Desperate for potty training help

KMC6296 · 08-24-2006, 07:17 PM

I have a 2 year old Poodle named Peanut Butter. He has, until recently, been really good about going potty outside. In the last 3 months or so, he has been an absoulute NIGHTMARE!! We take him outside every hour or so (we are in a town house and he does not have access to the outside), control his food and water intake and if all else fails, he was always fantastic about scratching at the front door if he need to go out.

However, in the last couple of months, he has decided to prolong urinating and refuses to have bowel movements outside. It can sometimes take walking around for 10 or 15 minutes for him to finally relieve himself. If ANYTHING (a person, a leaf falling, etc.) catches his attention, forget it! No potty. He has taken to having his bowel movements under my dining room table. When I can't keep an eye on him, I try to keep him in his corral or in his crate. But, I have a 7 year old and am convinced that he uses her as a diversion. If I take my eye off of him for a second - that's it my dining room is a litter box.

I am at the end of my rope and just don't know what to do. Any suggestions would be SO greatly appreciated!

opokki · 08-24-2006, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KMC6296

It can sometimes take walking around for 10 or 15 minutes for him to finally relieve himself. If ANYTHING (a person, a leaf falling, etc.) catches his attention, forget it! No potty.

How does he react to these things? Is he fearful?

Curbside Prophet · 08-24-2006, 07:32 PM

What is the dog's life like? Specifically, how much attention does he get for training, and exercise. How is he disciplined? Has he been to the vet recently? And has anything changed in his daily routine in the last 3 months?

Swissmiss · 08-24-2006, 11:20 PM

In stead of taking him for several short walks try to take him for 3 long walks for about 30+ minutes. I would walk him with control (next to you) and not allow him to sniff or be distracted. Try to recognize a potential distraction before your dog and keep him focused on the walk. Once you find a good spot (with little distractions) allow him the freedom to sniff around and go to the bathroom. Once he does go, pet him happily with lots of "thataboys" or bring treats and reward his good behavior of going potty.

If you are scolding him when goes (which is natural) in the house and it’s not at the very moment he is going - it does no good he doesn't know what your mad at. Try to be positive when he does what you expect of him, this he will understand and if you tire him out first with a brisk walk to his bathroom area (his distraction will be less) and give him more time to sniff and reward when he goes he should turn around.

KMC6296 · 08-25-2006, 02:07 PM

He's not fearfull, just curious. He will be in the process of going potty (leg lifted) and the second something grabs his attention, his leg is down and ears are up!

KMC6296 · 08-25-2006, 02:13 PM

My boy is actually pretty spoiled. I work from home, so he is with me all day. We make a point of a long walk after taking my daughter to school in the morning, another in the mid afternoon to check our mail and again with my daughter when she gets home from school. I did stop giving him treats while on our walks once we thought we had our potty training down. However, he does get treats once we arrive home after a walk.

Now that it has been mentioned, he did recently go to the vet for some skin irritations. They determined that he has skin allergies. I don't know if that could be a contributor to our problem, that's the only issue we have had with him within the last 3-4 months. He has to be bathed once per week with an allergy friendly shampoo.

Curbside Prophet · 08-25-2006, 04:42 PM

It's possible that the skin condition, if it is new and recent to him, could be causing a bit of stress, which make him act in a strange way by urinating under the table. What I think needs to be done is to make sure you're on top of your NILF position...in stressful times, our dogs are more likely to need us as a constant leader. And in conjunction with this, on your walks, don't stop to potty. Just keep moving forward, and let him tell you he needs to go. Elsa likes to stop in mid walk and sit or lay down. I've seen some dogs pull like crazy for grass, and others choose to eliminate on the spot. My brother's dog Victory likes to do this in the middle of traffic for some reason...it's so embarassing. Usually walking helps a lot in stimulating elimination. Do you use a flexi-leash so he may find the right spot, and so you don't have to be so close? This is my solution, but maybe someone else has something more or different. Good luck!

drfong · 08-25-2006, 05:05 PM

I try to walk mine and control when they can sniff and elliminate or when they must just walk but when they want to poop they will just get in the position in mid stride. Walking does seem to stimulate it an even more runing around so if you can take the dog outside and really exercise it, it may cause it to go ahead and go. Good luck.

Crississippi · 08-31-2006, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KMC6296

He's not fearfull, just curious. He will be in the process of going potty (leg lifted) and the second something grabs his attention, his leg is down and ears are up!

Mine does that too!!! It is a pain to get him to go to the potty outside. the house. Glad to hear mine isn't the only one that does that.