Dog housebreaking help, tips? (long)

In My Humble Opinion
1

OK, let me outline the situation.

We adopted a dog last year and named him Foster. He was a neighborhood stray, and for the first few months we had him (in fact, up until just about a month ago) he escaped on a regular basis from any harness, collar, or other method we used to walk him or let him outside. He also is adept at sneaking out doors, ripping holes in screens- you get the picture. Anyway, because of that he usually ran away for a few hours a day and did his business outside, Og knows where. Yes, that makes me horrible and a bad human being. But the point is this: He is now fixed (big help with the escape thing- he doesn’t try to any more) and we’re working hard on the total housebreaking.

OK, so a few weeks ago I tried the “keep him in your sight at all times, take him out at regular intervals, he’ll go.” Not true. He’ll stand there, he’ll sniff the ground, he’ll dig a hole- but he won’t pee and poop. Well, eventually he’ll pee, but no poop. After several DAYS of that, I finally walked him, which was the magic trick- voila- poop! Thereafter I was happy that he would poop when I walked him, although this entails 3 walks a day. That’s not something I particularly mind, but my husband does (when I’m away) and I really want him trained to go in the yard, not on a walk. I want him to go in the yard, then get walked as a reward for going, see?

So over the last few weeks I’ve crate trained him at least, so he has a place to be during his re-training. Since yesterday I’ve been feeding and watering him, taking him out for long intervals for play and exercise (not walks), and crating him when we get back inside. No poop. (some pee) Last night I didn’t recognize the “OK, I’m not kidding, let me outta here I gotta poop!” dance, and he started to go in his crate. I quickly got him out and put him outside. No more poop. (he was either finished or just wasn’t going to finish out there). No poop overnight, where he slept with me in my room.

That brings us to today. So far twice I’ve had him out for over an hour each time on his doggie run. He’ll sniff about, he’ll dig a hole- no pee OR poop. But he’s drinking and eating. When I put him back in his crate, he’s comfortable and napping, no distress or anything.

So here are my thoughts: I’m just expecting him to go more often then he atually has to. When I walk him, he will go- but I don’t know if he had to go at the onset or if the walking just kind of brings it out in him. Maybe if left to his own devices, he’s just a once a day poop kind of dog.

Also, I am giving voice commands while he’s outside (the same ones I use when I walk him and he goes), to no avail.

Most of the housebreaking tips I see are for puppies, and go along the lines of “Put puppy outside and tell him to go. When he does, give him treats and love!!” OK, not helpful. This is a year and a half old dog that’s been running the neighborhood for a long time and simply has a mental block about going in the yard.

So my gameplan today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes to “break the dam”, is to let him out every few hours for a good while to play and such. If/when I catch him in the act of going, big praise and treat. If he doesn’t go, back to the crate until next time out. Lather, rinse, repeat. My thought is that time and biology will win out in the end, and he will go out there. (PS- it’s not that he has to “walk it out”, either- he’ll gladly poo in the kitchen if he gets the chance and isn’t walked)

Any other tips from someone who’s been there? And just to pre-empt any hijacks, please don’t post about how cruel crates are or any of that business- start a new thread if you want to debate that. I’m trying my best to teach a dog what to do and to learn how to teach him. That’s what this is about.

Thanks in advance to anyone who got through this and has any tips at all for me.

2

Just a couple general thoughts:

The only thing I’ll say about the crate: Make sure you are not using the crate as punishment. The doggy should associate the crate with positive things…ie put a toy, dog chew, blanket in there so he’ll be comfy. If he’s comfy and likes it, he won’t poop in it. Crate training does work if you are consistent and avoid using it to confine the dog when he’s done something bad.

Plus, reinforcing good behavior with praise and treats does work. When he does something right make sure he knows you are happy with him. Also, in my experience, taking something away from him when he’s in trouble only causes confusion, so avoid that as well.

Maybe this should go without saying, but be patient…it may take longer than you would like to get the dog trained. There’ll probably be relapses even when you think the training has sunk in, so be prepared for that as well.

Hope this helps…good luck!!

3

That is indeed the case- it is never, ever used as punishment. He’s been very positively trained and always goes in on his own, gladly. And it IS a happy, comfy enviornment, yet he still DID poo in it last night- I just didn’t recognize his urgent poop dance for what it was, so that’s my fault.

Yes, I’m crystal clear on this as well- he is positively reinforced for good behavior and is not yelled at or punished for doing the wrong thing.

Yes, I’m aware of that also. What I’m asking is if anyone has had this same experience with a dog (not a puppy) and if it sounds like what I’m doing is the right thing or if they have any tips or advice for me.

4

You seem to be doing things right. I have never encountered a dog who didn’t eventually… erm… go, as it were. The only experience I have with a grown dog that needed to be housebroken was with a “kennel dog” that was to become an “inside dog” after he was donated to our training program. We were a little ticked off, since we had been told he was raised “in a home” and it turned out he was 2 y.o. and totally confused by carpetting… needless to say, he flunked out, but he turned into a great therapy dog later on.

I did with him pretty much what you are doing with your dog. Recognize his cues when he needs “to go”, and make a fuss about going outside. You can try the “ignore you while you’re not doing what I want” game…

If this drives you up the curtain, you can try to approach it in a different way. We already know that he poops when he’s going on a walk. Maybe reversing the situation would work - take him for a walk, and the minute he poops, associate a word with it: “Good get busy! Good boy!” and lots of praise and rewards. If you can set him up for that a couple times a day, then you can try to transfer it to your yard: Leash up as if you’re going for a walk, go “walk” in the yard, “Get busy!”… etc…

Worth a shot, if the crate-to-yard approach fails…

Going to ask fellow trainers if they have ever come across this… I’ll report back!

5

OH! Something that might help things along: if he is free-feed, change that to regular feedings. If he’s a grazer, like my Pirate, it may take him a day or two to stop starving himself and actually eat a meal. I found, with Pi, that once a day was what he wanted…

If you control input, you control output a little better. A dog who eats a full meal usually will be more likely to… erm… go… 15 minutes or so after he eats :wink:

Poo. Wonderful poo!

6

Oh, the joy of poo!

I did do a word/praise association with him when he’s walked- a “go potty” command, followed by big good boys and pets and love when he went. So we’ve got that.

And I am going to do the twice a day feeding thing as well- he’s a grazer as are my other dogs (who could both stand to drop a few lbs) and that may indeed help predict poop times.

7

Do you know who owned him before you did? I’ve been thinking about this thread over the past few days, and it occured to me that if the previous owner did a bad job with training, your dog may be afraid to eliminate in front of you. Think about it: he may have gotten the impression that humans get mad when dogs pee-- he may have never made the connection about location. He may just think every time he squatted, he got in trouble, thus he doesn’t want to do it in front of you.

Do you have to go outside with him? Let him out and watch him from a window, or look pointedly away next time you’re outside with him. See if it makes a difference.

8

I think you hit the nail right on the head. He will eliminate in front of me, but he won’t take a “reward” for it- he wants to poop and BOLT outta there. He was stray before I adopted him- a drop off, by our best guess, and I think he’s been punished for pooping before.

We went back to the walk method for now to see if more positive reinforcement helps some- I’m teaching him “hurry up” to mean “go poop”, and I think over time he’ll learn the association.

Thanks for the post!