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So we've had Winston for a week now and he's been an absolute joy. However, there are a couple of issues that we are having with him. Despite him peeing/pooping all over his previous owner's house, he has not gone in our place at all while we are home. However, the second we step out, we are guaranteed to come back to pee and poop. We can take him out just before we leave and it doesn't matter. Whether we are gone 20 minutes or 2 hours (never more than that), he will go in the house, it's a guarantee.
The second issue is him jumping on the furniture. We do not allow our dogs on the furniture and they know this. PC has never even tried to jump on the couch, and W did the day he came here because he was allowed at his previous place, but quickly got the point and hasn't tried in front of us since. Now when we leave, it is an entirely different story. He is all over the couches and makes a huge mess of everything.
I don't know how to correct that, since it's not something we catch him doing. He will only do these things when we are not at home. I mentioned in the past that he's one of those poopers that walks and poops...well that means a nice long line of poops when we get home, not just a pile. Yesterday, he pooped and must have stepped all over it because we found his paw prints all over the furniture. He also eats some of the poop after he goes, but that is an entirely different issue and I will be giving him pineapple to try to curb that.
Any ideas on how to curb these behaviors? He has a crate, which was used as a punishment by the previous owner, so he associates it with being punished and will poop in there, even though he has to lay in it after. I don't want to have to buy all these things to put on the couch to keep him off of it, he should know that he's not allowed on there. I've heard people recommend the scat mat, but that's cruel. Another one I saw was one that emits a high-pitched noise when the dog jumps on it. Great, but I'm not punishing PC for Winston's behavior and he'd be able to hear that as well. We have never had this issue with PC, so it's all new to us.
I would suggest that if you're going out, take him out for a WALK - don't just let him out. Get him tired. I know - it's a pain, but it'll pay off in the long run. And when he goes, give him VERY HIGHLY RANKED treats (chicken, cheese, steak). I would do that EVERY TIME you take him out. And I would NOT let him just wander out - you're going to need to leash him up and go out with him (and the treats). Then confine him with a gate (two stacked one on top of the other if he's a leaper) in a place where it won't damage anything if he has an accident when you go out. And give him something to do while you're out: a kong with plain, non-fat yogurt frozen inside of it and mounded on top like an ice cream cone. If it's frozen solid, it'll take him while. Or, if you're feeling very swish, try one of the new dog games on the market that are so neat - it'll occupy him easily if you put irresistable treats (chicken, cheese, steak) in there.
If you DO catch him, saying 'no!' is a no-no! It's very hard to make it just a correction and not a real scary thing. Saying 'oops!' is much better - it's very difficult to make 'oops!' sound threatening. And his prior owner probably SCREAMED 'no!' at him. You don't want to go there. If you don't catch him, don't say a thing - just clean it up.
What you want to do is get him to realize that when he goes out and he 'performs' he gets great treats. When he has accidents at home he gets nothing. Eventually he'll get 'not on the furniture.' But until he does, he's not reliable when you're out. So make it easier for both of you and gate him in a room with an easily cleaned floor. And give him some time to adjust.
Thanks for the tips. Another thing, do you think it's a good idea to change his name? We are almost positive the previous owner used his name while yelling/hitting him, so any time we say his name, he cowers. When we go to the park and call him by his name, he'll cower and either hide or run away. But if I say, "Come here, boy," he will come. I don't want him to have to associate his name with being hit. He'll never be yelled at/hit in this house and I'm not sure if I can get him to associate his name with positive things at this point.
Dogs poop in the house for 3 major reasons. They never poop out of revenge or spite.
1)unfamiliar surroundings. Its likely he may stop this when he realizes this is home now.
2)medical reasons
3) I cant remember the third one, i must be getting old
I think it's fine to change his name! I changed my rescue chihuahua's name early on and she comes running (well, OK, at her age her 'run' is another dog's trot) when I call!
yeah, change his name ASAP if it seems to bother him!
remember, he doesn't think of it as his name - he thinks of it as a word that makes things happen, so he should pay attention to it. so all you're doing by changing it is eliminating a word that makes bad things happen and introducing a new one that makes good things happen.
Thanks for the tips. Another thing, do you think it's a good idea to change his name? We are almost positive the previous owner used his name while yelling/hitting him, so any time we say his name, he cowers. When we go to the park and call him by his name, he'll cower and either hide or run away. But if I say, "Come here, boy," he will come. I don't want him to have to associate his name with being hit. He'll never be yelled at/hit in this house and I'm not sure if I can get him to associate his name with positive things at this point.
I agree with the suggestion of gating or closing him in a room with an easily cleaned floor. Nothing's worse than coming home to "fingerpainting," especially on the furniture
It's pretty easy to change a dog's name. We changed our dogs names to give them a fresh start (both were previously abused). Our Ridgeback was previously named Otis, and we changed it to Odie. For a week or two we called him Otis-Odie, then dropped the Otis. Our Greyhound was named Lois, so we called her Lois Lane for a few weeks, then dropped the Lois and call her Lanie. Although Winston is a cute name, if he associates it with something negative, I would change it. Maybe he could be Lambchop
or you could name him bacon, or tonkatsu (japanese pork cutlet)
hahahhahahahahaaa.....can't top that one .... but i agree .... new name for his new home and family.....
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