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-   -   Dog woes (http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/showthread.php?t=525949)

heartofjoy 08-18-2018 07:30 AM

Dog woes
 
I have one pretty room in my house. One. It took me 20 years to get a room like this. I care about this room more than I care about my children's dog. Mavis, a small dachshund mix, sits on the top cushion of my couch, smooshing it, not to mention hair all over it. And she pees and poops on the rug.

I've had this couch and rug since January and I feel like they are ruined. I'm really mad at this dog.

It's mostly early in the morning before anyone is awake that she pees. We've tried kenneling her at night. She whines and keeps the whole house awake.

If she sleeps on the kids rooms, she may scratch at their door to be let out, but they may or may not hear her and then she pees in their room. Or they let her out of their room and she comes and does her business in my pretty room.

She'll do it if we're all in another part of the house too. Or if we're gone, but we try to lock her up when we leave.

We've had the worst luck at training dogs to go outside only. Are some dogs just smarter about it? I don't feel like we've done anything majorly wrong here.

We got her 2 years ago. And the peeing inside started in the winter. Our other dog does it too, usually upstairs in the winter. And then it takes all spring to train them out of it. But usually summer isn't a problem. My upstairs is gross. I want to replace the carpet but I can't because they'll just ruin it. I'd rather her go there!

At this point, I want her to just stay out of my room. It is open, no door, so I can't shut it off. I'm very close to rehoming her. She's a good dog except for refusing to be kenneled and the peeing.

I'd love to keep her off the couch too, but I don't know how to get her to stop. We have another couch she's allowed on.

We've done the training with treats thing. She doesn't seem to need to pee often, so it's hard to catch her needing to go. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ea01961eb6.jpg

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ECingMama 08-18-2018 08:24 AM

Re: Dog woes
 
Same dog who bit?

I am so sorry. I would be upset too

heartofjoy 08-18-2018 01:17 PM

Re: Dog woes
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ECingMama (Post 6153021)
Same dog who bit?

I am so sorry. I would be upset too

Yes. But she wasn't attacking a human. She was fighting with my other dog and my son was dumb enough to try and separate them with his hands.

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kiloyd 08-18-2018 07:57 PM

Re: Dog woes
 
Dachshunds are known for being hard to house train.

How many nights did you kennel her? Where was the kennel? Put it in one of the children's rooms at night and during the day in the living room or wherever people hang out.

The best way to house train/stop peeing is prevention. Which means if no one is watching the dog, she is kenneled. Make it a nice place, not isolated, comfy bed, toy she likes, possibly even feed her meals in there.

I see how angry you are! Can that cushion be fluffed up? Do you scold her when you catch her on that couch?

heartofjoy 08-18-2018 08:23 PM

Re: Dog woes
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by kiloyd (Post 6153055)
Dachshunds are known for being hard to house train.

How many nights did you kennel her? Where was the kennel? Put it in one of the children's rooms at night and during the day in the living room or wherever people hang out.

The best way to house train/stop peeing is prevention. Which means if no one is watching the dog, she is kenneled. Make it a nice place, not isolated, comfy bed, toy she likes, possibly even feed her meals in there.

I see how angry you are! Can that cushion be fluffed up? Do you scold her when you catch her on that couch?

We started out kenneling her in the mudroom with our other dog Rosie. She was fine for 6 months and then she started whining in the middle of the night waking me up. I couldn't take it any more so we let her sleep with the kids. That's when the peeing got out of control. So I finally moved her to the downstairs bathroom. No kennel, but locked in. I had to stand outside the door every night and tell her to be quiet and hush her until she got quiet. She usually slept all night. That was at the beginning of summer. Then she started whining again. She was waking up the kids in the middle of the night and they couldn't sleep so they let her out so they could sleep. She's definitely happier when she sleeps with a person.

I told the kids they needed to pick someone to be her person. They would be responsible for letting her out in the morning. No matter what. We'll see how this goes. My 17 yo son said he would be the person. So his responsibility.

I have scolded for the cushion every time. She doesn't care. She jumps down when she sees me. I can fluff the cushion up. But the one on the left is soft and squishy while the one on the right is still firm. It was a cheap couch, but still!

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gabriola 08-19-2018 05:30 AM

Re: Dog woes
 
I agree with the kenneling. It will be a tough few days transitioning her but she needs a schedule. When she can't be watched, isn't out for a walk, eating or playing with you she is in her kennel. The moment she comes out of her kennel she is taken out to pee. I would feed her in her kennel as well as that provides a positive association. Perhaps during her "quiet" times you could also provide her with a Kong filled with peanut butter or something else that she would have to work at getting and would keep her busy. Often times, destructive behavior is about boredom or anxiety. Kennels provide a safe place (den) for the dog and you provide a consistent routine. Plenty of excercise will help also....even with small dogs. There is a book by Brian Kilcommons called "Great dogs, Good owners" or something like that. It is an older book but it helped us train both of our dogs. I would also think you could google it to find the training schedule for dogs. Don't forget lots of positive reinforcement for when she gets it right! Treats and verbal praise work wonders. Just like kids. Consistency is the key and all of the family has to understand the expectations.

As a side note, and perhaps it is too much to do now....but our dog is litter trained. We don't have a fenced yard and live in a mountain community (bears and cougars). I set up a litter box in our garage. I just use the lid off of a Rubbermaid container so it is more shallow than a cat box, pee pads that come from the dollar store, and the recycled paper cat litter pellets (from Walmart) on top of that for more absorption. I clean up her poo every time and change the pad every few days. She also goes for plenty of walks so she isn't using it all the time. It has saved our lawn and it is so much nicer for the kids to play outside and not have to worry about doggy doo. Small dogs can be finicky about the cold so maybe that would provide a winter solution.

Hang in there, I think it will all work out if you can figure out a routine and can have patience with her whining for a few nights. As long as you know she has been toileted, fed, watered and excercised she will be OK in her crate. Some have suggested that you shake an empty soda can filled with some coins every time they cry so that they have a startling, negative sound that they associate with crying....personal preference will dictate here.

kiloyd 08-19-2018 06:59 PM

Re: Dog woes
 
Your kids are plenty old enough to take care of the dog if they want to keep her. If not, I'd start looking for a new home for her.

I'd probably crate her every time I caught her on the couch. Or basically if she can't follow house rules, she goes in her crate.

She may like sleeping with a person but not at the expense of peeing in the house! I'd kennel her next to the other dog.

Can you think of anything that changed that suddenly she was not happy in her crate at night?

A Kong with PB or canned food and frozen keeps a dog busy for awhile.

Soliloquy 08-20-2018 11:49 PM

Re: Dog woes
 
Can you hire a dog trainer?

Training with treats is only for young puppies. They need to be weaned off treats as rewards. It's hard for human to learn to speak dog but, once you do, you realize why what you were doing wasn't working.

Soliloquy 08-22-2018 06:15 PM

Re: Dog woes
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gabriola (Post 6153076)
live in a mountain community (bears and cougars).

:ot so do we! :heart

gabriola 08-25-2018 04:20 AM

Re: Dog woes
 
Hey, that's cool! I'm in Canada, you?

sorry, if I shouldn't reply here...I know it is off topic....

kiloyd 08-28-2018 07:02 PM

Re: Dog woes
 
I would work on crate training. A safe not in trouble dog is a happy dog. If you can get her happy in the crate, you're problems will be solved. So at night and whenever you're not watching her she's in her crate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUzF0g0PwY4

I can't find Part 2.


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