I think it's time for a professional!!! - YorkieTalk.com Forums

celstu1 · 05-23-2013, 04:54 AM

My dogs are going to tear apart my marriage.

So DH takes the dogs out to potty yesterday. They SIT in the yard for 5 mins looking at him. (this is new behavior)

He runs to the bank and leaves them gated in the kitchen, it was a 10 min round trip. Comes home and they moved the gate and went pee & poop in the spare bedroom and the kids room.

Why are they doing this? They pee & poop in the house ALL THE TIME. They do it at times they are being ignored, say we are getting changed for the gym and we left the gate up so they are in the kitchen, when we get back in the kitchen 3 mins later, they have peed and pooped on the floor. We have replaced the floor in our living room and our bedroom now.

AT night when we are sitting on the couch with them, they will jump down disappear for a min... I get up to find them and they are peeing in our room. They don't let me know they need to go out.

We were making progress with them, DH works from home 2 days a week and takes them out regularly. They are home alone for 8 hours 3 days a week (those are the days there are NO accidents in the house). They are contained to 1 area, but Im thinking of making their area smaller. They are almost 8 years old. This is an ongoing problem. DH is so fed up.... I'm so fed up.

Ldyrev1 · 05-23-2013, 05:00 AM

Oh dear! You do have a problem. One thing that may help is to tether them when you are home. I know it sounds like a pain in the neck but it seems they may be asserting themselves as boss in the home. You might need to reestablish yourself as pack leader and tethering will do that for you! Good luck and keep us posted on how things are going.

celstu1 · 05-23-2013, 06:36 AM

Even more, not just the pottying in the house, they are overrunning our bed. We had a bed for them at the foot of our bed, up on a chest that was the same height as our bed. We tried every night to make them sleep in their bed. DH said that they would come to me in the middle of the night and in my sleep I would lift the covers and let them go under.

Basically Im not alpha at all. They don't listen to me at all, they don't listen to DH. They are out of control and it IS my fault... I just don't know how to get it under control. I am too emotionally attached to them and have a really hard to disciplining them. But they are probably not happy and we are DEFINITELY not happy.

I contacted a trainer in our area for in home training. For US and for them!

ladyjane · 05-23-2013, 10:46 AM

They don't know why they are outside is my guess. Usually dogs like to please their owners...just being outside does not mean they know what is expected. It is best to take them to the same spot every day and not dally around trying to get them to go. If they go, praise them a lot...if they don't go, bring them back in but don't let them out of your site. Put a leash on them if you have to until they get the hang of it. Then take them out..do it until they go..praise the daylights out of them. It takes patience and a lot of repetition.

Maybe you can find some ideas here:

Free House Training for Puppies and Adult Dogs - No More Accidents Starting Today!

Maybe the trainer will help. Good luck!

Maximo · 05-23-2013, 10:53 AM

^^ I agree with LJ. Take them out on a leash, use keywords and phrases to indicate "go potty," and then praise like crazy. Never stop giving praise for a good job.

Find a way to secure the gates to limit freedom, even when you are home. Until their habits improve, limit their freedom to where you can supervise.

It is interesting that they don't have a problem when they are alone and don't have a break for 8 hours.

rubymoon2072 · 05-23-2013, 10:53 AM

even with a trainer my darling you are still going to need to be consistent with hubbs and get them to listen to you and your commands. you have to work on that is my take...and with consistency and more alpha from you they will understand more of what you want and are asking of them. hoping the trainer can get everyone on the same page and best wishes for a good outcome and some peace between you and dh.

chachi · 05-23-2013, 10:55 AM

Are you sure they arent having some old age incontinence. I know it doesnt help with the pooping but my jewels has some incontinence problems already and shes 8

Britster · 05-23-2013, 11:53 AM

I'm sorry you're having problems.

It's really just about consistency. My dad's dogs are similar (well, one of them, really) because they're just not consistent and frankly don't really care to try and change them at this point.

But first off, don't worry about anything "alpha". Don't get a trainer who is going to come in and tell you to be all 'dominant' etc. The alpha theory has been debunked by the very people who created it years ago. Having well behaved dogs has nothing to do with you being more 'alpha dominant'.

My dads JRT mix Lilly will often be let outside by one of us, and I watch, 80% of the time she doesn't even go in the yard. Just stands on the porch. Then 5-10 mins later, someone comes by and opens a door for her, and she never even went. Thus, she comes back in the house and goes. I don't trust Jackson to go by himself either, so for our last potty of the night, I always walk out with him on a leash and say 'go potty' and make him go, so he won't wake me in the middle of the night having to go.

Since you say they sneak off like while you're laying on the couch watching TV, maybe (even if it's a PITA at first) try leashing them to you. If they try to get up, take them outside. Or if you don't wanna leash, the minute they hop off the couch, get them and take them outside. If they don't go outside, and you come back inside, leash them to you again. They will learn quickly. Just be 100% consistent for a full week, and see your progress.

celstu1 · 05-23-2013, 11:58 AM

Thanks everyone.
No, there are no health issues or incontinence issues ... at least not from the last vet check up, they are healthy as can be.

Do you think letting them sleep in bed with us might be causing some of these issues? They also have very severe separation anxiety.

Britster · 05-23-2013, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by celstu1

Do you think letting them sleep in bed with us might be causing some of these issues? They also have very severe separation anxiety.

Doubtful.

Dogs just don't really rationalize this way. Making them sleep somewhere else when they have always slept on your bed will probably just confuse them more than anything.

But they don't think "oh no, we're not sleeping on the bed anymore, better start behaving and stop pooping in the house!" lol.. you know what I mean?

Check out Zak George on youtube. He has some fantastic videos.
http://www.youtube.com/user/zakgeorge21

kimp5 · 05-23-2013, 12:27 PM

I feel for you. I know having dogs pee on the carpet or floor is a nono for us. I have allergies and pee has a lot of allergans in it. I also have white carpets. Jess does potty on pads which I change everytime im home and she goes. I am not on the same page as many that you don't discipline when they do wrong. When I tried the uh uh in soft tones when she peed on the kitchen floor she didn't care and kept doing it. I finally adopted a tone that told her I was not happy. I never hit or am abusive but I let her know in no uncertain terms it was not ok. If she peed and I found it later I walked her to it firmly and pointed to it and said in a low tone" Bad girll NO NO! Bad PEE PEE' and then ignored her. it took quite few tries but trust me she got it. I also would praise her a lot when she went on the pad and said "good girl good peepee" in a high happy tone and gave her a treat. I also limited her space until she got it. I mean one room, no where else. ever. She now never pees anywhere but on her pad, even when she had the runs she ran to the pad. She got tons of loves for that one!!
I think u need to go back to basic training.
I think you need to limit the space a lot. Even if its a pen while your home and not with them. I have a richell that's five feet long and has a pee room. That's where she stays when we are not home. Im not comfortable with her having the run of the house when we aren't there..she gets too overwhelmed. My Jess sleeps in a crate in my daughters room, which is closed. She does not have run of the bedroom at night, there are too many small toys she could choke on.. She likes my daughters snoring but has her own space. It has room for her bed and a pee pad. She didn't get run of the upstairs (only when we are home) until she was completely trained..I wish you luck

Maximo · 05-23-2013, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britster

Doubtful.

Dogs just don't really rationalize this way. Making them sleep somewhere else when they have always slept on your bed will probably just confuse them more than anything.

But they don't think "oh no, we're not sleeping on the bed anymore, better start behaving and stop pooping in the house!" lol.. you know what I mean?

I also agree that it is not any alpha business.

spiritwings1202 · 05-23-2013, 01:28 PM

I would go back to basics with the house breaking. When we moved I had to do that for about 3 weeks. It sounds like they think it is ok to go where they want so you have to retrain them. They would not do it to act out they don't really think that way I hope

I would get an expen or keep them gated in the kitchen and make sure they do their business bf they get let out.

If they are trained to go outside then I would walk them for 15 min bf bringing them in. If they are pee pad trained I would make sure they use them bf I gave them free run of the house.

Basically I would start over and be very consistent with where I wanted them to go. It can be very frustrating....but remember we are the ones doing the training so if it isn't working we are doing something wrong..

Carmeow · 05-23-2013, 01:35 PM

I agree with everything everyone suggested, but want to point out (in our household at least) how EXTREMELY important the "go potty" vocal command is. Luma can Pee and poo on demand lol. It comes in handy and when she learned to go when I tell her to, it was our big breakthrough on potty training.

For example, we went on vacation and took both our girls. Luma was very wary and didn't really want to go on the pad because we were in someone else's house, but we put a pad down and told her go potty, then she knew she was allowed to go.

I'm sure you already know this all, and have tried it all...I'm so sorry for the strain its putting on yall! Hang in there GF!

simbasmom · 05-23-2013, 01:55 PM

When one of my dogs started peeing and pooping in the house again I tried retraining. First I gated him off in the kitchen when I was gone but he would pee/poop on the kitchen floor EVERY day while I was at work. So then I tried crate training but it freaked him out. I tried it for two weeks and he would get so upset he had diarrhea almost every day so I would have to wash him and the crate almost every night. He hates being in a crate. Sasha is 6 and has never spent much time in a crate except for when he was a puppy when I was potty training. He never got attached to the crate and never went in it on his own like some dogs do. Sasha did have surgery for bladder stones about 2 years ago and the vet said it might take a little time for his bladder to return to normal size so in the beginning there could be some issues with peeing in the house. The vet says his bladder should definitely be back to normal by now. He's very good about telling me when he wants to go outside if I'm home. He's never left alone for more than 6-8 hours a day. Any suggestions?

05-23-2013, 04:54 AM	#1
celstu1 Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 10,534	I think it's time for a professional!!! My dogs are going to tear apart my marriage. So DH takes the dogs out to potty yesterday. They SIT in the yard for 5 mins looking at him. (this is new behavior) He runs to the bank and leaves them gated in the kitchen, it was a 10 min round trip. Comes home and they moved the gate and went pee & poop in the spare bedroom and the kids room. Why are they doing this? They pee & poop in the house ALL THE TIME. They do it at times they are being ignored, say we are getting changed for the gym and we left the gate up so they are in the kitchen, when we get back in the kitchen 3 mins later, they have peed and pooped on the floor. We have replaced the floor in our living room and our bedroom now. AT night when we are sitting on the couch with them, they will jump down disappear for a min... I get up to find them and they are peeing in our room. They don't let me know they need to go out. We were making progress with them, DH works from home 2 days a week and takes them out regularly. They are home alone for 8 hours 3 days a week (those are the days there are NO accidents in the house). They are contained to 1 area, but Im thinking of making their area smaller. They are almost 8 years old. This is an ongoing problem. DH is so fed up.... I'm so fed up. __________________ “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.” ― Dean Koontz

05-23-2013, 05:00 AM	#2
Ldyrev1 Princess Sophie's Choice Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Clinton, IL, DeWitt County Posts: 2,758	Oh dear! You do have a problem. One thing that may help is to tether them when you are home. I know it sounds like a pain in the neck but it seems they may be asserting themselves as boss in the home. You might need to reestablish yourself as pack leader and tethering will do that for you! Good luck and keep us posted on how things are going. __________________ Diane owned and loved by Hansel and Princess Sophie

05-23-2013, 06:36 AM	#3
celstu1 Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 10,534	Even more, not just the pottying in the house, they are overrunning our bed. We had a bed for them at the foot of our bed, up on a chest that was the same height as our bed. We tried every night to make them sleep in their bed. DH said that they would come to me in the middle of the night and in my sleep I would lift the covers and let them go under. Basically Im not alpha at all. They don't listen to me at all, they don't listen to DH. They are out of control and it IS my fault... I just don't know how to get it under control. I am too emotionally attached to them and have a really hard to disciplining them. But they are probably not happy and we are DEFINITELY not happy. I contacted a trainer in our area for in home training. For US and for them! __________________ “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.” ― Dean Koontz

05-23-2013, 10:46 AM	#4
ladyjane Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 27,450	They don't know why they are outside is my guess. Usually dogs like to please their owners...just being outside does not mean they know what is expected. It is best to take them to the same spot every day and not dally around trying to get them to go. If they go, praise them a lot...if they don't go, bring them back in but don't let them out of your site. Put a leash on them if you have to until they get the hang of it. Then take them out..do it until they go..praise the daylights out of them. It takes patience and a lot of repetition. Maybe you can find some ideas here: Free House Training for Puppies and Adult Dogs - No More Accidents Starting Today! Maybe the trainer will help. Good luck! __________________ CLOUD NINE BEDS--YORKIE HAVEN RESCUE MY ETSY SHOP

05-23-2013, 10:53 AM	#5
Maximo ♥ Maximo and Teddy Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 25,041	^^ I agree with LJ. Take them out on a leash, use keywords and phrases to indicate "go potty," and then praise like crazy. Never stop giving praise for a good job. Find a way to secure the gates to limit freedom, even when you are home. Until their habits improve, limit their freedom to where you can supervise. It is interesting that they don't have a problem when they are alone and don't have a break for 8 hours. __________________ Kristin, Max and Teddy

05-23-2013, 10:53 AM	#6
rubymoon2072 Cedric♥Lola♥Keylo Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Gilford, NH, USA Posts: 9,209	even with a trainer my darling you are still going to need to be consistent with hubbs and get them to listen to you and your commands. you have to work on that is my take...and with consistency and more alpha from you they will understand more of what you want and are asking of them. hoping the trainer can get everyone on the same page and best wishes for a good outcome and some peace between you and dh. __________________ Cedric N Lola N Keylo RIP Punkee Princess

05-23-2013, 10:55 AM	#7
chachi I Love My Yorkies Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana Posts: 37,147	Are you sure they arent having some old age incontinence. I know it doesnt help with the pooping but my jewels has some incontinence problems already and shes 8 __________________ Chachi's & Jewels Mom Jewels http://www.dogster.com/?132431 Chachi http://www.dogster.com/?132427

05-23-2013, 11:53 AM	#8
Britster Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 17,814	I'm sorry you're having problems. It's really just about consistency. My dad's dogs are similar (well, one of them, really) because they're just not consistent and frankly don't really care to try and change them at this point. But first off, don't worry about anything "alpha". Don't get a trainer who is going to come in and tell you to be all 'dominant' etc. The alpha theory has been debunked by the very people who created it years ago. Having well behaved dogs has nothing to do with you being more 'alpha dominant'. My dads JRT mix Lilly will often be let outside by one of us, and I watch, 80% of the time she doesn't even go in the yard. Just stands on the porch. Then 5-10 mins later, someone comes by and opens a door for her, and she never even went. Thus, she comes back in the house and goes. I don't trust Jackson to go by himself either, so for our last potty of the night, I always walk out with him on a leash and say 'go potty' and make him go, so he won't wake me in the middle of the night having to go. Since you say they sneak off like while you're laying on the couch watching TV, maybe (even if it's a PITA at first) try leashing them to you. If they try to get up, take them outside. Or if you don't wanna leash, the minute they hop off the couch, get them and take them outside. If they don't go outside, and you come back inside, leash them to you again. They will learn quickly. Just be 100% consistent for a full week, and see your progress. __________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier

05-23-2013, 11:58 AM	#9
celstu1 Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 10,534	Thanks everyone. No, there are no health issues or incontinence issues ... at least not from the last vet check up, they are healthy as can be. Do you think letting them sleep in bed with us might be causing some of these issues? They also have very severe separation anxiety. __________________ “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.” ― Dean Koontz

05-23-2013, 12:27 PM	#11
kimp5 YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Boston MA Posts: 890	I feel for you. I know having dogs pee on the carpet or floor is a nono for us. I have allergies and pee has a lot of allergans in it. I also have white carpets. Jess does potty on pads which I change everytime im home and she goes. I am not on the same page as many that you don't discipline when they do wrong. When I tried the uh uh in soft tones when she peed on the kitchen floor she didn't care and kept doing it. I finally adopted a tone that told her I was not happy. I never hit or am abusive but I let her know in no uncertain terms it was not ok. If she peed and I found it later I walked her to it firmly and pointed to it and said in a low tone" Bad girll NO NO! Bad PEE PEE' and then ignored her. it took quite few tries but trust me she got it. I also would praise her a lot when she went on the pad and said "good girl good peepee" in a high happy tone and gave her a treat. I also limited her space until she got it. I mean one room, no where else. ever. She now never pees anywhere but on her pad, even when she had the runs she ran to the pad. She got tons of loves for that one!! I think u need to go back to basic training. I think you need to limit the space a lot. Even if its a pen while your home and not with them. I have a richell that's five feet long and has a pee room. That's where she stays when we are not home. Im not comfortable with her having the run of the house when we aren't there..she gets too overwhelmed. My Jess sleeps in a crate in my daughters room, which is closed. She does not have run of the bedroom at night, there are too many small toys she could choke on.. She likes my daughters snoring but has her own space. It has room for her bed and a pee pad. She didn't get run of the upstairs (only when we are home) until she was completely trained..I wish you luck

05-23-2013, 01:28 PM	#13
spiritwings1202 Pixie and Daisy Donating Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: CT USA Posts: 2,680	I would go back to basics with the house breaking. When we moved I had to do that for about 3 weeks. It sounds like they think it is ok to go where they want so you have to retrain them. They would not do it to act out they don't really think that way I hope I would get an expen or keep them gated in the kitchen and make sure they do their business bf they get let out. If they are trained to go outside then I would walk them for 15 min bf bringing them in. If they are pee pad trained I would make sure they use them bf I gave them free run of the house. Basically I would start over and be very consistent with where I wanted them to go. It can be very frustrating....but remember we are the ones doing the training so if it isn't working we are doing something wrong.. __________________ Proud Mom of Daisy and Pixie

05-23-2013, 01:35 PM	#14
Carmeow I♥ my girls Luma+Rosie Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Aggieland, TX Posts: 3,359	I agree with everything everyone suggested, but want to point out (in our household at least) how EXTREMELY important the "go potty" vocal command is. Luma can Pee and poo on demand lol. It comes in handy and when she learned to go when I tell her to, it was our big breakthrough on potty training. For example, we went on vacation and took both our girls. Luma was very wary and didn't really want to go on the pad because we were in someone else's house, but we put a pad down and told her go potty, then she knew she was allowed to go. I'm sure you already know this all, and have tried it all...I'm so sorry for the strain its putting on yall! Hang in there GF! __________________ Carmen, mama to Luma & my little angel in Heaven, Rosie.

05-23-2013, 01:55 PM	#15
simbasmom Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: benton, ar, united states Posts: 172	When one of my dogs started peeing and pooping in the house again I tried retraining. First I gated him off in the kitchen when I was gone but he would pee/poop on the kitchen floor EVERY day while I was at work. So then I tried crate training but it freaked him out. I tried it for two weeks and he would get so upset he had diarrhea almost every day so I would have to wash him and the crate almost every night. He hates being in a crate. Sasha is 6 and has never spent much time in a crate except for when he was a puppy when I was potty training. He never got attached to the crate and never went in it on his own like some dogs do. Sasha did have surgery for bladder stones about 2 years ago and the vet said it might take a little time for his bladder to return to normal size so in the beginning there could be some issues with peeing in the house. The vet says his bladder should definitely be back to normal by now. He's very good about telling me when he wants to go outside if I'm home. He's never left alone for more than 6-8 hours a day. Any suggestions?