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I have two dogs, both Siberian huskies. My older husky is almost 16 months old and potty trained. He sometimes defecates inside when he is mad at me for being gone. My younger husky is 7.5 months and completely refuses to house train. I've tried crate training her, she pees and poops in the crate. I've tried offering her treats outside as soon as she goes, and yes, she is always on a leash. It makes no difference. She will pee inside even after having gone outside. She will poop inside even after having gone outside. She stays crated while I am gone so that the mess is contained and so that my carpet will not smell.
When I am home, I keep her in the same room as me so that I can keep an eye on her. I will take her out every 2-3 hours because she cannot go longer than that without an accident, I learned that the hard way. She'll be playing with a toy or with my other dog and then she'll stop playing and walk away and squat to pee. I've told her no as she goes and taken her outside immediately and offered her treats then too when she goes outside to no avail. She has no problems going outside, she'll poop and pee outside like it's a national pastime. But then she'll do it inside too. I've tried putting her outside on the porch rather than crating her on nice days when it is not too hot. It's a concrete patio, she'll poop and pee on that too.
I cannot even go get my mail without crating her because she will jump up on the furniture and pee or poop there if I am not in the room. She has even pee'd on the couch while we were all sitting there watching a movie. She has pee'd on my bed in the middle of the night with no warning. I'm beyond frustrated and I don't know what else to try. I know she does not have a urinary tract infection or any parasites or bugs.
She and my other dog have no issues as far as getting along with each other. They are best buddies. They wrestle each other and play rough sometimes, but neither of them have ever hurt the other one, everything they do is all in fun.
She will even go in the car sometimes. She'll poop or pee in the back seat and then whine because she can't sit there without getting it all over her and then try to sit up front to get away from it.
And as far as crating her, it's hit or miss. Sometimes she loves being in the crate and other times she will scream and howl and bark about being in the crate.
I know huskies are very stubborn and strong willed, but this is a whole new ball game. When I catch her in the act, I stop her and take her outside, and when I don't catch her in the act, but find it after, she runs to hide in her crate. So I know she knows that she is not supposed to go indoors, but she has no problem breaking the rules and forgoing treats.
And as for her crate, it's not too big for her, it's the perfect size, just enough room for her to stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably. But she'll go and then just sit or lay in it, poop or pee. It doesn't matter if there's a blanket or towels in the crate, she'll go either way. I've stopped putting blankets and towels in the crate because it was so much of a hassle to launder everything every day. At least this way I can clean the crate out quickly and clean her up and not have soiled blankets every time I come home.
I would take her to the vet and have a full workup done. She's not even 8 months old, so she's young, but that kind of behavior is pretty atypical. The fact that she is upset by her mess but just goes in the crate anyway tells me this is possibly an involuntary thing.
With health problems ruled out, I would then find a reputable dog behaviorist and have them evaluate the situation. There might be something you're missing that requires an outside opinion to be noticed.
I do wonder if maybe her brain just isn't making the connection between having to go and the end result.
She's been checked, she does not have a UTI or any parasites or anything like that, as I stated at the beginning. No health problems, no special needs, or learning disabilities, she knows commands and obeys those most of the time. The vet has not been helpful at all, just saying that it takes time and told me to do what I had already been doing.
I've had her since she was 9-10 weeks old, and she is purebred, and she came from very knowledgable and good people. She was and is happy and healthy, and integrated really well with my other dog and cat.
She definitely does not have urinary incontinence, she does not dribble or anything like that. She just stops what she's doing, walks over to the same basic area of my living room, and pees. It's not a submissive issue either, she goes whenever and wherever as often as she wants.
She's been checked, she does not have a UTI or any parasites or anything like that, as I stated at the beginning. No health problems, no special needs, or learning disabilities, she knows commands and obeys those most of the time. The vet has not been helpful at all, just saying that it takes time and told me to do what I had already been doing.
I've had her since she was 9-10 weeks old, and she is purebred, and she came from very knowledgable and good people. She was and is happy and healthy, and integrated really well with my other dog and cat.
What kind of bloodwork did your vet do? I too would suggest if not a full workup then at the very least a consult with a different vet. They can get records of the existing blood work and exam that your vet just did, so there shouldn't be an additional charge. You need to find a vet who is a good diagnostician. When you say that you have an 18 month old dog who still isn't housebroken, something is going on.
If it isn't physical, then my questions are as follows:
1) who else lives in your household, and what is their relationship with your dog like?
2) what (if anything) may have changed in your household in the last 8 months or so? This can be anything from a piece of furniture to a new friend to a change in dog food to a death or the absence of someone.
3) does anybody else take care of your dog?
4) how long do you walk her and how many times does she potty during the walk?
You need to go back to square one and housebreak as if she is an 8 week old puppy again. Don't just open the back door and assume she goes potty. You absolutely must go out with her to walk her to see that she empties her bladder at least 2-3 times and bowels during the walk.
Don't just come back inside after she potties- you need to hang out with her and have play time before you take her back into the house.
Take her out every 2-3 hours, stay outside with her, have fun afterward, then back into the house.
You must clean areas where she has pottied inside thoroughly AND then use an enzymatic cleaner on the spot, otherwise she can still smell her urine in that spot. I know YOU can't smell it, but I guarantee that SHE can. I use Anti-Icky-Poo enzymatic cleaner, but others here like Nature's Miracle.
If this isn't working then yes a behaviorist is in order; it is totally atypical for a dog of this age to not be housebroken. My sense is that something else is going on.
BTW- she isn't being stubborn, "refusing" to housetrain, or doing it in spite of "knowing" that she shouldn't go inside. She is telling you in the only way she knows that something is going on. Imagine that as frustrating as this is for you, consider how frustrating and upsetting it is for her to not be comfortable and not be able to tell you what is going on.
What kind of bloodwork did your vet do? I too would suggest if not a full workup then at the very least a consult with a different vet. They can get records of the existing blood work and exam that your vet just did, so there shouldn't be an additional charge. You need to find a vet who is a good diagnostician. When you say that you have an 18 month old dog who still isn't housebroken, something is going on.
8 months old, not 18. She's been to two vets, both of whom found nothing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twelvepaw
If it isn't physical, then my questions are as follows:
1) who else lives in your household, and what is their relationship with your dog like?
2) what (if anything) may have changed in your household in the last 8 months or so? This can be anything from a piece of furniture to a new friend to a change in dog food to a death or the absence of someone.
3) does anybody else take care of your dog?
4) how long do you walk her and how many times does she potty during the walk?
1) I live alone. It's me, my cat, my other dog and her. She's the newest addition. She gets along great with the others.
2) Nothing has changed since I have had her, no new furniture, no new layouts, nobody else moving in. When company stays over from out of town, or if friends come by for dinner, she actually behaves better and does not have accidents, or if she does, it is only one. I moved to Dallas about three weeks before I got her, so she was not part of that at all. No change in dog food either, she's been eating the same puppy food brand and flavor since I got her. She can eat freely, but she scarfs her food down at breakfast until it is gone. I sometimes give them treats throughout the day. She can drink water up until 8PM and we always go outside one last time at 10:30PM right before going to bed.
3) I am the sole caretaker.
4) During the work week, I walk her and my other dog for 20-25 minutes every morning. She will pee 2-3 times and poop 1-2 times. Then we eat breakfast. Then I walk her again for about 10 minutes and she'll pee again. Then she gets crated and I leave for work. I come home at lunch time and walk them again for 10-15 minutes and she'll pee 1-2 times and poop 1 more time. When I get home from work, I walk them again for 10-15 minutes and she'll pee 1-2 times and maybe poop 1 more time. Then I walk them again for 5-10 minutes before bed and she'll pee one more time and poop again if she didn't poop at our dinner-time walk.
On weekends, they go outside more often and we also go to the dog park a lot. She plays fine with other dogs and has no overly aggressive or overly submissive behaviors. She is the ideal dog at the dog park. She will often potty several times at the dog park. If we have time in the evenings during the week, we will also go to the dog park throughout the week, but this is always the case. We try to make it out there at least once a week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twelvepaw
You need to go back to square one and housebreak as if she is an 8 week old puppy again. Don't just open the back door and assume she goes potty. You absolutely must go out with her to walk her to see that she empties her bladder at least 2-3 times and bowels during the walk.
Don't just come back inside after she potties- you need to hang out with her and have play time before you take her back into the house.
Take her out every 2-3 hours, stay outside with her, have fun afterward, then back into the house.
So basically, keep doing what I have been doing then?... I never let her outside without me walking her on a leash, unless we are at the dog park and there she can run free. If she goes free where I live, she will run off and sniff around the whole complex and potty anywhere and everywhere. I used to let her go outside off leash when I walked my other dog because she would stay close, but as she got older, she has gotten braver and will take off and run all over the place. Because of that, she always stays leashed on our walks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twelvepaw
You must clean areas where she has pottied inside thoroughly AND then use an enzymatic cleaner on the spot, otherwise she can still smell her urine in that spot. I know YOU can't smell it, but I guarantee that SHE can. I use Anti-Icky-Poo enzymatic cleaner, but others here like Nature's Miracle.
If this isn't working then yes a behaviorist is in order; it is totally atypical for a dog of this age to not be housebroken. My sense is that something else is going on.
BTW- she isn't being stubborn, "refusing" to housetrain, or doing it in spite of "knowing" that she shouldn't go inside. She is telling you in the only way she knows that something is going on. Imagine that as frustrating as this is for you, consider how frustrating and upsetting it is for her to not be comfortable and not be able to tell you what is going on.
Every time she has an accident I clean it up promptly and with the proper cleaning solutions. There is no scent left because I use enzymatic cleaners.
As for the animal behaviorist, I've asked, and I have been told that it is just stubbornness because of the breed. So my whole question is, what are some other ways to house train, because treats and praise immediately after she goes, while we are outside, have absolutely no effect on her. It worked perfectly for my other dog. He will go to the door and let me know he needs to go outside. If it's the middle of the night, he'll either hold it, or he'll wake me up by gently nuzzling me and then motion to the door.
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