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I never know who does what in terms of poop, so I don't scold them. I just clean it up. What is irritating the most is they leave little pieces all over the place. Likewise with peeing. I put them outside and they want inside immediately and start scratching on the door immediately. Plus, I live in the desert so soon they won't be able to be outside for more than a couple of minutes. How do I get them to go on demand? My house is truly getting trashed. Thanks in advance.
I'm having a similar problem with a new adoptee. He likes to go where it is warm and quiet, inside. First of all, you need to feed and take out on a schedule. Praise profusely when they go outside. Consider a kennel if you cannot be with them all the time. Become attuned to their different barks, whines, etc., so you know when they are telling you they gotta go. Do everything humanly possible to remove the scent where they have already gone. I ripped up a carpet and put down cinnimon and baking soda, and left a "cone" collar and a spray bottle in the middle of the floor, they haven't gone once in that room since then. Also talk to your vet. Turns out I upgraded the food quality for our new guy, so she gave us some meds to firm up his poop and increase his bowel control. Also check for worms. I don't know what kind of dogs you have, but little pieces all over the place sounds to me like they are trying not to go.
Here's my housetraining post. Follow it TO THE LETTER (as should EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE) and you'll have a trained dog (or dogs). Not right away, but eventually.
Also, if they're having accidents in places that upset you DON'T GIVE THEM ACCESS TO THOSE AREAS.
Another thing you can do is keep their leashes on indoors, and loop them to your waistband/belt. That way you can always keep an eye on them.
Anyway, here's my post:
Housetraining your dog (puppy or adult!)
The first thing you need to do is to remember that you’re trying to reinforce a new behavior. That means that the rewards for this behavior must be WONDERFUL. NOT crap from the store. Wonderful treats are poached chicken breast/turkey breast, cheese and steak. And you don’t have to use big pieces. Tiny pieces (about 3mm cubes) are just fine! I poach a whole turkey breast every few weeks, cut it into hunks when it’s cool enough to handle, wrap them well and store them in the freezer. When I need some, I’ll thaw a hunk overnight and cut off pieces and dice finely, storing them in a plastic bag in the fridge. One hunk will last about five days. Cheese is also popular, so variety is fine.
I carry these plastic bags in my jacket pockets in the winter and in a fanny pack in warmer weather. You HAVE to have these with you, or this method won’t work, because you need to reward as soon as the dog finishes pooping or peeing. It’s not going to work if the rewards are in the house.
Remember that you’re trying to change a very ingrained behavior. Some dogs like to feel certain things under their feet when they eliminate, like fabric, or newspaper. This is called a ‘substrate preference.’ What you’re trying to do is change this substrate preference, and to do that you have to make the treats SO wonderful that the dog will change this very well-entrenched behavior. Thus the chicken, cheese, steak.
I love clicker training, but this can be done without clickers. You just need a way to ‘mark’ the behavior you want to reinforce. Use the word ‘YESSSSS!!!!’ very enthusiastically – that works for some.
You’re going to need to GO OUTSIDE WITH your dog and the dog needs to be on a leash. Yes, even in winter. If you don’t reward IMMEDIATELY after the event (when dog immediately finishes pooping or peeing) and wait inside, the dog is going to be reinforced for coming inside, not for doing its business. So, leash up your dog. STAND IN ONE PLACE. Be boring. Bring a book or magazine for yourself.
Eventually, the dog will do what you’re waiting for. The NANOSECOND that the dog is finished, HAVE A PARTY – lots of loud, high-pitched praise, treats and running around. You want to make this memorable for your dog! You’ll find that once the first event is achieved, the others will come more quickly. Keep on treating (you don’t have to throw a party except for milestones – a milestone = if he only pooped outside but now peed, too, or something equivalent to that) until he’s good and used to peeing/pooping outside. Before you know it, you have a trained dog.
Regarding accidents in the house: NO SCOLDING. Just clean them up. If you scold you’ll get the dog to think it’s bad to pee or poop and he’ll do it in places you won’t see. Until you step in it. Invest in a big bottle of Nature’s Miracle or Simple Solution and use it liberally on accidents.
With young puppies, remember they have little control of the muscle that holds the bladder closed. This is something they grow into. Just as it’s not expected that a human baby is toilet trained at six months, don’t expect much from a puppy. Patience, patience, patience!!!! The nervous system in a puppy has to mature, and it won’t have much control over the sphincter (closing muscle) at the neck of the bladder until six or seven months. The same goes for the anal sphincter. Until control is achieved, both of these muscles operate on reflex: there are stretch receptors in the bladder wall. When the bladder is full, it sends impulses to the spinal cord and these, in turn, send signals to the sphincter to open and the dog pees.
In the stomach wall, there are also stretch receptors. So when the dog eats and the stomach is stretched, the impulses again go to the spinal cord, but this time the reflex, outgoing, nerve signals are sent to the anal sphincter, so the dog defecates. This operates in people, too – which is why some people rush to the ‘reading room’ after a meal – especially breakfast.
I'm having a similar problem with a new adoptee. He likes to go where it is warm and quiet, inside. First of all, you need to feed and take out on a schedule. Praise profusely when they go outside. Consider a kennel if you cannot be with them all the time. Become attuned to their different barks, whines, etc., so you know when they are telling you they gotta go. Do everything humanly possible to remove the scent where they have already gone. I ripped up a carpet and put down cinnimon and baking soda, and left a "cone" collar and a spray bottle in the middle of the floor, they haven't gone once in that room since then. Also talk to your vet. Turns out I upgraded the food quality for our new guy, so she gave us some meds to firm up his poop and increase his bowel control. Also check for worms. I don't know what kind of dogs you have, but little pieces all over the place sounds to me like they are trying not to go.
Well, they are Shih Tzus so little dogs. Their poops are firm, but they like to go tidbits in five different places and this is getting to be a bit much. I've tried feeding them only twice a day but I don't know it's helping much.
Anyway, I hope you start having better luck too. It can be very frustrating and especially with two who just don't want to be in their yard.
I never know who does what in terms of poop, so I don't scold them. I just clean it up. What is irritating the most is they leave little pieces all over the place. Likewise with peeing. I put them outside and they want inside immediately and start scratching on the door immediately. Plus, I live in the desert so soon they won't be able to be outside for more than a couple of minutes. How do I get them to go on demand? My house is truly getting trashed. Thanks in advance.
Don't let them have the run of the house if they're not reliable and if you cant watch them. 2 is twice as much work in the beginning. If you're free feeding, don't - get them on a schedule, feed them once or twice a day and take them outside often - gate them in the kitchen or invest in crates - walk them in your yard on leashes - they're out there to 'go', they can play later - they prob. get easily distractable which is very normal for 2 littermates. Praise them to the skies when they go - give them a tasty treat - use positive reinforcement - then bring them back inside. You have to guide them, they dont automatically know what you mean, dont wait for them to tell you what they have to do, take them out when they wake up, after they eat, when they start circling etc - be patient and praise often - good luck.
Isolating from areas of the house isn't always possible. For me, with two big dogs and several very wide doorways and a house full of doors that don't close tightly enough to keep a big dog from accessing, this isn't an option. I've been having some success but am going to Viralmd's advice and start doing the big party tasty reward in addition to praise. I think the one biggest issue we are overcoming is that our adoptee was only ever kept free off-leash, so he never had to poop on a lead before. While I appreciate that he was so well trained and trusted, I don't want a giant doberman with my name on it running down the street, or looking like he could, so he is always on leash and having to learn to poop that way. The hardest thing is preventing accidents when I am at work. On the bright side, we just got back from the theater, they were fed before we left, wouldn't go potty, but no accidents while we were out!!
A couple of years ago, we adopted a long haired chihuahua from the animal shelter. I was in the habit of taking him out on a leash every two hours to potty, and I'd stay outside with him for a half hour each time. He just layed down in the driveway the whole time, and as soon as we got back in the house, he'd potty. So frustrating. One day I had him out on the leash, and somebody in our neighborhood had a pit bull that they let run loose, well the pit bull came into my yard and attacked my dog, had my dog on the ground yelping, and I managed to get the pit bull off my dog and get my dog in the house. Since then, I have not taken my dog out for fear that next time either my dog or I would get hurt. So, I just clean it up when my dog pottys, but now my whole house smells strogly of dog urine. Recently, the people with the pit bull moved. Do you think it's possible for me to get my dog trained to potty outside? I ask because I have allowed him to potty in the house for a year and a half now. Also, I don't think the treats of chicken, steak, and cheese would work with my dog, because he gets that everyday, he basically eats what we eat. He gets bacon or sausage for breakfast, deli meat and cheese for lunch, and chicken, steak, or hamburger for dinner. Should we not be feeding him like that? If we stop for a subway sandwich we get him a small sub and he eats everything but the bread, or Arby's he gets a roast beef sandwich, or if we get a hamburger, we get him a small plain burger. This is our first dog. We have two cats that we already had when we got the dog, but the cats only get cat food.
First, you need to feed your dog DOG FOOD. Human food is NOT good for dogs, and with so many excellent dog foods on the market there is absolutely NO excuse for not giving him the best diet. Take a look at some of the dog food threads.
Second, ANY dog can learn ANYTHING at ANY age. It's up to YOU.
Well, they are Shih Tzus so little dogs. Their poops are firm, but they like to go tidbits in five different places and this is getting to be a bit much. I've tried feeding them only twice a day but I don't know it's helping much.
Anyway, I hope you start having better luck too. It can be very frustrating and especially with two who just don't want to be in their yard.
First of all Shih Tzus, although wonderful little dogs, are hard to potty train. I know a lot of folks who crate train their Shih Tzus. Like most animals they do not like going to the bathroom where they eat and sleep. When you take them outside to do thier duty, giving them a special treat as someone suggested, will reienforce them to go outside.
Keep them on a feeding schedule and remove their water at night, maybe give them a few ice cubes in their water dish instead at night. You have to be dilligent with getting them outside especially after they have wakened and after they have eaten.
You should take them outside maybe every 1/2 an hour to hour for potty breaks, and again reward them each time they go to the bathroom. Eventually they will start making the connection about going to the bathroom outdoors instead of indoors and they will let you know when they need outside.
A couple of years ago, we adopted a long haired chihuahua from the animal shelter. I was in the habit of taking him out on a leash every two hours to potty, and I'd stay outside with him for a half hour each time. He just layed down in the driveway the whole time, and as soon as we got back in the house, he'd potty. So frustrating. One day I had him out on the leash, and somebody in our neighborhood had a pit bull that they let run loose, well the pit bull came into my yard and attacked my dog, had my dog on the ground yelping, and I managed to get the pit bull off my dog and get my dog in the house. Since then, I have not taken my dog out for fear that next time either my dog or I would get hurt. So, I just clean it up when my dog pottys, but now my whole house smells strogly of dog urine. Recently, the people with the pit bull moved. Do you think it's possible for me to get my dog trained to potty outside? I ask because I have allowed him to potty in the house for a year and a half now. Also, I don't think the treats of chicken, steak, and cheese would work with my dog, because he gets that everyday, he basically eats what we eat. He gets bacon or sausage for breakfast, deli meat and cheese for lunch, and chicken, steak, or hamburger for dinner. Should we not be feeding him like that? If we stop for a subway sandwich we get him a small sub and he eats everything but the bread, or Arby's he gets a roast beef sandwich, or if we get a hamburger, we get him a small plain burger. This is our first dog. We have two cats that we already had when we got the dog, but the cats only get cat food.
Do you have a crate or some sort of kennel? If not get one. keep the dog in it except to play with under close supervision and to go potty outside.
When you take the dog outside continually say as you are going to the dog and while leashing up to go out. Gotta go potty, lets go potty outside or what you want to say. When you get outside say go potty, hurry up go potty over and over and over. When the dog goes praise with treats and bring the dog back into to the kennel/crate. Take dog out to start with about every 1/2 hour or so it wont be long before you will be able to ask gotta go potty outside and they will let you know yes they do than you can make longer times out of the kennel/crate but still watching them closely to make sure they don't go inside. Although if you have a squat and runner it is a bit of a challenge but still doable.
Good Luck.
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