That's very important to help in breaking his habit of hiding from you to pee, as well.

 

[Zookeeper]

It's hard, I know. Duke is a year old now (today!) and he is finally potty trained. It took a lot of time, consistency and patience. I had to follow him around constantly and block him off from other rooms to keep him within eye shot. But I'm here to tell you that it CAN be done. Duke was probably 9-10 months old and we worked with him for 7 months, but it did finally pay off.

 

[Drewmangroup]

With Scout I had to watch her at all times. If she went out of view I would quickly go to where she was and bring her back to the main area. I couldn't sit on the couch because she wanted to be right on me. I couldn't even think about playing video games until she was asleep. And every 20-30 mins I took her outside to pee. She started get used to going out the same door after about 2 weeks. Soon she started going to the door, but not every time so I still kept on a strict pee schedule. So after about 4-5 weeks she was going to the door pretty good. But still she had to be watched. Around 6 months or so she got the hang of it and goes to the door every time. Now at 9 months I have a little more freedom to play video games when she is outside or tired. I can watch TV and play with her, but if I ignore her she will find something to chew (not her toys). Its a long process and you have to be very consistent. I wouldn't wait for the pee, I would have a schedule, every 30 minutes take him out. With 3 people you can rotate the responsibility. One day that switch will click.

 

[weed30]

I'd like to add that when you take him out of the crate, do not let his feet touch the floor. They are fast and he will take two or three steps, then pee. Carry him to the door, open it, then put him down so he can exit himself. Go out there with him and as mentioned, go crazy with praise when he pees. That helped me a lot with a previous dog.

 

[Vness]

Marco is almost 3 months and has a few accidents, but I keep an eye, I really think he gets it or understands when I say "no potty in the house, potty outside!" As soon as i say that he goes to the front door. or when I say "do u wanna go outside?" he'll do the same. As long as I say that before hand he won't do it. Yesterday though made me so mad, as soon as I put him in the crate he pees! He doesn't poop in the crate but i find a spot when i come take him out at lunch, so I have to keep on top of that or reduce his space (but I feel so bad doing that!)I guess just keep consistant and praise him when he does go outside.