[bert1970]

I'm so frustrated and completely at the end of my rope. Of course, like everyone else, I have an incredibly hectic life. Two kids, husband who travels, full time job . . .you all know the drill. Like living in a blender.

Anyway, to add to the insanity, 3 months ago we adopted a rescue pug from petfinder.com. She was in a foster home and I specifically asked if she was in good health, house trained, and good with kids. The answer was, "yes" to all. And, although she gets nippy when she's hyper (which is a concern but not high on my list of problems) for the most part she's pretty good with the kids.

Unfortuanly, when she showed up, after a three day transport from St. Louis (I'm in boston, ma) I immediately noticed that she was blind in one eye. A trip to the vets confirmed that her "good" eye was pretty badly damaged as well. Okay, the dog is a total sweetheart and I committed to her so I can live with that. Poor pugsly.

BUT HERE IS WHERE I CAN'T DEAL . . . not only is this dog not REMOTELY house trained, after THREE months of schedule based crate training she shows NO signs of getting it AT ALL. I mean, I've read everything, I'm rewarding EVERY time she does her business outside, we have her on a VERY tight schedule, we watch her like a hawk, we put her in her crate when she can't be watched. However, the second we take our eyes off of her and she decides that she needs to go . . . there it is . . on the floor!

I can deal with an accident every now and then . . .that's just part of dog ownership. But what has me freaked out is that it is really clear that she doesn't even remotely get what she is supposed to be doing. And I have to say, I'm a little angry. I feel like I was tricked into taking a blind, non-housebroken dog. Of course my kids adore her, as do I, but I don't know how much longer I can put up with this. I'm at the point now where I feel like saying, "okay . . . 2 more months and then you're going back". I know it's awful but I'm totally at my wits end! HELP!!!!

-Bert

[French Ring]

Don't give up too soon, ok.. It takes time to housebreak a dog, but how old is she? If she's a puppy, then it takes about 5 to 6 months. If she's over 1 or 2 years old, it should be done sooner. And.. Are you controlling how much water and food she can have? You will get what you want, but it takes time and you have to be consistent.

Small dogs are harder to housebreak because they have smaller kidney, bladder, and liver. I have a miniature pinscher and he tends to pee more often than Elisa, a Belgian Malinois. It took me about 7 months to housebreak Roo, a mini pinscher, and with Elisa about four to five months.

[TooneyDogs]

Housetraining is a combination of scheduling and teaching right and wrong.
Here's the scheduling part: If you're feeding dry kibble, it takes about 16 hours for that to pass through the digestive system. If you're feeding RAW it takes about 5-6 hours. Dogs will pee every 70-90 minutes if they are not trained.
For the training: It is imperative that you catch her in the act....it is the only way you can teach her WRONG! You've got the RIGHT part correct with praising/treating for going outside.
Here's what we have done to train our 14 dogs in two weekends (yes, we both worked full time and accidents happened during the week).
We took turns literally following them around the house. You have 6-8 'opportunities' to teach WRONG every day. You should not need more than 2 or 3 dozen times to get the message across.

[InverseLogic]

Originally Posted by bert1970

Of course, like everyone else, I have an incredibly hectic life.

No, not like everyone else, actually.

Oh, and I would like to say that if you clearly don't have time to devote to training your dog, then you should have never adopted one. I know that I wouldn't have if I led an "incredibly hectic life".

It can take months of hard work and constant attention to train a dog, especially older ones. Who knows what kind of life they have had and what kind of traumatizing experiences they went through? Maybe it was forced to live in a crate for hours and hours without any interaction? Maybe it was kept outside in the backyard it's entire life?

I think it's very wrong that the foster lied to you. I guarantee that they just wanted to get rid of the dog. Have you tried talking to them about it?

Anyway, like said above, training a dog takes dedication and consistency. If you can't devote the time to train your dog, then you shouldn't have adopted. Just because the dog seems like it's not "getting it" doesn't mean that it isn't learning. It takes time.

Also, I would never trust ordering a dog online. It's pretty much a given that you NEED to interact with your new pet before bringing it home. You need to decide for yourself, in person, if it's the right companion for you.

It sounds like you're on the right track with your training methods though. Trust me, she'll end up getting the picture completely. It takes consistency.
Remember to train with positivity, and not negativity. Yelling at the dog only makes it worse (I'm not assuming you do this, just saying it in general).

[bert1970]

Originally Posted by French Ring

And.. Are you controlling how much water and food she can have?

She's a rescue so I'm not really sure how old she is but we think about 2yrs. So, how do you use water and food to help housebreak a dog?

thanks.

Originally Posted by TooneyDogs

For the training: It is imperative that you catch her in the act....it is the only way you can teach her WRONG! You've got the RIGHT part correct with praising/treating for going outside.

that's a really good point. I'll give that a try this weekend. thanks!

Originally Posted by InverseLogic

I know that I wouldn't have if I led an "incredibly hectic life".

Well, I'm sincerely happy to hear that someone on this crazy planet doesn't live an insanely busy life. However, everyone that I know does and that includes many loving responsible dog owners.

Originally Posted by InverseLogic

Who knows what kind of life they have had and what kind of traumatizing experiences they went through?

I'm sure that the poor dog had a rough life up until now. I'm also sure that she's much better off being apart of our insanely hectic family life than she is not having a home.

Originally Posted by InverseLogic

I think it's very wrong that the foster lied to you. I guarantee that they just wanted to get rid of the dog. ---
If you can't devote the time to train your dog, then you shouldn't have adopted.

I have time, just not three months of training that goes nowhere. BTW, the whole reason that I took a rescue dog, who supposedly was housebroken, was because I really didn't want to have to do this. Otherwise I would have purchased a puppy from a breeder. I certainly didn't save any money going this route, that's for sure!

Originally Posted by InverseLogic

Also, I would never trust ordering a dog online.

yeah . . . live and learn. My neighbor did the same and it seemed to work out well for them. Also this agency did so much due diligence on our family before agreeing to let us adopt AND they made us sign something that says that we will give her back if it doesn't work out that I figured that they would be honest with us. Oh well.

Originally Posted by InverseLogic

Yelling at the dog only makes it worse (I'm not assuming you do this, just saying it in general).

I'm not. thanks.

[Guardian]

I had my second dog house broken within 2 weeks. I can count on one hand how many times she had an accident in the house.

I know many of you are going to say "dogs can't remember where they do their business", etc. I personally do not believe that. Dogs do have memories, so why wouldn't they remember going to the bathroom? That said if you correct them too long after they go they may not understand exactly what they did wrong.

I watched her like a hawk, even had her tied to my waist (umbilical). Once I left her in the kitchen while I went to get something. When I came back I had a little present shall we say. I took her over to the location, hooked my finger around her collar and with a stern tone of voice said "This is bad. Never do this again". And no, this was not shoving her face in it, I just took her to the spot and let her know. She has never pooped inside since then, however pee was a different story. It took her two weeks and a few of our little conversations for her to actually get it with the pee.

That all said I do not believe in over correcting, I believe in prevention and interruption. Make sure they are taken out frequently and keep track of when and where.

[Elana55]

Sounds like you are on the right track. Tie her to you so she is NEVER (and I mean literally never) out of sight. WALK her outside, do not pick her up to take her out (unless you are interupting a pee/poo in progress). Always take her out the same door to pee/poo and always talke her to the same place outside. You may already be doing all this anyway, but maybe not.

Many ppl with little dogs make the mistake of carrying dog outside. The dog never gets it then because you have not made them walk to the door, and go out.

Again, you may be doing all of this now but never ever ever letting her out of your sight is essential. Also, the same door and same area outside is even more important because your dog is nearly blind. Even tho her eyes don't work, her ears and nose do and between those two things a dog can still do a LOT.

Last, but certainly not least, be consistant in the times you take her out.

Yeah.. I know... just adding to your hectic nutty life... but sometimes I think that is what I am here for. (sorry.. trying to add a bit of levity here that is probably not working).

[Kuma'sMom]

Hi there, I also own a Pug, and they can be a.....challenge, to housebreak, lol. I'd check out this site as well: http://www.pugvillage.com/forum/
There are tons of knowledable Pug owners there that can really help you. Pugs really do seem to be in a class all their own when it comes to housebreaking, it typically takes about a year before a Pug is reliably housebroken. Some people get it done sooner, but that's the minority. On average, you are looking at about a year. Your Pug may not take as long, though, since she is an adult. There has been some great advice here, you just have to be extremely consistent and patient with them. It will happen. It took a year to get Kuma housebroken, but he finally is. I can completely understand how frustrating it can be, but with patience and consistency, it will happen.

[FilleBelle]

This has nothing to do with housetraining and may be information you already have...sorry to go off topic.

http://www.blinddogs.net/
http://www.blinddogs.com/

[gingersmom]

Two tips that may help:

1) cleaning up with a regular disinfectant will not be enough -- some of the scent remains, and the dog will piddle where it smells old piddle. Get a pet enzyme cleaner, and make sure you really wash everything down after an accident.

2) Since your dog has vision problems, make sure the scent outside in the designated bathroom area remains strong. Leave the poo out there for a bit before you clean it up...

[Chicster]

Originally Posted by Elana55

Many ppl with little dogs make the mistake of carrying dog outside. The dog never gets it then because you have not made them walk to the door, and go out.

I think you just gave me a breakthrough!! Cody never signals me, but I'm thinking now it's because I usually carry him. In my house with the other (insane!) dog going after him it's hard to get him out the door in peace, but I'm going to make a point of trying that now.

[JackiesZoo]

Originally Posted by Elana55

Many ppl with little dogs make the mistake of carrying dog outside. The dog never gets it then because you have not made them walk to the door, and go out.

REALLY??? I didn't know this either! I carry Ash out too. I do it because he is deathly afraid of going down the stairs since it is pretty steep and a LONG way down...and because, as soon as I get out the door, he goes potty in the hall way. I guess I am going to have to run him out from now on! Oh the joys of dog ownership! I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[wes]

Is there consistancy? Is the dog using one particular spot in your house? Like a rug or tile? Some lazy owners teach their pets to use the RR in one spot that is easy cleanup. If yes, you're going to try to have to curve this and watch the dog when it goes to the area.

But for simplicity sake, put the dog in a crate while you're at work. When you get home take it out. And every hour take the dog out. That's what i did with alex and i can count on 1 hand how many accidents she has had since i have had her.

[rogueslg71]

Originally Posted by bert1970

BUT HERE IS WHERE ...we watch her like a hawk, we put her in her crate when she can't be watched. However, the second we take our eyes off of her and she decides that she needs to go . . . there it is . . on the floor!

i think thats the problem. you need to give her absolutely no break from being watched until she is housetrained. i had to do that with my dog along with all the other stuff but now she is great =)

[SMoore]

First off im sorry you didn't get the upfront story about the dog before adopting. That can always cause unwanted and planned for problems, etc... Thank you for sticking with the dog despite her problems! I think that's great that you are willing to train her and put for the effort needed. Most people would have taken the dog straight back to the shelter when they found out she was blind.

Anyway, like what has already been said you do have to catch them in the act. When i bring a new dog home I never leave them unsupervised. They are either in their crate or walking around the house WITH ME on a leash. That way as soon as they start sniffing i take them out and praise for using the restroom.

Cain my pup is going on 10 weeks and will already start whining at the door if he has to go, if i dont get up fast enough and take him out he'll pee right by the door. I still think its progress.

I'd also suggest taking them out 20 minutes after a nap, after drinking lots of water and after playtime or immediately after being in the crate for awhile.