Housebreaking my Catahoula (how much, clean, poop, vet)

[lisat8744]

We bought a Catahoula pup of 15 weeks that is not housebroken. The vet told the owner to use pee pads because the weather was so cold this winter. Since bringing her home, she's going outside when we take her out, but she's still peeing all over the house, including her bed (crate), which we were hoping would aid in housebreaking her. She doesn't go to the door to indicate she has to pee so we're taking her outside all the time. Does anyone have any suggestions? After realizing she's peeing in the crate, I'm feeling a little hopeless.

[born01930]

The crate is too big if she is peeing in it. I have a mini-dachshund I am house training right now. She is doing well, but at first you have to take them out every 45 mins or so. Watch them close and don't let them wander, as soon as she starts to squat grab and go. Also after eating 5-30mins later be ready for number 2. It will take some time to get her trained.

[k9coach]

Every accident must be caught and interrupted. This means constant supervision. When she squats pick her up and get her outside immediately. Wait out there with her and reward for finishing outside. Give her lots of opportunities for success - frequent outings. Whatever you think is frequent, take her out even more often than that. Preventing accidents is important because it breaks the HABIT of pottying indoors. However, there is also some value in catching accidents. This way your dog learns "every time I try to potty in the house I get interrupted, every time I potty outside I get rewarded." The better choice becomes clear. The worst thing that can happen is for accidents to go unnoticed. Pottying is "relieving" and therefor rewarding, so every time an accident goes uninterrupted in the house the dog is sort of being rewarded for going indoors. If pups were raised in their own mess they will have no problem peeing and pooping in a crate.

Here is a potty training guide:

• Frequent trips outside to maximize opportunities for success and therefore rewards. Whatever you think is frequent, make it even more often at first.
  
• Accompany dog outside each time. Reward for potties immediately, not once back inside. * Remember: rewards are defined by the dog, not what the human thinks is rewarding. Make sure you aren't bringing the dog directly inside after successful potties. We don't want to teach him that potties equal the end of outdoor time.
  
• Constant supervision so that all accidents can be caught and interrupted. The only time you can address an accident is when it is in progress. How you interrupt the accident is very important. If your interruption is intimidating or frightening you will end up with a "sneaky" dog who won't potty in front of people. Your interruption must convey "woops! wrong spot buddy - let's get you to the proper potty place asap" - not "no no bad dog". When he's caught in the act, interrupt by briskly moving toward him while clapping and saying "no no no no no" in a pleasant but urgent HIGH PITCHED tone then RUSH him outside to finish. If he finishes outside, big rewards, praise, and party. If he doesn't finish outside back inside and watch him like a hawk.
  
• Confine to a safe zone when direct supervision can not be provided. Safe zone means an area in which he is unlikely to eliminate. During times when you'll be briefly distracted consider tethering the dog to you/keeping him on leash to make sure you eliminate the possibility for accidents to go unnoticed.
• The worst thing that can happen: accident goes unnoticed. It is it's own reward i.e. "relieving" so he is in effect being rewarded for going in the house.
• Clean all accidents thoroughly with a specially formulated enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution, NOT a regular household cleaner.
• Never ever show a dog his accident and then punish him for it. After the fact, the dog will NOT make the connection that you are punishing him for pooping in the house. All he'll learn is that you are a highly unstable psycho that lashes out at him unpredictably and for some weird reason involves poop in these meltdowns. If you want to punish someone for accidents, punish the person who was supposed to be watching the dog when the accident happened.
• Stick to a consistent feeding schedule and learn how soon after eating your pup tends to "go".
• Be mindful of water intake and let out accordingly.
• Learn your pup's unique "need to potty" signals and respond accordingly. Potty signals can include sniffing, circling, pacing, staring, vocalizations, and taking a break in play. Always bring pup outside right away after he wakes up in the morning or from a nap.
• We want your dog's experience to be: "Every time I go to potty in the house I get interrupted. Every time I potty outside, I get treats, praise, play and petting." He'll choose to potty outside.

[FriendOfWaffles]

Originally Posted by lisat8744

The vet told the owner to use pee pads because the weather was so cold this winter.

What terrible advice. Pee pads teach a dog that it's ok to go inside. Maybe I'd use them for an old/sick dog but NEVER for a puppy. You are forming habits that CAN LAST A LIFETIME. Puppyhood is NOT the time to be lazy. Part of being a responsible breeder is not only making sure that you're breeding animals that are genetically sound, but also that you condition those animals in their very first days to get them on their way to being emotionally sound and well-mannered pets. It's amazing how many so-called dog "breeders" are completely clueless about training.

Anyway, as to your problem, you need to teach your dog to go on command, and get him on a schedule. When I train my dogs, I take them out on a leash and walk them around and around saying "go pee pee, goo pee pee" over and over and OVER again and the second they do it BOOM with the reward (even just a single piece of dog food). Not only do they not go in the house, but if we're in a hurry or it's cold/rainy they can be done literally in seconds!

Good luck with your dogger!

[lisat8744]

Thank you guys for the quick response. Her crate isn't too small...she has enough room to lay down and turn around and that's it. That's why I'm so surprised that she peed in it. Your suggestions are great! Thanks again.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

When I trained my Catahoula/lab mix, I tied her leash to my belt and kept her right beside me all the time. She didn't go to the door when she wanted to go out, so I took her out every two hours during the day, and got up once at night to take her out. She was about 4 months when I got her and she weighed 20 lbs, so I guess she didn't have to pee as often as smaller dogs, so my schedule worked for her.

She chewed through a lot of leashes but she did get trained.

[Dashdog]

If you keep having trouble another thing to consider is she could have a bladder infection. A friend of mine is a puppy raiser for Guide dogs for the blind and after raising a dozen puppies they got one they just could not get house trained as hard as they tried it was driving them crazy turns out the puppy had a bladder infection and once they got that cleared up she house trained quickly.

[JrzDefector]

Originally Posted by Dashdog

If you keep having trouble another thing to consider is she could have a bladder infection. A friend of mine is a puppy raiser for Guide dogs for the blind and after raising a dozen puppies they got one they just could not get house trained as hard as they tried it was driving them crazy turns out the puppy had a bladder infection and once they got that cleared up she house trained quickly.

Seconding this. My Houla kept having accidents left and right. We treated him for a bladder infection, not once, but TWICE. Things got better after that. But there were SO MANY accidents before it got sorted out. OMG. One time it was like he peed throughout the entire downstairs. UGH.

My guy also has no concept of how much water he is drinking. He'll down a gallon at a time, with no problem. He's perfectly healthy, he just gets a little obsessive once he starts drinking. He's the same way with his food. So you might want to ration her water. My friend is a vet, and she did the same with her coonhound.

[transdimensionalhottie]

This is no help, but potty training my Catahoula was the hardest dog i've ever had to potty train. But you know, once they get past 8 months they are amazingly smart dogs. But i'm not a "puppy person" though, so this is bias. They're hard-headed but I would own them again!

[SoHoVe]

I agree the pee pads weren't good advice...if anything I think the cold would have aided the training once she figured out doing her duty equals going back into a warm house.

I have a Catahoula mix and while she never went in her crate very difficult to housebreak otherwise.
SUPER SMART dogs though which I think makes it more frustrating. Do you know anything about her history?
My golden mix would mess his crate in every way imaginable until he was about 11 months old. I had to board him and when he came back (a week later) he NEVER did it again. I don't know his history other than he was a shelter puppy and then thrown out of a moving vehicle at about 5 months fractured pelvis and just a mess. Coworkers husband saw the whole thing and brought him in. I don't know if the messing was anxiety related or what.
The shelter he origionally was adopted from isn't a clean place and he would have been very young so maybe he just learned to live like that.
If there is bedding in the crate that is soaking it all up she's really probably not that uncomfortable which probably isn't helping matters also (and I expect to get blasted for this) don't leave water in her crate. She will be fine without water for a few hours at a time.