House Breaking Older Dog

[ernstlaurie]

I adopted a 3 1/2 year old bouv from a reputable breeder about 3 months ago. We did not want a pup due to the fact I have small children. The bouv has adapted beautifully to our home. She has some insecurity issues, but they are slowly disapating. I have her enrolled in basic obediance and seems to learn everything readily. I have had dogs in the past, in fact my older bouv is a certified Therapy Dog. That being said, I am having the darnedest time house breaking this girl. Just when I think she has learned she creates a mess. I keep her on a routine, she is in her crate when we are not home. But she continues to poop in my house and just today she pooped for the second time in her crate. So far we have....
1. Take her out following every meal, and every 1-2 hours regularly.
2. We stop and say outside as we go out the door.
3. We take her to the same spot and say "Go to it" - she will usually go on command.
4. When she doesn't go we put her back in the crate and take her out a 1/2 hour later.
5. I have not been negative if she poops or pees in the house - I just go over to her and say outside and take her outside. Even though I don't react negative you can tell she is embarrassed
6. I did catch her in the middle of a pee once and I yelled "Outside" and took her out immediately. She has not peed in the house since and that was 3 weeks ago.
7. Whenever she has a mistake in the house it is in the living room when I thought we were house broken. So is it marking....????

Please any insight would be greatly appreciated as would my living room rug

[Sue]

>[quote=ernstlaurie;308]I adopted a 3 1/2 year old >bouv from a reputable breeder about 3 months ago.

My first suggestion would be to get in touch with the breeder. How reliable was this dog's house training in the past? Was she a house dog or a kennel dog?

>Just when I think she has learned she creates a mess. >I keep her on a routine, she is in her crate when we are >not home. But she continues to poop in my house and >just today she pooped for the second time in her crate.

Basically, anytime a dog makes a transition to a new home, the best thing is to go back to square one with house training. This means that you never give the dog an opportunity to make a mistake in the house. Crating when you're gone is a good ideas. Just make sure she is not crated beyond a reasonable time, and that she has had an ample opportunity to toilet before you leave. When you're home, the dog should not have free rein loose in the house. She needs to be supervised. The easiest way to do this is to put a leash on her and keep her with you. Put a belt through the least and where you goeth, so goeth the dog. The odds of her being able to make a potty mistake in the house should be greatly diminished as long as you pay attention to her potty signals.

>So far we have....
>1. Take her out following every meal, and every 1-2 >hours regularly.
>2. We stop and say outside as we go out the door.

You might also want to hang a bell on the door and jingle it as you go out. In time the dog will go jingle the bell when she needs to go out.

>3. We take her to the same spot and say "Go to it" - >she will usually go on command.
>4. When she doesn't go we put her back in the crate >and take her out a 1/2 hour later.

This is a good plan.... but I would add in some heavy duty positive reinforcement when she is successful. Have some high value treats, play with the dog, throw a ball... whatever really reinforces the good behavior... before going back inside.


>7. Whenever she has a mistake in the house it is in the >living room when I thought we were house broken. So >is it marking....????

My first move would be to gate off that area and limit her free area to just one room initially, gradually adding more area as she remains clean in the house.

Marking is not usually a factor when it comes to defecating... Dogs who mark generally urinate.

If she is not responding to training, then a vet exam would be in order to rule out any physical issues.

Cheers,
Sue