Seriously Fed Up. :(

[kikibean]

If you take him to the vet, have them check his prostate. I had a foster who was pottying in the house and I was 100% positive it wasn't behaviorial even though the vet insisted it was. We went round and round and she finally checked his prostate only to find it was infected. Round of antibiotics and everyone (including him) was happy again and no more accidents.

 

Just a thought since apparently it's not something they automatically check.

[LBass]

One thing that you posted seems intriguing to me:

Then, summer came, it wasn't a problem anymore because of the screen the dogs can use to come in and out

 

 

 

You are saying that when he can go out at will, he consistently goes outdoors to relieve himself and does not soil in the house? It's only when he can't let himself out at will through the screen that you have problems with him relieving himself in the house? Am I understanding correctly? If so, it seems to me that he really does have the idea of house training down pretty well. If I'm right, then it becomes a question of determining whether he is just not good at letting you know he needs to go back out (or maybe you haven't figured out how to recognize his subtle signs yet) or whether he has some sort of problem with urgency.

 

One approach would be to work on teaching him to let you know when he wants out.

 

It sounds like you live in a cold climate but you may find that he does well with access to a dog door that he could use year round. Well insulated dog doors can be a costly addition to the home but it made all the difference with one of my dogs. When Piper had to go to the bathroom, he had to go RIGHT NOW. As soon as I figured that out and put in a dog door for him, he used it like a champ when I wasn't home and he let me know when he needed to go out when I was home.

 

Hope you find a solution. I used old or cheap new shower curtain liners to cover the carpet for Piper before I figured out that he really needed immediate access to the outdoors at all times if he was going to be successful. They cover a large area and can be dumped in the washer and replaced when worn. Maybe that would help protect the floors for now?

[krissn333]

My friend teaches all of her fosters to ring a bell on a door handle. Could you try something like that?

[Guest carriej]

I haven't read all the comments, but I just thought I'd offer some help.

 

We had a girl here adopt a dog and return it for the same reasons... pottying inside, all the time, regardless of what she did. She kept him for about a year. We went over; took the dog for a day... No potty problems that we ever noticed.

 

Dog was rehomed, no potty problems in new home.

 

However, she was letting the dog out into her backyard like you are; just letting him roam freely in the fenced in area. He was out there having a great time, but not using the bathroom.

 

With the new home (and with us since we don't have a fenced in yard) he was taken out on a leash, to the exact same spot every time. It's almost like a light bulb clicked "Oh I'm here to use the bathroom!" as there was no sniffing, adventuring or exploring when we did potty. After he went, lots of praise and treats and THEN a little exploring and back in.

 

I would almost try starting from the beginning; and while I'm sure it's frustrating I really think it will help you. He might not understand that he's going outside to use the bathroom, but if you take him out on a leash, use the exact same area everytime, and he gets a really high value treat after doing his business he will get the hang of it.

 

Good luck.

[Guest Whippet]

That's what I have. I have 2.

[Fruitycake]

It seems as if you think he should have potty trained himself. Some dogs need more constant watching, and some don't know how to tell you they need out, and some have such darned subtle signals that they tell you in an "almost whisper" and if you don't respond immediately they decide they have to do whatever because you obviously don't get it. Monty's signals are more subtle than my husband really "hears" (even after 5+ years I still read his signals better than my husband), while to me they're so obvious that I feel like the only thing more obvious would be Monty speaking in English "Hey, dude, I have to pee/poop!" in my husband's face.

 

We don't have a fenced-in yard, and like many have to deal with the cold every time our dogs need to potty. Sure, it was -37 windchill a couple of mornings ago (-50 a couple of weeks ago) and I didn't want to go out, but the dogs needed to go out and that was that. A fenced in yard is great, but as you've noticed - sometimes it's too cold and they "forget" that they need to do all emptying outside even though it is miserable out there. When it's that cold here, we get bundled up and go out, they do a bit of pottying, and if they haven't done enough we come back in and warm up (still bundled and on leashes) and after a couple of minutes we go right back out. Our girl has her own command to potty and it's much easier with her, but we have to make sure Monty also empties outside.

 

And every single time he potties in the house he is reinforcing that behavior (it is becoming a really engrained habit) and the harder it will be to break. It's back to potty-training 001 for him and for you - as others have said, you can't give him the opportunity. He's already learned that it's preferable to potty in the house when it's cold, and you're fighting a year's worth of his self-training now. And I believe what I've heard - a dog is not truly "potty trained" until he goes at least a couple of months (for you this would be during winter) without messing in the house.

 

I hear your frustration, and we had much the same problem the first winter (Monty's signals were almost "silent" to me back then, too - and he was shy about doing anything on leash to boot). We spent a lot of time that very miserable cold winter standing in the kitchen warming up before going back outside because he hadn't done his business. It's going to be a long haul, but you're going to have to take control of the situation and prevention is the key.