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My dog is about 8-9 months old. We adopted him from a local rescue a little over a month ago. He's a boxer mix. When he first came to us they said he was crate trained, and he is, but he had a lot of accidents when out of the crate. The rescue director said it's possible that at the center he was in and out so much he didn't know how to tell us he needed to go. So, I started working with him. We hung a loop of sleigh bells on the door handle, and every time we took him out to pee we'd ring the bell. Well that has worked like a charm. In the last couple of days he rings the bell, we take him out, and he pees.
Now the only trouble is he seems to want to pee every few minutes! I know he really wants to go outside, but our yard is not yet fenced (will be shortly), so we can't just let him out. And anyway, I've tried letting him out in the pool area, which is fenced, but he only lasts a few minutes alone before wanting to come back in. The thing is 1) he still pees every time I take him out, but 2) I'm watching him and I know he doesn't fully empty his bladder every time. I used to wonder about this when he was having his accidents. he could hold it for HOURS while in the crate if we were gone, or overnight, but out of the crate it was as if he couldn't hold it more than 30-45 minutes, esp. if he just drank.
Is it normal to hold back pee? Is he smart enough to do this on purpose just so he can go out more often? I'm happy he at least isn't having accidents (knock on wood, only been a few days now), but yikes, how often to I have to take him out? Sometimes I literally tell him, sorry you have to wait because I'm in the middle of taking care of my kids or cooking, or something. Otherwise I hop to it and take him out because I don't want him to have an accident.
ideas? This is an awesome forum by the way. The posters here are so kind, civil, and helpful.
I'd say he looks at ringing the bell as saying, I want to go outside, not as I gotta pee. Stand there and watch him while he's outside so you know he's done his business, and note the time. If he rings the bell again before 2 hours is up, tell him no, you just peed. He'll get it soon enough.
Umm, I will probably get "dinged" on this, but talk to your vet, I monitored my dog's water, he did not need a ginormous bowl of fresh water all the time. Yes, water was available to him, but it was on a monitored basis. He was a working dog for much of his life, and had scheduled breaks.
Umm, I will probably get "dinged" on this, but talk to your vet, I monitored my dog's water, he did not need a ginormous bowl of fresh water all the time. Yes, water was available to him, but it was on a monitored basis. He was a working dog for much of his life, and had scheduled breaks.
LOL, I schedule my dog's water too! I read on a thread here 1oz for every lb of body weight. VERY close to what I was already giving him. I give a bit more on days he goes for long walks or if it's hot outside. But he doesn't just have a full bowl all day long.
The only way I've found to successfully potty train a puppy or adult dog is to set him or her up to succeed, not fail. It's hard work, time consuming and even frustrating.
It means never taking your eyes off them, using the crate when you can't or even tethering the dog to yourself. It means going out with them each and every time...keeping it all business until the business is done...then lots of praise. It takes a tremendous amount of patience and energy.
Keep at it and all the hard work will pay off. The minute you slack up, there's a pee or poop in the house and you're disappointed. If that happens, immediately take the pet out...no fussing, physical discipline. Clean up the mess and stick to the training routine. Before you know it, you'll have a reliably trained pup.
Is there a product to take the pee smell away so they stop "marking"???
I use Petastic. I used to use Nature's Miracle, but they sold their formula to Petastic a couple of years ago. I bought it from Amazon. I may have to get a gallon job
I use Petastic. I used to use Nature's Miracle, but they sold their formula to Petastic a couple of years ago. I bought it from Amazon. I may have to get a gallon job
Trust me, from my experience the shelter dogs all lose their house "manners" and it isn't because they go out so often.
I try to take my male, Bigun, out for a long walk every off day from work. (DH dog sits while I am working.) Bigun can urinate on select areas for the entire 90 minutes. It's called "Marking." He can also hold himself through the night.
Take the bells off the door and just take your dog out at regular intervals -- more frequently until he proves his "holding" powers. Monitor him while he's out of the crate for signs that he may have to relieve himself, and when you cannot monitor him, crate him. The minute you take him out of the crate, take him outside IMMEDIATELY and praise him for relieving himself outside. Once back inside, the clock starts ticking until you have to crate him again, or it's time to go outside again. (Always take him outside before he goes back into the crate.)
IF he starts to relieve himself inside, in your firmest, commanding voice (NOT screaming or yelling), say: "NO!" and immediately clip him and take him outside, telling him he goes "OUTSIDE" for that business.
IF you find a mess, clean it up and say nothing, while calculating how long it's been since he was out last, and then reduce his time inside to that amount of time. Command yourself to be more attentive.
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