My 2 year old pup is scared....

[Maroney555]

My baby boy is scared to tell us when he has to go potty at night. It's weird, like he is frightened to wake us up or something. He will scamper through the house and find a "secret" spot to do his business and come back in the room. Our 1.5 year old boxer whines and whines when she has to go out...she knows what to do....the terrier doesn't and he's older.

 

Any ideas on how to teach him that he needs to tell us?

 

He never has let us know during the day either...we just routinely let them out for a couple of hours or if the boxer is whining. He doesn't let us know EVER if he has to potty.

 

This is starting to get out of hand. Since he is technically MY dog, not OUR dog, I have to clean up after him in the middle of the night....two nights ago it was 4 AM because I happened to toss over and hear his little nails pitter pattering on the hard wood floor as he ran back into the room.

 

Suggestions?

[Crazyaboutdogs]

Bring him to the "scene of the crime" even if you have to carry him there, bring him over close to his "business" and scold him, telling him "bad". My dog had created Lake Superior in the apartment and that is what I have done to break him of it...made sure he knows he was bad and showed him I was angry. It took a few times but eventually he got the message.

[fragmint]

bringing him there and yelling is only going to scare him. if you seeing his pee causes you to yell at him - he will just hide it even more next time since he knows if you see it youre going to yell. you're just going to have to potty train him by bringing him out constantly, yes even in the middle of the night every few hours. gradually extend the periods in between each time you take him out and eventually he will get it and start preferring the grass to pee in instead of inside. make sure you clean up the spots hes peed on inside very well too otherwise he might smell it and get tempted.

 

also if he isnt potty trained then he shouldnt be allowed to roam around at night. let him sleep in a crate and make sure you take him out right before bed time and right when you wake up. and maybe once in the middle of hte night when you first start doing potty training again.

[Startingover2007]

I completely agree with this. Dogs live in the moment so therefore if you take the dog "to the scence of the crime" he/she will have no idea why your upset but will pick up that you are. He/she isn't gonna connect it to her mess in the house. If your dog is going at night or when unsupervised put him/her in a crate. Dogs love crates and they will usually think of them as a den. Both my six year old and my 15 week old love their crate.

[Crazyaboutdogs]

I completely agree with this. Dogs live in the moment so therefore if you take the dog "to the scence of the crime" he/she will have no idea why your upset but will pick up that you are. He/she isn't gonna connect it to her mess in the house. If your dog is going at night or when unsupervised put him/her in a crate. Dogs love crates and they will usually think of them as a den. Both my six year old and my 15 week old love their crate.

 

Well, I guess my dog must be brighter than most dogs...because HE KNEW. And so did my last dog KNOW what he had done wrong. I think it is a big myth that "dogs don't understand". Of course they do. I also did another trick a friend told me and I put his face right up to the pee. You really have to show them that you mean business. This dog is not a puppy anymore..at 2 years old there needs to be a firm hand on this...they do understand.

[Startingover2007]

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Crazyaboutdogs,

Your methods are not only outdated and old school but considered abuse by many. You are trying to humanize a dog. They don't think or act like a human. There are positive methods available and takes little time to find them by doing a quick internet search.

 

Potty training any dog can be done quickly without having to drag a dog to the scene or putting his nose in it. I have used positive methods with my own personal dogs but also foster and rescue dogs as well. If your dog is making a mess in the house it is nobody's fault but yours, if the dog had not be unsupervised...you wouldn't be coming accross an accident. When any new dog comes into my home, She is crated when unsupervised. This helps them to learn to hold it as a dog does not like to make a mess in her den or to lay in it. Then when you can supervise the dog, first let it out to do it's business. Reward the dog with a treat on the spot (I cut up hotdogs, put them in a sandwich baggie in the fridge and use them for potty training only). When you go back in the house, snap a leash on the dog and then put the leash around your waist. Have the dog follow you around the house while you do your chores or whatever you do. Take the dog out once an hour and then increase the time. Each and everytime she goes potty outside praise and reward her. If the dogs should start to go in the house (dog is on a leash remember) say No No and then take them outside. When the dog finishes outside praise and reward.

 

Very simple and quick. If an adult dog that was previously housetrained starts going in the house again she should be taken to the vet. Females get ITI very easily and can cause this. If the vet can find nothing wrong with the dog then start this method like it is a new dog. I have never done anything different and that method and just trained my puppy within a week and a half. She is three months old and I have had no accidents in weeks.

[EQD]

Ahem.. i think dogs can learn that you are displeased about a certain thing they did. like showing them something they tore up during the day and scolding them. they know what that is. ideally you DO want to catch the dog in the act though.

 

either way, what i would personally do would be just to close the door to the room, so the dog will be more tempted to ask to get out. right now he can go away from the den to do the dirty business but this way hes more likely to say 'hey, i cant do it in here--let me go out somewhere else please'

 

id also make sure to let the dog spend around 30 minutes outside after his 'dinner'

 

OR i'd simply leave the dog outside all night.

 

i'd never crate a dog.

some people consider THAT to be abuse. i personally dont see a need in it. not saying it doesnt work, just saying i'd be effin miserable if i was a dog being crated.

[Startingover2007]

Wow I can't believe some of what is wrote on this site reguarding traing a dog.

 

What will leaving the dog outside all night teach him? The dog whom is used to being in the house will become agitated about the situation and will either resort to barking or tearing up the yard. Furthermore an unsupervised dog is a target to people wanting to poision the dog or steal the dog. You can do search for stories of how many times both have happened to hundreds of people. I have seen you recommend leaving a dog outside alot. To each his own but I choose to take the opportunity to train a correct behavior and not take the easy/lazy way out.

 

Again don't humanize a dog. Dogs are DEN animals and that's how they look at a crate. They aren't misreable in crate. My Six year old still uses his crate at HIS choice, the door is no longer on the crate so he could come out if he choose too. There are actually studies done that prove putting a dog's nose in his mess causes actually harm. Show me anything that says using a crate is harmful?

 

Quoted from the link above

 

“My owner is yelling at me and pointing to some waste on the ground. Now my sensitive nose is being rubbed in this mess. My olfactory passages burn painfully. Dog waste makes my owner yell and hurt my nose. Next time I see urine or feces, I’ll hide so my owner can’t find me to hurt me again.”

 

The same “guilty” response to having made a mess on the floor will be observed in most dogs even if another dog made the mess, dog poop was brought in from outdoors, or even if an owner or trainer puts plastic dog poop on the floor. Dogs don’t think back to the past and differentiate between their accidents and other messes. If dogs associate urine and feces with punishment, all they will learn is to be afraid of urine/feces + human owner, because that combination means they’ll be punished. This can lead to a dog who refuses to toilet on a leash even outdoors.

 

 

 

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[Crazyaboutdogs]

My dog was indeed crated. He is a male dog who, after soiling his cage learned how to lift his leg and pee rivers out of the cage leaving his cage perfectly dry and the floor around it sopping wet. Yes, I know all about "outdated" methods..they say that about spanking children when they misbehave..that is abuse! That is why so many kids run wild these days because you should "reason with them", don't spank them, don't read them the riot act...just talk nicely or else it is abuse. Generations of children and dogs grew up with the slightly harsher methods..that are NOT abuse..it is not beating the dog to a pulp or beating your children to a pulp. These generations before grew up well, and trained perfectly fine. My dog is loving, knows I love him and is perfectly well-adjusted despite my "abusive" training methods. I think I will stick to mine. I also think it is demeaning to animals to assume that they are too stupid to understand when they pee on the floor and you remprimand them a couple of hours later. No, dogs are not humans, but far too many people underestimate their intelligence and the intelligence and feelings of animals in general and can't imagine they can have anything akin to human emotions or thought processes.

[anggrace]

I agree that crating is a very good method. It worked for me anyway. My dog even likes going in his crate. It's his own little private space. At the same time, he goes out right before bed and early in in the morning. During the day I don't leave him in their for more than 4 hours.

[Maroney555]

My dog hates his crate!!!! He really doesn't like it. He doesn't "roam" at night...there are few occasions where we leave our door cracked and he will squeeze out....he would also poop in our room and try to hide it before letting us know. He just doesn't get it.....

[Maroney555]

Crazyaboutdogs,

 

My dogs know when they do something bad too. I can totally relate.

 

For instance, I found a chewed up sandal of mine and all I did was pick it up off the floor...terrier started cowering and shaking and the boxer stayed erect and happy. Hahahaha.