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Old August 4th, 2010, 11:12 AM
debmorsbach debmorsbach is offline
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problem with my dog urinating and defecating in the house

I have a 6-month old Shih Zhu/Bichon mix that was rescued from a puppy mill. I have been trying for 6 weeks to get her to go outside with my other dog to do her business. She does and i praise her each time. Somehow, though she still continues to pee and poop in the house. I am at my wits end with her. I can tolerate the chewing and am really working hard on this problem but I cannot watch her 24 hours a day. Any suggestions - I do not want to get rid of her.
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Old August 4th, 2010, 11:22 AM
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Frenchy Frenchy is offline
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It can take longer with a puppy mill dog. Please keep patient , don't give up on her ! It took months for my puppy mill great dane to be housetrain.

Make sure she does her business outside by going with her every time , and stay outside until she does it ... then praise praise praise.

don't worry , although it does take time , it will happen !
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Old August 4th, 2010, 12:48 PM
Floppy Dog Floppy Dog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by debmorsbach View Post
I have a 6-month old Shih Zhu/Bichon mix that was rescued from a puppy mill.
Hats off to you for taking in a rescue!

Have you considered either the umbilical cord method or crate training as housetraining methods?

How's your dog's socialization and response to grooming? Those are the biggest issues we had with our rescued Sussex Spaniel. We managed to deal with the grooming, though it took my mom and me 2 years and lots of scratches (accidental, Amber was aiming for the brush, not us). Socialization improved too, but we could never leave her unsupervised with small children, ever, not even for 5 seconds.
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Old August 5th, 2010, 01:13 AM
debmorsbach debmorsbach is offline
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I am not sure what the umbilical cord method is. I do crate her when we leave the home as she needs to be supervised. She has been groomed once and did very well. No problems. She also interacts well with our other dog which is a Bichon. The potty training is the only issue we have with her.
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Old August 5th, 2010, 10:40 AM
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Marcha Marcha is offline
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Umbilical cord method is when you leash the dog to you (or the dog is leashed to any human, not necessarily to you personally) inside the house. That way you always have the dog near you and can catch her before or during an incorrect elimination. It also gives your dog a stronger feeling that you decide when it's time to do whatever (you're the leader) - you need to go to another room, the dog has to come along. You need to sit/stand/stop, the dog needs to stop and can't stray.

Do not leave your pup out of your sight until she's going outside all the time. If you can't have her with you, she's in the crate. Make sure she's got crate time even when you're home, so that she doesn't associate the crate with being alone, and barks/whines when she's in it when you're home. When you say it's crate time, it's crate time. If she's barking or whining in the crate, do *not* let her out until she's calm. Practice this during the day so that you're not tempted to cave in at night when you really need her to be quiet so that you can get your much needed sleep. Give your pup special treats in the crate to keep her mind busy a bit - mental exercise will help her if she's feeling lonely, and it will help tire her out so that she can sleep in it. Also, make sure she's properly tired-out before sticking her in her crate at first, so that she's ready to sleep and learns to associate her crate with sleep/down-time. Over time she'll simply lay down/relax when you put her in it.

Do you keep a strict schedule? As in, dog goes out for a pee 5-10 minutes after she wakes up from a nap, after she has a meal or had a drink, after she's played? The objective isn't to walk, but to take her out to a place where she can eliminate, and nothing else. No playtime walk, just stand there and wait until she's done her thing. Don't come in until she's eliminated, and have treats ready to give as soon as she's peed or pood. A big love fest, then inside again. So the only order of business is to do her business, not to sniff, walk or play.

We gave our dog commands for eliminating. This helped her potty training along too. Whenever she was going pee, we'd say "go pee". Whenever she'd start pushing to go poo, we'd say "get busy". As soon as she squatted to go pee, or arched her back to go poo. Then a treat and praise *after*, not during. Now, if we're out, we simply say "go pee" or "get busy" (we know her elimination schedule now that she's 14 months), and she'll go. It's super useful on road trips, where we open the door, tell her what to do, and she gets on with it and we don't have to traipse around the rest area waiting for her to get the urge.

So at first this might seem like a lot of work, but it's a good investment in the future for good habits. It might take a week, it might take a month, but it will be a lifetime of change.

Good luck, and feel free to vent here if it gets to you. But don't give up on your sweetie! (Oh, and feel free to post photos of your pack too!)
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Old August 5th, 2010, 11:29 AM
Floppy Dog Floppy Dog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by debmorsbach View Post
I am not sure what the umbilical cord method is.
Here's a link.

http://www.dogleashtrainingblog.com/...lical-training
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