posted 10-08-2003 07:29 PM         

Finally found a message board that looks like it's members might be able to help me...and boy do I need it!

My wife and I "Adopted" a Mini Dachshund about 1 month ago. At the time he was 3 months old. We have been trying to kennel train him to "Relieve" himself in a designated kennel. This has been pure frustration!
We have him confined to one room which has the kennel in it. We place him in the kennel every 1/2 hour or so to relieve himself. Unfortunately, he also decides to relieve himself outside the kennel. We tell him "NO" but he still has the problem. We have been working on this for a month now. After he does relieve himself in the kennel (only when we put him in there) we reward him with a treat and lots of praise.

This weekend, we visited my folks who have 2 yorkies. Wouldn't you know it, our doxie picked up on the "Go into the kennel on your own bit" and mastered it at my parents. We had extra praise for him and figured we were well on our way to peace and less frustration.

Upon returning home, our doxie is back to his old routine and refuses to even go near the kennel to relieve.

What are we doing wrong and where do we go from here. We have used the "Wee wee" pads and drops but for some reason, he likes the carpet better.

Sorry for the long post.....

Thanks in advance!!

posted 10-09-2003 04:18 AM         

It sounds like you're kennel training backwards if I read that right! You don't want your puppy to do his business inside the kennel. The kennel should be like your puppy's "den" and instinctually a dog will not want to mess where he sleeps. The purpose of kennel training is to train your dog to hold it and only go potty where and when you want him to (he will have to go every 4 hours and after every change in activity). Instead of placing your pup in the kennel to relieve himself, put him in the kennel for a nap, then remove him from the kennel and do his business on the wee pads (which should NOT be placed in the kennel).

Also, you need to keep a sharp eye on your puppy. There's no point in scolding him when he messes in the house because you should have been watching him for signs he has to go and placed him on his wee pads. 3 months old is too young to expect a puppy to be able to understand why you're yelling at him for doing his business. Sometimes, if you scold a puppy for potty in the house, but aren't supervising him at other times, they can learn that it's OK to go in the house as long as they find a corner where you aren't watching. The moment it looks like he has to potty, snatch him up and move him where he needs to go. If you do have to scold the puppy, do it WHILE HE'S IN THE ACT. After he's finished, he won't understand while you're yelling at him.

posted 10-09-2003 09:25 AM         

I want the dog to eliminate in the designated kennel. In his "Daykennel" as we call it, it is quite larger and has the wee wee pad along with his little sleeping/play area.

Once we can get him kennel trained to eliminate in the designated kennel, we will allow him to roam the family room where the kennel is located instead of locking him up....hopefully.

I guess the easy answer is we want him to eliminate strictly in the designated kennel. I feel, since he is a smooth coat doxie, that our harsh winters here in Mass. will be a little too cold for him. My wife and I also work shift work (i work mids and she works days) so our sched will not really coincide with the pups elimination schedule

posted 10-09-2003 01:12 PM         

Honeybear

posted 10-13-2003 07:57 PM         

Ours, for example, was not housebroken at all when she started living here (she had been my aunt's (her "real" owner) before, my aunt had "crate trained" her by shutting her in a crate 15-17 hrs straight while she was at work since Annie had been a 2 month old pup, so I would guess that has made things even worse). We got her to the point where she was almost completely reliable, and she stayed that way for months, then started pee'ing in the house. My mom hauled her off to the vets for urinalysis, blood testing, and the like, all were normal. We went back to crating her when we were gone, and she would go outside and pee, then come back in and pee in the house 15 mins later. We finally (after several months of leashing her to us when we were home and crating her when not) got her back to "housebroken" again, only to have her start peeing in the house again. This has occured about 6 times in the 4 yrs we've had her, and she's had the full health workup done several times, all with no problems. She likes to pee on carpet best, tile next, and doesn't like to go on linoleum much at all. Sooo... after battling with this for so long, we've finally resorted to keeping her gated in the (linoleum floored) kitchen. She gets to run the house if I'm able to watch her closely and she was just out and all her "stuff", but other than that, she's lost roaming priveledges. When I let her come into bed with me, she's on a leash with the handle looped around my ankle, so that if she tries to sneak out to pee on the floor, she wakes me up and I can take her out (though sometimes she doesn't even go outside, and finds herself in the crate for the rest of the night). Apparently, from what I've heard and read, her behavior is NOT uncommon in at all, and many dachsies are the same way.

posted 10-14-2003 11:11 AM         

Also, dogs get used to peeing on a certain kind of surface. Goob's hierarchy of what his dog likes to pee on probably reflects where the dog had the most accidents with the previous owner.

posted 10-14-2003 07:20 PM         

Unfortunately, most of the house....more like 99% is carpeted. We had planned on taking out the carpet and finishing the wood floors. Looks like now we have an excuse to have it done sooner

He's getting better....day by day. Seems to go quite frequently...like 4 times in 1/2 hour. Trying to limit his water intake and watching to see what happens!