I Just Don't Get it (Housetraining Issue)
 

Logan was doing so well. He is almost a year old but still not completely housetrained, which is frustrating my husband to no end (and he's threatening to give him away!).

When Logan and I went on a trip last month, he didn't have any accidents in my brother's apartment. So when we got home, I gave him more freedom in the house. We thought he was doing so well, and then last night he squated in the family room and pooped! Then today we found some dried urine dribbles on the carpet near the foyer.

I don't know what else to do. But I am thinking about getting some kind of diaper. I think that will appease my husband as well. What do you suggest?

I just ordered two "doggie dungarees" for Logan. Then I think I'll learn how to make them myself :)

Please don't use doggy diapers, these should only be used on a dog with no control. He's probably a little upset with all the changes. Dogs like a very regular life, and when they make a mistake, it a mistake the owner has made in training. The dribbles were probably marking his territory since he's home again.

He's been neutered, so he should not be marking. He doesn't usually urinate in the house; the poop has been the problem. It's just ironic that we found some urine today.

I have successfully housetrained another dog before, so I do not believe it's a mistake I've made with Logan. I must find some way to keep Logan from getting pee or poop on the carpet or else my husband will give him away. I plan to use the diaper ONLY when I allow him to run around the house. Otherwise, he will have to be crated all the time or have limited roaming ability in the kitchen by being tethered to the outside of his crate with his leash.

2 cents
 

lol...Georgia leaves lil tootsie rolls around the house now and again. I put her in diapers and guess what? Diapers don't keep the poop in....the hole for their tale...you guessed it...the poop still gets on the floor.

So basically it works for pee... now the peeing is pretty much good....I realized that she just wont pee on a pee pad more then twice....and sometimes just once....so I pretty much change those out alot!!!

My final cure...just plane ol walking the dog....like Cesar Milan says to do...a dog runnin around in a yard is not the same...Georgia has more accidents when she has less walks or no walks.

Its good for me too...in the long run...

Is your yard fenced? You may consider putting in a doggie door.. my little ones love theirs. They are always with me.. but if I don't get to the door fast enough.. and they really have to go... they just jump through and do their business. We have a big fenced back yard.

Great suggestion.

Guess men doesn't have to raise children and we understand being full of nerves and keep trying. My husband doesn't enjoy the accidents or the barking on occasions. But however if they are with me we don't have all the issues. I think its the way they get vibes from him.

:rolleyes:Our new 1 yr old boy, Cole goes nicely on the washable wee wee pads....Since I take the other 2 out to go, the second he pees or poops outside, I say 'treat' treat' all the way in to the house to the cabinet to get the 'special' treat....He now beats me to the cabinet...Whatever the special treat may be, only use it for going on the wee wee pad or outside so they can relate to a positive reward....good luck...

I do walk Logan. :(

No, we don't. But Logan doesn't let me know when he has to go, so I'm not sure he'd go out the door. But our yard is fenced in; however, it's a large yard, and there are gaps between the fence and ground that Logan could easily slip through, so it would be dangerous to just let him go in and out as he pleases.

You can't give him freedom if he continues to go on the floor, or your husband needs to get just over it. I've said it over and over again to you, get a steam cleaner and clean it up. It's just carpet. Those are your choices - crate + tether or deal with it until he learns. There is no magic housetraining wand.

Again I'm repeating myself.... Sammy is housetrained (she asks to go out) but she will poop on the floor is left unsupervised when she needs to go, which is 90% of the time first thing in the morning and after she eats dinner. So, we stay outside with her until she goes in the morning and then she is not allowed to run around unsupervised in the evening until she goes. That means crating her if i'm too busy to stand outside for 20 minutes, or walking her until she is empty. You NEED to get Logan on a schedule like that so you can have better success with predicting when he needs to go out. Maybe that means crating him an hour before he usually goes, preventing him from having an accident, and then walking him until he goes.

The moral of the story is that you can't leave him unsupervised. Try to learn his patterns. Have you tried teaching him to ring a bell? How much of it is that he might have tried to tell you he needed to go out but you didn't know. Loki used to walk by the door. If I was upstairs, how would I know? Teaching him to ring a bell eliminated almost ALL of his accidents when he was around 1 year old because he was so excited that he could communicate what he wanted. Also make sure you are taking treats outside when you go and giving him one right away.

Logan is almost a year. Loki still had a few accidents at that age before he was completely trained. You have to work with him and continue to be consistent. I know that you feel like YOU have done nothing wrong, but you need to be open to the possibility that you need to try something different. Housetraining Yorkies is a PAIN but it's worth it and it can be done.

We're still working on Sadie's pottying in the house too. My husband normally gets up early so he takes her out before the sun is even up. Then when I get up a few hours later, I take her out. The days get busy and sometimes she doesnt go out regularly and I find evidence of that on the carpet in a bedroom or a yellow puddle on the hardwood floors somewhere but she IS learning to cry at the door when she wants out. The secret is that I have to be tuned in to her cries and run to her when she does it so that she realizes that Im paying attention and that her crying to be let out is a good idea for her! LOL! Its all timing and scheduling! We've only had Sadie for one month now and so patience is key. I hope that Logan gets a clue soon so you dont find him gone one day!!

I ring a bell that's hanging on the door knob every time we go out. And when he pooped on the carpet the other night, I was standing right there. I yelled, "no!" and picked him up, but the poop fell on the carpet before I could get him outside.

You did the right thing my startling him and taking him outside. Maybe next time he will remember. I would still recommend making sure he is empty - the best way to train is to prevent mistakes in the first place.

Do you take his paw and show him how to ring the bell? Try target training with him. That way he knows ringing the bell is a good thing. When he does ring it, praise him and immediately take him outside. Until they are trained you need to take them out every time they ring the bell even if they are just ringing it for fun or attention.

It sounds like your source of stress is the carpet rather than the actual training. Can't you just block access to the carpet? I'm sorry but even if they are housetrained you WILL get stains on the carpet. Dog puke stains are a lot nastier than pee and poop stains. (Actually, the poop shouldn't stain at all unless it's diarrhea. I know that's gross but it shouldn't be mushy.) When my dogs puke they aim for my bed or my carpet. That's why we have a steam cleaner, extra sheets and good laundry detergent. :D

You said when you got home from vacation you gave him more room. Isn't that when the accidents became more frequent. I would keep his space limited until he is fully and reliably trained. Take him out at least every hour. Take him for lots of walks.:)

I think I posted earlier that Logan does not let me know he has to go out, but I just remembered after reading this reply that he has twice gone to the door and pawed at the bell or the blind covering the door. I took him out, and he pottied. But he doesn't do that all the time. I have not had any problems getting stains out of the carpet, and the poop is solid so it doesn't leave a mark. But I spray it with the solution that is supposed to remove the odors and prevent him from going back to that spot.

Our experience with our Maltese was so different. At first he had accidents, but when he was even a little younger than Logan, he quit having accidents and would go to the door to let me know EVERY time that he had to potty. So I'm just a little confused as to why our method hasn't worked with Logan when it worked perfectly fine with our other little dog. It doesn't bother me as much as it does my husband, and he's the one we need to appease so that Logan can stay. I would die if I had to give him away for this reason.

While we were at my brother's apartment, which is small, he was allowed more freedom while we were there. And he did not have any accidents. For at least two weeks after returning home, I gave him more freedom in the house, and he didn't have any accidents until the other night. The last time we went out of town, he did very well away from home and again for a week or so after returning home. And then an accident happened, so we started controlling his wandering more carefully, allowing him only access to the kitchen (tethered to his crate) or in his crate when we could not keep an eye on him.

I just wouldn't even worry about one accident, it's going to happen. I think he's doing great, and he's about the age now that he should be doing good, but as you know Yorkies are more difficult than other breeds, so occationally this will happen, I don't think you need to start at square one each time. Best of luck, and look at the positive!

I think it will all work out. He sure is a cutie.:p I'd just be sure to keep track of what time he went out and if he didn't tell you in another hour, I'd take him to the door and take his paw and ring it and then take him out again. It sounds like he is just about there, but you can't let your guard down.:D