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My Mom (95 yrs old) and I have a "little dog" -- a Chiweenie (half Chihuahua, half Dachshund) -- named Toffee who is about 5 or 6 years old. We've had her for 3 years, I adopted her from a Small Dog Rescue. She's very sweet and comical, and she is a great companion for Mom and will spend hours curled on Mom's lap.
The problem is that I simply can NOT housebreak this dog! She was not housebroken when we got her, but she's very smart and I figured that she would soon "get it". I was wrong.
The weird thing is, she IS housebroken when we go up to the place that my husband and I own, where he lives. The first time he saw her pee on the floor there, he yelled bloody murder at her very loudly and threw a shoe at her and went after her like he was going to do her some damage ... and from that day to this, she makes NO mistakes in that house. But here at Mom's it is another story.
She pees all over the floor, mostly in the kitchen but also in the diningroom and sometimes too in the livingroom and the hall. The floor here is Mexican tile, and I don't always see where there is a puddle ... I have slipped and nearly fallen several times. Also, I've unknowingly walked through a puddle and then tracked it around. When I see a spot, I put down some paper towels to soak it up, and it's not uncommon to have 5 or 6 "paper towel spots" on the floor at any given time. No, she does not have a bladder infection, she has been vet checked.
She also poops in the house, and if I don't find that and remove it pretty quickly, she will carry a piece up onto the furniture for a snack.
She is crate trained, and is put outside first thing after being crated. She'll be outside for half an hour or so, be let back in and will then pee and poop in the house.
It's hard for me to catch her in the act, in part because she'll half-squat to pee "on the go" and keep running around, and also in part because I'm busy looking after my Mom. I started to try the bit about keeping Toffee leashed to me so that I will know what she's doing all the time and can run her outside if she starts to squat, but Mom is on oxygen and I can't manage the leash, the oxygen line and Mom's wheelchair all at the same time which has to be done several times a day. Further, if leashed to me then Toffee can't go get on Mom's lap.
We live in the hot desert, so Toffee can't stay outside very long at a time. It's not like I can put her outside all day for a while to try to "reorient her" to going outside.
I'd be okay with her going in the house if she would go in ONE PLACE. I've tried the scented potty pads and it didn't work for her. I've tried putting newspapers down in one area off the kitchen, an area she often does go, but she won't go on the newspapers.
It's really become a bigger and bigger issue to me -- I also can't be mopping so much floor several times a day, I just can't keep up with that along with everything else I do in a day.
My only thought at this time is to start from the beginning as I would with a puppy: keep Toffee crated ... let her out every couple of hours to immediately go outside, then play/run around for about half an hour and then be crated again for the next couple of hours.
Any other ideas anyone might have? I've owned quite a few dogs over the years and have never before had a dog I could not housebreak. I'm just stumped.
Your ideas sound good but could be a housebreaking problem or a house soiling problem? I searched and read some articles and this was the best: Dog behavior solutions: Housesoiling
Crate her when u take her out take her Directly to the papers & Stay with her! Use terms like Go Potty... Once she done allow her 30 mins of freedom but make sure you Watch her! Do this about every 2 hours for 60 days! Dogs have long term memory & short term You want to make sure she remember for the Long term! When she does make a mistake clean it with Vinager!
Okay, good article! And yes, I can take her to the papers instead of "outside".
I've been cleaning up with Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer -- I've tried vinegar in the past, cant' tell a difference either way but does the vinegar work better for most people?
Our dog took 18 months to housebreak, even though I took him out often and cleaned the pee areas
with carpet cleaners of different types...never had a dog take that long.
Okay, good article! And yes, I can take her to the papers instead of "outside".
I've been cleaning up with Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer -- I've tried vinegar in the past, cant' tell a difference either way but does the vinegar work better for most people?
I think you need something that will neutralize the odor and enzymes rather than vinegar. I agree that you will have to start totally over with her housebreaking. When you take her outside or to her pee pads make sure she does her business and praise her when she does so. Maybe even have a treat in your pocket and give it to her immediately after she goes.
Vinager is a Natural Cleaner & Sanatiser Dogs don't like the smell. At $3 a gal it inexpensive!
Vinegar doesn't neutralize the enzymes in the pee and poop. I'm pretty sure if you looked with a black light after cleaning with vinegar you could still see remnants of where the dog soiled. It may be OK for tile but I don't think it's the best choice for carpet.
Tie a bell on a solid string to the door that you use to go out to do her business. Have it hang low enough that she can nose it. Jiggle the bell when you take her out to do her thing. Start makin her ring the bell before you open the door to let her out.
Add this to your retraining, and if retraining is going to work, this step will be an added bonus because she will let you know when she has to go by ringing the bell.
Allows you to do what you need to do and not spending time taking the dog out for a potty break when she is not quite ready for one.
Sure it is I used in on Both & Nothing showed under blacklight!
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