FAQ!

Questions about house training problems are the most common requests I receive. Below is a cross sampling of several questions and my responses to each. The questions and answers have been edited to keep them brief and to protect the privacy of those who submitted the questions. If you have a house-training problem, you may find an answer here. If not, you can use the "Ask A Question" link to submit a question of your own.

Question:

I have a 6 month old beagle and black lab cross. My question is how do I make her stop having bowel movements in the Basement. I have her out for 5-10 minutes, however she will still do it. Not all the time but sometimes. I have left her alone for 4 hrs and no mess, other times I'll be at home and after putting her outside she will make the mess. Do you have any ideas?

Answer:

Hi,

If you haven't already done so, please read my article on house training...

House-training

... the basics of house-training are explained there. Additionally, in your specific case, I would suggest the following ...

It sounds as if the dog is in the basement and not supervised. If she is alone in the basement while you are away from home, that's fine. If she's alone in the basement when you're home, that's not so good. Until she's house-trained, you need to keep her where you can watch her. Also, if you are 'free-feeding' her, i.e., leaving her food down so she can eat whenever she likes, I would try feeding at regular times. What goes in at regular intervals, tends to come out at regular intervals, making it easier to predict when she should need to empty her bowel. Just put her food down, allow twenty minutes for her to eat, and then remove the food until her next scheduled feeding time.

If you have to leave home and are pretty sure she will need to go to the bathroom before long, you can use a couple of paper matches as a suppository by dampening them and inserting them part-way into her anus. Let her walk around her toilet area for a bit. If she doesn't have a bowel movement in two or three minutes, she doesn't have to go, so, just remove the matches, and bring her back in the house.

The single most important aspect of house-training is preventing "ALL" mistakes until she's reliable.

Question:

I have a 2 year old Yellow Lab. Great natured and loving dog, fairly obedient. He has been house trained since he was a pup. Just since December he has started urinating in the house. He started before the holidays but during the holidays we had 2 other dogs as visitors. He seemed fine about this and wanted to play with them. He knows he has done wrong when we see the spot and when we call him he runs away from us and slinks to the door and goes outside with his tail down. I clean up all spots with a doggy anti-odor cleaner. My question is why is he doing this all of a sudden and how can we get it to stop. He has been an indoor dog up to now and I would hate to change that.

Thank you

Answer:

Hi L.,

First I'm not sure if he's actually going to the bathroom indoors or is lifting his leg to mark territory. If he now prefers to use the house to eliminate rather than go outside ( if he lives, like I do, where the temperature has been hovering around -35c, who can blame him ), you will need to go through the house training procedure all over again.

Before you start,have your vet examine him to make sure there are no physical reasons for incontinence, such as bladder infection, etc., .

If the problem you are having is marking territory, it could be caused by a number of things. A new addition to the family, a new pet, even a new dog next door. Anything that makes him feel the need to emphasize his claim to the territory.

Be very careful not to punish or scold him 'after-the-fact'. He may appear to know he's done wrong, but all he really knows is that you are upset with him. If you don't catch him in the act, say nothing. Just clean up and resolve to catch him next time. Because of it's acidic content, vinegar is a good thing to clean up with. In order to catch him in the act, you may have to go through a period similar to the original house-training period, keeping him where you can watch him at all times, etc..

Sometimes, it seems as if we 'just don't get no respect' from our dogs. For me, lifting his leg in the house would be one of those times. Since this is a mature, medium sized dog and not a puppy or a toy breed, this is what I might do (I say 'might do' because if I could actually deal with the problem first hand, I might see a better way, but from what I understand, my attitude would be the following). First I'd just tell him not to do that. But, 'I would only tell him once'. Then I would proceed to show him.

Keep a throw-chain in your pocket at all times. A heavy choke collar, with the two rings tied together so it forms a loop, works well. Throw this at his rear end only, never at his head. Throw from behind the dog so he can not see you throw it. Throw it hard and fast, like you were pitching big-league baseball. Don't miss. The reason for the loop of chain is that the chain will open when thrown and help prevent misses, so don't lose the effect by missing deliberately. As you begin your delivery, say 'OUT' and let fly. The chain should make contact about a half second later, hopefully, while his leg is still in the air. Don't wait until he turns to look at you before you throw and don't let him see you recover the chain. You don't want to be associated with it at all. I would not put him outside when he does this. He doesn't need to go to the bathroom. He doesn't need to be house-trained in the normal sense of the word. He needs to learn not to mark territory in the house.

If you baseball skills are not the best, a handy corn-broom can work wonders in the hands of a determined lady. A fly swatter can come in handy. If caught with nothing within reach, the side of your boot, applied with a judicious amount of force to the part of his anatomy he normally sits on, can drive home the message that what he's doing is unacceptable. All corrections should 'ONLY' occur while his leg is still in the air.

I am not in favor of using excessive force in correcting dogs, but one or two corrections that make a distinct impression are better than 'niggling' at him for a month and then banishing him to the back yard. This is one of those few cases where you have my support for doing what you already feel like doing.

Question:

>>Hi. I have read your article about house training and my only question is my 7 wk old sleeps with me and does ok. A little restless at times but once I get up for him to go on the training pads he thinks its time to play so he won't go. >>

< Training pads are just going to mean more problems down the road. Bite the bullet and take him outside.

>> I just stand there looking at this pup go CRAZY! Then once I turn my back he goes right for the carpet. >>

< Don't turn your back.

>>I do use a steam clean with pet oder remover to clean it up. I just need to know what to do about that. He doesn't like his leash but I know I should just take him out. >>

< You've just answered this question yourself.

>>Oh, and the reason why he sleeps with me is because he WON'T sleep by himself. He will howl all night. He did for two nights. Trying to break down the baby gate I put up. I am just having a rough time this being my first pup I have ever owned and trained. >>

< He WILL sleep by himself if you don't give in to him. It will be easier to teach him now than later on. Put him in a crate by your bed. A wind-up alarm clock that ticks, tucked into a corner of the crate, may help to keep him company. Introduce him to the crate on the week-end when you can put him in for a few minutes with a treat and gradually increase the time he's left there.

>> I am reading all kinds of books but with me working full time I just know its going to take me longer to house train him. My cat did it in 2 days. What is up with that?? Any advice or comment will help me about now. For my dog Mickey >>

< I'm glad to see you are reading up on the subject. Knowledge is power.

Cats can be very easily trained to a litter box. Dogs are a little different.

House-training can normally be accomplished in three weeks, but a seven-week-old is not well enough developed to be truly house-trained. Actually, until he's a little older, it's more like you are training yourself to prevent mistakes. Some dogs are easier to train than others, but if you stay the course you will get there eventually.

A final thought. I hope this puppy is not alone all day while you are at work. That would be a pretty good recipe for disaster, and I would be trying to make arrangements for day-care. A puppy should not be left alone all day any more than a toddler should be left alone all day. Dogs are much more social than cats and do not do well when raised in isolation.

Question:

I have two toy poodles, ages 6 & 7. I have had the 6 year old since he was 6 weeks old and the other since he was about a year old. They are father and son. The have both been house-trained since they were puppies. I moved into a new house 5 months ago, and since then, they have been making messes on my floor every time that I leave them alone. I have had to start locking them in the bathroom whenever I leave, because they haven't messed in there yet. They are both doing it, but I do not know how to break them of this. It has become extremely frustrating. I do not like having to lock them in the bathroom. The person I bought my house from did not have any pets and all of the carpet was brand new. First I thought that they might be marking their territory. This is not the first move that they have been through since I have had them. Do you have any suggestion on what I can do to stop this behavior? Any advice would be extremely appreciated!

Answer:

Hi,

There are a couple of questions that come to mind regarding your problem:

Were the dogs accustomed to carpets in their previous home? If they are relieving themselves on the carpet and not in the bathroom, it may be because the carpet feels much like grass. Dogs will choose the surface which is the most similar to that which they are accustomed to. Dogs raised in concrete-surfaced runs will choose tile or hardwood. Dogs raised in a grassy compound will choose carpet. One dog I knew that had been bred in a puppy mill where the runs were raised off the ground and had wire floors, would actually stand on the cold air registers in the owners house to relieve itself. If the dogs were accustomed to carpeting, you could pretty much rule out this possibility.

Has there been any major changes to the dogs life style, other than the relocation. For example, if they have been used to having someone around all day and that person starts a new job or goes off to college, problem behavior can develop.

Separation anxiety is a definite possibility, although it would be more likely if one dog were alone. If you haven't already perhaps you could check out the article

Separation anxiety in dogs

on my website.

If none of the above is applicable to your situation, then you may be forced to go through the complete house-training bit again with both dogs. Or, you might be able to keep them off the carpet when you are gone, for instance, by using baby gates etc., to confine them to the kitchen. It's difficult for me to be more specific without knowing the physical layout of your home, etc.

Question:

My Fiance and i have rececntly bought a puppy, about ten weeks old. We figured out that he is already paper trained, (we got him from a animal adoption league)but he chose where he wanted to go potty. How do we teach him to go in one spot instead of the spot he chose to be his bathroom? When we put him in his room (we are using a spare room in the house against a cage) he goes on the paper just fine, but when we are home and he's out around the house, he always uses the spot he designated as the bathroom. How can we fix this?

thanks a bunch!

D.

Answer:

Hi D.,

If you've read my article on house training,

House-training

you will know that I'm not a big fan of paper-training. Much better to train a puppy to go outside right from the beginning. The above article pretty much covers the basics of house-training and about the only additional advice I could give in your case is...

If you must use paper training, perhaps you could cover the area he has decided to use as a bathroom with papers, or alternatively, barricade that area so that he cannot get to it. Watch him closely and when he has to go, take him to the papers in the spare room. Basically, you follow the steps in the above article, substituting the spare room for the great outdoors.

Question:

Thanks for your help, actually Max has been going outside for almost 2 weeks mow, but he often goes inside as well, not in his night crate and rarely in his day crate, but when I leave him free,

1. if I'm not looking, he goes.

He barks to come in from outside,

2. why won't he bark to go out?

He will sometimes go in the paper which is in front of the door, but then again he can also decide to go on the hall carpet, Will I every win this battle...

3. are male dogs that much harder to train?

4. should I leave him in his day crate and only let him out to go outside?

He's an adorable dog but I've been going at this for one month now and he's still so pig-headed. Is this normal?

Answer:

Hi K.,

Quick points in order:

!!! 1. The bigger the problem, the closer you must watch. The less you watch, the bigger the problem.

!!! 2. Barking to go out is a completely different situation from the dogs' point of view.

!!! 3. No. Some 'individual dogs' can be more difficult, but gender has nothing to do with it.

!!! 4. Definitely not. Leaving him in a crate much of the time will hamper the normal learning process, not only in the area of house-training, but other areas as well. How much would a child learn if he were kept in a crate most of the time?

House-training can be exasperating with some dogs, but I have never seen one that couldn't be trained. As for "asking to go out", I have recently had several queries about training for this and have posted a reply to one of them on my website. Hit the link below and check out the FAQ.

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Question:

I have a year old Doberman who is house trained and having problems. He has a doggy door and acess to his run at all times. During the day he is fine, but at night he has been pooping on the floor down stairs while we sleep. This is becoming very frustrating. I've left lights on for him thinking he was afraid of the dark. I clean the area so there is no scent there. Please help me with any training advise.

Answer:

Hi,

I doubt very much if your dog would be afraid of the dark, so leaving lights on likely won't help. He may not like to go out in inclement weather however. Whatever his reasons, Here's what I'd try.

First I would rule out any physical reasons such as intestinal infections etc., then I would begin as though he had never been house-trained.

Feeding a high quality, low bulk diet, will make it easier for him to control his bowel. Cheap rations that are mostly filler create far too much waste for a dog and should not be fed, at least until the behavior is corrected.

Feeding at a regular time each day and taking the feed bowl up after half an hour, will make it possible to adjust the time he will need to empty his bowel. For example, if you are feeding at supper time and he's making mistakes during the night try feeding in the morning. I would not leave the feed down all the time for now.

Make sure he goes to the bathroom just before bed time. I would go out with him to be sure until I had the problem solved.

Next, I would crate him at night for a while. It might even be possible to crate him and then, with the gate open or removed, shove the crate up against the doggy door so that if he leaves his bed he will find himself outside.

None of these measures need to be kept up indefinitely. They can be regarded as temporary training aids and disposed of when you are sure you have the problem solved. When you are ready to try him without the crate again a relapse means more training, i.e., every time he makes a mistake, it's back in the crate until he's been good three nights in a row and then test again.

Question:

My dog will no longer go to the bathroom outside anymore, she's 1 1/2 years old and she was perfectly house trained till about a 2 months ago when she started pooping in the house now when we put her outside she won't go off the deck down to the grass she'll pee in front of the door. We decided that we needed to take her out on a leash onto the grass but she refuses to go. what do we do? what's wrong with our dog?

Answer:

Hi,

First, I think you need to rule out any physical reasons for this behavior.. eyesight, intestinal, systemic.. I would get the vet to do a complete workup to be sure.

I have known certain dogs to have an occasional lapse in house-training, but never one that could not be corrected in a day or two. That makes me think something unusual is connected to the problem.

Questions that come to mind are...

Is there anything new in the area that could be causing her to be apprehensive of going out into the yard?

Has there been any major change in her lifestyle such as a relocation, or someone going off to college or starting a full time job?

Is it possible she could have been traumatized when she was out in the yard and doesn't want to go there anymore? Training/conditioning can be totally erased from a dogs mind, for example, by a traumatic experience such as a fire, or getting caught in an electrical storm.

If you can find no reason for the change in behavior and think it's just a lapse in house-training, you will need to go through the whole house-training routine again, beginning from scratch and teaching her where you want her to go.

Good luck with your training!
Neil