Housebreaking: The Inside Dog Vs the Outside Dog

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I have one friend who maintains that if a dog is raised so that it has free access to the outdoors, it will essentially housebreak itself.

 

I have had two dogs that this was not true for, and one that it was. The rest of the dogs I have had were, for one reason or another, not allowed free access to the outdoors. (Mostly to keep the cat from going out.)

 

My new pup, Maid, of 10 mos. had her first mistake in the house yesterday.

 

This was after 3 ½ weeks of being clean in the house, without any real effort on my part. I let her out into the back yard frequently, and she usually does something. She won't go on lead, however, so we need to work on that or my tiny backyard will end up smelling like a latrine.

 

She peed on the wood floor in my bedroom. This was sometime after a vigorous session of rough and tumble with a large husky, and drinking about half the water in the 1 gallon water crock. I did let her out right after that, and she peed, but evidently all the water she drank bid for exit a couple of hours after that. And Maid made no discernible effort to engage my attention.

 

Unfortunately, the randomly-pitched floors in the 104 year-old building where I live caused the pee to run to Sugarfoot's bed, which being memory-foam shreddies, promptly soaked most of it up. Sugar was not amused. It was her disgust with, and refusal to sleep in her bed which alerted me to the mishap.

 

From what I have been able to learn, Maid was primarily an outside dog, except for a couple of weeks, where she was kept inside/outside and crated part time.

 

Of course, I didn't correct her for peeing. I have no idea if she has had any house-breaking training at all. I just grumbled a lot while cleaning it up, making sure not to look at her. And she watched the whole process with great interest, but no alarm or chagrin.

 

I am increasing the number of trips outside, and have had an eventless day. She is crated at night. I auger no evil from all this, but I wonder about the outside/kennel-kept dog and the house dog in re: housebreaking. Any opinions?

[rushdoggie]

She probably just got to the "gotta go or explode" point and didn't know how to tell you she needed to go out.

 

To me, house trained means a. you go outside when the opportunity presents itself and I ask, b. you understand that I don't want you to go indoors so if you have to go you ask me.

 

IMO, a doggie door trained dog often doesn't learn to ask because they just go. Sometimes they figure it out, sometimes they don't. Also they don't learn to empty because you told them (because your schedule means they will not have a chance for a while.

 

Work on your "go on command" cue and consider following up each successful go with a treat. Can't hurt.

[Maralynn]

I'd just chalk that one up to "young, new dog played hard and consumed lots of water". It happens.

 

My raised in a kennel dog peed once or twice in the house when he was still fairly new to me. But never any marking (he was intact and close to 2 y/o when I got him). It was more like a "gotta go and don't quite know the ropes" thing.

[Cass C]

My inside dogs had rare accidents up until they were 1 1/2 years. 99% of the time it was the 'didn't realize while I was playing outside, but I have to go now!' The other 1% of the time it was me thinking they had went, but really they just pretend to pee because they wanted back inside asap for some reason.

[GentleLake]

I agree with the above. Chances are she doesn't really know how to ask yet because in these early days you're taking her out often enough that she usually doesn't get to the point that she has to go badly enough that she'd even have to ask. Today was the exception, but she hasn't gotten to that point yet that she's developed a way to ask.

 

I really don't know how to train a request to go out. As a result, my 3 1/2 y.o. will on an increasingly rare occasion during the night have to go and doesn't know to wake me up to ask. I have no idea how to teach her that.

 

Some people tech their dogs to sound bells hanging from the door . . .

[Cass C]

I use bells, they are great for hearing if I'm in another room! The only issue is the cats also think bells are great fun and sometimes (although rarely) I go to let the dogs out only to find a cat playing with the bells... Silly pets

 

ETA: Also super easy to teach dogs to use.

[Maralynn]

My dogs get antsy, restless and stare at me when they need to go out. If I see that

I'll ask if they need to go out and they'll bolt to the door. In the middle of the night they pace and then quietly bark at me til I get up and let them out.

 

I've never trained it, it just happens. They do get out often enough that it's pretty rare that they *ask* to go out. A few times a year maybe. But when they do try to communicate their need to me then it's pretty obvious.

[GentleLake]

I guess it's not entirely true that Tansy doesn't ask to go out. She'll get antsy and go to the door, and she's the only one of my dogs who'll scratch at the door to go out. I guess I'd sorta forgotten that what with the old girl having to go out so often that they were all going out so often they didn't need to ask.

 

On those increasingly rare occasions when she's had an accident -- none probably for well over a year and then one shortly after Tilly died. Could there have been a connection? -- it's always right at the back door and in the middle of the night. So it's entirely possible that she's gone to the back door and scratched to go out, but I was sleeping several rooms away and didn't hear her.

 

Other dogs have nosed me awake or paced and gotten antsy close enough that it woke me up. But Tansy may have tried, just in a way that didn't get my attention.

[TDFOSTER]

I also used bells for my dogs...recommended by our vet....and it worked superbly. The oldest boxer taught the younger one and if someone did not respond to her gentle ringing of the bells, she would slap them hard enough with her head to be heard through the entire house. I used sleigh bells on a faux leather strap just attached to the patio door that I let them out of. It was a huge help.

[GentleLake]

Interesting that since I said Tansy doesn't wake me up if she has to go out, she's started nosing me awake if I sleep later than usual in the morning.

 

I'm convinced these dogs are psychic.