Anonymous wrote:OP here. The one dog does have a medical condition (an autoimmune) and so I know that is contributing. She is crated or wears a diaper when we are not home (neither of these things bother me). But, some of it IS behavioral.
We have done all the "normal" things that a PP suggested. Praising when she goes outside. Taking her out often. Consistent use of the words. Etc. But she still does it if we are not super, super vigilant. I'm about ready to lose my shit with her.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:PP here. Also, I would take them to the vet to rule out any medical issue before you tear your hair out fixing something that isn't behavioral. Unlikely that they both have a UTI or something at the same time, but it could happen.
I have house trained many fosters over the years. My preferred method is to crate them any time I am not watching them/interacting with them. If they are out of the crate, they are leashed to my belt loop or we are playing in a small area. I set a timer for going outside every 30 minutes the first day, increasing by 10 minutes a day. By the end of the week, we're at 90 minutes, and I find I can increase by 30 minutes at that point, until we're at 3 hours or so. I never push more than 3 hours unless the dog is crated.
I never punish for accidents in the house. Punishing makes them more likely to find a place to hide it, and I don't want them peeing behind furniture! If they pee in the house, then I screwed up, by giving them too much freedom.
What I will do is interrupt, so if I see him hiking his leg, I'll clap my hands and say "ah-ah!" and shoo him outside.
When doggy goes outside, you act like he just cured cancer and throw a massive doggy celebration with treats and praise and pets.
The longest it's ever taken to be reliably house trained with an adult dog this way is a few weeks.
Hiding it? Or going in a spot that isn't part of their normal accessible in house domain?
Anonymous wrote:PP here. Also, I would take them to the vet to rule out any medical issue before you tear your hair out fixing something that isn't behavioral. Unlikely that they both have a UTI or something at the same time, but it could happen.
I have house trained many fosters over the years. My preferred method is to crate them any time I am not watching them/interacting with them. If they are out of the crate, they are leashed to my belt loop or we are playing in a small area. I set a timer for going outside every 30 minutes the first day, increasing by 10 minutes a day. By the end of the week, we're at 90 minutes, and I find I can increase by 30 minutes at that point, until we're at 3 hours or so. I never push more than 3 hours unless the dog is crated.
I never punish for accidents in the house. Punishing makes them more likely to find a place to hide it, and I don't want them peeing behind furniture! If they pee in the house, then I screwed up, by giving them too much freedom.
What I will do is interrupt, so if I see him hiking his leg, I'll clap my hands and say "ah-ah!" and shoo him outside.
When doggy goes outside, you act like he just cured cancer and throw a massive doggy celebration with treats and praise and pets.
The longest it's ever taken to be reliably house trained with an adult dog this way is a few weeks.