Major Problem

[FifeJillandIan]

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...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...

I agree with animalady ... completely ignore any mistakes as she might start to associate going to the toilet with getting into trouble and then she will try not to do the toilet while you are outside waiting for her to do it! I also agree with a previous post where someone advised not letting her see you clear it up and use something that takes the smell away completely. Good luck :luck:

Jill

 

[nicky12]

I really do hope it works out for you ,and you take some of the advise ,i may have sounded harsh and im sorry for that its just wen you say you lost it and smacked all i can picture is you smacking this poor defensless animale and it cowering as im shure most others will picture which is why some of the post are a bit unfriendly ,i know others see ther pets differently to the way i see mine ,mine are my babies and get treated as such and i would never hurt a hair on ther little heads,, i read an article once about dogs and ther behaviour it helped me with a few issues when i had my first whippet il see if i can dig it up for you to look at it may help :thumbsup:

 

[05whippet]

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:

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Regarding the raw food...it is a personal preference whether you opt to give it to her or not but if as you say she is on a good quality "premium" extruded dry dog food like Hills or Eukanuba you should have "less end product" anyway,as the food is utilised better by the dog than the cheaper bulkier dried foods.

 

[~Helen~]

There's some good advice on this thread so I'm going to add it into FAQ.

Fern - it might be worth you checking out FAQ if you get time - there are lots of topics with advice on a range of subjects including housetraining. It's early days, so you might find other useful bits of info in there, if anything else goes off course with your new dog :thumbsup:

edited to add the link to FAQ topic: housetraining - click here

 

[Thyme]

...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...

I agree with animalady ... completely ignore any mistakes as she might start to associate going to the toilet with getting into trouble and then she will try not to do the toilet while you are outside waiting for her to do it! I also agree with a previous post where someone advised not letting her see you clear it up and use something that takes the smell away completely. Good luck :luck:

Jill

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I agree with animallady and Jill .... you must ignore any mistakes and do not punish her and clear it up without her seeing you to it. Go outside with her when she toilets and give her plenty of praise when she does go - eventually it will happen on command - it really does take time. I would honestly suggest toileting her regularly regardless, say every half hour to an hour, plus when you come back from a walk, take her outside for a wee - I have a boy who always hangs on until he comes home and then goes outside for a wee. He just feels the need! She is only 13mths - which is not a lot really, especially when she is having to learn about a new home, new surroundings and new rules - she is still young and it is a lot to expect after only a few weeks. Having had a rescue dog and puppies in my time, an older dog does take longer in learning the new rules - please, please, just be patient with her - you will soon reap the rewards. :thumbsup:

 

[Juley]

She may well be going when you are not looking because she was punished in her previous home for making a mistake and is nervous to go in front of you. Try going back to basics and keep her near to you for a couple of weeks so that you can see straight away if she needs to go. When she goes outside, stay with her to see that she does. HUGE praise, its just the BEST thing, remember potty training a child!! Good luck, she will settle in time, 13 months is still very young and all youngsters seem to have a phase of relapsing with the house training. Welcome to K9

 

[Sarah86]

I don't think I can give you any advice like the others, just be patient as they said. I don't have the experience like alot of members here, we got our whippet when she was 8 weeks and seemed to arrive toilet trained, but what we did was everytime we let her out the back and she done the toilet we gave her lots of praise and told her how good she was, and that seemed to work. Good luck

Sarah

 

[JAXASS14D]

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:

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I was always led to believe that using bleach to clean up any accidents only attracted dogs back to the spot . My Shiba wouldn't wee in my garden but chose to only do it whilst out on walks so I read up on it and the advice was to mix up a weak solution of bleach and water and pour it in the garden where you wanted them to wee . Maybe your girl is being attracted back to the spot as you are using bleach to clean up .

 

[alfyn]

The best thing to use is a few drops of Lavender & Eucalyptus oil in some warm water,it's anti bacterial & kills the smell :thumbsup:

 

[Happy Humber]

May be if she was not walked in her other home she does not feel confident enough yet to go when on her walk.

Please dont worry to much many of us on here have children and dogs, my own two managed to survive thro to adulthood, your kids will gain so much from having a dog around.

 

[hely]

hi fern

i got my gypsy when she was about 19 months old, i to thought she had settled in really quickly about a week after getting her she wee'd in the night 3 days on the trot............i didnt tell her off, just cleaned it up and gave her lots of attention, she had come from a home with 3 other dogs to a home with 3 kids .........she has never done it since :thumbsup:

i think your fern needs attention and love.........not angry and smacking, it could have a bad affect on her

gypsy is now the perfect little lady and it feels like she has been here forever, give fern a chance, she must be very confused as to what is going on

:luck: :luck:

 

[trac]

I really do hope it works out for you ,and you take some of the advise ,i may have sounded harsh and im sorry for that its just wen you say you lost it and smacked all i can picture is you smacking this poor defensless animale and it cowering as im shure most others will picture which is why some of the post are  a bit unfriendly ,i know others see ther pets differently to the way i see mine ,mine are my babies and get treated as such and i would never hurt a hair on ther little heads,, i read an article once about dogs and ther behaviour it helped me with a few issues when i had my first whippet il see if i can dig it up for you to look at it may help  :thumbsup:

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nicky you are such a lovely girl :huggles: :huggles:

 

[kris]

i think sometimes people think a dog is being deliberately naughty and is doing things they KNOW is wrong. its hard i know but they dont think like us. :- " i hear lots of times from owners that he KNEW hed done wrong(this usually when a dog has committed a small misdemeanor like peeing in the house or chewing something he shouldnt)dogs dont KNOW theyve done wrong.all they know is that when they do certain behaviours they get smacked or punished so the guilty look you see isnt guilt its sheer bloody fear! the dog knows its going to get smacked or shouted at.13 months is still very much a baby in my opinion and you have to be patient.also its her 2nd home i guess so the poor girl is even more confused and lost than a normal puppy who has been with you from day one.always remember most dogs WANT TO PLEASE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING.they try so hard bless them but occasionally they make mistakes.be forgiving and help her to learn the right behaviours thats expected of her.lots of praise, rewards and cuddles.

 

[Lal]

I can't really add anything to the advice you've been given but, if it's any consolation, you have only had her a very short time and she is probably in need of constant reassurance more than anything. When my hub and I split up my previously spotlessly clean 16 month old whippet suddenly had quite a few accidents (not just pee's either!). Didn't need to be a rocket scientist to work out that he was as stressed as I was! Accentuate the positive and ignore the negative much the same as potty training a toddler.

As for smacking, yes you lost it but don't beat yourself up over it as a one off, but in the long run, as with kids it will not work.

Vet check would be a good idea, friend of mine has a spayed collie bitch who has bladder control issues, easily controlled though just by regular loo trips to the garden even if she shows no signs of wanting to go and not getting her too excited!!

Welcome to K9, there is a wealth of information on here from very knowledgeable people.

:luck: :luck:

 

[urchin]

The most useful thing I did with mine was to teach them a toilet command.

Any time you're outside with her and she wees you need to go into jubilation overload "good WEE, Oh what a good WEE, clever girl having a WEE" (you might want to pick a different word!) :b

Keep repeating it and you really do have to sound like you're absolutely thrilled (and you are, right?)

Do it every time you're out and she wees (or poos - different word tho teehee!) and it really doesn't take long for them to understand the word. Then you have a command.

If my boys are dallying about too busy taking the air to get amongst, I only have to start doing the 'Have a WEE, digit have a WEE' thing and he soon obliges.

any accidents she has in the house, clean up in secret - drawn no attention to them whatsoever.

As others have said, it's only worth scolding if you catch her in the act - otherwise she won't have a clue. Digit went through a phase of cocking his leg in the house (other people's houses (w00t) , not mine!) when he was about 12 months old. It was territory marking, not being desperate for a wee. What I did was watch him like a hawk and got to know the expression on his face as he sidled up to something and so could give him a very sharp NO! just as he was about to cock his leg!

This worked a treat, i could usually get him before his foot was more than a couple of inches off the floor. If you watch fern closely, I bet she does something that gives the game away.

Other stuff you've been told about going right back to puppy wee breaks (every 1/2 - 1 hour) and clean up with bio wash powder are spot on. :thumbsup:

Don't beat yourself up over giving her a tap - sure, it won't have helped, but it's not going to have destroyed your relationship with her either. Its very easy to get stressed by things like wee and poo on your floor, particularly with a little one in the house - and that can get you taking it personally. But truly, lil fern is just confused and in strange surroundings - she's not passing comment on you all.

If you get your head round your course of action and stick to it, she'll come out right - she wont hold the tap against you - promise!

good luck and welcome to k9 :luck: :luck:

 

[Fern]

A BIG THANK YOU for all your advice, it's been fanastic the future's looking brighter now!

:cheers: :thumbsup:

 

[whippetmad]

A BIG THANK YOU for all your advice, it's been fanastic the future's looking brighter now!
:cheers:     :thumbsup:

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I,M SURE THINGS WILL GET RESOLVED :thumbsup: GOOD LUCK AND I FORGOT TO SAY WELCOME TO K9,I HOPE YOU WILL STILL JOIN IN WITH K9

 

[Fern]

i know others see ther pets differently to the way i see mine ,mine are my babies and get treated as such and i would never hurt a hair on ther little heads,, i read an article once about dogs and ther behaviour it helped me with a few issues when i had my first whippet il see if i can dig it up for you to look at it may help  :thumbsup:

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I just wanted to say dogs are dogs and is not a replacement for babies. Never mind! :huggles:

Please do 'dig' it up for me, you are so kind!

 

[wigglesworth]

Hi there

I think there have been some great responses to this thread. In terms of sharing my experience, I have recently brought home two 9 month old whippets - one who was as good as gold with toileting, the other was unreliable.

Firstly, you've described in your post that this is a "major problem". I would say that it is not, it is a temporary problem that is 100% to be expected and normal when you bring an animal into a new environment. Fern is not a naughty dog, she is perfectly normal!!

Just think what it would be like to rehome a young child. If you were to adopt or foster a toddler, you would expect them to initially go backwards with potty training before going forwards. Why would a dog be any different?

Secondly, I think anger and frustration is understandable. I have certainly been frustrated and angry at my little girl when she has had accidents. But I try and let it wash over me and act as a lesson for next time when I will be more on the ball and atune to her signals. To be honest, 99% of her accidents have been from me being too lazy to take her out in the dark/cold/wind/rain. Naughty mummy!!! :b

Try to keep the long term view - in a few months time she will be reliable and this will be a thing of the past. You have chosen to share your home with an animal so you have to take the rough to get to the smooth.

Good luck and give her a special cuddle from me :huggles:

 

[FifeJillandIan]

I just wanted to say dogs are dogs and is not a replacement for babies.  Never mind!    :huggles:

Just what I used to say ... and then I got a whippet! (w00t)

Good luck with Fern :luck: :luck: :luck:

Could you post a picture of her? We all love to see photos of whippets on here!

TTFN

Jill