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We adopted an 18 month old Cocker Spaniel around 3 months ago. She goes all night with no problems and in the morning she does her business fairly quickly. We take her out a least 6 times a day and we walk her around a mile every day. She seems to poop around 3 or 4 times a day. Is that a problem? She does poop in the living room a least once every day or two. Can anyone help?
By Michael from Media, PA
Is she doing her business the same time daily? If so, take her outdoors and walk her awhile at the time. You might get lucky and she'll emliminate outdoors. Also, she's used to the carpet and there may be hidden residue that keeps drawing her to the carpet. Watch her closely as she circles around the room deciding where to drop her bomb. Then take her outdoors at this point.
Try collecting some poop & placing it in an area of your garden that you want her to do it. Leave it there until she gets the message, take her out to that spot each time you take her outdoors, often dogs poop just after eating a big meal for the day & in the mornings. Cleanse carpet totally so that no smells linger of previous mess. Steam clean or use baking soda mixed with white vinegar & water, not disinfectant as this has ammonia in it which smells like urine to them & will continue to attract the dog to that spot. Good luck.
I have a Golden Retriever, 10 months old, who poops in the house. If he is taken outside, he doesn't do it, but right after coming back he does. How do I train him.
You can crate train him, by keeping him in a crate, and letting him out under supervision: "Crate training takes advantage of your dog's natural instincts as a den animal. A wild dog's den is their homea place to sleep, hide from danger and raise a family. The crate becomes your dog's den, where they can find comfort and solitude while you know theyre safe and secure (and not shredding your house while you're out running errands)."
There are other training methods, but whatever you employ, you need constant vigilance.
The thing to do would be to catch her in the act, and with a firm but gentle voice startle her out of it (such as by saying NO!) and then quickly take her to the pad where you want her to defecate.
When she successfully completes the poo, give her praise and a treat.
PetSmart has training classes. I would take my dog. Once he responds to commands, he will take to potty training.
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My dog always poops in the house. How do I get her to stop without crating?
By Bella from Viex Carre
First how old is your dog now? Second, if it is still a puppy, crate training is the way to go. If introduced to a crate as a pup, dogs like crates. Covered with old bath towels or a blanket, it recreates a sort of den, and dogs in the wild sleep in dens. It's a comforting place to sleep where they feel protected and will rarely relieve themselves in it unless they simply cannot hold it. Never use the crate for punishment, it is not a jail. Only close the crate when you cannot be there to let him outside at the appropriate time. (07/18/2010)
By Beth
I have a 3 year old Dachshund who from 8 weeks on was pad trained. Now I am living in a house and am trying to break her of the pad. It's kinda working, but kinda not. She won't pee in the house, but she is still pooping, even after taking her outside and her doing her business.
I need some sort of help in trying to figure out how to stop this. At night she has no problems, but during the day is when it happens. Any suggestions?
By jerimyers2000 from Columbus, OH
Yeah, well we have a 6 yr old Rat Terrier/Chihuahua and she still isn't housebroken. I have tried everything, she won't even go on puppy pads in the garage. I think some dogs just refuse to go outside for one reason or another, and I think in our case she is jealous of our daughter. Everything got 100 times worse when she was born. Maybe she is mad you moved? Any other changes? New children, roommates, etc? (09/11/2009)
By superwoman
You may have to attach her to her leash and to you so you can catch her before she poops. Has she ever pooped on a leash? My hound dog had the same issue. He will not poop on a leash or if I am near. (He was a rescue so I suspect he was punished when he pooped in the house so associates pooping near people with punishment.) I had to (and still do) put him on a line outside in the morning and watch from inside. As soon as he starts pooping I go out and say "good boy, go poop," so he associated "go poop" with pooping and sees it as a good thing. He is not completely cured but much better than he was.
Monitoring when you feed your dog would help as well. Dogs poop a few minutes after eating usually. Good Luck. I love my hound so much and have dealt with in-home pooping for years. (09/14/2009)
By Tigertame4
If she is still using the pad, start moving it slowly towards the door, a foot or so a day until you are at the door, then just outside the door and on out to where you want her to poop. Make sure anytime you catch her pooping on the pad or outside that, you praise the heck out of her. Keeping her close to you with an umbilical (a leash tied to your waist) so you know what she is doing at all times is a big help, too. (09/14/2009)
By Chiismychi
Does anyone have advice on how I can train my dogs to go to the bathroom outside 100% of the time? My male is fully trained, but my two females sometimes sneak to another room to do their business. I let them out often, but sometimes as soon as I let them in they will go off and poop in the house. I am expecting a baby in four months and desperately need to get this under control. Please help!
Kristina from Ontario, Canada
We had 2 Poodles who would poop inside every night when I was a teenager. I hated waking up in the morning to clean their mess! We figured they did it there because the previous owner's dog used the same spot as their very own private "back yard", so the smell was already there (down inside the carpet padding) when we moved in to the home. (This is most likely why I've never had the inclination to own a dog). I don't have the total answer, but I believe part of the answer is to remove the smell, because most animals are ruled by their noses and smell oriented. Also, remember, just because you can't smell "their calling card", doesn't mean they can't.
Here's what I'd do as a good starting point: Buy an enzyme based spot and odor neutralizer like "OUT!" (Walmart $4.79). It has a light vanilla scent and comes in a spray bottle. Once you have the odor totally removed from the carpeting or floor, your problem will be half way solved. You'll now have to get the dog psychology information from someone who knows more than me!
For complete directions how to remove all traces of pet odors, read my post here:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf36405218.tip.html
PS. Worse case scenario, you may have to remove the rugs to re-train your dog. (05/05/2008)
By Cyinda
After completely cleaning the area that they are using, place their food dish on top of the area. Animals will not "potty" where they eat. Keep feeding them in that area for a few days, then slowly move the dish. This is the only way I could break my Dad's rotten little mixed breed from using the carpet. (05/05/2008)
By karen_SC
Go out with them, take them to the same spot and praise, praise, praise when they get it right. Take them the same time always as a regular thing. Dogs like a happy owner, and if they should make a mistake in the beginning ignore it. Soon they will look forward to happy time. It worked with my dogs. A little more work I know, but you want to get them trained. (05/06/2008)
By NellieMary
Ok, NellieMary is totally on the right track. Another addition to her idea is when they "have an accident" in the house, tell them "No" firmly, but gently (do not rub their nose in it!). Take the "leavings" outside where you want them and show the dogs where it is, and then praise them for the "stuff" being outside. Learned this from a very stubborn English Pointer puppy. :) (05/07/2008)
By Shosha
When I trained my dog to do her business outside I used newspaper inside, and when we went outside I brought the newspaper outside with us. Worked great and only took a week. Good luck. (05/07/2008)
By cece
First off, it's useless and counterproductive, actually, to discipline your dogs after they mess in the house. The only time to say a firm "No" is if you catch them in the act. Don't get angry, and take them immediately outside if you catch them in the act. If you come home to the mess, try not to react, take them outside and clean it up without them seeing you. You don't want them to associate the mess they made with you speaking to them, giving them attention, etc.
Getting rid of the smell with an enzyme cleaner is a good idea, and moving the food dish to that area can work if they have one area they seem to be doing their messes in.
Educate yourself about positive reinforcement training, especially as it relates to house training. There are lots of websites with tips, and a great book (and website) to start with is Karen Pryor's "Don't Shoot the Dog." It will help you with all your dog behavior needs.
NOTE: I recommend you begin to childproof your dogs in preparation for bringing your baby home. There is too much to go into here, but a great book to start with (check to see if your library has it or can get it) is "Childproofing Your Dog: A Complete Guide to preparing your dog for the children in your life" by Brian Kilcommons. It has great advice and it's not too long or hard to understand. It's in simple, easy to follow, language and it's well-organized so you can find the information you are looking for. (05/08/2008)
By Oberhund
Oh, and I forgot to add that sometimes some dogs are fussy about doing their business if the spot has poop in it already. So make sure the area is pretty free from poop. (05/08/2008)
By Oberhund
