[Tasia]

I dont feel like joining another forum so, I have a 3 yo italian greyhound mix.I got her in June a month later she was spayed. She is let out four times a day and she only has aciddents at my dads! *My parents are divorced so I go back an forth everyday:shock:. I never see her do it so I cant correct it. Next week I am going to buy her a crate to keep her in when were away for a few hours. SO what do I do?
Thank you
Tasia

 

[Wallaby]

How do you react if you see her having an accident? If you punish her she may be going out of her way to hide from you to avoid punishment...
I've never personally house trained a dog myself but I've heard that tethering them to you using a leash connected to your belt loop works well. That way you have the dog near you at all times so you can rush them outside as soon as you start seeing signs that they might have an accident. Then you praise profusely when they go pee/poo outside.

You say she is let out 4 times a day, do you supervise her outside? Do you know if she's actually going to the bathroom when she's outside or if she's just playing around? I'd personally start supervising her everytime you let her out, to make sure she goes to the bathroom and so you can praise her when she does go. It could be that's she's not comfortable with your dad's yard so she needs a little bit more encouragement to relieve herself out there.

Good luck! =)

 

[Tasia]

See thats the problem I never catch her she only does it when were not home. I run around with her outside to make sure she does go.

 

[3neighs]

How many hours is she left alone? She may just not be able to hold it. I have two shih tzu/poodle mixes and the absolute longest they can go before being let out is six hours.

 

[MN Tigerstripes]

A crate is a good way to do it or confine her to a SMALL room, i.e. a bathroom or small laundry room. If this is a recent development bring her to the vet and get her checked out. UTI's and other such infections are often a culprit in sudden accidents. In addition, try to get her out more often and don't punish her if you don't catch her. Make sure nobody else is either, that can result in making a problem worse. Especially if it's behavioral. It could be related to the living arrangements, is the divorce recent or the moving back and forth?

 

[Tasia]

The problem is not recent shes been doing it since we got her but it was fine but after a month it started to lack. The divorce is not new for either of us.

 

[MN Tigerstripes]

So more than likely the problem is that she wasn't ever completely house trained (assuming there aren't any underlying medical issues). I would crate train her and use it when nobody is home. That should take care of the issue when nobody is there. She should be able to hold it for 6 or so hours (you said she's out 4x daily, so just extrapolating), but she probably gets to the "hmmm, I have to pee" point and doesn't really realize that she shouldn't do it inside. Even though she isn't doing it when people are home I would still follow normal house training procedure when you are there. Let her out frequently, lots of praise, and careful monitoring. This will help reinforce to her that outside = good.

Note on crate training. Not sure how experienced you are, but make her crate her home. Don't only put her in there when you're leaving. Have it in the living room or other area where there are people (assuming she's a social dog). Put some towels and a towel over the top so it's like a cave. You can switch to a nice bed once you are sure she won't be destructive. Teach her a command "go to your house" or something like that and reinforce it with treats and petting. You really want her to like her crate. In theory she should WANT to spend time in there, even when not told to kennel. It shouldn't be a punishment. When that happens you turn into one of those people that is chasing the disappearing dog around the house every time you have to leave.

 

[gypsygirl]

also remember to praise her right when she goes potty outside ! if you wait more than 2 seconds to praise she wont know what shes getting praised for. if you praise/give a treat when she runs back into the house she may be so excited to come back in that she doesnt completely empty her bladder.

 

[Lucara]

I highly suggest crate training. Another big thing is, when you get home do not acknowledge her. Put her on the leash and take her outside. No baby talk, no affection at all. Once she does her business outside THEN give her the affection. Some dogs get seriously wound up when people get home and make messes. By not acknowledging her until AFTER shes used the bathroom OUTSIDE, then she should pick up on it after a few days. Not lavishing them with attention upon entering also makes for a much calmer reunion in the long run. Your likely to cut out any jumping, barking and hyper attitude. (My parents never learned this)
Insure you walk her thoroughly before leaving and once you get home.

I also agree with keeping the crate near you. I crated my dog throughout the night but kept the crate beside my bed.
If you've never crate trained before, the crying takes a while to get used to. Zeus used to cry for hours before he finally stopped. Eventually he got used to it though. He did so well, after 3 months we stopped using the crate all over again.

 

[snoggle]

Crate training is awesome when done correctly. My dogs hang out in their crates when they don't have to because they are their personal spaces and they love them. They should never be used as punishment! Don't make the mistake of getting her a huge crate right now either. It needs to be small enough (for now) that she can't pee in one corner, then curl up comfortably in another corner. Once she's trained you can get her a bigger one, but for now you should get one she can stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably in - but not any bigger. Don't put anything absorbant in their right now either (again, you can do that later for comfort). This teaches her to use her "holding it" muscles and then the very minute you let her out, she needs to go outside to pee. I even say "go potty" over and over again when I let them out and praise like crazy when they pee. This is helpful when you need them to pee almost on cue (traveling and you stop at a rest stop and don't have an hour to walk them, etc.).

IG's are pretty smart and she should learn pretty quickly. My mom LOVES her IG and full sized grey - the IG is definitely the smarter one. Plus, he's so friggin' cute!

It doesn't sound like a UTI, but that is definitely something to keep in mind. They tend to go from well trained to 6+ accidents a day when they have a UTI. Not gradual at all. Plus, they'll pee multiple times when outside for 10 minutes. My female Pyr started getting them a few years ago (right after I got married) and I figured out that it was because my hubby (previously not a dog person) wasn't letting her out enough when I wasn't home. She would hold it like 12 hours or more and then end up with a UTI. I had to train the hubby, not the dog.

 

[Tasia]

Thanks everybody for the help so crate training sounds like the best option but everybody says its cruel (dad mom brother) so I will try to explain why its not I am also having troubles trying to find a crate that is reasonably priced in my area so far no luck so could I try the bathroom (our bathroom has a sorta a extra cubby area so could I close that area off add a bed and her water dish? Would that work?

 

[gypsygirl]

they actually like their crates as long as they get to go in them during times they arent being naughty, ie to eat & sleep. its good to put them in if they get over stimulated, but it should also be a safe place for them to go. they will probably cry the first few times, but they will be fine

 

[snoggle]

The bathroom might work. It just depends on how picky the dog is about not wanting to pee/poo in the area they lie down in.

It really isn't cruel - you're not leaving her in there all the time - start with pretty small amounts of time to begin with. Also, you can do some things to help entertain them in the crate. I think the best thing ever is to get an appropriately sized Kong toy, and stuff it with treats. Make sure one or two of the treats come out very easily (to get the dog interested), that a few take quite a bit of work, and that one or two won't come out at all without you pulling them out for the dog. That way, when you come home to them, you just take the last treat out and give it to them. They will always think "good things happen when mom is here"! They will spend the entire time in that crate chewing and fighting for those treats. Wild dogs would spend their days hunting for food and living in dens - fighting to get a treat out of a toy while hanging out in a crate (doggie den) isn't that different for them.

If crates are so cruel, how come my smallest dog will choose to spend hours in her crate when I let her outside to play? The door to the crate (it's on the porch) will be wide open and she'll just be curled up in there sleeping or relaxing.

 

[gypsygirl]

i like to take bones or knuckles that have holes in them & fill them with pb & then freeze it. dogs [and especially teething puppies !] love to lick the pb out =]