Help on Training

[mknuth]

My Papillion, CoCo who is 5 months old and very intelligent. I also have a 3 year old Cocker, Butter, who is an amazing pet.

The problem is that even though CoCo will go outside and do what she is supposed to, this isn't stopping her from also going in the house when she wants.

She knows it's wrong because as soon as she has an "accident" she runs into her crate and won't come out, so I know the brain power is there.

How do I get her to tell or show me she needs to go out? I put her out almost every 1 1/2 -2 hours to avoid accidents and she goes almost every time!

[MyBabyShihPoo]

Hi, and WELCOME mknuth!!!

To me, it sounds like CoCo is either testing you, and/or is not FULLY housebroken just yet (obviously she has made great progress, but she is still pretty young, so don't be too disappointed in her not being completely housebroken)!

Several ideas to rid her of the habit:

~Continue to take her out on a consistent basis as you are, and when she does eliminate outdoors, praise her like crazy and give her one small treat.

~Limit her access to the house! Only let her be in the room you are in so you can keep a close eye on her. If it is difficult to confine her to one room with gates and the like, leash her to you, or even something in the room (i.e. leg of a couch or chair). The whole idea here is to make her earn your trust! She obviously knows what she does is wrong when eliminating indoors, so you have to show her that you are the boss and won't tolerate that behavior. This is done by LIMITING HER ACCESS to your home...simple, she is only allowed to be where you are so you can closely supervise her, and catch her "in the act" if she decides to eliminate indoors. (The more times you catch her in the act, and correct the behavior, the quicker she will learn and likely cease the behavior.)

~Are you using a high quality deodorizer to clean up her accidents? When a dog eliminates indoors on your carpet, the smell of the previous elimination will remain if a quality deodorizer was not used the time(s) before. That smell will entice CoCo to eliminate in the same spot again, or somewhere else in your home...it's just their natural instinct.

A high quality deodorizer that I like is Nature's Miracle, which can be found in just about every pet store.

~When you can't keep an eye on her, it is vitally important that you confine her. I always used our kitchen for this. I would close the door that led to our dining room, and gate off the doorway that led to our family room, so there was no possible way they could escape to the rest of the house and have accidents while I was unable to supervise them, or when I was gone. Confining your pup to a room with tiled floor is ideal because if your pup does happen to have an accident while in there, the clean-up is easy.

~I am going to quote a response I wrote before regarding signs that a puppy may need to eliminate:

[mknuth]

Thank you!! I will start implementing all of your suggestions immediately. I love her dearly, but don't want to get frustrated... I will keep you posted!

[MyBabyShihPoo]

You're very welcome...glad I could help!!! I'm sure with lots of patience, persistence and a positive attitude, CoCo will learn quickly - she is obviously one smart little pup!

I look forward to hearing how she does!

[mknuth]

2 days later, and progress already. Less accidents and a much happier household. I told my husband about your message and he has also been working with CoCo per your suggestions. His frustration level has gone down tremendously

Thanks again, I'll keep you posted.

[MyBabyShihPoo]