Bathroom issues with 3 year old rescue

[lolathehavanese]

Update again:

Well, the last 2 nights Lola has been great! Hops right into her bed and hasnt moved all night. No accidents and she stays in bed until the finace gets up around 530. So it looks like we are taking steps in the right direction!

However, she did have another accident this morn, but I think that is more our fault as my fiance was not watching her and hopped in the shower before Lola had been out to poop. So we just know we need to keep a very close eye on her until she does all her business. But progress is progress so we are very excited.

[kian]

That's great!! I had to chuckle as my Hubby would feed the dogs and forget to open the door so they could out for the same thing after they eat. He would hop in the shower and I would hear them barking to go out, I reminded him he can't do that!

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

LOL Kian....OH's often need "reminding"!

I'm pleased to hear that Lola's nights are back on track. Training a dog, or learning how to "coexist" is as much about the human's learning the routine, as it is the dog. I'm sure your fiancee felt terrible when she discovered the accident, as that makes Lola feel badly too.

You are doing oh so well! Six months from now, all this will seem like a faint memory.

[lolathehavanese]

Hi All,

Just wanted to say thank you for all the support. It's def helps to hear the kind words and encouragement from everyone.

And sorry for all the updates, but it helps me vent my "frustration" when Lola has accidents but also helps me to understand more about her.

So this morn we had another "lateral" step. Woke up around 530, took Lola out for a pee, came back in the house and put Lola back in her bed for another 15-20. Get back up and go feed her. She is eating in the kitchen while im sitting in the living room looking right into the kitchen and dining room. She finishes eating and walks into the dining room to a corner where I cant see her. I get up immediately, couldnt have been more than 2 seconds, and run over and there she is squatting for a poop. I yell "No Lola" and grab her and bring her over to the door and take her out. She got 1 nugget out in the house and then did the rest of her business outside.

It was just so frustrating b/c I felt like she was starting to get to give us a signal when she needed to go out, and then boom this morning, she eats and then immediately goes into the dining room and tries to go. This pup is gonna make me go crazy

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

If Lola has used that spot previously, you will need to clean it with an enzymatic cleaner to rid it of all scent of the previous occurrence. I am not sure if we discussed this yet or not, but that's very important, especially in these early days.

It's good that you caught her "mid-act" said "NO" and put her outside. I hope you followed that up with a huge "Praise Party" once she had completed her business outside. Positive reinforcement is always better than negative reinforcement.

Now that you know her body clock relatively well, it should make it a bit easier, especially with the morning routine to predict her habits. It really is all about capturing the desired behaviour and reinforcing that.

Kudos to you for realizing you had lost site of her, right after she had eaten and that she may in fact, be up to something! It is all coming together, although it may not quite feel like it yet. Stick at it as consistency is also key.



I just had another thought....do you have baby gates or doors, so that Lola is confined in the mornings to the kitchen area only with you? That will make it a lot easier to keep an eye on her, and less likely that she will do her business where she shouldn't. Dogs seem to prefer to do "errant" business on a carpet, rather than a bare floor (in my experience). It's just a thought.

[lolathehavanese]

Hi All,

Figured I'd give an update.

So things have been going alright, but she is still having accidents. I would have thought that by now the accidents would have been done, but it seems like at least once a week she goes in the house. Like last night, we wake up around 5:30 AM and go out to the kitchen and she peed on the kitchen floor and pooped on the dining room floor at some point throughout the night.

The most frustrating part is that it clearly seems like she knows she does something wrong, but continues to do it. So I would think that she would have learned not to do it and wait for us to take her out. I dont know.

We are being patient and will keep working with her, but I dont know what else to do. When we take her out and she goes, we give her praise and treats so I dont know what else there is to do to keep reinforcing the point that potty is for outside and not inside.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Until Lola can be trusted to not go somewhere in the house throughout the night, it is my suggestion that she be confined to an area. That area may be your bedroom, or a crate, or in the case of my larger dogs, the laundry room.

I don't think Lola "knows" she is doing something wrong. Perhaps she understands that for the most part, toileting outside is desired. While we think that dogs sometimes do these things deliberately, they really don't. My Black Lab, Sally, was well house trained, BUT, if left unattended no matter how old she became, she would "sneak" into a room and do her business in a corner. This would happen only if I was away, and whomever was left at home didn't pay attention. Perhaps it was her way of protesting my absence...I just contradicted myself. The thing is with Sally, we all KNEW she would do that, if given the chance!

My Golden, Emma, would NEVER do that. The only time she had an accident would be entirely my fault, and usually from medication such as Prednisone. I found that when I had to leave the house, even to do a grocery shop (as I am a "stay at home" Mum), Sally always had to "go to bed" (in the Laundry room) with Emma. She wouldn't have accidents in there.

Being ill never counts as an "accident", whether it's from medication or from something they ate, or a bug of some sort.

With Lola it sounds like these accidents are only happening when the opportunity presents itself. Eliminate the opportunity, and you will eliminate the accidents. Clearly, Lola can't have "free roam" at night.

Other than that, you are doing exceptionally well!!! You can use these same "tactics" if and when you travel with Lola.

There are very few areas of "training" when it comes to dogs that I would say I have been a success. House training is perhaps my best one! I can also teach basic commands, and acceptable "play behaviour", but I don't do circles, and jumps, or "play dead" or any of those things. I have successfully been able to teach my large breed dogs, and my small breed dogs, and a few in between.

I'm so glad you posted an update. Keep up the good work Lee, and please keep us informed. It helps us to receive feedback as we do learn from one another.

Hugs to Lola! ♥

Deb

[Nileska]

I would suggest that you buy a crate large enough for Lola as an adult,block off any excess space with a cardboard box so that she has space to lie down comfortably but no room to make a mess...Pups do not like to relieve themselves where they sleep.

Nowthen,when you go to bed put Lola in her crate with a high value treat...In the morning when you get up take her outside,allow enough time for her to take care of business,bring her back in and feed her right away..When she finishes eating take her right back out (she will have more to do) ,when she finishes lay on the praise and treats and bring her right in.

I have a Husky who insists on this routine,she was a rescue who came trained this way allthough she sometimes she likes to stay out and play after the last let out...She WILL come in when I ask her.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Richard it is always lovely to hear from you! However, Lola is a 3 year old rescue, and not a puppy.

If you read this thread from the beginning, you'll see that Lola's Dad, and Mum, have been making great strides, but just have a few more baby steps to go. (The title of the thread is also a bit of a giveaway )

We miss you Richard! ♥

[lolathehavanese]

Richard,

Thanks for chiming in. As Deb said, Lola will be 3 in September. She is GREAT in her crate. Never an accident and always hops in when we tell her to.

For now, I think we are going to be putting her in the crate at night. Her crate is in our bedroom, so she is with us, and we have done it the last 2 nights and we havent heard a peep from her all night .

After a few more nights in the crate, we are planning on putting her bed back on the floor next to our bed, however we are going to shut our bedroom door so she can not get out. All her accidents have night have happened out in the dining room or living room, so hopefully by us closing the door, she will either just go back to bed, or make enough noise to wake 1 of us up to take her out.

I guess it just frustrates me so much bc she is stuck in the crate all day (10-11 hrs) when my fiance and I are both at work. So I want to be able to trust her so that she can stop being in the crate so much bc I feel awful about it. But I guess we will just need to be patient and take baby steps with her. Thanks again for all the advice.

Lee

[Nileska]

OOPS! MEGA BOO BOO...Sorry Deb

Sorry Lee..it was late,,,have you considered an X pen ? They can be set up anywhere and are not as confineig as a crate.
(X as in exercise) The pens are an essential item for dog shows and very useful at home.

Richard

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Richard, no worries at all angel! We're just glad to have you back amongst us.

Lee, I think closing your bedroom door is a good start as I can understand why you don't wish to crate her at night as well. However, don't discount the fact that the crate has become her "Den" and her safe place, so she may not think of it as confining as you do.

Richard's idea of an "X" Pen is a good one. We had to obtain one when Henry was a puppy thanks to a horrible parasite known as Giardia! They are great and can be configured in several different ways. It might also be useful in the morning when you are both getting ready for work as Lola could go in her X Pen in the kitchen while you both get ready. Mind you, she does need that "extra" time to go out as you've discovered.

We're always glad for the updates! I am quite sure it's the free roam of the house at night that is causing the accidents as was the case with my Sally. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a previous owner had a cat or dog that eliminated in those areas previously. Dogs can pick up the scent from ages ago unless one has thoroughly cleaned the area with an enzymatic cleaner, and even then I'm not convinced that will always do the trick.

Richard, your 81st birthday must be approaching! I'll have to double check our records and see when that is.

[Nileska]

Deb,I am already 81,I will be 82 nov 18 this year

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Richard, you devil....how did we let that slip past us?! That just won't do. We love you and wish to celebrate you. ♥ I will be looking into this further as I still have my "birthday pictures" for you on my computer.

Lee, sorry to thread hog for a moment. As you'll see, we do tend to get "off topic" a little from time to time. At least now you've "met" Richard, who has owned and bred Siberian Huskies for more than 40 years! He is an avid dog lover, and can answer just about any question you may ever have, about many, many breeds. His lovely wife, who does not participate directly on our site, is also a Judge and another terrific source of valuable information.

We are a "community", and you and Lola are now part of that.




ETA: Richard, go and look in the "Off Topic" section! We did not forget you at all. I merely forgot that we had in fact, celebrated your 81st! I bumped the thread. xo

[lolathehavanese]

Hi All,

Sorry I havent posted in forever, been very busy. Just wanted to let you know that Lola has been doing so good. No accidents in weeks and we have even left her alone, not in her crate for around 3-4 hours. She also has been so good as she walks to the door and looks back at us, which we know means she needs to go out. She is also quite the companion in bed - she refuses to sleep on the end of the bed and will only sleep up in between my wife and I, usually laying on one of us. It's amazing how much she has learned since we got her 4 months ago, she has learned 3 tricks - sit, down and paw and we hope to keep teaching her many more. Thanks again for all the support from everyone on here. It def helped calm the nerves and ease the tension.

I will try and upload an updated pic of Lola, so we'll see how that goes. This was her when she came back from the groomers (they gave us the bandana).

Lola 3.JPG (153.02 KB) Viewed 653 times