At my wits end

My dog Benji is a 1 year old yorkiepoo. We also have Casey, a golden retriever who's 8. Casey was potty trained within a week. Benji still isn't Daily he pees and poops all over my house and my house now stinks. We out him outside , scold him, stick his nose in it etc. doesn't matter. I've sprayed Natures Miracle. I've thrown away rugs and toys of my son's he peed on. I do love him but he is destroying our house. I dont know what to do. He may need more attention. I thought he'd be ok during the day with Casey while we are at work - one of us comes home to let him out. I wonder if he'd be better off in a home where someone is home during the day. I'm trying to convince my next door neighbor who's retired and has 3 dogs to take him lol.

Please help ... I either need to fix this here or find him a home where he'd be happier.



Edited for spelling

Message edited 8/1/2012 8:38:23 PM.

Re: At my wits end

Did you crate train him?

I wouldn't stick his nose in it, as I do not think that works and have read the same.

I wonder if there is an underlying medical condition? have you had him checked out by the vet to rule that out?

Re: At my wits end

Yes we did in the beginning ( crate train). And then when he was ok, left him out. Then all of a sudden he started pissing everywhere and pooping in the same 2 spots . He's been to the vet, no issues.

Re: At my wits end

I would try to re-do the crate training again until it hopefully sticks. There is still hope for Benji to be fully trained. Also, is he being exercised enough? I know with my sister's puggle, she struggles with her peeing and pooping in the house but has found when she takes her outside and plays with her for a bit each day, she has been having less accidents.

At my wits end

I think you have to start over with the crate training. He may not like it but in the long run it will be better for everyone. Every dog is different. My mini schnauzer was housebroken a month after getting him home, our airedale took longer and wasn't completely housebroken until we had him home about 3 months. A dog like a retriever is really smart and will pick up something much faster than a yorkipoo. My sister's dachshunds weren't housebroken until at least a year. Sticking their nose in it doesn't really do anything... as far as I can tell dogs are mostly gross and like bad smells anyway... I would try the crate training again and then slowly start reintroducing him to the house small areas at a time, maybe just the kitchen, then the kitchen and living room so on and so forth. GOOD LUCK!!

Re: At my wits end

I'd go back to keeping him crated during the day. We had to do that with Lucy. She seems to go through phases.

Re: At my wits end

Re: At my wits end

At my wits end

Also, it is a small dog, they are notoriously hard to potty train. You cannot compare it to a bigger dog as their bladders are much smaller and cannot last as long. If you are out of the house all day for work you might want to consider a walker to see if going out in the middel of the day helps.

Re: At my wits end

Just like children take different amts of time to potty train, so do dogs. We don't just get rid of them when they frustrate us with taking too long to potty train since when you adopt a pet, you never know what you are going to get. My female took over a year to train, whereas my male took 4 mths.

I don't know what methods you used to train him and if he was fully truly trained. But sticking his nose in it, scolding him, etc, is NOT the way to successfully train a dog (just as you would not scold or stick your child's face in their feces or pee). Just as children need, dogs need structure and firm guidance, but not scolding. That only perpetuates the cycle.

Did you ever try crate training him? But the dog would need to be let out once during the day at the least and someone has to take him out to pee and poo. He has to be watched, not just sent outside, to make sure he empties. That's the best way to train IMO.

Message edited 8/2/2012 2:50:04 PM.

Re: At my wits end

Message edited 8/2/2012 3:15:05 PM.

At my wits end

I would almost restart housetraining and go back to the crate when you are not home. Every dog will have an occassional accident but it seems like this is becoming a learned behavior for your dog.

Crate when you are out. When you are home out to do "business" every 2 hours at least whether he has to or not. Lots of praise for going outside (treats, love, affection). NO (absolutly no) reaction for accidents in the house. As hard as it is fight the urge to scold or have any reaction to it whatsoever. Even negative reaction is one that gives your dog attention and that may be what he is seeking. By reacting, scolding, disciplining him sends the wrong message. He may discontinue the behavior when he stops receiving attention or your reaction to it.

Hope this helps! Keep us posted.

Re: At my wits end

We have had Maple for 4 mts now. He is a min pin. When I am out he stays in his crate. Also overnight. While he is trained for the most part, there are areas he will poop and pee when I am not around. He can spend up to 6 hours during the day in the crate since no one is home during the day. He actually loves his crate so I dont feel bad. I have a feeling he will neve be 100% trained and he did damage a few things, but he was a rescue and was neglected so his learning began with me. My husband is less patient with accidents because he had a big dog he raised as a puppy and it was just different. Dogs respond well to structure and patience.