Need Advice On Potty Training

[Guest ztirpak]

Hey all you greyhound experts!

 

My 5-year old Case has been with me for about three months and he has gradually developed some bad behavior. About a month ago I came home and saw a pile of number 2 on the floor. I scolded him verbally (but did not berate him repeatedly) and cleaned it up. The next week I was coming home to the same pile every day, scolding him every time. I then realized that I need to let him go number 2 twice in the morning to get him all "emptied out" for lack of a better term. The accidents stopped for about the next two-three weeks.

 

Last week Case started peeing in the house. He would even go while I am in the house with him without any alert that he needed to go outside. I scold him like always and allow him extra time outside in the morning to fully relieve himself. Even still, he is continuing to pee in the house when I am gone at work and when I am at home. With these new accidents have come a resurgence of number 2 accidents. I try to correct him and allow him extra time to relieve himself, but routine doesn't seem to help. I'm worried that he thinks his behavior is okay and that I'm not doing enough to correct him. I don't know if he needs a diet change or if he's feeling ill (I don't see any other signs of illness) or what the case may be!

 

Help!

[kamsmom]

First eliminate any question of illness. After you have found that he is healthy I would probably start back at square one and either crate or gate in one area. Slowly allow him more space when he is showing that he doesn't eliminate in the area.

 

Sometimes this will take longer and sometimes you will have to go back a bit. Just be patient.

 

Some have had success using a belly band, I've never used one so I don't have any suggestions about it. Good luck

[GeorgeofNE]

It's not "bad behavior" if he had to poop and no one was there to let him out. "Scolding" him is only teaching him that you are unpredictable,and sometimes when you come home, you're mean. Don't waste your time correcting him unless you catch him in the act. Then just tell him no, and get him outside quickly.

 

Suggest you have him checked for a UTI, and then if that's clear, start from scratch and take him out on a leash on a very regular schedule until he gets it. You can walk in your fenced yars if you have one, but you need to monitor how often he goes, and praise him to the heavens when he does.

[3greytjoys]

I completely agree with both replies, above.

 

Also, good to have a fecal test done to ensure he's clear of parasites. If he has runny stools, he probably can't "hold it" as long as he normally would. If fecal result is clear, brand of kibble can make a difference in firm stools. (One that works well to firm up stools is California Natural, Lamb and Rice.)

 

Greyhounds are extremely sensitive dogs. They learn things better with positive training rather than negative punishment. Punishment destroys the "trust" relationship between dog and owner. If trust is damaged, it takes a ton of happy, positive, encouraging behavior to rebuild trust (and calm, relaxed behavior).

 

I'm not sure how long Case is left alone during day, but some hounds (especially new hounds) need to relieve themselves every 4-6 hours during the day. Some people arrange to come home at lunch to let their dogs outside (if they don't have a dog door to a securely fenced yard), or they arrange for a dog walker or neighbor to take the dog outside mid day.

 

Another possibility is anxiety. If a dog is anxious, they cannot physically hold urine and bowel as long as they can when not stressed. You can search "separation anxiety" if you think that may be part of your situation.

 

Newly retired racing Greyhounds have never had to learn to "ask" to be let outside. Someone has always appeared to let kennel hounds out on a regular schedule (about every 4 hours during day). Considering a newly adopted hound, "signs" of needing to go outside is something humans need to watch closely to figure out.

 

Some examples of "signs" (or lack thereof) to watch:

After resting (or playing), hound stands up, maybe stretches, maybe walks over to water bowl for a drink, may just return to bed (but still needs to potty).

Hound might approach human (as if looking for petting), but human misinterprets hound's "need to go potty" behavior as hound wanting attention.

Hound walks over to "stand" next to human ("waiting" until human gets message).

If lucky, hound walks near door, might stare towards door or human. (Don't count on this one.)

Hound pacing, or circling, and/or sniffing floor is an alert to rush hound outside, pronto!

 

Example of potty break timing:

When they wake up.

Within 15 minutes after eating breakfast.

Before humans leave the house.

Immediately when humans get home.

Within 15 minutes after dinner.

Just before going to sleep at night.

 

Even though our hounds have scheduled potty outings at least 6 times a day, I taught them to ring a bell (hung on the door knob) if they need to go outside to potty before their regular potty break. (Initially, I rang bell every time door opened for their potty break. Later, they did "touch" training with yummy treat rewards + reward of door opening.) It's an excellent clear communication between dog and human, but the human **must respond immediately** to open the door when the dog rings the bell!

 

Good luck with your boy, and try to be patient. Thank you for asking for help from GTers.

[Guest SusanP]

I agree with the above posters that scolding after the fact is not a good idea and that the dog needs a medical check. But another thing is that now that there have been so many accidents in the house, your dog may be smelling where they were and concluding that this is a good place to go again, so be sure to clean up with and enzyme cleaner for pet accidents to get any lingering odor out.

 

How many hours is the dog home without going out during the day? It may simply be too long for him, in which case a trip home at lunch time or a dog walker may work well.

 

As soon as you can, spend time retraining. When a new hound comes into our home or when one has fallen into a habit of accidents (and it happens, for whatever reason), we make sure the dog is going out about every hour or whenever s/he gets up and seems to want something., reestablishing the potty-outside connection.

When I catch one in the act, I tell them no, and take them outside even though they've finished. But beyond that, I take it as a cue that I need to be more on top of things for awhile. Do that on your days off and hopefully the effect will carry over into your work week.