Major Problem

[Fern]

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I have had 13 mth old Fern for a week now, no problems at all. I thought she had settled in really well considering she came from a small house with 10 other dogs. Now this week, Fern has suddenly started toileting in the front room (thankfully we haven't any carpets!). Why on earth is this? I am taking Fern outside a lot, first thing in the morning before breakfast 6-7 am and then 11 am, about 3pm and after dinner (long walk) and plus 10 pm before bed! I also take her out for a short walk every other morning twice, with me to drop oldest child off at nursery.

I have been really angry with Fern today, because I've just literally taken her out for a walk just before and plus gave her plenty of toileting time. Half an hour later after we got in Fern toileted in the front room! I have scolded Fern angrily and given her a smack as there's was no excuse! I think she got the message. If this carries on I am gone to have to let her go as I have very young children with no dirt sense and my youngest was just about to play with Fern's urine!

The first week I had Fern no problems at all! What flipped? Please help!

:nuke:

 

[alfyn]

For goodness sake,you've only had her a week & yet you've succumbed to getting cross & smacking her :angry: (w00t)

The poor girl is probably still bewildered & confused

Have you changed her diet,or feeding times,is she due to come into season?These,& other factors can play a big part in this sort of thing happening!

You need to spend more time with her,& watch for the signals that she wants to pee,& act quickly showing her to go outside,& then loads of praise & a treat when she does!

I can't believe you're already talking about getting rid of her,you've hardly given her a chance

 

[Macha]

also keep her confined to smaller spaces until she has settled into a routine and is more reliably housetrained

she's unlikely to understand why you are cross with her

 

[nicky12]

poor baby must be so confused it took my ollie a long time before he settled ,a week certinly aint enough time for her to settle in and as for smacking her im sorry but you deserve one back :angry: ,she cant fight back ,just give her time i let my lot out every half hour ,my ollie also wants to go pee as soon as he comes back from a walk its like hes to busy having fun to do his buisness when hes out you just need to keep eye out for toileting behavour ,i do hope she settles in poor baby :huggles:

 

[Fern]

OK I apologise for smacking her, but I didn't do it hard, I haven't the heart too. She is spayed and I have changed her to another better brand of complete food, no trouble with it. No upset tums even got less stools.

I have shown her gently lots of times the way outside like you've suggested the past few days. No luck at all, I think Fern has to know that "it's wrong" to do what she does. How do I deal with it?

I will have to let her go only if her toileting habits carry on like months! It's not good for the children.

Any advice on letting your dog know it's wrong in another way?

 

[Janetta]

Poor little girl.

Let me ask you a question, did you smack your child when it first made a mistake at 13mths on your floor. :- "

I have a little female whippet that you can take out all day walking without weeing but as soon as you come home she runs to the back door to go outside to wee, okay it's not in the house but she spends too much time sniffing when out.

Please be patient with her

Jenny

 

[Fern]

Hello?

A child at 13 mths is still a baby, dogs grow up!

Don't tell me there's no one out there that's never ever given their dog a tap!

 

[nicky12]

OK I apologise for smacking her, but I didn't do it hard, I haven't the heart too.  She is spayed and I have changed her to another better brand of complete food, no trouble with it.  No upset tums even got less stools.
I have shown her gently lots of times the way outside like you've suggested the past few days.  No luck at all, I think Fern has to know that "it's wrong" to do what she does.  How do I deal with it? 

I will have to let her go only if her toileting habits carry on like months!  It's not good for the children.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

just take her out everytime she wakes or starts wandering around im lucky im here all day with my three so they get let out at the least every half hour unless ther asleep then i will take them out as soon as they wake up ,even if im only going to make a cuppa i let them out ,we had our ollie when he was 15mths old and he weed in the house for about 2mths in total before he eventualy stopped doing it , i just ignored it put him straight out the garden and cleaned up mess no eye contact or verbale scoulding nothing it took a while but it worked for us :huggles:

 

[whippetmad]

Smacking is unnecessary,you will proberly have to go back to basics as she was a young puppy,putting her out to do her business perhaps every hour and when she has eaten and wakes up.She only been with you a week and needs time to adjust.Is she used to children being around,maybe she frighten.

 

[Fern]

Thanks, that's good to hear. I take heed on your advice.

I think it's because Fern has been brought up in a house hold full of dogs, she now come into a dogless house hold (my home) and thinking "Wow! this house is all mine I shall make it my territory!" now she got her confidence back.

What you think?

I had absolutely no accidents the whole entire week she was here.

:huggles:

 

[noo]

I totally understand that it can be frustrating but realistically without perseverence and patience you're less likely to end up with a content dog who is good and relaxed in her environment. She is in a completely new place poor thing and is unlikely to automatically fall into your assumptions of how she should be. In my opinion (that you can take or leave) the more you shout and scold the her the more confused she will get and thus just add to your percieved problems.

Good luck.

 

[masta]

I think you should find her a forever home and wait until your children are grown up before embarking on having a dog

 

[05whippet]

In my opinion she is most likely just confused,she has gone through quite a huge upheaval in her life and though at first she might have been clean that is not to say that she wont have her accidents and slip-ups,she has also not really been given enough time to settle in and adapt to her new surroundings Do you know how her previous owners "toileted" her? Or what their arrangments were?? I would also clean the area where she is going with non-biological washing liquid or powder in some warm water and then apply a deterrent to get rid of the smell entirely (as dogs have a much better sense of smell than us,so even though you cannot smell any lingering scent of urine your dog may and they are also creatures of habit so this may be a contributing factor) you can buy a really good liquid from Jollyes that you just pour on the affected area and leave for a few minutes to soak in and then dab it up with an absorbent cloth,it also gets rid of stains too,so is a very handy thing to have in the house anyway!!

I would let her out more often than you are,as 4 hrs in between is rather long,little and often is best.If you do catch her "in the act" just saying NO! and showing her where is acceptable to do her business and then WAITING until she actually goes and giving her loads of praise should do the trick soon enough,Whippets are notorious for being clean dogs and also very smart ones too!! However you can only say no to her IF you actually catch her doing it and not after the act,as she will not understand this scolding.

If after a few more weeks of settling in you find she is still relieving herself inside,I would get in touch with your vet and ask him to check her over again and tell him about your concerns....I am assuming that as you have only got her you did take her to your vet for a healthcheck in the first place?? She may have a little urinary infection of kidney infection which could be making her go more often or making her not realise that she needs to go?

I wish you lots of patience and luck wth Fern and hope this situation resolves itself very shortly. :thumbsup:

 

[Fern]

Fern is used to being around children, she loves them!

I forgot mention I also been giving her 'treats' every time she toilets outside.

 

[Nicola]

I have had 13 mth old Fern for a week now, no problems at all.  I thought she had settled in really well considering she came from a small house with 10 other dogs.  Now this week, Fern has suddenly started toileting in the front room (thankfully we haven't any carpets!).  Why on earth is this?  I am taking Fern outside a lot, first thing in the morning before breakfast 6-7 am and then 11 am, about 3pm and after dinner (long walk) and plus 10 pm before bed!  I also take her out for a short walk every other morning twice, with me to drop oldest child off at nursery.
I have been really angry with Fern today, because I've just literally taken her out for a walk just before and plus gave her plenty of toileting time.  Half an hour later after we got in Fern toileted in the front room!  I have scolded Fern angrily and given her a smack as there's was no excuse!  I think she got the message.  If this carries on I am gone to have to let her go as I have very young children with no dirt sense and my youngest was just about to play with Fern's urine!

The first week I had Fern no problems at all!  What flipped?  Please help!

  :nuke:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Wot do you do when your kids have an accident,beat them with a stick.I bet the poor little pup is s--t scared of you. :rant:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Thanks, that's good to hear.  I take heed on your advice.
I think it's because Fern has been brought up in a house hold full of dogs, she now come into a dogless house hold (my home) and thinking "Wow! this house is all mine I shall make it my territory!" now she got her confidence back.

What you think?

I had absolutely no accidents the whole entire week she was here.

:huggles:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

You're now thinking along the right lines although she doesn't sound too confident just yet. :thumbsup: Good luck with getting this behaviour corrected...there have been some good suggestions so far. Be patient...and welcome to K9.

Ignore the less constructive remarks; some members are just a bit dismayed at your initial reaction...but on the whole this is a friendly website and does offer some good advice.

 

[Fern]

TO ABOVE: Aww thank you! Nice to meet you, I was thinking the opposite too! :thumbsup:

Thanks for all your advice, keep any more suggestions coming. I will clean the areas with non-bio washing powder (like now!) I have been cleaning the areas with a bowl of warm water with a drop of bleach and washing up liquid. I have been sniffing all over the floor with my useless un-doggy nose, Fern is probably still smelling it. Gonna get Fern checked out at the Vets (like now!), this Xmas season had kept me so busy!

I will be more patient, it was just the fact Fern has been a role model dog from the start and it's hard to see my 14 mth old playing with you know what! I have noticed Fern only does 'it' when my back is completely turned. :wub:

 

[animalady]

Hi

Taking on an older dog and bringing her inro a new environment can be so confusing for her and she perhaps needs a lot more time to settle in.

you may not know how she was toilet trained in the first few weeks of her life either which is a vital beginning for a puppy.

when a pup wakes up it needs to urinate and needs to be taken outside immediately and given praise for doing so.

always always praise the good in an animal and never scold the bad.

its the same as with children really so that should help you seeing as you say you have kids.

a dog reacts so well to praise - they only want to please and learn so much from the sound of your voice - to shout and smack a dog os not something they understand - they are not human after all and by doing so you are reinstating nervousness in your dog which will only add to the problem.

violence breeds violence.

whippets are such gentle creatures and deserve lots of tlc - so if i were you clear up after her with no reaction yet when she does go outdoors show her how good she is by lots of happy noises and cuddles - you will see in time her accidents become less and less - they are not dirty dogs.

i find with raw feeding dogs do not need to defecate as often as they use more of their food and their is less bulky products to eliminate in teh first place - worth a serious thought

best of luck with her - patience is a virtue.

 

[Fern]

TO ABOVE: Thank you, I will be thinking about giving raw food, but I have a sack of expensive complete food to get through first! And once the toileting problem is well truely settled and the complete food is gone, then I will consider it.

:cheers:

 

[wild whippies]

One point that may well be worth considering, I note you said the dog has been spayed, it's perfectly feasible that this could be an ongoing problem related to the surgery and could be temporary of permanent. You may need to discuss this with the vet.

Now my feeling is a dog is for life but I see this isn't everyones way of thinking when it comes to animals. Regardless of my opinions, I'd sooner someone acknowledged their limitations and chose to rehome rather than ''put up'' with a situation where no-one is happy.

 

[Fern]

I think you should find her a forever home and wait until your children are grown up before embarking on having a dog

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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I have just realise what sort of a role model am I being! Giving my dog a light smack, I won't do it again otherwise my children will think it's OK. I have just had a word with my children and told them "Mummy made a mistake". I am only human.

I got the dog because they benefits children in all sorts of ways. My youngest is actually talking more words, because of Fern. I think children should grow up with animals though.