How to Potty Train an Adult Dog
Mogwai
October 19, 2009 -
Pet:
When I rescued Mogwai 6 months ago, I was in the dark as to what potty training he had undergone. And he has been so inconsistent with his potty habits that it’s driving me bonkers!
He has some of the weirdest potty habits. First, he will never go number 2 while on a walk or in front of people. Meanwhile, he lifts his leg on each and every tree we walk by and loved to be rewarded for going pee in the backyard. He’ll go in and out of the doggie door and squeeze out the smallest drop just to get another treat.
So, here lies the problem. I sleep with dogs at night. Around 4 am they both want let outside to potty. No problem. I take them downstairs to the backyard, watch through the window and wait for them to finish their business. I give them a treat and stumble back to bed.
When I wake up an hour later, I sometimes come downstairs without any messes (and do a happy dance!) Other mornings, I will come downstairs to barrage of pee and poop all over the place!
There seems to be no rhyme or reason behind it. I’ve tried everything I can think of to hinder this behavior. At first I used a male wrap to deter his leg-lifting in the house, and it worked! He had gotten the picture and no longer peed on the floor. The catch--he would still poop all over the place.
I removed the wrap and he had no accidents for over a week. At this point he regressed and I came down to the same old mess. I tried crating him after taking him downstairs to potty, but he would scream and cry and I couldn’t go back to sleep. I’ve tried to make the crate a positive place for him, but I think past experiences have made this an almost impossible task.
I clean up every mess with an enzymatic cleaner, block off the cat’s litter box so he can’t get close enough to mark it. I’m out of ideas! He never has any accidents in the house while I’m at work or at home—only in the morning.
Any advice or recommendations on how I can combat this rude awakening would be greatly appreciated!
Comments
20 Oct 2009 6:39 pm
shawniec said:
I'm so glad to hear that! It just rang so similar to my little Miss Molly's behavior! I wish you continued success!
20 Oct 2009 4:43 pm
mdinchak said:
Update: This morning I found no messes (happy dance!) and took shawniec's advice and gave Mogwai and treat, all the while telling him what a good boy he is! I'm going to keep rewarding him during the morning and hope that he catches on! Thanks again for the fabulous advice!
19 Oct 2009 6:40 pm
mdinchak said:
Thanks for the great advice! I think I'll leave him outside for 30 minutes or so and not treat him as he runs through the doggy door. If he decides to reward me with a clean floor, THEN I will dole out the treats! I'll keep you posted on his success. Thanks again for the thoughtful advice!
19 Oct 2009 11:59 am
shawniec said:
(He looks so wise in that pic!) It's possible that he's not seriously going when you let him out and are waiting for him to give him a treat. 'Cause now he's essentially being rewarded for coming back in (and possibly for pretending to go). I know it sucks when it's so early, but you might want to leave the scene and let him hang out there, thinking he's 'alone' for a while, and nix the reward for coming in. Put the reward toward the house staying with no accidents. So, when (if) you come down and there's no accidents, give him a treat for "good potty outside!" If she knows I'm waiting for her, my Molly will do the same thing, she'll do a quick potty without really paying attention to her needs--she's just focused on getting back in with me. I have to leave her out there and go where she can't tell I'm waiting and let her have time to hear her body. Sounds weird, but it's true. Good luck and hang in there! :-)
You must be a registered user to post comments.
Sign up › or Sign In ›