How Often Do You Take Your Hound Out For Bathroom Breaks?

[Guest starbuck]

How often do you folks generally take your dogs out for bathroom breaks? We've had our girl for about two weeks now (she's house-trained, by the way), and it seems like we need to take her out every 2.5 hours when we're home or she'll pee downstairs. We're a little perplexed because she manages just fine when she's in her crate during the day or when she's in bed at night. This ends up being pretty stressful in the evenings when my husband and I are just trying to relax and/or go to sleep or go out, and we're not sure if this is still an adjustment phase or if it's normal. Thoughts?

 

A few other notes:

• She's been to the vet already and everything there seems to check out;
  
• She doesn't urinate in the same spot more than once, but it is always downstairs;
  
• She doesn't give us any warning signs (i.e., pacing or staring at the door) before urinating on the rug;
  
• I'm treating all stains/accidents with an enzyme cleaner; and
  
• She's four years old.
  

Edited February 22, 2012 by starbuck

[OwnedBySummer]

I would say she is NOT house-trained. Is there some reason why you think she is? Crate-trained doesn't mean house-trained.

 

Taking her out very frequently is normal when you are house-training. Give her lots and lots of praise and treats and whatever turns her crank when she eliminates outside. She will join the dots in time. Some take longer than others. I had a dog who took about 6 very long months to house-train (and I mean to the point that I could go out and leave the dog home alone, loose, for a few hours and not come home to a puddle). Thank dog Summer was quicker but she still took more than a month. Your baby is probably telling you somehow that she has to go but you haven't learned her language yet. It took me most of that month to learn what Summer's signals were, they were so incredibly subtle. Maybe your pup is the same that way?

 

And I wouldn't let your pup have free reign of the whole downstairs. She doesn't know yet that the house is "inside", although she knows her crate is "inside". Block her into the family room or whatever with you to prevent her from wandering and peeing.

Edited February 22, 2012 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest verthib]

We take ours out more often in the evening. I guess all that breakfast and dinner and drinking all day needs to go somewhere. Our general schedule is 8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm, 7/7:30 pm, 10 pm, bed. Sometimes there is a 5:30/6:00 pm if they go to the door or if it's nice and we want to play in the yard with them. You need to do A LOT of positive reinforcement training. Lots of praise and treats, go outside with her. Don't scold her after you've found pee inside. Also, many folks here can tell you that their signs for going out are VERY subtle.

[Brandiandwe]

It's not submissive urination is it? We had a problem with that Brandi and it took us a little while to cotton on that that is what was happening. Now we kow the signs and are, fingers crossed, all good now.

[Guest starbuck]

I would say she is NOT house-trained. Is there some reason why you think she is? Crate-trained doesn't mean house-trained.

 

Taking her out very frequently is normal when you are house-training. Give her lots and lots of praise and treats and whatever turns her crank when she eliminates outside. She will join the dots in time. Some take longer than others. I had a dog who took about 6 very long months to house-train. Thank dog Summer was quicker but she still took more than a month. Your baby is probably telling you somehow that she has to go but you haven't learned her language yet. It took me most of that month to learn what Summer's signals were, they were so incredibly subtle. Maybe your pup is the same that way?

 

And I wouldn't let your pup have free reign of the whole downstairs. She doesn't know yet that the house is "inside", although she knows her crate is "inside". Block her into the family room or whatever with you to prevent her from wandering and peeing.

 

I admittedly don't know exactly how long it takes for a dog to be properly house-trained, but she'd been with her foster mom since October and hadn't had any accidents there: she simply went when she was taken outside, and that was that. She's actually pretty efficient about it when we go outside--she immediately starts to sniff around, finds her favorite spot, and then eliminates. This is accompanied by treats and lots of cheerful exclamations. So far so good on that front.

 

Our first floor has a greatroom layout: the kitchen leads into the dining room leads into the living room. Incidentally, she's only urinated downstairs when I've been downstairs. In fact, she generally tends to follow us from room to room. This evening, for example, she was sleeping peacefully next to my computer desk, and when I got up to bring a bowl downstairs she followed. (This is, again, pretty normal.) She did a little lurking in the kitchen while I washed the bowl (begging for treats, of course) and then promptly walked across the room, squatted, and peed. If I had been quicker noticing her start to squat, I probably could have avoided the whole situation with a "No" and a quick zoom outside, but that wasn't the case.

 

If you don't mind me asking, how does Summer generally try to tell you that she needs to go out? We try to keep our pup on a schedule (after dinner, mid-evening, and then before bed), but now we're paranoid that we're not taking her out enough. Weirdly, she usually starts pacing and eyeing the door after we come back in.

 

It's not submissive urination is it? We had a problem with that Brandi and it took us a little while to cotton on that that is what was happening. Now we kow the signs and are, fingers crossed, all good now.

 

I'm not really familiar with submissive urination; is that when they eliminate when they're scared or excited? If so, that doesn't seem to be the case, but I'm definitely no expert.

[OwnedBySummer]

It certainly sounds like she WAS house-trained. Now you need other people to comment, I have never had to deal with regression in house-training (well, unless a dog was sick or something, then it's understandable). My guess... since it's a new house and new family and new schedule and new and new... she's a bit unsettled and is regressing like an anxious child can.

 

You asked how Summer tells me. Let's see. One way is, although she's curled up on the couch or perhaps even roaching... she is watching me instead of sleeping. In her case, if it keeps on, she needs out. Another way is she gets up, walks to the family room french door that opens onto the front foyer (which, BTW, is NOT the door she'll be taken out through and never has been) and looks at the foyer. When she was being house-trained, if I didn't catch her RIGHT THEN AND THERE, she'd turn, take a couple of steps into the family room and squat. Nowadays, she uses the same signals but the rush factor is gone. Lately (and this is after having her for almost 2 years now), she will sphinx on the floor before me and yip -- and yahoo, that means she wants out to poop.

 

Good luck and I hope someone can chime in on the regression. You are SURE the foster family house-trained her and didn't just keep her crated most of the time or something, thus eliminating the potential for accidents?

 

ETA: Another of her signals is that she goes from her bed... to the couch... to the armchair... so I know she's restless and has to go.

Edited February 22, 2012 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest starbuck]

It certainly sounds like she WAS house-trained. Now you need other people to comment, I have never had to deal with regression in house-training (well, unless a dog was sick or something, then it's understandable). My guess... since it's a new house and new family and new schedule and new and new... she's a bit unsettled and is regressing like an anxious child can.

 

You asked how Summer tells me. Let's see. One way is, although she's curled up on the couch or perhaps even roaching... she is watching me instead of sleeping. In her case, if it keeps on, she needs out. Another way is she gets up, walks to the family room french door that opens onto the front foyer (which, BTW, is NOT the door she'll be taken out through and never has been) and looks at the foyer. When she was being house-trained, if I didn't catch her RIGHT THEN AND THERE, she'd turn, take a couple of steps into the family room and squat. Nowadays, she uses the same signals but the rush factor is gone. Lately (and this is after having her for almost 2 years now), she will sphinx on the floor before me and yip -- and yahoo, that means she wants out to poop.

 

Good luck and I hope someone can chime in on the regression. You are SURE the foster family house-trained her and didn't just keep her crated most of the time or something, thus eliminating the potential for accidents?

 

ETA: Another of her signals is that she goes from her bed... to the couch... to the armchair... so I know she's restless and has to go.

 

Thanks for the feedback; I suppose I'll just really have to keep on her and make sure that I'm closely watching what she's doing. Look for patterns. It's reassuring to know that this isn't completely weird or abnormal, albeit frustrating. I'm still learning, too.

 

Oh, and honestly, of course I don't know for sure what went out with her foster family, but they've been nothing but kind and helpful during this whole process. As far as I know, she was crated during the day and then had the ability to go on household adventures as soon as everyone came home.

Edited February 22, 2012 by starbuck

[Brandiandwe]

 

It's not submissive urination is it? We had a problem with that Brandi and it took us a little while to cotton on that that is what was happening. Now we kow the signs and are, fingers crossed, all good now.

 

I'm not really familiar with submissive urination; is that when they eliminate when they're scared or excited? If so, that doesn't seem to be the case, but I'm definitely no expert.

 

That's the one. We would get it after we came home. Huge excitement, calming down, five minutes later, bang. If we didn't get her outside she'd do it again. Same thing if we were watching something loud on TV.... It probably isn't, of course, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

[Greydawg]

Here is what worked for me in the house-training department with Heisman, my first Greyhound (he had been in a foster home for about a week when we adopted him)... I tethered his 6-foot leash to my belt, so that he was never out of my sight or reach. I took him out about every 3 hours or so, asking him first if he wanted to go potty. Then I took him out on the leash and I praised him profusely when he did his bizness. It didn't take long for him to get it. We adopted him on the eve of a 4 day weekend, and he and I were tethered together most of that time. He never has messed in the house in the 3.5 years we have had him. We have also had short-term foster dogs that I have crated and/or tethered, without issues.

 

Heisman tells me he wants to go out. How? Several signals. He comes over to me, then goes to the front door and looks back at me. I ask him if he wants to go out, and he responds by lifting his front paw and striking whatever is nearby (the door, the wall, my leg, whatever). Other times, he gets more demonstrative... He will hit an object, stretch in to a play-bow, wag his tail, and sometimes talk. Yep, talk. This could mean "outside," "treat," or his all-time favorite, "dinner." We play the guessing game. When I say the magic word, he gets very animated, like saying, "Yes, Yes, you got it!" If it has to do with food, he will accompany all those signals with licking his chops. That tongue is fast, and I've learned to look for it. One time, he even woke me up at about 2 in the morning standing next to my side of the bed with a plastic bag in his mouth! He got it out of the poop bag dispenser we keep on the wall in the laundry room. His message was loud and clear: "Hey! I gotta go poop!" Indeed.

 

Alex, our other Greyhound, was previously adopted by a family, so he was already house-trained when he came to live with us. He does not let me know he needs to go out, and he seems happy to go out at regular outside times or whenever Heisman directs it.

 

Their typical potty breaks on a regular work day... 7am, noon, 6pm, 9-ish pm. Weekend schedules vary.

[EnzaFerrari]

What it could be is that she is more active because you all are home and doing things vs. a need to go outside and pee.

I find, especially when the weather is nice, that Enza loves to go out more than once when I get home from work. She is more active at night but I think that is more because that is the pattern in the house. IE - I get home from work, we go for our walk, I make dinner, I clean, I putter, I fuss. If the weather is nice, she will sometimes get another walk. Once I settle down on the sofa, she settles down as well. But in that "in between" space, she is constantly watching just in case we head back out for another one. The schedule is usually a walk around 5:30, sometimes one around 7, then the final between 10:30 and 11. If I know the likelihood of a middle walk is low, I make the first or last one longer. On the weekends, she is more laid back because the pattern is not set.

 

Try the training recommended, but also see how she settles in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OwnedBySummer]

Good luck! She'll get there!

And yup, my Bissell deep cleaner is my best friend, .

[philospher77]

Just another random thought... why NOT take her out every 2.5 hours in the evening, until she settles in and learns the routine? Pre-empt the peeing inside, praise lavishly for peeing outside (I've had Katie almost 2 years now, and she STILL gets told "good pee" and "good poop" for going outside!), and then as she gets more settled, start stretching out the time between the trips outside until you get her on a schedule that suits you both?

 

And yeah, their signals can be very subtle and counter-intuitive. Katie's earliest signal was to come stand by my chair and look out the window. Since she was a very shy dog, and standing by my chair was her general way of asking for attention, food, etc., this was not at all obvious. Her counter-intuitive one is when she starts playing with a great deal of excitement. To be honest, I am not sure if that is a signal that she wants to go out, or if needing to go out is a side effect of the vigorous playing, but when she does that, I try and make sure she gets outside at some point in it!

[Guest starbuck]

 

It's not submissive urination is it? We had a problem with that Brandi and it took us a little while to cotton on that that is what was happening. Now we kow the signs and are, fingers crossed, all good now.

 

I'm not really familiar with submissive urination; is that when they eliminate when they're scared or excited? If so, that doesn't seem to be the case, but I'm definitely no expert.

 

That's the one. We would get it after we came home. Huge excitement, calming down, five minutes later, bang. If we didn't get her outside she'd do it again. Same thing if we were watching something loud on TV.... It probably isn't, of course, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

 

Good to know. Definitely don't think that's the case with ours, but thanks for bringing it up, just in case.

[Guest starbuck]

Just another random thought... why NOT take her out every 2.5 hours in the evening, until she settles in and learns the routine? Pre-empt the peeing inside, praise lavishly for peeing outside (I've had Katie almost 2 years now, and she STILL gets told "good pee" and "good poop" for going outside!), and then as she gets more settled, start stretching out the time between the trips outside until you get her on a schedule that suits you both?

 

And yeah, their signals can be very subtle and counter-intuitive. Katie's earliest signal was to come stand by my chair and look out the window. Since she was a very shy dog, and standing by my chair was her general way of asking for attention, food, etc., this was not at all obvious. Her counter-intuitive one is when she starts playing with a great deal of excitement. To be honest, I am not sure if that is a signal that she wants to go out, or if needing to go out is a side effect of the vigorous playing, but when she does that, I try and make sure she gets outside at some point in it!

 

That's currently what we're doing--I was more concerned about whether or not it was normal and/or how she was still managing to urinate in between. I'm also trying to figure out if there's some small, weird thing that screwed up our schedules on the days that she had accidents, or maybe if she's had accidents on the days she's had shorter walks.

 

And definitely, as you guys have mentioned, I need to figure out what her "tell" is for when she needs to go. It'll just be a process, I suppose.

 

Again, thanks for all the feedback, folks. I really appreciate it, because not only is Starbuck our first greyhound, she's also our first dog. You can only read so many books.

Edited February 22, 2012 by starbuck

[Guest HHHounds]

When in doubt, take her out! That has worked well with my hounds until you can get the signals down... Sometimes we sniff the breezes and sometimes we need to go potty!

[Jackandgrey]

Just an aside, she WAS housetrained in her foster home. However that does not generalize to your home or any other home she may be taken to. What you know is that she is well able to be housetrained and then treat her like a new pup and start from the beginning. It should be a quick process. If you can't yet read her signals and she hasn't yet learned to make them more obvious, then try the tether to you process. In other words you don't ever let her out of your sight when she is not confined. It is much easier to scoot them out the door plus you do get to see their signals a little more easily. Good luck!

[Guest starbuck]

Just an aside, she WAS housetrained in her foster home. However that does not generalize to your home or any other home she may be taken to. What you know is that she is well able to be housetrained and then treat her like a new pup and start from the beginning. It should be a quick process. If you can't yet read her signals and she hasn't yet learned to make them more obvious, then try the tether to you process. In other words you don't ever let her out of your sight when she is not confined. It is much easier to scoot them out the door plus you do get to see their signals a little more easily. Good luck!

 

Thanks! For the most part, she's doing really well. I just want to eliminate the worry of potential accidents (obviously) and lengthen the time between breaks, and it seems like maybe I'll have to try that tethering bit because baby gates won't work very well for the layout in our house.

Edited February 22, 2012 by starbuck

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

You might try teaching her to ring bells to let you know when she wants to go out.

 

I taught mine by keeping the bells near the back door. I held them up for her to sniff. When she touched them with her nose they rang, I gave her a treat and then put her outside. As soon as she was consistently touching them when offered, I hung them up and got her to ring them before every single turnout. Within days she understood that to get the door to open she needed to ring the bells.

 

 

Jayne had the same issue you seem to be going through. She never had accidents at her foster homes, but once she learned the basement stairs in ours she used the basement several times. I did as described above, tethering her to me for a couple weeks until I was sure she wasn't going to have more accidents. She does, of course, ring the bells when she wants to bark at squirrels as well as when she wants to go pee!

[Guest starbuck]

You might try teaching her to ring bells to let you know when she wants to go out.

 

I taught mine by keeping the bells near the back door. I held them up for her to sniff. When she touched them with her nose they rang, I gave her a treat and then put her outside. As soon as she was consistently touching them when offered, I hung them up and got her to ring them before every single turnout. Within days she understood that to get the door to open she needed to ring the bells.

 

 

Jayne had the same issue you seem to be going through. She never had accidents at her foster homes, but once she learned the basement stairs in ours she used the basement several times. I did as described above, tethering her to me for a couple weeks until I was sure she wasn't going to have more accidents. She does, of course, ring the bells when she wants to bark at squirrels as well as when she wants to go pee!

 

This is seriously the greatest idea.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

This is seriously the greatest idea.

 

Say that again when you've just gotten comfortable in your chair all wrapped up in a blanket with a book after a long day on your feet and the dog rings the bells to go stare at some leaves!

 

I kid, I would much rather be pulled from a comfy spot for leaf staring than for pee cleanup!

[Guest NJgrey]

Totally normal. Took ours 6 months before she was fine with the whole house. We had to go through a period of frequent potty breaks plus baby-gating to get her there. 2 weeks is NOTHING! She's still learning the ropes big time. Keep up the crating if that works for you while you're gone. When she's with you in the evening I would try to gate her into more or less the same room as you so you can see what she's doing at all times. You'll be able to see her signals much better that way. It may be as subtle as a glance at you followed by a quick glance towards the door.

 

I know it sucks at first but the initial work ALWAYS pays off. Keep taking her every couple hrs while you're with her. She will get it eventually. Had our girl coming up on 2 years now and I still instinctively say "good girl" when she potties.

[Guest starbuck]

Totally normal. Took ours 6 months before she was fine with the whole house. We had to go through a period of frequent potty breaks plus baby-gating to get her there. 2 weeks is NOTHING! She's still learning the ropes big time. Keep up the crating if that works for you while you're gone. When she's with you in the evening I would try to gate her into more or less the same room as you so you can see what she's doing at all times. You'll be able to see her signals much better that way. It may be as subtle as a glance at you followed by a quick glance towards the door.

 

I know it sucks at first but the initial work ALWAYS pays off. Keep taking her every couple hrs while you're with her. She will get it eventually. Had our girl coming up on 2 years now and I still instinctively say "good girl" when she potties.

 

My husband and I are super intrigued by the bell-ringing idea, so I think that might be something we try to work on this weekend. In the meantime, we're just going to try and work on being as consistent as possible and to err on the side of taking her out too many times rather than too few. Hopefully she'll get sick of going out so much. =D

 

Oh, and making sure that she's within "touch" range rather than "sight" range, if that makes sense.

Edited February 22, 2012 by starbuck

[OwnedBySummer]

Just an aside, she WAS housetrained in her foster home. However that does not generalize to your home or any other home she may be taken to. What you know is that she is well able to be housetrained and then treat her like a new pup and start from the beginning. It should be a quick process. If you can't yet read her signals and she hasn't yet learned to make them more obvious, then try the tether to you process. In other words you don't ever let her out of your sight when she is not confined. It is much easier to scoot them out the door plus you do get to see their signals a little more easily. Good luck!

 

Yup! Summer is completely 100% housetrained in both our house and our trailer. As well as nursing homes (kind of necessary for a therapy dog, ). But if I take her to someone else's house, I'm not as confident. Any house with dogs, in particular, and we're at risk for a quick squat. I really have to keep my eye on her for the first 10 minutes and then we're fine. And if I leave her alone and loose in Grandma's condo, even for just a couple of hours while we go for lunch, she will pee. So I keep a crate at Grandma's.

[Guest starbuck]

Just an aside, she WAS housetrained in her foster home. However that does not generalize to your home or any other home she may be taken to. What you know is that she is well able to be housetrained and then treat her like a new pup and start from the beginning. It should be a quick process. If you can't yet read her signals and she hasn't yet learned to make them more obvious, then try the tether to you process. In other words you don't ever let her out of your sight when she is not confined. It is much easier to scoot them out the door plus you do get to see their signals a little more easily. Good luck!

 

Yup! Summer is completely 100% housetrained in both our house and our trailer. As well as nursing homes (kind of necessary for a therapy dog, ). But if I take her to someone else's house, I'm not as confident. Any house with dogs, in particular, and we're at risk for a quick squat. I really have to keep my eye on her for the first 10 minutes and then we're fine. And if I leave her alone and loose in Grandma's condo, even for just a couple of hours while we go for lunch, she will pee. So I keep a crate at Grandma's.

 

Also good to know, because there's a chance that when we take our annual trip to FL we'll be bringing her with us. Fortunately, the house down there is tiled, which will make any sort of accidents very easy to clean up.

[philospher77]

As Patricia McConnell put it in one of her many books, dogs don't think like us. We think a dog that is housebroken understands "Pee outside only", when it's quite possible that they have learned "do not pee inside THIS house". So yep, taking them somewhere else can mean all bets are off.