[MattG]

Mya is coming up on 16 weeks and has been restricted to the the kitchen, dining room, and mud room (all hardwood and tile). I'd say she hasn't had any accidents in at least two weeks, so me and the wife wanted to start letting her into the rest of the house with us. So the first day I let her in the rest of the downstairs (not allowed upstairs yet) she is doing really well. I was watching her like a hawk, she smelled around a little bit which made me nervous but I guess she was just checking things out, and she sat down by my feet. She got up two different times and rang the bell at the door so I let her out, and she went to the bathroom both times. She was only in for about 15 minutes the second time and I went to brush my teeth and she peeed on the carpet. I was less than ten feet from her but she was around the corner. I got mad, but just bit my lip, put her out side cleaned the mess up.

So a couple days later my wife tries it and she is good all night, even went out on her own again and went to the bathroom. But before it was time for bed she went to the bathroom and found a pee spot on the bathroom floor tile (no big deal just cleaned it up).

Well this morning when she got up she found poop on the guest bed, she told me the only time Mya went upstairs was when she chased the cat and was only gone for a few seconds, My wife called her and she came running back down stairs.

We need help, why would she be house trained only in the kitchen / dining room and only go to the bathroom in the other part of the house when we are not looking like she is trying to hide it because she knows its wrong.

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

We need help, why would she be house trained only in the kitchen / dining room and only go to the bathroom in the other part of the house when we are not looking like she is trying to hide it because she knows its wrong.

I would guess that because she's been restricted to part of the house, she's learned that that's her den and she won't soil her den. But the rest of the house is outside her den, so to her it's the same as being actually outdoors. The distinction is obvious to us, but why would it be obvious to a dog?

And hiding it doesn't necessarily mean she knows it's wrong, it may simply be a reaction to you getting mad and being confused as to why. If you punish a dog enough for pottying in the wrong place (not saying that's what you've been doing), instead of teaching the dog not to potty there anymore you may be inadvertently teaching the dog not to potty in front of you!

 

[MattG]

Maybe she is just being a pup and testing her boundaries, but I just can't figure out why she went to the door two separate times and rang the bell to go out and still when she came back in the second time a few minutes later she went pee on the carpet.

As far as it goes as house training her I only tell her no if I catch her in the act, anything else I just wipe it up and move on (what else can you do, she's just a baby).

This just seemed really out of place for her.

 

[JustMeLeslie]

I was having problems with my puppy too with this same problem. She was going in other places when she was just let out. I did the classic just cleaning it up and putting her back out thing. It was not working for me so now when she has an accident I don't yell it I firmly say BAD puppy while I clean her mess up. Then I say lets go outside and do your business. This method actually has worked for her and when it is night and we are in the den I baby gate her where she is never out of my sight. She now will tell me when she needs to go. When she gets the BAD puppy command she knows she messed up and that is all I need to do. She has not had an accident for about two weeks now. I also limit her water at night. This is a method I had to use because like I said before the classic way was just not working for my puppy.

 

[crisp]

Sounds like she learned not to go in front of you, which happens if you tell her no when accidents occur. You have to see this from a dogs point of view. If one time she goes on the carpet and you're not there to say no, she thinks its ok. If the next time she goes, you are there and correct her, even with just a no, the dog associates you with the correction not the location, because after all, when you're not there it is a perfectly good place to 'go'.

As far as going in different areas of the house it simply means she is not yet fully house trained. At 16 weeks she is still very young and prone to accidents, at this point all you could do is watch her non stop. Best way to train is to catch right before the act or in the process and immediately take the dog outside. Simply telling the dog 'no' doesn't deliver the message. The dog needs to learn where to go as well, not only that its not ok.

I personally don't lke the bell idea for experiances I've had in the past, dogs would ring to go outside because it was fun to be outside. It had nothing to do with them relieving themselves, and led to accidents. If you choose to use this, I'd recommend waiting until the dog is older. At 16 weeks the dog is too young to be trusted to inform you of every time she needs to go out. you should be taking her out every couple of hours, after each meal, after each nap, etc. Dogs learn where to go by habitualy being taken out, not by being corrected for going in the house

 

[ahazra]

I agree with the opinion that your puppy has associated that going for her nature's call is ok when you are not looking. Whatever happened to keeping a puppy always in sight ? I would suggest do the normal routine of taking her out to the same spot on a regular schedule. Once inside, keep her always in sight and you need to correct her as soon as she does an accident. If she does have an accident when you are not looking (doesnt matter which part of he house), it doesnt count against her .

 

[crisp]

Once inside, keep her always in sight and you need to correct her as soon as she does an accident. If she does have an accident when you are not looking (doesnt matter which part of he house), it doesnt count against her .

I'm sorry but IMO this recommendation is exactly why the dog goes when the OP is out of sight. There should be no corrections when house training a puppy. It is the owners responsibilty to eliminate all unnoticed accidents by constantly watching a young pup. When an accident is witnessed, immediately pick up the dog and take her outside. By correcting we are only strengthening the aversion to going in front of the owner.

 

[VChurch]

You can't assume that she understands that you don't use the potty inside; especially since you've kept her in-sight and in one section of the house.
It's sort of the same concept as....if you were to take her to someone else's house are you going to trust that she won't use the bathroom in that house?? I wouldn't! I've taken Minna to a couple of my friends houses and I always make sure I reestablish "you don't use the bathroom inside" -- I give her some time to figure out where she is and then I do a typical routine of "need to go outside?", take her out, praise her when she goes....and after that she'll usually go back to whichever door we used when she needs to go.

It's all about generalizing a behavior. Just like commands, if you always perform them in the same room and in the same order the dog becomes conditioned to the commands in that room. We're supposed to train in many different areas so that the dog learns that the command means the same thing, no matter where you are. It's the same with house-breaking.




Oh, and i don't know how true this is. But I read somewhere that you can't "trust" a dog on being house-broken until they're over 12 months old. Not sure if that's true though....I could trust Sobacca at 5 months old to hold it while he was in my house.

 

[VChurch]

I'm sorry but IMO this recommendation is exactly why the dog goes when the OP is out of sight. There should be no corrections when house training a puppy. It is the owners responsibilty to eliminate all unnoticed accidents by constantly watching a young pup. When an accident is witnessed, immediately pick up the dog and take her outside. By correcting we are only strengthening the aversion to going in front of the owner.

I used to correct Minna when she would pee in my house. And she has absolutely NO aversion to going in front of me. She hasn't had an accident in a LONG time, but earlier this week we had been playing fetch in the house and she walked back into the living room, squatted and peed right in front of me. I said "NO!....outside NOW!". Took her outside, she finished peeing and I told her "good dog!!" and that was that.
I think it's okay to correct in a manner or expressing you don't want the behavior performed wherever she is.....but then make sure you take them outside and when they finish going you praise them. So they learn where it's acceptable to use the bathroom.

 

[Emoore]

Dogs are terrible at generalizing. I discovered this when several foster dogs that were totally housebroken at my house pee'd on the floor at their new homes. They hadn't learned that they shouldn't potty in the house, they had learned that they shouldn't potty in my house. Fortunately it's much easier to learn the 2nd time. As you add freedom you have to start over from scratch in the new area, but it won't take as long.

 

[MattG]

Thanks for the help.

Just to be clear, I don't punish her (yell at) when she goes in the house, in fact with the exception of the last two accidents in the house she has been excellent with house training.

I can understand that the rest of the house may seem new to her and new rules and so far things have been good. She's learning.

The main thing that threw me off was the hiding it she has never done that, and going on the bed, she won't even jump on the couch. It just surprised me she did this. But again thanks for the suggestions.