Down to business

Hello,
I know this might sound like a funny question, but is it possible to train my dog to 'go' in my garden? I've found my local authority isn't changing the dog bins so often and they fill up quickly. It might just be easier to train her to go in my garden before we go on a walk. The problem is, she's a shy goer (she goes behind a tree when we're out so I have to subtly watch so I can find it after, but avoid her embarrassment!) so I'm worried she might not want to. She does go in the garden when I let her out before bed, but she knows I'm not watching then.

Thanks very much!

Jules Morris, by email

A wee problem

Benji is what I believe to be a Sheltie terrier mix whom we rescued in 2008. He was found as a stray on the streets of a smaller city in New Jersey, USA. We adopted him from the rescue that released him from the shelter after they'd cared for him only a few days.

Benji is a sweet submissive dog but his bladder is his to use whenever and however he sees fit. He is such a good dog that we like to believe he only pees on the tile in the bathroom. But stains on my speaker cloth say otherwise.

We have a dozen colorful belly bands to which we affix super absorbent napkins. He wets them and only lets us know he needs to pee when they're wet. :(

No amount of diligence seems to make him any more or less reliable. If we could withhold water without ill effect I might but no one recommends that.

I can fantasize that he was kept outside and wasn't ever house trained until we got him (we failed). True enough he was not neutered until rescued at the age my vet thinks was about 5yo.

We love him and aren't houseproud thank goodness (he wouldn't fit in) but I wish he would pee outside.

Suggestions welcome.

Ron and Benji, New York City




Karen Wild, behaviourist, advises…

Hi Ron and Benji,

If your vet is confident that Benji does not have any physical issues it may just be that he never learned to toilet outside. If he had originally lived outdoors he may have just peed wherever he felt and it is unlikely that he went in his own little ‘den’ (if he had one) but everywhere else was fair game. You have a lot of options and I do think that belly bands are a good way of staying sane for as long as possible. I completely sympathise having had an incontinent older dog and a tiny female dog that was also never housetrained. Needless to say we abandoned our carpets long ago, so sometimes management keeps things on a bearable level.

Do check that he is not scent marking rather than just urinating to empty his bladder. There is a significant difference as one is typically a marking behaviour against vertical surfaces and small amounts of urine. Actually toileting is larger amounts of urine and is solely for relief. Scent marking is territorial and sometimes through stress, and is an instinctive behaviour that can be hard to stop.

The absolute way to tell if he is even prepared to learn to hold urine until he goes outside is to go right back to good old puppy housetraining. Confinement, supervision, and letting him out at short but regular intervals, making a big fuss of him when he does urinate in the right place. If you can consistently do this (or already have) and he is still not catching on, check that he is not afraid to urinate outdoors. If you decide to use a puppy pad to attract him to at least choose a single, easy to keep clean place indoors this can also help. You can build up time targeting the puppy pad, then move it nearer the door and finally outside.

So, it can be hard to help without details and my advice is keep a diary of places, times, amount (indelicate but necessary) so that you can at least begin to establish a pattern. Once you know exactly what his habit is trying to achieve, you can really get to tackling the issue with some certainty.

Best wishes,

Karen

Potty re-training

Wonderful friend of dogs everywhere, Joanna Mason, has been running Staffie rescue in Sussex for over 40 years and is still involved at the fantastic age of 88. Unfortunately, Joanna now has a condition which means she is prone to blackouts, and is soon to move into sheltered accommodation.

Joanna is sadly not allowed to take her Staffie with her, but has rehomed him to a lovely family. Her Yorkshire Terrier, Danny, however, is allowed to join her in her new home. Joanna rescued puppy Danny after he survived a train crash in which his owner was killed.

Danny is now an older chap and Joanna often needs to let him out to toilet in the middle of the night. He is acustomed to Joanna's large garden, but he will not be allowed outside at night once they move. Joanna is keen to train him to us a litter tray or similar, however as dogs are creatures of habit and are sensitive to their surroundings, this is proving quite a task.

If anyone has any ideas as to how Joanna can train Danny to use an indoor toilet, we would be most grateful and will pass the advice on. Joanna and Danny move in six weeks' time.

Thank you

The Dogs Today team



Karen Wild, behaviourist, advises...

  

I think we are looking almost at toilet training in reverse for Danny! In other words, he has learned to treat indoors as a clean place where he must not toilet and he prefers the open space outside at present. Instead we need to teach him the toileting indoors is actually now ok -  but only in a small area of our choosing. We do not want to cause him distress by being made to feel like he is being unclean.

First of all the indoor toilet needs to match the same surface that Danny currently uses. If he prefers grass, a roll of turf cut to size on a sheet of polythene will work well. If he prefers gravel, this is what should be used at first. I would take him outside to this specific ‘new’ toilet so that he can go there (whilst on his lead). Go back to giving a ‘toilet’ cue such as ‘hurry up’ followed by lots of praise and a treat when he performs! Keep the treat pot near to the toilet area so he can see it but not reach it. That usually provides ongoing encouragement for a dog to seek out a new specific place.

Once he is reliably choosing to or is happy to toilet there, I would gradually move it indoors and repeat the same toileting command at times he needs to go such as waking, after eating/drinking and so on. Finally I might try to convert the surface to the one I want him to use in future e.g. half gravel, half absorbent training pad, newspaper or whatever you actually want him to use, until he is happily going on the new, but now happily familiar, toilet area indoors.

If Danny is not capable of holding his bladder or bowels in the night then it would be very unfair to put him in a small area such as a crate as this may only result in him soiling his bed. I suggest keeping his toilet area within easy access, next to an outside door (or the one he goes through to reach his normal daytime toilet) and not giving him too much roaming space at night to dissuade him from choosing unwanted areas to toilet in. His new toilet area needs to be well away from his bed or food, as we do not want to cause him distress by having a latrine next to any areas that dogs like to keep completely clean.

Obviously if you know the layout of the new environment he will be living in, there may need to be adjustments made to the above advice and I would also make sure that his Vet has checked him over to make sure he is physically fine with no health problems before this training commences. You’d need to be happy that the new arrangement does not represent any welfare issues for him with regards to him needing to toilet and not being given the opportunity to get outside for this, but I am sure you have considered this already. Eventually it may be that he learns to accept this new arrangement, but if it is too unpleasant for him no matter how kindly or carefully he is trained, then other options might need to be looked at. If you feel you are struggling, it might be a good idea to ask an expert to come in and help you see the situation with fresh eyes – www.apbc.org.uk

Best wishes

Karen