[daehnolem]

Mostly this thread is about me venting. Our lovely new little Basset Hound, Buddy, as my husband has named him, won't stop pooping in the house. We finally got him to stop peeing in his crate. He had to spend a couple of hours in a puddle of his own pee before we got home to give him a bath (the fourth bath that day), and now, he seems to have gotten the idea. But pooping is another problem. He hasn't pooped in his crate, but he won't poop outside either. Even when we know he really needs to, and we'll walk him around outside for twenty minutes. He thinks that poop belongs in the house. As a result, we've had to keep him in his crate a lot because we don't want him to poop immediately after we bring him in (which he's done several times). I know we just have to keep doing this, I mean, he'll eventually poop, right? It's just really frustrating. And the few times he has pooped outside, we've praised him like he just won us a million dollars. Are we doing something wrong?

-B

[labman]

I don't see much more to do. The making him move outside until he finally has to go, and then praising him should get through to him. Perhaps you are taking him out too soon. Quite often a young puppy will quickly run in tight circles madly sniffing the carpet just before having a bowel movement. Trouble is, letting him wait, means keeping a very close eye on him. You only have a few moments to catch him, and he may withdraw to another room if he can.

[momincali]

This whole website is great but the link is for your specific situation. I feel you. We just got a new puppy ourselves (pitbull/rottweiler mix) named Zoey. Love her but the training is Hard Work! It is very doable, don't give up. We also have a 9 year old Chow named Lucy and an 8 year old Golden Retriever named Boomer. I got through it with them, I can do it again and so can you.

Catch a few episodes of "The Dog Whisperer" on the Discovery channel (if you're not watching it already). That guy is amazing and everything he says makes sense, apply his methods and you will all be happy campers. Good Luck!


http://www.dogchannel.com/dog/behavi...cle_19070.aspx

[daehnolem]

He finally went poop today. When my husband got home, he took Buddy out, and it finally happened. Then he pooped twice more within the hour. All outside, but it was because we were able to catch him before he did it, which is rare. The crate has been Invaluable in keeping our house clean and helping us to have him outside when he needs to go. Today has been a good day so far, but I'm so nervous about leaving him out of his kennel. I just know he's going to pee or poop, and he probably will. (sigh) I'm sure I'll survive it. I got through housetraining Annie okay. Thanks for your advice.

-B

[labman]

To do housebreaking right, requires plenty of attention. I have things set up with my computer desk where I can see the back door out of the corner of my eye. I limit the puppy mostly to this room that has an industrial grade urethane on the hardwood floor. A new puppy isn't a novelty, but our way of life every fall. Glad you are reporting some progress.

[daehnolem]

Yeah, everything was going really well (only one accident on the floor to report) until my husband and I came home from the grocery store. We smelled pee, and we knew. When we looked in his kennel, the bottom was dry but his ears were wet. He drank his own pee so he didn't have to lay in it! I don't even know where to begin to stop that from happening. Is our dog defective or something?

-B

[labman]

Surely you have seen my suggestions of a rack. A wire rack in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of
Accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but a piece of closely
Spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper.

Not sure he drank it, may have just drug his ears in a little dribble.

[momincali]

HUH? Labman, how can you disagree with an entire website?? Dogchannel.com does offer helpful information, including the importance of crating and commands, just not all in that particular link.

daehnolem, if you do have some time, check the website out. On the left hand side is a menu bar with different categories. Under training and behavior you'll find lots of subcategories (one of them is containment). Under Experts, you'll find a link to Cesar Millan. His methods are primarily teaching your pet from day one about rules, boundaries and limitations and yes, labman, commands too.

Your pet isn't defective, he's a puppy who needs guidance/commands, consistency and then praise. Good Luck!

[kp2171]

I'm tired of poop too but I'm the father of a naughty 2 year old boy. =)

[daehnolem]

Haha, yeah, my husband and I haven't gotten to the kid thing yet, but I'm sure that'll be frustrating as all get out, too. Especially when they learn to take their diapers off by themselves.
Yeah, I've seen your suggestion about a rack many times, Labman. I'm just concerned that it would be an enabling tool for him. He's old enough to hold it in, and he can. We always take him out before we put him in the kennel, and we always take him outside when we let him out of the kennel. We never leave him in for longer than he can hold it. So I guess if he figured out that he could pee in his kennel without it bothering him so much, maybe it would defeat the purpose of convincing him that he needs to keep his den clean. But that's people logic, and dogs live in their own little world. I guess I could see using one if he was too young and physically couldn't hold it in, and we couldn't let him out enough, but neither of those is true. I never had to use a rack in Annie's kennel. She peed in it twice, pooed in it once, and decided it was not something she'd ever like to do again. Buddy, on the other hand, lived in a little kennel for the majority of his life and pooped and peed in it. He had a rack in the bottom there. Will it make a difference if I have his kennel here set up differently, so he knows that it's unpleasant and uncomfortable to eliminate in his kennel? I'm not trying to minimize your advice because you always have good advice, but I'm just trying to decide what the best choice is for this particular dog given his past.
I've seen Cesar Millan's show before, a long time ago. I think he's awesome, and his methods I saw were humane. I wish he lived here, and taught classes or something. Annie definitely sees us as being above her in the pack, but she just gets crazy excited around people outside our home. So she sees us as being above her (she'll do exactly what we tell her to do when we're home, without fail), but maybe she doesn't know that we're Alpha. And Buddy, well, we'd just like to get the going potty outside thing done before we start training him. Basset Hounds are notorious for being difficult to train because they're so stubborn, but we're not going to let that defeat us before we even try.
Well, Buddy hasn't messed his kennel for a day or so, so that's encouraging. I'm sure you'll hear from me again. If you hear some screaming from very far away, following by ripping hair noises, that's probably me.