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  1. #1
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    Older Puppy Housetraining Problems

    Hi. We rescued a little black lab about a month ago. Lexie is now 7 months old. She was not having any accidents in the house at her foster home, but since we’ve gotten her home she has LOTS. She will go three or four days with no accidents (we bring her out frequently, give her treats and tons of praise when she goes outside, etc) but then will have one VERY bad day with 4 or 5 accidents in one day. My husband is getting fed up. I’m not super happy about it either since the house smells like urine. Lexie does have a crate, but right now we only use it when we leave the house. With our schedules, someone is home the majority of the time. She sleeps on a dog bed in my room at night-no problems there. She sleeps all night long and doesn’t get up until I do around 6:30am.

    There are a couple of things that MAY be related to this. We do have another rescue who is about 7 now, Cali. Cali does have some incontinent issues that she’s had for about a year. She leaks just a little bit- not a lot. She looks so ashamed when it happens. We think it’s due to her spay, her having had puppies, or both. So, I didn’t know if Lexie could smell it (not that it’s that noticeable, but she is a dog with great smelling) and that’s confusing her.

    I also leave a bowl of water out since we have two dogs. My husband says she drinks too much. I don’t want to dehydrate either of them. They play together a lot and then like to drink lots of water afterwards. How much is too much? How much should we limit it?

    I did read through this puppy board for tips, but most of the questions about housetraining were geared at much younger puppies. As stated, Lexie is not crated very much during the day unless we’re not home. I do watch her, but I can’t literally stare at her the whole time. She will pee in the same room I am in, but I will either be watching TV or reading and just miss the fact that she’s peed until it’s too late. She give literally no cues at all that she has to pee. She doesn’t alert us in any way. We just bring her out every hour or so (longer if she’s sleeping). I am willing to change anything/everything that we've been doing to fix this. I am open to any advise.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    I wouldn't limit water.

    House training comes down to supervision and limiting movement. you need to get her outside more often during the day when she is awake, reward her for going outside. Ensure to clean any accident with odour neutralizing product, and yes if your other dog dribbles and it wasn't properly de-odorized your new dog can smell it and think it's ok to pee in the house.

    You can look into "bell training" and teach her to ring the bell if she wants to go out but you still need to get her outside more often until she gets to that point. I have Poochy Bells.

    During some points of the day an hour will be too long between trips outside. Your best bet is to jot down she is is going and see when she needs to go outside more.

    If she is peeing small amounts frequently you may want to talk to the vet about a possibly UTI.

  3. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Tanya For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (03-29-2017), genniel (03-29-2017), Labradorks (03-30-2017)

  4. #3
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    Thank you for your responses. Very appreciated. I was thinking about the bell training. That reinforces my thoughts. I will also get a different cleaner to make sure I am using the right kind.

    I like the idea of jotting down when she goes to start identifying patterns. I did consider a UTI, but considering she goes three, four or more days with no accidents it made me think it wasn't that. I may bring her to the vet anyway to rule that out.

  5. #4
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    Since you have a dog in the house already, that is not fully continent, there is urine odor all over the house. You need to use an enzymatic cleaner like Tanya mentioned, all over to neutralize the odor, a common one is Nature's Miracle.

    Once you do that you need to put a incontinence diaper/wrap/panty on the older dog, or, try one of the medications that helps (Proin? or others) or it will just keep happening. It isn't fair to ecpect the baby not to pee in the house when it smells like urine already.

    With the 7 month old puppy, you need to go back to basic puppy training, like you would housebreak a new 8 week old baby puppy. Use your crate when you can't supervise the 7 month old, then go out on scheduled potty breaks, on leash with a potty command, with lots of praise and even treats when she goes. Do not just put her outside and expect her to 'go'.
    Puppies need to be housebroken in new environments, they don't just 'know' that just because they are indoors they shouldn't pee. If you cannot watch her while you are watching TV, then try tethering her to you with a leash, so you know she is moving around, and might be looking for a place to urinate, or crate her. Your puppy has way too much freedom in my opinion, and needs to earn more freedom by becoming housebroken. It does take supervision, time and training, but before you know it, she will be staring you down, waiting at the door, nudging you or other subtle signs that she needs to go out. She should be in a crate at night for sleeping at this age too.

    I never ever restrict water, no matter the age.

    Good luck!

  6. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Shelley For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (03-29-2017), barry581 (04-01-2017), genniel (03-30-2017)

  7. #5
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    I home seniors, most of whom lived in kennels and could go whenever they had the urge. Started with potty training 101. No fussing in the house, just take out quickly and praise. Unlike puppies who don't have the muscle control, older dogs do so I knew they could hold it. It was just a matter of letting them know where it was appropriate to go.

    Also agree with using an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle. Always let out after a heavy play session, meals, waking up and drinking water, with more in between times. I would not restrict water.
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  9. #6
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Agree with the others. Look into the reasons for the older dog's incontinence and look into meds if it's spay incontinence. Could also be a UTI.

    Take puppy to vet; check for UTI. Then go back to baby puppy foundations potty training with her. She has shown you she is not ready for indirect supervision. Either watch her or crate her. It's OK to crate a puppy when you can't keep an eye on them, even if you are right there. You can always give her a kong or something else that will keep her busy and happy.

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  11. #7
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    Thanks guys. All good helpful tips.

  12. #8
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    I would endorse everything said here. Ditto, ditto, ditto. I have found that tethering the dog with a leash to my belt while I do stuff in the house has always worked well for me.

 



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