Housebreaking advice for a 3-year-old dog

Factual Questions
1

This is going to be long and rambling, as all my OP’s are. Grab a beverage and settle in, or run now while you have a chance.

I care for my elderly mother, who can’t get around like she used to. Housework, meals, errands, pills, doctor’s appointments - basically everything - I take care of. Mom loves animals, but the cats we get her tend to die young because she keeps letting them outside. After our neighbor shot our less-than-a-year-old cat last year, I said, “No more.”

My sister has a Maltese-Poodle mix we love, and after talking it over, we agreed that we’d get another Maltese-Poodle mix for Mom. SPECIFICALLY a Maltese-Poodle mix. We liked THAT dog, so we wanted one that might be most like him in behavior and personality. A week or so later, she brings home a 3-year-old long-haired Chihuahua mix from the pound. NOT what we agreed on, but she was a sweetie, so we kept her, and called her ‘Missy’. I wanted ‘Mouse’, after Harry Dresden’s dog, but Mom doesn’t read. :frowning:

Problem is, Missy’s version of ‘housebroken’ isn’t exactly what I think of when I think of that term. If I go outside with her 4 times a day, for 15-25 minutes each time, she does her business outside - after sniffing everything in the yard, staring off into space, barking at everything and everyone in the block, and trying to eat many questionable items. That seems like a lot of a lot of time to personally devote to a dog’s elimination routine, particularly when you factor in the time I spend brushing her, playing with her (she NEVER gets tired of ‘fetch’), etc.

When my sister’s dog visits, we put him out on a run for 10-20 minutes at a time a few times a day and he tends to his business. With Missy, she’ll sit on the run, next to the door, waiting to come in the whole time. I have to go out with her.

This is my first real ownership experience with a dog, being an apartment-dweller my whole life, but I’ve had friends that had dogs that told them when they wanted to go out. Missy has so much energy that I can’t possibly tell the difference between “Throw the ball!” or “I want to poop!” She never comes up to me and whines, or goes to the door and whines, like I’ve seen friend’s dogs do. It’s all tail-wagging and jumping.

I bought one of those strips of bells at the pet store. The idea is you hang them by the door and you ‘jingle’ them whenever you take the dog out, and she associates the jingle with going outside. Eventually, she jingles them when she wants to go out. Three months later, and she hasn’t gotten the hint yet.

I got ill for a few days awhile back, and found out what happens if I don’t take her out. She pees and poops in the living room, in roughly the same area every time. I have a scrub-vac, but I’m sure I didn’t got it all. It soaks in, after all. I used cleaning solution and saturated/vacuumed it a couple times each time. Still, if I sleep in, that’s where she goes. We’ve had times when we put her out on the run for 20 minutes and she just sits by the door the whole time, only to poop in the living room a few minutes after coming in.

I just don’t know what to do. She’s got so much energy, I can’t possibly tell when she’s getting antsy. We’re getting the carpet cleaned, but I’d like to figure this out before she starts soiling the clean carpet all over again.

How do you get a dog to tell you when they want to go out? Why won’t she use the run we set up?

2

Crate training. Learn it, live it, love it. Easily Googled.

3

Often a long question can be given a shorter answer than a short question. The bells are a good idea, I have long recommended them. I think you need to start all over again and yes a crate. Count on Google to take you to thousands of inferior sites.

You can use the same techniques on older dogs as puppies. Biggest difference is the longer time after eating or drinking before they are ready to relieve themselves. If a dog has been living where it could keep its living space clean, it should quickly catch on. The important part will be teaching it that if it goes to the door, you will let it out. It will be much more difficult if the dog was forced to live in its filth. You will need to learn to read the dog and learn its schedule, and when it needs to go out. Keep it in sight, closing doors and setting up gates. Some people even leash the dog to themselves. I have used a tie down at my computer desk. If you catch it in the act, give it a sharp ‘‘Ah, ah, ah!’’ and take it out. When you can’t watch it, crate it.

Housebreaking starts before you get home with the new puppy. If you don’t have a crate, buy one. I prefer the more enclosed, den like plastic ones. Skip the bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking hazards. A wire grid in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but expensive and hard to find. A piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. I am now using a plastic vegetable bin with plenty of holes drilled in the bottom. It helps block off part of the crate for the smaller puppy. If you already have a metal crate, covering it may help. Just make sure you use something the puppy can’t pull in and chew. Dogs that start out in crates as little puppies, accept them very well. Never leave an unattended puppy loose in the house. If nobody can watch it, put it in the crate. I suggest letting the dog have its crate all its life. A crate needs to be just big enough for a dog to stretch out in.

Choose a command and spot you want it to use. The less accessible to strays, the less chance of serious disease. If it is a female, choosing a non grassy spot will avoid brown spots later. When you bring it home, take it to the spot and give it the command in a firm, but friendly voice. Keep repeating the command and let the puppy sniff around. Sometimes you need to walk it around to stimulate its body to eliminate. If it does anything, praise it. Really let it know what a good dog it is and how much you love it, and maybe a treat. Note, being out there not only means you can praise it, but it also keeps it from being snatched by a hawk. If it doesn’t go, take it inside and give it a drink and any meals scheduled. A young puppy will need to go out immediately afterward. Go to the spot and follow the above routine. Praising it if it goes is extremely important. If it doesn’t go, walk it around. They can only walk and hold it so long. If still nothing, take it back inside and put it in its crate and try again soon. Do not let it loose in the house until it does go.

At first it is your responsibility to know and take the puppy out when it needs to go. It needs to go out the first thing in the morning, after eating, drinking, and sleeping. If it quits playing, and starts running around sniffing, it is looking for a place to go. Take it out quickly. You will just have to be what I call puppy broke until it is a little older. How successful you are depends on how attentive you are.

By the time most dogs are about 3 months old, they have figured out that if they go to the door and stand, you will let them out. The praise slowly shifts to going to the door. Some people hang a bell there for the dog to paw. If your dog doesn’t figure this out, try praising it and taking it out if it even gets near the door. When you catch it in the act, give it a sharp ‘‘Ah, ah, ah!’’ and take it out. Clean up accidents promptly. I mostly keep the little puppies out of the carpeted rooms. Still I need the can of carpet foam sometimes. First blot up all the urine you can with a dry towel. Keep moving it and stepping on it until a fresh area stays dry. A couple big putty knives work well on bowel movements. Just slide one under it while holding it with the other. This gets it up with a minimum of pushing it down into the carpet. This works with even relatively soft ones, vomit, dirt from over turned house plants, or anything else from solids to thick liquids. Finish up with a good shot of carpet foam. Note, do not let the puppy lick up the carpet foam. Once the dog is reliably housebroken, your carpet may need a good steam cleaning.

Many people strongly strongly push cleaning up all evidence of past accidents. I am slower to suggest that. Dogs will return to the same spot if they can find it. When you see one sniffing the spot, that is your clue to run it out.

4

Thanks for the replies, particularly the long and detailed reply. So. . . this?

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/crate_training.html

I never gave any thought to crating her, except when we have to take Mom to the doctors and nobody’s home. What I did when we first got her was not let her out of my sight, and I took her out at regular intervals, figuring she’d get the idea, and that at 3-years-old, someone had already trained her.

I will see about following that procedure then, and see how that works out. Will I still have to accompany Missy outside for every bathroom need when I’m finished? I’m thinking of putting her on the run and just staying outside with her and walking with her on it. That way she’ll get used to it and might eventually be able to understand what it’s for in the future, without my standing with her.

She’s a chihuahua mix, but not VERY tiny. She’s 10 pounds, and as a fluffy long-haired, looks bigger.

Very much like this, only all-white and in a 10-lb size:

The run is shaded, under trees, running from the door to 25 feet away. I guess it’s not impossible that she’d get snagged by a hawk, but I don’t see it as probable. I’m not trying to ignore her, but I already have plenty to do (and I do plenty with her already) without holding her paw while she pees.

5

Until she really is housebroken, you will need to accompany her. When you’re out with her and she goes, make a big deal out of it. Praise like you’re throwing her a party, offer super special treats, etc. Eventually you will be able to put her out with access to her bathroom spot and she’ll go on her own, but don’t push that right now. You need to set her up for success.

Also, how is she fed? You can control a dog’s elimination much better by controlling how, what, and especially when they eat. For an older dog, usually w/in 1/2 an hour of eating they’ll need to go. Water is a little different, but if she’s been very active in the house (hard playing) or sleeping for a long time, that’s usually a good time to go out pro-actively.

Another vote here for the crate, or for physically leashing her to you as you go on your daily routine. I’ve also seen a system where there are small eyebolts put in the baseboards at strategic places in the house, and the dog is leashed and tied there so it’s under your eye, and somewhat contained while you’re doing what you need to do.

If this dog ends up being one of the few who’s really resistant to housebreaking, she’s small enough that a doggy litterbox or potty patch may be the way to go.

6

You got a dog and now you need to step up and take care of her. Some dogs are less maintenance than others, some require more. Sounds like Missy is a young and active dog and is going to need more than your sister’s malti-poo. Even small dogs require exercise and interaction, just like larger dogs.

The crate training thing has been addressed, and I agree that may help. I’m not sure if it was suggested that you use an enzymatic cleaner, like Nature’s Miracle to clean the area where she is going. Even though you cleaned it, it may still smell like ‘go pee here’ to the dog.

Some dogs won’t tell you they need to go out, you need to be on top of it. Sometimes their indication is pretty subtle - no more than a look in their eye that you have to learn to see. Have you tried to teach her to use the bells? Actually teach her, maybe with a clicker and some treats, or do you just expect her to figure it out?

Some dogs like to be in the yard, some don’t. Maybe it’s scary for her out there. Maybe she would rather have someone outside playing with her and she’s just bored and lonely outside by herself when the humans are inside. Maybe she just doesn’t know that she’s supposed to go out there and relieve herself.

My shepherd has decided she doesn’t want to poop in the yard. I could wait her out and make her poop there, but I find it easier and healthier for me to leash her up and take her for a walk. Down to the parkette at the end of my road and around the block takes 15 minutes and I know she’s peed and pooped and I don’t need to guess about whether or not she needs to go.

What is your Mom doing with the dog? How involved with the dog’s care is she?

Good luck, she sounds like a sweet and fun dog. I hope she

7

Crate training.

Also, I like to train very specifically. Instead of training to eliminate outdoors, I prefer to train a dog to eliminate in a specific location outdoors and to use verbal cues. When training, I take the dog to a specific location (in our yard, the area furthest from the house, bordering on the woods). I take the dog there directly after leaving the crate, after meals, etc. When the dog squats, I say whatever word I’m going to use (I also use a clicker/treat ).

I now have three dogs. When we are traveling with them I can let them out of the car and say “pee” and the three all squat and urinate simultaneously. Cool, if you are into that sorta thing.:stuck_out_tongue: