housetraining quandry

At the beginning of August I took in a rescue dog. Mixed breed, probably a
year old, probably 70 lb at proper weight, unfixed male. He was a stray that
was hanging around a friend's farm. He wasn't hostile, and was friendly with
my friend's dog, but would not come to any human. It took the animal control
people a week to get him to enter a trap.

I got him pretty well socialized in a couple of weeks. He's still nervous
but at least has come to trust me. In fact he's become very affectionate,
obviously really appreciating having a home. He eats well, and has passed
all the vets' tests and is healthy. He's slowly gaining weight and is
playful with my dog. He also is very eager to follow my instructions.

The problem is housetraining. He just can't catch on. Some days he's OK, but
on others he loses it, both pees and poos, sometimes several times in a day.

I scold him every time, particularly when I catch him in the act. He knows
it's wrong, and has guilty body language after. He's outside as often as in,
but just doesn't use the opportunity.

Handsome Jack Morrison...

Look, housetraining is an exercise in *classical* conditioning (think
Pavlov's dog here). Once a dog becomes conditioned to "going" both
outside and inside (like this dog probably is), you really only have
one choice.

You simply cannot allow him to "go" inside; you must see to it that he
only "goes" outside. Over time, he will become less and less
conditioned to "going" inside, and more and more conditioned to going
"outside" - but it will time and effort on your part.

Crating can help you prevent the dog from "going" inside (e.g., at
night, or when you're not otherwise able to keep an eye on him, etc.),
by taking advantage of a dog's natural instincts not to "go" where he
sleeps, etc. But the crate must be the right size, and you can only
keep him in the crate for short periods of time, until he's fully
housetrained). Tethering the dog to your waist (with a short rope,
cord, leash, etc.), so that he can never gets out of your sight, can
accomplish the same thing.

As soon as the dog even looks like he's thinking about "going" inside,
you scoop him up and take him outside to "go." And then praise him
when he "goes."

It all boils down to this:

You just can't let him "go" inside. He can only "go" outside.

Period.

And whatever it takes to accomplish that is what you need to be
focusing on.

Allowing just one mistake can set you back to Square One.

Note: You should also get a good enzyme cleaner and clean up all the
spots where he has previously "gone" inside.

I've tried all the various tricks, including blocking off rooms. Most of
the instructions you find on the Internet or from a pamphlet at the vet's
apply to puppies. I asked my vet about crate training but he wasn't

Handsome Jack Morrison...

The same things apply to *your* dog, too!

Think of him as a puppy, as far as his housetraining goes.

enthusiastic.

Handsome Jack Morrison...

What did your vet tell you to do?

I'd hate to give him up, because with his behaviour he probably would not
find a home, but I'm not willing to put up with this, er, crap indefinitely.

Handsome Jack Morrison...

And you don't have to. Any dog can be housetrained, provided you're
willing to invest the time and effort into getting it done.

There's no magic potion.

My house is not laid out in a way that I can conveniently confine him
without restricting general use unsatisfactorily. Any suggestions?

flick...

I'm surprised to hear that your vet doesn't endorse crate training, because
all the ones I've known do. It helps because the dog is confined when you
can't watch him, and most dogs don't want to eliminate where they're laying
down, confined. They will tend to hold it, at least for a while. So he's
crated for a few hours, you take him out on the leash (so he's near you),
he'll potty pretty soon probably, he gets praised. Works like a charm, easy
on everybody and saves cleaning the carpets.

Anyway, instead of putting him in a crate, perhaps you could try leashing
him to you so that he isn't out of your sight, and you can keep an eye on
him.

When he acts like he might be thinking about having to eliminate - or every
3-4 hours at his age, and after eating - take him outside on the leash UNTIL
HE DOES. And then, he's a GOOD DOG. Don't forget to praise him when he
deposits that pee or poop where you want it - outdoors. "Good dog! You had
to GO OUT!"

I don't know if there's much use in punishing him for going inside, even if
you catch him in the act. I've come to think of housetraining as "forming a
habit," if that makes sense. Take away the opportunity to make mistakes,
praise him when he gets it right, and it should come to him pretty quickly.

You might think about having him neutered so that he doesn't want to wander
when he smells a female dog in heat, up to a mile or so away, which might be
why he wandered off from his other home. Dogs can flat-out get lost if
they're too far from home (not to mention hit by cars or shot by farmers).
It will also help cut down on his "sprinkling" in the house to mark his
territory.

Your job and his learning this new habit are both made easier by the fact
that he's eager to please you. Thanks for rescuing him!

flick 100785

Handsome Jack Morrison...

Which is why crate-training seems made to order for you.

Good luck to you!

And thanks for rescuing the dog!