Puppy pooping problem!

[MollyMalone]

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Apologies for this long one, please bear with me!

I have a 13 week old LabxGreyhound bitch pup, and am having a few problems with house training. She started off really well, we were using newspaper and she was more than happy to do her business on this up until Christmas time. She had her last jabs last week so I've been walking her and encouraging her to toilet outside using the command words we'd been practicising from day one ( she has always responded well to these, and happily toilets when asked (usually only a wee though), with an immediate treat reward. She will sometimes wee (and gets praised profusely with her special 'toilet treats'), but hasn't toileted at all outside, and will choose to wait until everyone is busy doing something else.

I did an awful lot of research (and still do!) before I got her so I could be completely prepared for anything and everything, and could give her the best life possible.

However, since Christmas (and understandably, she was shifted out of her normal routine so I sort of expected this), she has started toileting around the house, even though she was happily toileting in another house on the newspaper. She still mostly wee's on the newspaper but sometimes will just go on the floor. Thankfully we have laminate flooring so it's not a major issue, but I can't seem to work out why she's doing it. I do try and catch her doing it and shift her to the paper but unfortunately our house layout isn't puppy-supervising compatible! She also seems to toilet an AWFUL lot throughout the day, maybe 6 poos a day - she's currently fed James Wellbeloved Puppy Turkey and Rice according to the packet instructions quantity wise, and only has the natural type treats (Lily's Kitchen) as I do worry about her sensitive puppy tummy, and she seemed to be fine, but obviously being a pup seems to find the smallest scrap of something to eat when I'm not looking, which probably isn't helping. I've tried using the paper in different places, but she seems to avoid it more than aim for it!

Can anyone on here please please please shed some light as to what I can do to stop her pooing on the floor, or why she might be going so much? I know she's only little and can't hold it yet, but it seems like an awful lot for something so little!

I'm worried about the repercussions of telling her off for doing it on the floor, as I think she may already have a 'thing' about doing it in front of me or my partner. She's incredibly bright and she knows that she gets a treat for doing it on the newspaper, but even being a typical 'foody' lab, isn't fussed enough about it to do it on the paper. I'm quicker to get to her on the newspaper as I hear her circling and rustling so can get to her quickly to reward her, but she's very stealthy throughout the house and does it before I can get there, by which time it's obviously too late to do anything, so I clear it up without fuss or comment.

Unfortunately all the books and things I've read haven't really covered this sort of thing, so throwing myself on the mercy of other lovely doggy-mums! Any help or advice would be very greatly appreciated by all three of us!

 

[gypsysmum2]

It is using the paper to train her on that is causing most of your problems and chastising her for toileting indoors is making things worse.

If we use paper or puppy pads for toilet training we are, effectively, telling our dog that it is "ok" to toilet indoors. Yes it makes our life easier to have an easy to clear up absorbent item but it sends completely the wrong message to the dog.

Chastising for toileting is seen, by the dog, as you not liking wee and poo. This causes them to avoid you, as you have discovered, when they need to go. They do not understand that you are chastising for the place they are toileting.

You need to go right back to basics and confine her to a small area when you know she needs to toilet. Keep taking her outside until she performs and immediately reward that behaviour. Do not wait for her to walk towards you. If she is distancing herself from you it may be difficult to do this but make sure she knows just how delighted you are for that toilet to be outside. It is going to take quite a while longer now that she has it fixed in her mind that it is ok to toilet inside so you may have to work something out so that you can confine her away from carpets etc.

Clean the area she has soiled with a 10% solution of biological detergent. Rinse. Dry and then agitate a spirit like white vinegar or surgical spirit into the area to lift the last fat deposits present.

 

[JoanneF]

Gypsysmum gives great advice on toileting. I would only add that ideally you want her to not be in a position where she needs to toilet before you have her outdoors, so that every toilet is outside - as far as possible, there will be accidents! So set her up to succeed by taking her out even more than she needs; for example every 45 minutes to an hour and always after sleeping, eating, playing. When she toilets outdoors make a huge fuss (never mind the neighbours, act like outdoor toileting is the best thing you have ever seen) and reward her as Gypsysmum says.

 

[MollyMalone]

Neither my partner nor I have ever chastised her for going to the toilet inside, for some reason she just went through a phase of avoiding us to do anything. Thankfully this seems to be better now! Unfortunately we didn't really have a choice but to newspaper-train her indoors, as I live on a yard where we have three semi-feral cats who aren't vaccinated (unable to get close enough to them!), and a dog of dubious background, so was very wary about letting her outside until she'd had her jabs. We've had a good couple of days, and I'm using the morning wee 'desperation' (for want of a better word, it's not actual desperation!) to my advantage and she is more than happy to wee outside, I'm just not quite quick enough when it comes to the 'other movements', timing is something I'm working on, and getting into a routine where she does her business outside first and then we go for a walk/play fetch or whatever. She has got the general gist of the idea but am just working on reiterating it every time she goes.

I did read early on about rewarding immediately, however sometimes she is unwilling to have a treat for going - not quite sure what this is all about, as any other time she will do literally anything for those treats! I offer the treat as she is going, or just as she is about to finish - I don't give her a chance to do anything else.

I've also noticed in the last week or so, the volume of urine has increased dramatically, in line with how much she is drinking. Could this be as the temperature has dropped outside she is a little warm inside and is drinking to cool down? She rarely pants inside, unless after a particularly rigorous play session, and it smells quite strong - surely as she is drinking more it should be more like water and dilute? She seems perfectly happy and normal in herself, so not overly worried but thought it might be worth an ask! Thank you!

 

[gypsysmum2]

The avoiding you to toilet and then not wanting to take a treat all seem to point to some sort of anxiety around the toileting issue. I was not accusing you of chastising her. Some dogs will pick up on even a "sigh" that we let go as we clear up yet another mess. Or when we call out "oh no! She has done it again!" They then try to avoid us so that they do not hear those negatives. When dogs are anxious they do not want to eat. Their body is gearing up for the Fight/Flight and eating is not conducive to either action.

Firstly, as there are physical changes in the amount and smell of her urine, I would take her for a vet check. They will almost certainly want a sample so worth getting one if you can.

You mention a yard. Does she have an absorbent surface to toilet on? Bitches much prefer this for wees though most will, if they are otherwise comfortable, poo on a hard surface.

Is the yard shared with this other dog? If so, could she be nervous of the dog? Doing a poo makes a dog feel very vulnerable. If she is worried about either the feral cats or the other dog then this might make her want to avoid doing a poo in that space. In her little doggy brain she thinks they might "get her" while she bops down to toilet.

For future reference cats do not carry any of the diseases like distemper etc that dogs are subject to. Unless you are in a country that has rabies you need not worry about them.

If there is some sort of anxiety going on with her, then do watch her very carefully to see if you can discover what is causing it. It is possible that she is in discomfort when she toilets (another reason for a vet check) and she associates the discomfort with you being present. This will take the removal of the discomfort and lots of time and patience to overcome.