First i'll give the problem, then the backstory/details.
I can't get Laila to pee/poo on command. When i approach her as she is preparing to go, her ears fold back and she slinks inside. Since i can't get her to empty out at appropriate times, (ie before bed) we have accidents. These accidents have been increasing lately. I also find ninja poos about once every other week. From time to time she will pee on our bed, even when she has access to the designated area. Or she'll pee on dog blankets. These will happen in the blink of an eye, like if i am around a corner, left the room for less than a minute or even when i've just turned my back.
i'm beginning to suspect she was beaten for elimination by her past owners.
Laila is our rescue dog, she is very easily frightened. we do have her KIND OF house broken. the dogs spend most of the day with me in my studio that has a door opening to our balcony which has a large litter box. When she is in the studio, 95% of the time she will go in the box. When she is about to go i give the command 'hurry up', then the instant she is finished, i give her the YES (like a click) then i give her a treat. i do this all from where i sit at my desk.
I thought maybe i needed to reward her faster so i would walk to her with the treat. It scares her back into the room. so i thought i'd move to her in small increments every time, but usually the creak of my chair is enough to make her abort her mission.
If i stand by the door and give her the command 'outside', she will go outside, but once she is out there, she will not respond to 'hurry up'. If i say 'hurry up' from my spot at the desk, she comes to me. Maybe she equates hurry up with getting a treat and isn't relating the command to the action she's doing. Our other dog Louie gives great examples, usually she will pee 2 or three times seeking treats while i'm giving laila the hurry up command.
I have never seen her come from a different room and go to the box since i don't give her free reign very often. And i've never seen her leave a room to go there and pee because of course i am in a different room.
other information i think may play factors are:
we went on vacation 2 weeks ago for a week. we put them in a great kennel at an animal sanctuary. Since i got back i've taken the dogs off a crating schedule that had been routine for months before. maybe this explains the increased accidents.
also she will not go for walks. when we got her she was scared of most things, the front door being one of them. i have been gradually coaxing her out the door, further and further down the hallway. we're now working on the door to the stairwell. she will go for walks now if she is already outside (after a trip to the vet or kennel) and she loves it. before she would just shut down as soon as she saw a leash.
lastly she does not like small spaces, our balcony is small. i sat out there with her and closed the door intending to wait till she went. she went into shutdown mode and i spent the next hour convincing her it was okay to go outside and i wouldn't shut the door.
any thoughts?
I can't get Laila to pee/poo on command. When i approach her as she is preparing to go, her ears fold back and she slinks inside. Since i can't get her to empty out at appropriate times, (ie before bed) we have accidents. These accidents have been increasing lately. I also find ninja poos about once every other week. From time to time she will pee on our bed, even when she has access to the designated area. Or she'll pee on dog blankets. These will happen in the blink of an eye, like if i am around a corner, left the room for less than a minute or even when i've just turned my back.
i'm beginning to suspect she was beaten for elimination by her past owners.
Laila is our rescue dog, she is very easily frightened. we do have her KIND OF house broken. the dogs spend most of the day with me in my studio that has a door opening to our balcony which has a large litter box. When she is in the studio, 95% of the time she will go in the box. When she is about to go i give the command 'hurry up', then the instant she is finished, i give her the YES (like a click) then i give her a treat. i do this all from where i sit at my desk.
I thought maybe i needed to reward her faster so i would walk to her with the treat. It scares her back into the room. so i thought i'd move to her in small increments every time, but usually the creak of my chair is enough to make her abort her mission.
If i stand by the door and give her the command 'outside', she will go outside, but once she is out there, she will not respond to 'hurry up'. If i say 'hurry up' from my spot at the desk, she comes to me. Maybe she equates hurry up with getting a treat and isn't relating the command to the action she's doing. Our other dog Louie gives great examples, usually she will pee 2 or three times seeking treats while i'm giving laila the hurry up command.
I have never seen her come from a different room and go to the box since i don't give her free reign very often. And i've never seen her leave a room to go there and pee because of course i am in a different room.
other information i think may play factors are:
we went on vacation 2 weeks ago for a week. we put them in a great kennel at an animal sanctuary. Since i got back i've taken the dogs off a crating schedule that had been routine for months before. maybe this explains the increased accidents.
also she will not go for walks. when we got her she was scared of most things, the front door being one of them. i have been gradually coaxing her out the door, further and further down the hallway. we're now working on the door to the stairwell. she will go for walks now if she is already outside (after a trip to the vet or kennel) and she loves it. before she would just shut down as soon as she saw a leash.
lastly she does not like small spaces, our balcony is small. i sat out there with her and closed the door intending to wait till she went. she went into shutdown mode and i spent the next hour convincing her it was okay to go outside and i wouldn't shut the door.
any thoughts?