[dogcarer]

OK, let's see if any of you have some help for me. My dogs are driving me mad. I have a 7 year old mongrel and a 4-year-old Staffy. The Staffy we have had 6 months (she was a rescue dog) and all that time we have praised her when she poos or wees outside, giving her a treat and telling her she's a good girl. However, every time we go out, she poos or wees in the house, even though she knows when she does it outside she gets a reward. Also when we go out, the 7-year old mongrel, who never chews when we are in, has started chewing the walls and ripping great chunks out of them. Obviously we cannot stay at home with them all day and when we do leave them they have food, toys etc with them. They are both driving us mad - any ideas how to control their behaviour please?

[Just_Another_Lemming]

First things first. It sounds as if you are giving them both free reign in the house while you are gone. If that is the case, you need to start crating your dogs when no one is home. You cannot stop unwanted behavior if no one is around to supervise your dogs.

I hope you don't mind but for clarification purposes and to give you a helpful response, I have some questions that need to be answered.

How many hours are they left alone at home unsupervised while everyone is at work or school?

How much & what kind of exercise do they get?

Regarding the staffy's toilet habits indoors, what exactly do you do when you find the messes she leaves for you? Do you get angry? Do you correct her, and if so, how exactly do you handle it?

Was the 7 year old mongrel the only dog living in the home until you brought in the new rescue? Did he have any other companions before the new girl showed up? How is their interaction? Any humping going on? Aggression issues? When exactly did the chewing on the walls begin?

Has anything else (other than the new dog coming in) changed in the household? New baby? Did you move? New furniture? New job or schedule changes?

[dogcarer]

Thanks for your answer. The dogs are not allowed free reign of the house when we are out - they are both in separate rooms with the doors locked but have beds, warmth and toys with them. My partner does not work at the moment so is around a lot. They are taken out after every meal (2 times a day) and in between two times too - so they go out 4 times for around 30 minutes per time. They always do their toilet outside but the Staff always then does it inside when we leave her alone.
When we do find mess, we shout and glare at her and clean it up. We did rub her nose in it to show her what she had done was wrong but were advised against this action so no longer rub her nose in it. The 7 year old mongrel has always had female company as he used to leave with another female who is no longer with us. There is humping now and again when the Staff is due to period but that is all. He has never chewed walls etc before she was moved in but they do get on really well together and have never fought or argued? Other than that, nothing has changed but we are reaching the end of our tether with them now. We have even tried putting pepper on the floor to no avail, to stop the mess!

[Just_Another_Lemming]

I appreciate the fact that you adopted a rescued Staffy. That being said, you do need to seriously update your training techniques. I am thankful to the person who told you not to rub the dog's nose in her own urine. As you have found out, it doesn't teach your dog not to evacuate her bladder/bowels in the home. It will just make her a bit fearful of you. Not a good thing when you have a staffy. Fear leads to aggression. And please stop placing pepper on the floor! As you have found out, it doesn't work and will only irritate their sensitive sinuses.

Is there any particular reason the female hasn't been spayed yet? Please do it ASAP. And, if your male isn't neutered, that needs to be done too. You will find after all the raging hormones finally leave their systems, both dogs should calm down and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the female stops using the house as a toilet and the male stops chewing on the walls.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but locking them up in their own rooms is tantamount to giving them free reign. The only difference is: the damage is confined to a smaller area. One dog is still damaging the walls. The other is using the room as her toilet. Invest in crates that are appropriate for their sizes. The dogs should have enough room to stand up and turn around in them. You can put their beds & toys in the crates. Put them in their crates when no one is around to supervise. Your partner may be around the house a lot but when he/she is busy with other things and cannot monitor the dogs, they must be crated. They aren't going to die if they are crated for two or three hours at a stretch. As long as they are getting plenty of exercise every day as they appear to be getting, they will be fine. If you do this, there will be an immediate end to the toilet accidents and chewed up walls! Then, both you and your partner will be able to relax quite a bit and you will find your patience levels with the dogs will be greatly improved. The pups will eventually get used to the crates and will go into them of their own accord. Crating a dog gives him/her a sense of security. They like have a small little dark "cave" to hunker down in. Please refrain from using the crate as a punishment tool. That is negative reinforcement training and will totally unravel the positive training technique you are now attempting.

Re: potty accidents... You need to stop yelling at that dog. She doesn't understand what she is doing is wrong. All she knows is that you are mad at her and she will become fearful of you if she hasn't already. If she happens to have an accident while you are at home and you can actually catch her in the act, quickly get her attention by lightly touching her back (don't hit her) and give her a stern "NO." The point is you want to distract her from what she is doing and to focus all her attention on you. Then quickly put her leash on and get her outside and do the positive reinforcement training.. praise & treat... as you have been doing.

If she manages to pee or poop in the house without anyone noticing her, and one of you happens upon her accident... do not say or do anything to her. Dogs do not have the ability to connect what they did 10 minutes earlier and why you are angry. So please, ignore, ignore, ignore her and just clean up the mess. Dogs respond in a positive way to happy attention from us. She will eventually make the connection that she gets the happy good attention and the treat when she does her business outside and she doesn't get that good happy action when she does it inside. She wants that praise and treat. If you follow this technique, the problem should eventually extinguish itself.

After doing all of the above, let us know how they are doing and if you need any more help with anything else.

[dogcarer]

Thanks for that Just Another Lemming. I will try all the techniques you have mentioned and thank you for sharing your ideas. Both dogs are set to be neutered/spaded in January so hopefully, along with the techniques you have outline, I can put an end to the misery.

[its2am]

I don't think we are getting the whole picture. I understand that both dogs are not fixed. But a female dog is not continually in heat. Why do you separate them? I find this very odd. Dogs are pack animals and should not be separated. Crating is a great idea. Don't freak out, dogs are den animals and usually take to crating quite well. Also, humans totally get off on a dog greeting them and acting like they just took a hit of crack when their master comes home. Put a stop to this to decrease anxiety. Completely ignore both dogs 20 minutes after you come home and 20 minutes before you leave. Do not pet, talk to, feed, water, give a snack, nothing. If the dog is persistent for attention cross your arms and turn your back to the dog. When it is time for the dog to receive attention it must be as a reward. My dog is in the same spot when I come home, she has a chair all to herself in front of an open window. She knows when I start getting ready for work she needs to go to her chair. We worked on this for months. She knows not to follow me through the house, I hate that. When I have had time to get situated and sit on the couch that is her cue to come lay next to me and I pet and massage her for hours. The second I pick up the remote to turn off the T.V. for the night she goes to her bed and stays there for the rest of the night. You could train both of your dogs to do this and you won't have to lock them up when you leave. Separation anxiety can get out of hand and spread to your other dog. A dog is never to old to learn.