Housebreaking: WHAT am I doing wrong??? PLEASE help!!!

[jeffandmagda]

Hannibal. Our 4 1/2 month-old terrorist puppy. He is our second Boxer. Our first, the late & great Bruno, passed away at 9 years old last fall before H joined our family. I recall no difficulty with Bruno & he was housebroken within a month's time. Though my husband is giving him "a couple of months" before he wants do get rid of him, I do not believe in getting rid of him for something, that quite frankly, must somehow be our fault. I will NOT get rid of my puppy; I will suck it up & housebreak him. I do not quit & do not believe in "disposable dogs" as an excuse for my failures. That said, I will own up & suck it up & listen to all input with an open heart, an open mind & gratitude. Please help me if you can.

Magda

What we do:
Take him out frequently every hour or more, especially after playing & eating or if we see him sniffing the floor like he's looking for a spot to pee.
Praise when he goes outside.
Obeys "go potty" command to pee outside every time we take him out.
Obeys "go poop" just as well as "go potty".
Have him go in the same place every time he goes outside to potty.
Only yell at him if we catch him IN the act (we rarely catch him).
Crate him at night & when I'm unable to watch him during the day (never messed in his crate).
Clean up the urine using a bacteria/enzyme cleaner made for urine & also routinely shampoo carpets every week or two.

What we don't do:
"Rub his nose in it"
Yell at him after the fact
Regular mealtimes (he eats late afternoon & just before bed every day by his own choosing)

What happened:
I had been keeping him on the leash in the house & next to me so he couldn't pee. Never once has he peed while leashed up to me. We got more comfortable since he was only having an accident every few days so we let him off the leash to run & play in the living area (gated off b/c we have small kids).

This weekend we started setting the timer every hour just in case we thought we were taking him out more often than we were. After 40 minutes he peed in the living room right in front of us. Told him "no" & took him out & reset the timer for 30 minutes. I kid you not...15-20 minutes later he was pissing in the living room again right in front my husband!!! Took him up to his crate so I could shampoo the carpet since his trail was impossible to spot treat. I found stains under the dinner table that I had no idea were there & could have been there for a couple of weeks since I last shampooed the carpet. So the smell certainly could have prompted him. TMI: We know that when we pee in our 1/2 bathroom off of the living room it has prompted him to pee at the same time. I have successfully stopped him from doing this by distracting him with a sit/stay when I go. He did it for my husband this weekend though (hubby doesn't distract him like I do).

Other considerations:
His testicles have not descended & will have to have open abdominal surgery to be neutered.

My thoughts:
I started wondering if his undescended testicles might be at part to blame. Putting pressure on his plumbing?? But if that is the cause, why isn't he peeing in his crate? Wouldn't he pee in the crate??? I know that the majority, if not all, of it is that he is getting away with it "behind my back". He is rarely caught in the act...

My plan:
Keeping him leashed every minute he is out of the crate. He will not be allowed to run & play or eat without us hovering over him. The problem is that he wants more freedom (who wouldn't?!) & he is getting a bit big for dragging around the house when I have a 2 1/2 year old, 15 month old & 5 month old to chase after. Plus he is having regular mealtimes (we always let Bruno eat at will, but I will do whatever it takes to get past this with Hannibal).

My questions:
How long do you think he should be kept on the leash accident-free before we can start letting him loose for short periods? What am I doing wrong? Am I missing something? Do you have any suggestions or thoughts about how to go about finally housebreaking him?

 

[Chiefsmom]

My questions:
How long do you think he should be kept on the leash accident-free before we can start letting him loose for short periods? What am I doing wrong? Am I missing something? Do you have any suggestions or thoughts about how to go about finally housebreaking him?

First of all, how long have you had him on the leash in the house with no freedom?!!! My first thought is puppy regression... I think if you or I were leashed up constantly and dragged around by someone with no freedom, we'd find a way to retaliate as well.
I think your first "what we do" plan of action sounded about right as long as you gave it time. However, I don't think you're going to get anywhere by keeping him leashed to you. If anything, he may retaliate more. He may associate an accident with an opportunity to go outside and play or an opportunity to show/tell you that he doesn't like being leashed all the time. Hannibal is still a puppy and they don't learn in a short period of time. Consistency and patience are key; and allowing room for mistakes to learn from. Puppies do regress. This is not uncommon.

 

[apollosdad]

i think the first thing to always rule out, is any possible medical case for this behavior. i would suggest taking your dog to a vet to make sure it is not a bladder infection.

if that is found to not be the cause, i would suggest allowing him to walk around the house (without the leash) WHILE still maintaining close supervision. if you find that you cannot keep an eye on your dog without having him on a leash then place him in the crate when he cannot be watched. be sure to allow some time to spend time with your dog and play and interact with him.

i would also suggest that you keep a written log of when your dog goes outside and relieves himself. be sure to have visual confirmation of what he does. sounds simple enough, but sometimes people overlook that last part.

 

[TobyPez]

Only yell at him if we catch him IN the act (we rarely catch him).

I noticed this.

I know you kept him on a leash and try to watch him all the time but you rarely catching him is a sign that you aren't watching him closely enough when he isn't leashed. That means he has had free reign a lot of times and has gone w/o you knowing so he may be confused on why you yell and why you don't yell sometimes (when you don't catch him)

Also check to see if he is finishing when he is outside.. see it spurt out the last few drops.. If he just suddenly stops then he may be fooling you and not fully relieving himself. What I did is stuck Toby back in the crate after coming in and I noticed he never finished completely. Then 20 mins later I'd take him back out and he quickly got the idea that he should have finished outside before.

And yes consult with a vet to check on a bladder infection.


Patience!!! I had none for 2 weeks but listened to the great advice around here and now Toby is progressing well. No accidents since Friday even in his crate after being at work many hours and he was adopted on 12/21! I followed him like a hawk whenever he tried wandering off and usually called him to stay nearby and he listened.

 

[RunningOra]

Sorry I don't have any good advice, but just wanted to say it sounds like you're trying REALLY hard here...and good on you for doing so. It sounds like you've put a lot of thought and effort into this....I'm sure you will get there, just hang on in there

 

[ehayes21]

Everyone has given you great advice, let him off the leash more, keep a closer eye on him. Also have him checked out by a vet. But at 4.5 months old you are expecting WAY too much from him to be accident free...I wouldn't expect that until the 6-8 month old range.

 

[kathysboxer]

I have to agree with everyone else. When Tyson came home, I took him out every 30-45 minutes. Yes, it was a drag, but he was trained in no time. Yes, he did have accidents, but they were few. Keep an eagle eye on him without a leash. IMO if he has an accident, take him out, tell him pee and crate him for a little bit when he comes in.
Another thing, is he drinking alot? If so, that maybe a medical condition.
Good luck, be patient, and keep us posted.

 

[jeffandmagda]

However, I don't think you're going to get anywhere by keeping him leashed to you. If anything, he may retaliate more. He may associate an accident with an opportunity to go outside and play or an opportunity to show/tell you that he doesn't like being leashed all the time. Hannibal is still a puppy and they don't learn in a short period of time. Consistency and patience are key; and allowing room for mistakes to learn from. Puppies do regress. This is not uncommon.

Interesting. I never even thought about the fact that he may associate it with getting outside. Never thought about regression either. Thank you.

 

[jeffandmagda]

i think the first thing to always rule out, is any possible medical case for this behavior. i would suggest taking your dog to a vet to make sure it is not a bladder infection.

if that is found to not be the cause, i would suggest allowing him to walk around the house (without the leash) WHILE still maintaining close supervision. if you find that you cannot keep an eye on your dog without having him on a leash then place him in the crate when he cannot be watched. be sure to allow some time to spend time with your dog and play and interact with him.

i would also suggest that you keep a written log of when your dog goes outside and relieves himself. be sure to have visual confirmation of what he does. sounds simple enough, but sometimes people overlook that last part.

I do crate him if I can't watch him (while cooking or the like) so that he can't get too rambunctious with the kids or get into something that will cause him harm behind my back. He absolutely empties every time we go out. We do not go in until he does pee & often poop (pooping is no longer a problem).

Thank you

 

[jeffandmagda]

I noticed this.

I know you kept him on a leash and try to watch him all the time but you rarely catching him is a sign that you aren't watching him closely enough when he isn't leashed. That means he has had free reign a lot of times and has gone w/o you knowing so he may be confused on why you yell and why you don't yell sometimes (when you don't catch him)

Also check to see if he is finishing when he is outside.. see it spurt out the last few drops.. If he just suddenly stops then he may be fooling you and not fully relieving himself. What I did is stuck Toby back in the crate after coming in and I noticed he never finished completely. Then 20 mins later I'd take him back out and he quickly got the idea that he should have finished outside before.

And yes consult with a vet to check on a bladder infection.


Patience!!! I had none for 2 weeks but listened to the great advice around here and now Toby is progressing well. No accidents since Friday even in his crate after being at work many hours and he was adopted on 12/21! I followed him like a hawk whenever he tried wandering off and usually called him to stay nearby and he listened.

Yes, he has been off leash as of late & it was during that time that things got worse. We grew comfortable with the fact that the accidents were fewer & farther apart so we gave him more freedom. He is absolutely confused or he just knows he can get away with it when I'm not looking. I thought our living area was a small enough space that he wouldn't be able to pee unnoticed. I guess I was wrong. I think I may move one of the couches against the wall today so there is NO visual barrier what-so-ever.

Thank you