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House Trainng Regression... Please Help!!!!

2K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  tines28 
#1 ·
Our Doberman, Rose, will be 4 months old in a few days. Up until 2 weeks ago, she had never had a #2 accident on the floor inside. Now, all of a sudden, we're finding packages around the house. Somehow, we never catch her doing it! We are taking lots and lots of time to see that she goes outside and has plenty of time to do her business. Last night, I took her out. She made a sizeable deposit, then came in and 20 minutes later, made another one in my bedroom. It's not loose at all so it's not like she can't wait. Why is she doing this??????????????????
 
#2 ·
jolie said:
Our Doberman, Rose, will be 4 months old in a few days. Up until 2 weeks ago, she had never had a #2 accident on the floor inside. Now, all of a sudden, we're finding packages around the house. Somehow, we never catch her doing it! We are taking lots and lots of time to see that she goes outside and has plenty of time to do her business. Last night, I took her out. She made a sizeable deposit, then came in and 20 minutes later, made another one in my bedroom. It's not loose at all so it's not like she can't wait. Why is she doing this??????????????????
Because she can :)

If she is not trustworthy in the house yet, don't let her out of your site. Keep a leash on her indoors and when you can't do that, crate her till you can. 4 months is still a baby and it takes time, patience, and lots of simple solution - not to mentions zillions of paper towels.
 
#3 · (Edited)
velmadobe said:
Because she can :)

If she is not trustworthy in the house yet, don't let her out of your site.
Yep, there's only one thing to do in this situation. Get a newspaper, roll it up, and hit YOURSELF over the head with it, while saying "I did not watch my puppy, I did not watch my puppy".

You've given a 4 month old puppy way more freedom than it can handle. A puppy that wants to be in another room is a puppy up to no good. Would you allow a human toddler to cruise around the house, going anywhere they wanted to go without direct supervision?

Keep the puppy in your direct sight. If you're not in a position to oversee them at all times, put them outside or crate them until you can.
 
#4 ·
In addition to what velmadobe said, make sure you feed her at the same time every day, each and every day. No in between meal snacking either. And even if you catch her in the act, don't scold or punish her, unless you want her to start hiding her "packages" where you won't find them.

I know it's difficult but you have to treat her "mistakes" as _your_ mistakes. It sounds like you're doing everything right, just keep it up, be patient and persevere. She'll be back on track in no time!
 
#5 ·
Murreydobe said:
Yep, there's only one thing to do in this situation. Get a newspaper, roll it up, and hit YOURSELF over the head with it, while saying "I did not watch my puppy, I did not watch my puppy".

You've given a 4 month old puppy way more freedom than it can handle. A puppy that wants to be in another room is a puppy up to no good. Would you allow a human toddler to cruise around the house, going anywhere they wanted to go without direct supervision?

Keep the puppy in your direct sight. If you're not in a position to overlook them at all times, put them outside or crate them until you can.
ha ha ha - so true! I can tell a story about a toddler with no diaper..... we were traveling and my barely 1 year old had the runs with a nasty diaper rash to go with it. While my hubby was at a business dinner, I took the diaper off in the hotel room to let my daughters hiney air out........did not watch closely enough and the next thing I knew, she had wheeled her little walk behind toy through some gooey stuff and had tracked it ALL over the room. Oh MY GOD - what fun I had cleaning THAT up!! Could have used a rolled up newspaper for sure - BWHAHAHAHAH!! I can laugh now over 9 years later :)

A puppy is like a toddler but with no diaper available - luckily, they normally house break in a few months instead of the almost 3 years it took both of my kids.
 
#7 ·
morrmar said:
And even if you catch her in the act, don't scold or punish her, unless you want her to start hiding her "packages" where you won't find them.
I don't agree with this. I certainly wouldn't correct a puppy "after the fact", as they can't make the connection between what they did and what they're being corrected for.

But I think it's totally appropriate and necessary to correct a puppy if you catch it in the act..in fact, some puppies are so persistant you're NOT going to housebreak them until you do make it clear eliminating in the house is a really bad idea. And I've NEVER had a scenario where a puppy who'd been caught in the act and corrected for it started hiding anything..in virtually every case, they NEVER eliminated in the house again...the point was made.
 
#8 ·
Aw house breaking a young one. The memories I have..... We had a set back too after she was doing so well with it. From a trust factor, she had no trust with us anymore. She had to be supervised at all times she was out of her crate. If not supervised, she was crated. If there was an accident, we had to look back to see if she tried to give us a signal that she wanted to go out. All the times it was my fault because I missed the signs. So then on, when ever we got the sign, we took her out immediately.

Eventually, we got her back on a routine. And she was very consistent of how many times a day she went. I also found that a good workout/play session helped her get everything out. Its hard to running around crazy and hold poop at the same time.

At 4 months, I would still think she is a little young to be able to be reliable most of the time. At that age, I was doing the umbilical cord method with her all day. Hang in there. It gets better.
 
#9 ·
"until you do make it clear eliminating in the house is a really bad idea. And I've NEVER had a scenario where a puppy who'd been caught in the act and corrected for it started hiding anything..in virtually every case, they NEVER eliminated in the house again...the point was made."

Our experiences have been quite different. Dogma, our dach/jrt mutt was the most obstinate, difficult to housebreak dog I've ever heard of. I tried everything, and I mean everything, from profuse praise/steak treats when she did her business outside to scolding/busting her butt when we actually caught her in the act and everything in between... to no avail. Then we would find her "packages" under the bed, behind the couch, _in_ the bath tub, one time even in the cat box. And it was both urine and feces. She was just totally obstinate to housetraining. Whenever she had to eliminate, it didn't matter where she was, she'd just do there.

And I'm not talking puppy stage here, I'm talking about a 3-4 year old dog. She tried my patience like no other dog I've ever had. I made it abundantly, crystal clear that it was a _really_, _really_ bad idea, but it didn't matter to her. It only stopped after I just gave up and cleaned her mess without reaction. Even this last Christmas when our grandkids came to visit, she puddled because there was so much activity in our house and my wife couldn't pay her enough attention. I scolded her out of frustration but even I knew it wouldn't do any good. She is what she is and I love her just the same. However, I'll be the first to say that the intelligence and trainability of a Dachsund is so far removed from a Dobe that it's difficult to believe they're the same species.

Just like raising kids, everyone has their own ways of doing things. I would no more scold a four month old puppy caught in the act than I would a one year old human toddler for doing the same thing. But everyone does what works for them and if it works for you, more power to you.
 
#10 ·
I am just a little in front of you with my youngest at 4.5 months old but as Kratty said you need to try and read the signs with her, my little one will sniff round in a circular motion and her anus pushes out slightly(sorry about the description but it is what happens)that is the time to get her out then when she does her business out side then loads of praise.Keeping her in a crate when she cannot be supervised is probably the best thing i ever done they try their hardest not to soil in their crate as it is their little safe haven and dogs do not like to mess in their area.

p.s at four and a half months my little one Mischa is pretty well housetrained and gives us little trouble in the potty dept(loads of trouble in every other dept though)but she also has her three adult pack mates as role models,which i think helps.
Persevere she may be just a few weeks from being ok.
 
#11 ·
morrmar said:
Just like raising kids, everyone has their own ways of doing things. I would no more scold a four month old puppy caught in the act than I would a one year old human toddler for doing the same thing. But everyone does what works for them and if it works for you, more power to you.
I don't think that MurreyDobe is talking about punishing or harshly correcting a young pup caught in the act. When housetraining Chi, if we caught her in the act (and we always did because she was ALWAYS in my direct line of site unless she was in her crate) we would sternly tell her no, pick her up and rush her outside. I don't think it would have gone over too well if I had just ignored her and let her finish her business on the carpet. It was the same when we were potty training my daughter - after we started and she had the basic idea of going to the potty, if I caught her in the act, I would say something along the lines of "Yucky" and rush her to the pot.
I can sympathize with you and your situation with Dogma, Petri is almost 4 and we still struggle with him. He's fine if I get him out enough during the day but heaven forbid he has to "hold it" for more than a minute, the little bugger will still sneak off upstairs to do his business given the opportunity.
 
#12 · (Edited)
velmadobe said:
Because she can :)

If she is not trustworthy in the house yet, don't let her out of your site. Keep a leash on her indoors and when you can't do that, crate her till you can. 4 months is still a baby and it takes time, patience, and lots of simple solution - not to mentions zillions of paper towels.
Great answer! I totally agree. Don’t' get mad at your puppy either. She is a baby and cannot be expected to hold it. When she has to go, she has to go. She should not be punished for that, esp. after the fact. If you catch her going on your floor, you can say no and have her finish outside. Reward her when she pees outside. This has worked great for me. If you find an accident, just clean it up really good, that was your fault for not watching and giving too much freedom too soon.

My four month old hasn't had an accident in weeks and does her business outside right away, but I know beyond a doubt that doesn't mean she is trained (it just means I am trained <vbg>).
She is a baby and will ruin that streak if given the chance, but I just consider that a fact, it doesn't mean much except that she is still a baby and her body physically cannot hold it yet.

But I don't give her the opportunity to sneak off anywhere to do her business. When I can't watch her really close, she is crated or ex-penned.
When I can, all doors to all of the rooms are shut and the hall and other main areas are baby gated off, so she can't wander around and chew stuff/go to the bathroom. I have learned what time she needs to go (varies with how much water she drinks, the same time with poop) and I have learned to read her signals that mean she is going to go soon. I know all of the hard work I do will pay off quickly with such a smart and usually eager to learn breed.

I leashed one puppy to me on a long leash while he was roaming the house free. That way he couldn't run off and learn bad habits. That worked out fine too. He was house trained early and was able to roam loose in the house from an early age too. My big thing is to set them up to succeed and supervise them so they don't learn bad habits while they are puppies, too many accidents can become habit with some dogs.

Also it is a good idea to keep puppies on a feeding schedule, as someone else suggested. That makes it easy to know about when she might need to go.

If you keep up the training and watch her closely before you know it this stage will be long past and she will be totally reliable in your house. The puppy stage really does fly by...Good luck

And Tracy, the only thing that seems to work 100% for all the Chihuahuas in my life has been a doggie door =) One of my relatives litter box trained her Chi and that worked too.
 
#13 ·
I am sorry I have no advice on this subject. Never had to do it. :)

dobesanddragons said:
And Tracy, the only thing that seems to work 100% for all the Chihuahuas in my life has been a doggie door =) One of my relatives litter box trained her Chi and that worked too.
Petri is trained. He goes potty any where he wants. :)

Hey Tracy, I know you have been working really hard on getting him trained recently. How is that going?
 
#14 ·
"If you catch her going on your floor, you can say no and have her finish outside. Reward her when she pees outside. This has worked great for me. If you find an accident, just clean it up really good, that was your fault for not watching and giving too much freedom too soon."

That's exactly how I've done it. Say no but don't scold or berate them, even if you catch 'em in the act. They quickly understand that if they go in the house, they suddenly get picked up abruptly, taken outside and Mom or Dad ain't so happy. If they do it outside, they get a treat, lot's 'o love and encouragement and Mom or Dad are happy. It don't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, unless you're a Dogma.

"I have learned to read her signals that mean she is going to go soon. I know all of the hard work I do will pay off quickly with such a smart and usually eager to learn breed."

When they wake up, right after they eat and/or drink, and right after a strenuous play session, you get to know what comes next.
 
#15 ·
dobesanddragons said:
And Tracy, the only thing that seems to work 100% for all the Chihuahuas in my life has been a doggie door =) One of my relatives litter box trained her Chi and that worked too.
I tried the litter box thing very diligently for a few months at least. Do you know what he did? He hiked on the corner of the box, still peeing on the floor!
But like GM said, we've been really working hard with him the past few weeks and he's done very well - only accidents have been my fault.
I think I'm resigned to the fact that I have a perpetual puppy in him. His feeding times are regimented so I KNOW when he has to poo. He's kenneled while we're gone and at night (sometimes he's left out at night providing he's poo'd before bed and that has worked well). I can't just take him in the back yard on the flexi and say "go potty" and think he'll get it all out. I have to walk him around in the field or up and down the street for 5-10 min about 5 or 6 times a day. He won't potty if he has a 6ft lead attached to a collar but will if his flexi is attached to his harness. He really has trained me well, eh?
On the plus side, he's loosing a bit of weight with all the walks throughout the day. He really loves going outside and marking every single bush, blade of grass and light pole on the street :) I know allowing a male to mark isn't so good but hey, at least now, he's marking outside and not the corners of my comforter :) And yesterday, he actually started to run upstairs while I was getting my shoes on to take him out (where he sneaks off to poo) but only went 1/2 way up and then came back down and did a little dance by the door. So maybe, just maybe he's figuring out that he can tell me when it's time to go out :)
Ah, the things we do for our dogs :)
 
#16 ·
What has worked for me is strict regulation of food and water. After eatig and drinking, pick up left overs if any. Plenty of scheduled outside time. Plenty of unscheduled outside time. Crate when away. Four months is still young and requires consistent watching. Good luck!
 
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