De Potty Trained?

[Cessena]

So we adopted Vlad in early June and until the beginning of July he did not have a single accident in the house. He generally went potty int he morning, late afternoon and before bed. He would get riled up and howl when he wanted to go potty and so I would take him out.

So last weekend I went home to visit family and left my boyfriend with the dog, where apparently at some point the boyfriend saw the dog acting like he might have to go out, and instead of taking him out, continued to take a nap. So of course the dog pooed in the house. (He did it again over the weekend too, in our bed.)

This past weekend he pooped in the house twice when I didn't get him outside fast enough. I was putting pants on for our walk and I walk into the living room to find a present in front of the door. Later he pooed on the bed. The most fun was last night and last night at 2am he decided he had to pee and just as I was starting to awake from slumber he started peeing on the floor.

I have interrupted him the two times I caught him going inside and taken him outside immediately. Is there anything else I should be doing? I don't know if he just thinks that it is okay to go in the house now, or if he thinks we aren't going to take him out?

Also, it seems like his signals are getting more subtle and I'm just a dumb human. Are there any easy ways I can teach him to signal us when he needs to go out? It is hard for me to tell if he's just being playful or if he needs to go.

We are going to take him to the vet to rule out any health issues this weekend. He also goes to doggy daycare a few days a week, could this be part of it? I think they probably let him go inside. So far this has only happened when we are home, but we always crate him when we leave.

 

[Charliesmommy]

Have you tried the bell on the doorknob trick? Hang a bell from the doorknob and every time you get ready to go out, get him to touch his nose to the bell before you open the door. He'll soon learn that ringing the bell gets the door open.

 

[Cessena]

I've heard of the bell on the doorknob thing, I will try it, but I have a feeling the kitties will be unable to resist the lure of things that both ring and dangle.

 

[dandandat]

We had a lot of trouble getting our Basset to learn outside not inside. One of the reasons was she had very subtle tells when she wanted to go, and if you where busy doing something else they where easy to miss. So after reading about the “bell on the doorknob trick” and deciding I don’t want a bell on my doorknob, I decided why not teach her to do something else. So what I did was teach her to scathe the door. I did it by having her on one side of the door and then closing it with me on the other side. Of course she wanted to play with me and so was despite. When she scratched the door it opened and we played. I did this very half hour or so for a couple of hours over a few days. And she eventually learned that if she wants to go out side she has to scratch the door. So that was half the battle now we knew when she wanted to go out, next we needed to make her want to go outside when she need to go to the bathroom. We did this simply by being patient, using a crate, and positive reinforcement.

We had a very difficult time though, and it seemed that sometime she would never learn. We read that Bassets can be difficult some times, and on top of that we got her when she was 6mths from a shelter where she had learned that her cage was good as place as any to go to the bath room. But she learned and is a good doggie now.

There where also time we thought she had learned, where she would go for some time with out making an accident, but then would again. We think it was because of us. We would be on top of her all the time to make sure we got her out side before she whet, and as accidents stopped happening (because we got good at catching her) we started to lighten the watching up, and then she would have an accident. So maybe that’s what’s happened to you.

 

[TopShelfPets]

I taught my dog, Jager to ring a set of bells on the door. I made them myself, a series of jinglebells on twine (so they move, and will ring when the dog pushes them with his nose, but don't dangle and entice the cat).

Personally, i'd much rather have bells hanging from the door than the door get destroyed because of the dog scratching it.

Here's how i trained Jager to ring the bells, you may need to tweak it a little for your Vlad, but it'll give you an idea:

1) have a leash on. Ring the bells, go outside, and give him a treat. Go back inside. Repeat about 5 times.

2) hold a treat in your hand near the bells. When he nudges your hand for the treat, ring the bells, open the door and take him outside, then give him the treat. Come inside. Do this about 5 times.

3) hold a treat in your hand near the bells. This time, only go out and give him the treat when HE makes the bells ring. Repeat.

If you need to, break it into several training sessions. Once you think he's caught on to a phase, move to the next one. The trick is to actually go outside EVERY time the bells ring. Ring the bells every time he gets to go outside, for a walk, for a ride, just to potty, whatever.

 

[dandandat]

Personally, i'd much rather have bells hanging from the door than the door get destroyed because of the dog scratching it.

Well she doesn’t mall the door, and she is not a cat. The door shows no singe of scratching.

The point however is that it need not be bells, that her cats can bother her with. She can imprivise other ways to get her dog to give a more notable tell.

 

[squirtsmom]

You may need to take the dog out more often and get the dog on a schedule. Also at night pick up the f ood and water around 7, to make it easier not to have accidents at night.

 

[TopShelfPets]

Well she doesn’t mall the door, and she is not a cat. The door shows no singe of scratching.

The point however is that it need not be bells, that her cats can bother her with. She can imprivise other ways to get her dog to give a more notable tell.

Maul is the word you are looking for, actually.

She can improvise in whatever way she wants. She can tape one of those Staples Easy buttons to the door and get the dog to press that if that's what she wants.

I explained why I taught the bells instead of the door. I have a cat too, but because of the way I made the bells, he isn't interested. I was just giving another option to pick from. No need to be defensive. Some dogs learn to scratch the door, and do leave marks. Some people rent, and can't have that.

Actually... I'm liking that Easy button idea...

 

[Cessena]

Could we hook the easy button up to some automatic dog walking robot so that I don't have to drag myself out of bed at 3am?


<sigh> Just wishful thinking.

 

[TopShelfPets]

Could we hook the easy button up to some automatic dog walking robot so that I don't have to drag myself out of bed at 3am?


<sigh> Just wishful thinking.

Have you ever seen wallace and gromit's "The Wrong Trousers"? Hehehe.

 

[dandandat]

Maul is the word you are looking for, actually.

She can improvise in whatever way she wants. She can tape one of those Staples Easy buttons to the door and get the dog to press that if that's what she wants.

I explained why I taught the bells instead of the door. I have a cat too, but because of the way I made the bells, he isn't interested. I was just giving another option to pick from. No need to be defensive. Some dogs learn to scratch the door, and do leave marks. Some people rent, and can't have that.

Actually... I'm liking that Easy button idea...

I’m sorry for my spelling mistakes, I am dyslexic and spelling in not one of my strong points. I would humble ask that the people of this message board see past my disability. If you don’t understand something I have write please ask me to clarify and I will do my best to do so.'

I also apligse for me defensives if it was not warranted. I have not had a good experience dealing with some of the members of this message board.

The Staples Easy buttons, though a joke, sounds like a novel idea. In fact it could be repainted to match the room and attached near the door with strong tap or that stuff that suppose to be easy to peal off the wall. It is ideal for nose pushing.

 

[Cessena]

Since I don't have an easy button handy, I might try a tap light. I have a couple of those laying around. It could even be on the floor so he could just step on it.

 

[2dogmom]

If there is a treat that your dog adores, make sure you always have some in your back pocket and when Vlad poos outside, reward him. Make sure he knows that taking a dump outside makes you the happiest owner in the world. It is a shame since he was trained, but now that he has pooed in the house several times it is a habit and so will be harder to break.

 

[dandandat]

Since I don't have an easy button handy, I might try a tap light. I have a couple of those laying around. It could even be on the floor so he could just step on it.

The only problem with that is that you wont hear it if you arent in eye shot.