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New here and need help with house training
We adopted a three-month-old parson russell terrier a little over 3 weeks ago. She's a great puppy and in most ways she's super smart and trainable, but she has made almost no progress with house training.
She clearly lacks the instinct that most dogs have not to go to the bathroom where they eat and sleep. She'll go in her crate (we haven't crated her for more than 15 minutes for this reason), in her bed, and once even in her food bowl. When we leave her alone we put her in the bathroom with her bed and some toys, and when we come home she'll have peed in her bed and be sleeping in her pee. I've heard this is usually a sign that the dog was kept in a small area as a baby; she was found as a stray so we don't know her history but it seems likely.
We take her out every 1-2 hours and watch for signs that she needs to go, but sometimes she won't make any signs, and often she'll pee outside and want to come back in, then poop as soon as we bring her in.
Has anyone house trained a puppy like this? Any advice?
Thanks!
Re: New here and need help with house training
Can you elaborate on what mistakes you think I'm making? I read through the FAQs and didn't notice anything different from what I'm doing, so maybe I just didn't explain things well.
I don't think the size of her crate is the problem since she's going in middle of her crate, rather than in the corner where she can avoid it. A trainer had suggested bell training but I haven't tried it yet; thanks for the reminder.
The bathroom is way too big a space to expect her not to go in, which is why I'm wondering if the crate is small enough to teach her. I'd also make sure she is on a feeding schedule so you know when she poops, so you can walk her around outside until she does at the right time.
I don't expect her not to go at all in the bathroom; it's laying in her pee that I think is the issue. Do you think I should try leaving her in her crate even if she pees or poops in it? I'm not being snarky; that's a genuine question.
We have her on a consistent feeding schedule (3x/day) but she still doesn't go consistently; sometimes she will poop 4 times before her second meal and sometimes only 3 times all day. I'm not really sure if there's a way to make her go more consistently.
How large is her crate? You want it to be just big enough for her to be able to stand up and turn around. I'd stop putting her in the bathroom when you leave and start crating her while you are gone. Letting her run around free and pee in the bathroom is not teaching her anything and is making potty-training harder.
What kind of food are you feeding her? My dogs all poop maybe twice a day. If she's pooping 4+ times a day, maybe something in the food is not agreeing with her.
It can take awhile to get used to the specific bathroom quirks of a specific dog. What we did with our puppy mill foster was to keep a calendar every day of what time he had an accident, when he ate, etc to help us see some patterns. We also paid attention to where in the yard he liked to go when he used the bathroom. For example, some dogs don't like to poop while on leash.
Once he was adopted he picked up bell training in less than 24 hours. Crazy dog. I'd keep with it, pay attention to when and where she goes, and try to adjust to suit what she seems to prefer.
My first suggestion is to take her out more often. Every 1-2 hours doesn't seem to be cutting it. Take her out to the point of excessive frequency. The more often she actually goes outside and receives praise and treats for it, the fast she's going to start learning that that's the best place to go.
Ditto on tethering her to you when you're inside with her. You might not recognize the signals she gives yet for having to go, but you'll start to pick up on them if she's constantly with you. ANY sort of sniffing or even the shadow of a squat and you ::clap clap!!:: to get her attention and whisk her outside. If you have to be out there for several minutes before she does anything, so be it (thankfully it's spring and not the dead of winter!). A lot of dogs won't go immediately and require some walking around and stimulation to get things down there moving, so be patient outside.
As for the crating: put NOTHING in there with her. Yes, it seems mean, but she doesn't simply get the privilege of a bed and toys in her crate if she hasn't earned them. Plenty of ladies on her have dogs who can't have anything at all in their crates because they'll destroy them. It's likely your pup will be less inclined to soil her tiny space if there's nothing soft for the pee to seep into; there's a big difference between sleeping in a damp spot versus and outright puddle.
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Ditto all of this.
In addition to all the PPs' suggestions, has she been vet-checked recently? She's still a baby, so she's not going to be 100% housebroken overnight, but this many accidents would probably make me go to the vet to make sure there was nothing medically wrong with her.
Also, are you cleaning all of the accidents with an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle to make sure the pee/poo is completely broken down so she can't smell it?
Tethering is a great way to keep a close eye on her to watch for any signs that she might need to potty (sniffing around, circling, whatever she does before she potties). Have you acclimated her to wearing a collar? If not, I would have her wear one whenever it is safe for her to do so, and make sure it fits properly and isn't rubbing anywhere.