Debbie, Go Potty!
Debbie has developed a bad habit and I'm not sure why. When I first got her in June of 2007 she adjusted to house training very quickly. She had one accident after I got her home and that's been all. But lately, she's developed some sort of affinity to going potty outside. She gets let outside on a regular basis, but seems to insist on going potty just inside the back door.
I've been trying to work with her actively lately to help her, but I don't seem to be succeeding very well. I've taken to kenneling Debbie during the day while I'm at work so she won't go in the house while I'm gone. She likes her kennel and goes in enthusiastically, so it's not being used as punishment. I leave water in the kennel for her so she will need to potty when I get home and I take her outside immediately when I get home - no waiting. I have to go outside with her otherwise she just stands on the deck at the back door. She doesn't bark, she just stands there. So I go out with her, and when she does potty I treat her. I know she's starting to understand she gets a treat when she potties outside because she leaps back to me immediately now for her treat.
Debbie will still often refuse to potty outside when I get home from work though. I can't figure out why, and I'm getting hungry for dinner, so we go back inside and right back in the kennel so she doesn't have a chance to potty in the house. I hate this because she's been in the kennel all day long and I am not a pet owner who believes in constantly caging or leaving their pet in the backyard. But if I don't put her in the kennel and I take my eyes off her for 30 seconds she's immediately squatting by the backdoor.
Tonight when I got home I spent over 30 minutes outside with her. I encourage her to potty and probably sound very silly chirping, "Go potty Debbie!" to any of my neighbors who hear me over the fence. I know she had to go because her water dish was empty, and I would soon be proven right. After more than 30 minutes we headed back inside and to the kennel. But as I let the dogs back inside I realized I'd left my cell phone on a chair and went back to get it. When I opened the door again, there was Debbie squatting. I told her, No! Stop! And took her back outside. But of course she was already done by then.
Maybe I should go back to the tactic I used when I was trying to get Duncan to come inside the house when I first got him. Take Debbie outside, ask her to go potty. If she doesn't with in 5 minutes, we go back inside and into the kennel. Take her out again about 15 minutes later for another 5 minutes and so on. When she does go potty we go back in and she has the run of the house again.
Any ideas anyone? I'm starting to get a little frustrated, especially since she didn't have this problem for the past year and has seemed to relapse now.
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4 Comments:
Ouch, crummy problem. What is the surface by the door where she goes? Carpet? Tile? Can you change the surface? Lay sheet of plastic over the carpet. If it's tile, lay a blanket/towel down like it should be a sleeping area. Get the urine odor remover stuff and scrub throughly so there is no scent of prior mistakes. As long as it smells like a place to go, it's a lure to go again. If it becomes a place to eat or sleep, she may stop using it as a place to go.
You will have to leash her to you until she goes so you can have her within grabbing distance. Just clip the leash to your waist then you can catch her as soon as she squats and get her outside. Continue treats and praise when she goes outside.
When Max was sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night for a poop, I leashed him to the bed for about 2 weeks so he could not do that, and started treating him for all #2 outside business. He has been great ever since. Good luck -- Donna in VA
Hey Julie,
Hmm. Doggy door... Little Debbie used Barbra's doggy door when she was living there. I'll definitely have to think about that one. Problem with that one is that I also have a cat who is only an indoor cat so I'd have to figure out how to keep her in while the dogs can go out.
Waylon's a sweetie! I remember him. The first suggestion I would make is to just let him get comfortable with his surroundings for about the first month. Don't push him into new experiences or anything, just give him time to get comfortable and confident in his new surroundings. If he's hand shy and really ducks when you reach to pet him, don't push him to accepting you petting him too much. Reach down to give him a stroke or two quietly once or twice a day and then back off. (That's probably the hardest part cause when you have a new baby you want to hug and cuddle and snuggle him as much as you can!)
After about a month (may be a little more or a little less depending on how sever his shy ness was - Duncan was about a month I'd say) start pushing him just a little bit. He won't grow unless you push him gently. Slowly start to introduce new experiences to him... take a walk aorund your neighhborhood if it's a quiet area where you won't encounter too many people/dogs (or go to the park during a time when it's not very busy) and then work up to going at times when he will encounter more people and dogs. Make the experiences as positive for him as you can for him. The more positive experiences that he has with you will give him more confidence in both himself and in you. You can give him treats during these new experience if he's treat driven to help make them "good" experiences. "Hmm. Doing something new = treats. This can't be that bad!" There's one post back in March of last year called Duncan the Incredible from after I'd been introducing new good experiences and Duncan's growth just started to explode.
As for him not taking treats from you. Part of that will come with time and gained trust. Additionally, you might try a few different ways to give him treats too. If he won't take them when you hold the treat between you thumb and finger try just holding it in the palm of your hand. You can even lay your hand on the ground so it seems like he's taking it from the ground.
Duncan Debbie and I plan to be at Petco this Saturday too! See you there!
Thanks for the suggestion Donna! The kitchen is carpet. I plan to pull it out and lay down lenolium. I'll definitely have to start leashing her to me when she hasn't gone potty outside!
I hope the problem with Debbie has resolved itself. I've noticed with my Tristan that everything is a process. He's always testing to see if this or that is still not ok to do.
Leashing in the house can help a number of problems but it is kind of a pain . . . albeit necessary sometimes.
Shirlee
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