Potty Training - The Age Old Question!
Hi all!
I know this has been posted about a gazillion times but I thought I would ask for some advice pertaining to my particular situation. I have a Corgi that is 6 months old, and she is extremely sweet! When we got her, the vet warned me that she might be snappy with kids, wouldn't like her feet touched, and that she would likely have to be muzzled during vet visits because Corgi's were notoriously cranky. Ellie LOVES kids, even really small ones, she never bites, and loves her feet touched! She's a really great dog... except...
I'm having trouble with potty training.
She absolutely knows what "outside" means and runs to the back door when we ask if she needs to go outside. She is also crate trained at night and never goes in her cage. I'm home with her all day and I take her out at regular intervals, and she does know to go outside and we don't have trouble with her going potty outside when we go. She does not go to the door when she needs to go though, and shows little indication when it is "time." No sniffing and circling. She just drops and goes! We have another dog that spazzes out when he has to go potty. Three counties away they know he has to go from all the barking and dancing!
My problem is that she will pee and poop outside, and then come inside and within 15 minutes do it again. I'd love to take her out every 15 minutes, but that's not practical. I work from home, so I can't watch her like a hawk when she is outside her cage. I have conference calls and I'm on the computer working all day. She is confined in the room with me and I keep an eye on her as much as I can, but I swear the minute I glance away she squats and pees or poops again. I've even tried leashing her to my chair but she just pees or poops right beneath me. I have make a loud squealing noise and told her no when I catch her doing it, and she looks properly ashamed and runs away, and then we go right outside. I make a huge deal out of her going outside and she gets a treat, but the penny isn't dropping. She gets that she needs to go potty outside, but she doesn't get that she also shouldn't go inside.
The other option is to crate her when I'm working during the day and just take her out at intervals, but that means she'll be crated 8 hours while I work and at least 8 hours while we sleep. That's a lot of crating! She already doesn't like her crate, I think because I've had to crate her to keep her from going all over the house in between potty breaks. I hate to do that though.
Any ideas on how to get that penny to drop? I didn't have this trouble with the other dog. By the time he was 6 months, he could hold it for 2 hours and we just took him out every 2-3 hours on schedule. If we were late, he'd definitely let us know! Ellie, not so much!
Thanks!
Sheri
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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It sounds like she's had too much freedom too young and has learned that going outside is good, but going inside is not-so-bad either. The secret to housebreaking is to not allow inside accidents; every time they go inside, it just reinforces it further.
If you have room, set up an ex-pen inside so that when you can't watch her, she is confined but not crated all day and all night. Continue to crate at night.She should only be loose when you are able to give her 100% of your attention, meaning that if she is to squat you can immediately pick her up and deposit her outside. The problem is the "minute you glance away" part. Puppies should not be loose if you are glancing away! :-)
Jack was not allowed run of the house until he was about 7 months old, even if I was right there watching him, because when his feet hit carpet he would pee. He did only poop in the house once, though, and that was the first day we brought him home.It's also very possible that you are not giving her a chance to empty before bringing her in. Both of mine usually pee at least twice on a walk (they mark more often, but that is how often they release significant amounts of urine) and both of mine typically poop at least twice as well.
She looks "ashamed" because she's being submissive to your correction, not because she's embarrassed.
Remember: way more puppies have problems because of too much freedom than because of not enough. So from now until she's at least a year old, if you can't give her your undivided attention she should be in a crate or pen. Every accident she has reinforced that it's ok to go inside. Don't give her the chance to have accidents. 90% of potty training is arranging your schedule so that puppy ONLY potties outside because she never has the opportunity to potty inside. This instills a strong desire in the dog to potty outside only. Asking to go out then arises (for most dogs) naturally out of the aversion to going inside and the resulting frustration when they have to go and are locked in. Having said that, I have one who barks at the door and another who will hold it as long as possible, but if she really has to go and no one is around, she'd rather sneak off to an upstairs corner than open her mouth and bark. But she will hold it, for up to ten hours while we're at work.
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I agree with Beth. I'd set up an xpen inside the room you're in and keep her there when you can't watch her 100% of the time.
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I should add that at least sometimes you should give her food and treats and toys in the ex-pen, and always water in there. Also have a bedding area. If she eats and sleeps in the pen, she will be inclined to not want to potty there.
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Permalink Reply by Sheri Wildt on
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Thank you so much! That's great advice, and I'd be happy to set up an x pen for her in my office so she can play with her toys while I work.
Two questions: Any recommendations for x pens and also, will she potty in the x pen? If it's big enough around, I should think she might relieve herself in it on one side. Again, I'm taking her out regularly, so maybe she won't do that in a small exercise pen, but I was just curious. She never goes in her cage, which is good, so I know she can hold it for a few hours if she needs to.
I might try to teach her the bell trick at the door too. I had an American Eskimo that would ring the bell to go outside and it was pretty awesome, except the cat also liked to ring the bell for fun! :)
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I have this pen and have been very happy with it. It is a bit bulky, so depending on your space one of the lighter metal ones might work better. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00020L78M
As far as pottying in the pen, I think that really depends on the dog. Mine never did, but I can't say that about every dog. I would put a good sized bed in there and some toys/chews and take her out every hour or so for a potty break if possible.
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I use this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Black-Exercise-Pen-Inches/dp/B000H8YT...
I like it because it folds up and can also double as an outdoor pen, plus there is no plastic to chew on.
I clipped the crate onto one end of it. Jack would pee in it only if he coulo not hold it as a pup, and would not poop in it. I agree with Jane that a good-sized bed area and some toys will take up enough space to discourage pottying.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I agree with Beth and Jane. We have a pet fence like Beths...think it's maybe called Pet lodge, 30" tall and we use it all the time, I block off my living room with and it's easy to take along!
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Permalink Reply by Crystal Whittenton on
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You have a lot of good advice about potty training... here is some unsolicited advice. Get a new vet. Any vet that labels all dogs in a breed a certain way is not going to give your pet personalized attention. I briefly had a similar vet with my first corgi and switched to another and had a much more positive experience. Good luck!
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Thanks again all for the good advice. I got the x pen and we used it today and it worked great. She didn't potty in it and seemed pretty happy playing with her toys right next to me in the pen! Hopefully it will stick and she won't decide to use it later for a potty spot!
I definitely got a new vet. I actually work for entire fleet of vets (I'm an animal geneticist) but in lab animal medicine, and I feel bad asking coworkers to doctor my animals or give me veterinary advice, particularly about potty training. The vet I took Ellie to was a new one and I was pretty taken aback. It was at a VCA, and nothing against VCA, but the two times I've gone to a VCA I was rather offended by the behavior of the staff. Maybe just my bad luck.
Anyway, we've since moved to another town and her new vet is a guy who thinks she's the coolest dog ever. The entire staff freaks out every time they see her and go crazy. This is an extremely small rural town and they said she's the only Corgi they have seen in years. People around here think she's a tame tiny fox or something! Ha!
Sheri
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