House Training 10-month old
I've posted here before about our tri-color, Bubbles, when she was 7-months old. She's almost 10-mos and her behavior is now worse after a period of improvement for about one month.
We just need to go back to the basics as she is now using the entire house to urinate and defecate. I do use an odor eliminating product to clean up after her. She will not go on potty pads, so I don't even put those down anymore. She is crated during the day and over night. She will not defecate in her crate, but will urinate on occasion if I don't make it home right after work.
Do I train I 10-month dog as I would a 10-week old? Get her on a schedule and take her out every 30 mins? Will she continue to just urinate on the carpets even though I've cleaned up after her? She's even urinated on beds, furniture, pillows, etc, if given a chance to jump up. We have to keep all the doors in the house closed so she won't destroy the rooms! Do I keep her in her crate and only take her out every 30 mins to go outside and potty?
I'll admit, she's the only corgi we've had that we haven't had a fenced in yard. And, it's our responsibility to make sure she gets the exercise and properly trained. (I know all of her other behaviors will improve once I take the dominate role. She has destroyed furniture, bedding, toys..you name it....I've had 3 corgi's before her and never quite seen anything like it!) I'm just not sure what to do at this point and don't know if I should just start from scratch.
I have 3 children ages 7, 8 and 11 who could help. (Although, my 8-year-old son has autism and isn't able to help out as much as my other two children.) My kids are even saying they don't even like her anymore and want a new dog! She has destroyed so much of their belongings and is not affectionate.....(does this go beyond housebreaking??!!!) How can I encourage them to build a relationship with her and trust her?
Any advice would be appreciated as I know she cannot be happy. Thank you.
Michelle
We just need to go back to the basics as she is now using the entire house to urinate and defecate. I do use an odor eliminating product to clean up after her. She will not go on potty pads, so I don't even put those down anymore. She is crated during the day and over night. She will not defecate in her crate, but will urinate on occasion if I don't make it home right after work.
Do I train I 10-month dog as I would a 10-week old? Get her on a schedule and take her out every 30 mins? Will she continue to just urinate on the carpets even though I've cleaned up after her? She's even urinated on beds, furniture, pillows, etc, if given a chance to jump up. We have to keep all the doors in the house closed so she won't destroy the rooms! Do I keep her in her crate and only take her out every 30 mins to go outside and potty?
I'll admit, she's the only corgi we've had that we haven't had a fenced in yard. And, it's our responsibility to make sure she gets the exercise and properly trained. (I know all of her other behaviors will improve once I take the dominate role. She has destroyed furniture, bedding, toys..you name it....I've had 3 corgi's before her and never quite seen anything like it!) I'm just not sure what to do at this point and don't know if I should just start from scratch.
I have 3 children ages 7, 8 and 11 who could help. (Although, my 8-year-old son has autism and isn't able to help out as much as my other two children.) My kids are even saying they don't even like her anymore and want a new dog! She has destroyed so much of their belongings and is not affectionate.....(does this go beyond housebreaking??!!!) How can I encourage them to build a relationship with her and trust her?
Any advice would be appreciated as I know she cannot be happy. Thank you.
Michelle
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Michelle, this is the infamous "teenage" years, you'll need to go back to the basics, just keep on chugging, we've all been there :) Have a great schedule, be consistent. When you cannot watch her, put her in the crate. No exception. Corgis are herding dogs and they need jobs and mental stimulation, you must exercise her everyday, take her for a long walk to drain that energy, if not, she will find a job for herself :) You will need to be consistent with the entire family, all members treat and train her the same, a united front makes things simpler for her. May be you can be more specific and describe what you've been doing so far? may be some of us can give you more pointers?
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Permalink Reply by Amy on
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The only thing I can tell you is to put her on a strict schedule and be consistent. Feed her at the same time everyday. By doing this you can soon figure out when she has to go and it takes out the guess work. Also take her out as soon as she is finished eating, after naps and play. I have always set a timer with my corgi every 2 hours, that way if I get busy with the kids, housework, or schoolwork, I have a reminder as to when I need to take Maggie out. I was also told by my vet that until my dog gets house trained and is "trustworthy" with it, it is ok to take away her water after 7pm. Course she has unlimited water available throughout the day. He said that if she gets thirsty after you have taken her water up to give her ice. It will quinch her thirst but gets into her system much more slowly. But just make sure you do not limit her water throughout the day because you don't want a dehydrated dog. Just like with children, dogs will go through a regression stage and the only thing you can do is stick to your guns. She will get it.
The other piece of advice I can give you is exercise, exercise, exercise. I take Maggie on 2, 1 mile walks everyday and we play fetch alot throughout the day. It really makes a difference in behavior and training because they are not focused on getting out that pent up energy. Good Luck to you. Just remember this too shall pass.
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Permalink Reply by Bubbles'Mom on
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Sam & Amy -
Thanks for the advice! Perhaps I do need a timer......Schedule??! Um, not much of one to tell the truth, and I know that's my problem! Actually, she was an incredibly easy puppy to house train and I let her quite a bit of freedom when we were home. Apparently, that was a bad idea looking back now plus I know we probably weren't exercising her enough.
She does eat every day at 6:30 am and goes outside to go potty. She also goes outside immediately when we get home at 5:45 pm eats every evening at 6:00 pm. No free feeding.
So, do I crate her round the clock while we're starting over? I'm so fearful she'll just start going on the carpet any chance she gets!
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You could crate her and it may be a good decision. What you could do is reward her with some play time in the house if she goes outside. Then crate her until her next potty time. Another thing you might consider is to feed her a very small treat each time she pottys outside. I would keep the doors to the rooms of the house you don't want her in closed until you feel more comfortable with her roaming. Giving her boundaries will only help make things easier for you.
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Permalink Reply by Spartan on
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I just want to say to hang in there. I can tell you are frustrated and probably overwelmed at times.
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Permalink Reply by Denise Hawkins on
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I would go right back to basics with her, as if she is a tiny puppy. As the mother of an autistic child myself I know how hard it can be, but I would imagine you have a routine for your son, so just use that strategy with the puppy. I would not let her roam the house until you are sure she is not destructive, I would also make sure she gets lots of exercise during the day, it sounds to me like she has pent up energy and will use that for negative use, instead of positive. The kids are bound to be fed up if she is destroying their things, but use this as a chance to teach them not to leave things lying around, if its on the floor it becomes hers. I think if you go back to basics with the house breaking, and make sure that she has plenty of exercise, get the kids to play with her, like running around and she will follow, (killing 2 birds with one stone!).
Good luck with it,
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I SO appreciate all of the responses.........it really keeps me going! Yes, I'm extremely frustrated and overwhelmed.
My son is very high functioning but is not capable of handling her on her leash outside or really being in a room with her alone. I've kind of given him the job of feeding and her when we get home (with supervision). He tends to get overwhelmed "playing" with her but also gets a real kick out of watching her enjoy herself. My son is on a routine, so I do need to incorporate some of those strategies. Good idea.
We are gone from 8 am until 5:45 pm during the week. Then, bed at 9 pm. So, I know she has got to have ALOT of pent up energy!! I'm trying to save money to finish the one side of my yard that needs a fence. I know she would enjoy having some free time to just hang out and run.
Again, I really appreciate all of your feedback!
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My son is high functioning too, and he is able to walk both of our boys, although he is 14 and quite heavy, so he has the weight to hold them when they pull on the lead. She will need a good walk at least once a day, more if you can manage it, feed her at routine times, (after 4 weeks our boys can now tell the time and remind us when its dinner time!), once you get into that routine you should see how long after that she needs to go out to poo.
I would get a crate, they are a godsend, and will reduce your cleaning, when she is out and running around, dont give her wide access to the house, keep her in one room, that way the worst thatwill happen is that she will go only in one room, and you dont have to have a poop patrol in every room.
Once she gets a rountine exercise, and fed at regualr times you might find you get a better behaved little girl, but bear in mind, this is teenage phase and they are not any easier than human teens!
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Permalink Reply by Katie on
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My puppy is 9 months old and she was fully potty trained up until this weekend. It seems like she just totally forgot everything. Today she pooped on the carpet floor! I have been so upset about it. We take her outside all the time, but I think she has been playing instead of doing her business while out there. It is a relief to know others are going through the same thing right now. I have been feeling just terrible about this since it feels like all the work we have done in the past has been forgotten. I don't have any advice for you, but I just want you to know others are going through the same thing as well.
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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Think of this as just being a preview for your children's teenage years. You need to stay strict but provide them with plenty to do. To reinforce her going outside try just using positive words when she does go outside, it can be as simple as saying shes a good girl. Negative reinforcement really does nothing but hinder the use of positive reinforcement from my experience so that speaks for itself.
I would recommend the same as others when it comes to excercise as well. Given that 6-9 doesn't leave you much time at all maybe it would be a good idea to make walking her into a family affair so that everone is doing something. Have you tried getting a kong to put treats in for her to occupy herself with for times when you can't walk her?
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I'm sorry that other's are experiencing this, but, it's good to know I'm not alone!
I know we have a kong somewhere..I need to see where it is!
I feel sorry for her since she's crated all the time. But, I'm not cleaning up messes off the carpet! And, she's now pooping outside! And, the kids are getting more involved.
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