[Elvis09]

Hey everyone I am new to the forum. My name is Garrett.. I'm a student at Texas A&M and I live with my 2 friends Carroll and Adam. My roommate Carroll got a beagle (his name is Elvis) in december and we have been having trouble with him peeing on the carpet within the last month.

He's 4 months old and every time Elvis seems bored or doesn't get attention he pees on the carpet. Specifically when we are all watching TV or playing video games and not giving Elvis attention he will pee in front of the entertainment center. We don't think it's marking because he doesn't do it when at least 1 person is giving him attention or he's playing with his toys. It seems like every time we all get occupied and he doesn't know what to do with himself he will pee in front of the TV.

Carroll will yell at him and put him outside when he pees but it doesn't seem to be helping at all.. especially because Elvis LOVES being outdoors and I don't really think it's much of a punishment for him. What can we do to make him stop peeing like this?

TIA for the help and nice to meet all of you!

 

[BeagleBabe]

WELCOME TO BW! Glad to have ya! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

If he's been doing it all along, then he hasn't been housebroken properly. You all weren't training him on puppy pads or newspapers in the house were you?

You need to take the time to train him that inside is not where he goes to the bathroom. If you catch him doing it give a sharp NO. Retraining him is going to take constant supervision while he's in the house, determination, consistency and time.

Dogs associate your reactions and behavior with what they are doing at the precise moments that they are doing it. So, you can't yell at him for something it did an hour ago. He'll just think that he shouldn't be doing whatever he's doing at the time. So if you catch your dog peeing where you don't want him too, he will understand NO at the moment he's doing it.

Positive reinforcement works very well for beagles so when you or your roomies see him going pee OUTSIDE pretend like you just won the lottery...praise him, pat him, rub him, whatever...to show him what an awesome thing he just did!

 

[Elvis09]

He isn't quite house trained yet, but we always catch him when he does it. Also (this has happened on many many occasions) he will go stand at the back door and we will let him out and he will go outside, use the bathroom, and run around for 5-10 minutes. Then we let him back inside and we will all be watching TV and he'll go pee on the carpet even though he just went outside.

We always catch him in the act. Even though we aren't giving him our full attention when we see him squat down and start peeing my roommate will yell NO at him very sternly and Elvis knows he is in trouble. We've also had occasions where he will use the restroom outside, come in and pee 10 minutes later, then pee again 30 minutes later. All this happens every time we are all busy and he just looks bored and lost.

It isn't just small spots (marking), he is going to the bathroom and we didn't train him on newspapers or pads inside the house. He's known from day 1 he should be outside when he needs to go to the bathroom. When he stands at the backdoor and we let him out and he uses the bathroom he gets praise and sometimes a treat to let him know he did well, but we can't figure out why he keeps going inside the house!

Also about yelling at him for something he did an hour ago, if we find a pee puddle that isn't fresh we just get mad at ourselves for not catching him but we never discipline him after he's already done it.

 

[Jennifer]

Are you cleaning up the accidents properly? They have a brilliant sense of smell as I'm sure you know and if he can still smell it on the carpet he will keep on going in the same place.

He is still young and if he's drunk loads then goes outside to pee, runs around for 15 minutes then comes back in it's likely that by that time he needs to go again.

I doubt he's doing it because he's bored, it's more likely that even though he's not long since been he needs to go again and you haven't realised because you are busy.

 

[conniew]

If they're going to have an accident, it does always seem to be in the same place(s).
how much water is he drinking?
It is hard to potty train some puppies...

 

[Drewmangroup]

He also might associate the attention with the peeing. Since you aren't paying attention to him, he is going to find a way to get that attention. The best way to fix this is to not ignore the puppy. At 4 months he still needs lots of love and attention. My Scout at 8 weeks does things to get my attention like chew on baseboards and stuff, when I am watching TV or something.

 

[beagletails]

Have you tried using a crate when you all are wanting to do something other than play with the puppy? They will usually train faster if a crate is used rather than letting the puppy have free run of the house when you can't be watching him constantly. Just a suggestion.

 

[Elvis09]

He has a crate but when he is hyper/excited or knows people are home, he barks to bloody hell and goes insane to get out of it. We live in a duplex and the walls are kind of thin so we can't just let him sit upstairs in his crate barking all day... plus it annoys us as well lol.

Also, we have a good deodorizer to clean the carpet with and he isn't always going in the same spot. Sometimes its on the tile by the front door, sometimes in the kitchen, but 60-70% of the time its on the carpet in front of the TV. I'm not sure that they're all accidents because he will go to the bathroom sometimes 2-3 times within 1 hour inside the house when we aren't playing with him. He isn't really spoiled and we are very stern with him trying to teach him right from wrong, etc. For example he knows not to go upstairs unless invited, not to go in anyone but Carroll's room, and he's stopped chewing cords, controllers, remotes, and pillows.

We might try crating him but we all have class during the day and work at nights, so he is in his crate a lot during the day and evenings sometimes and barks insanely when we are home!

 

[MrsNix]

I am having the same issue with my new girl, Kioko. She is older than Elvis, but we are dealing with the same issues. I cannot recommend crating enough. It keeps you sane and prevents the habit of peeing on the floor forming while you teach the dog to go outside. This is a LONG process for us. Kioko is older and has gone all her life with no training or guidance about where she eliminates, so we're up against a hard wall with her peeing everywhere.

The vital thing is that one of you be outside with Elvis EVERY time he pees or poops to give praise for going where he is supposed to go.

He probably has learned that if he's bored and not getting attention, all he has to do is pee on the floor in front of you and voila! instant gratification of his need for attention. Kioko started peeing in her crate every time she was put in it...immediately after we put her in there...because she learned that meant we would take her back out to clean the crate.

Stinker dog!

Anyway, my recommendation is that you get a little bitty carrier-style crate for Elvis and move it to the room you are all in whenever you need him to be in it. If he is in the room with you, he is far less likely to pitch a fit. Kioko will cry if there is no one in the room with her, as well. This is fairly normal for baby beagles. If the crate you have doesn't move easily, you can get a plastic carrier crate in the smallest size possible for Elvis. Mine cost less than $20, and we can haul her crate around the house to wherever we are gathered during times that she cannot be out in the house. Cleaning a crate is much easier than cleaning a floor puddle, and he will be less wont to pee in his crate than on the floor because he won't want to stand in it.

You have to micromanage him...and I mean MICRO manage him while he is so small.

Good luck. I'm in the beagle pee trenches right along with you.

-------------

Another option: I have been having a really hard time with Kioko, so I've had all kinds of suggestions from people here and on another beagle board.

If Elvis simply will NOT tolerate being crated, even in the same room with you, then you can try using piddle pads. Get a piddle pad and put it in one spot in the house that he can get to without having to be let out. that way, if you are not paying attention to him, he will have a place he's "allowed" to go inside and will learn to go there instead of on the floor. Once he is older and can control his bladder better, you can gradually move the piddle pad closer and closer to the door that you let him outside from, and then get rid of it altogether.

 

[Elvis09]

Wow, thanks MrsNix! That was an incredibly helpful post.. we'll try a couple of suggestions you posted. We will try to keep an eye on him better but we might try doing the crate suggestion or something, thanks a lot for your help! Those sound like great ideas!

 

[watorin]

Wellcome to beagleworld Garret.
I have a 14 weeks old beagle puppy and I'm tring to house train her too. I guess Elvis needs more exercies, games and of course more attention. He thinks when I pee on the carpet I got the attention. Try to make him tired. They have lots of energy and have to spend it. If he tired probably he want to sleep and you can watch tv or play games /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
Another thing I want to recommend, give him treats every time he pee right place not just praise.
Don't give up and be more patient mate.