House training 15month old rescue dog

[Herman_peg]

Hi I am new to this forum and I am after some advice on our new 15month-ish American ?scotty bulldog ?cross - she looks like she has staffy in her too maybe. She belonged to a girl who is off to uni - her mum wouldn't take on the dog and so Peggy ended up in a rehoming shelter. She came to us on 12/10/16 so it's early days. She's been totally spoiled - no boundaries, was supposed to have been house trained but isn't. However, she is a super clever dog and is picking things up quickly. She now walks well on a lead without pulling, sits to command, gets off the sofa to command. She's doing brilliantly.
House training though....we've had a rescue staffy before he was hard hard work in every way except he was completely housetrained. We have never had to housetrain a dog before and if we could manage his behavioural problems for 12 years I'm sure we can sort Peggy out with some advice!
We are letting her out very frequently during the day. I was at home with her for 8 days and in that time she has learnt that outside is for peeing and pooing - treats and praise every time she does. We are still learning to look for signs of her needing the toilet - we are getting better but we've still had a couple of accidents over the last few days. I work 2 days in the week, 8am-8pm. My dad gets to my house at 06:45, she gets let out then and multiple times before he leaves to take the boys to school. He's back at 14:30 and she's straight back out....I'm having to teach my dad to make sure that she pees at that time as he then has to leave her again at 3pm to go and get the boys from school. She's only been left on last Thursday and Friday since we've had her - Thursday no accidents, Friday she had a wee when my dad left her again for the school run. I suspect he didn't watch and make sure she had toileted. My dad is then with her after the school run until my husband gets in from work and takes her out for a walk. Shes let out regularly until then, plus the boys run her about the garden for a while for exercise and play.At night it's hit and miss...how long is reasonable to leave her overnight, or is it a case of getting up early and gradually increasing the time left? She went to the toilet at 11pm last night and I came down at 07:15 and she had already had a wee...is this too long? It's early days I know but I don't want to get it wrong!

[Herman_peg]

Also, since my last post we have realised there are some separation anxiety issues. Our last dog howled at night all night for 2 weeks after we had him but then he realised no matter how much he howled and barked he wasn't sleeping with us! Peggy is barking at night, persistently. She isn't in our room with us. If I tell her to me quiet she will, either for a short time or all night depending. If she squeaks I tell her again. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 times but she does get the message. I set a camera up at home to see what she's like when we leave home. The first time we were away 35 minutes. She squeaked before we left and I told her to be quiet. After we left she scratched at the door for a few minutes then settled. The second time we were out for 15minutes. She hadn't started squeaking before we left and within 3 minutes she was barking, intermittently for a minute or so at a time with a minute or so break in between. This went on until we came back. I've got an adaptil plugged in the kitchen where she stays. This went on Saturday night and Sunday night was the worst night so far for barking, coincidence?? How well do these plug ins work and how long do I give it. I NEED to leave her for work, I NEED to leave her for school runs. She's a clever girl and I'm hoping that eventually she will realise that we do come back. I'm quite upset about this today. I hope she settles

[JudyN]

Separation anxiety can be very difficult to solve if you need to leave your dog. Is there any way you could leave her in a good dog day care or with a friend or relative while you're at work, and take her on the school run with you? We have a post on separation anxiety here: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=20143

Making sure she's not left will also help with the house training, as it sounds as if that's going well apart from when she's on her own.

We generally wouldn't advise leaving a dog to cry at night. They are social, pack animals and the distress they feel when they cry is very real. Would you consider letting her sleep in your room, maybe in a crate or on her own bed? Then she will be able to tell you if she needs to go out. Generally a dog would be able to hold it in from 11pm to 7.15am, but as you've not been with her, she's not learnt that she shouldn't be going indoors.

[Herman_peg]

Thank you for your reply. During the day we toilet her regularly. We've only had one accident since my last post - she had tried to get to the back door but as we were putting our boys to bed we hadn't noticed, she peed by the back door. She manages now from 10:30/11:00 pm until 07:00ish when shes let straight outside. I have no one to leave her with, I already have to pay my dad to do the school run 2 days a week, I'm sure dog sitting would further inconvenience him. She's got a cute little character....i noticed that when she finds a comfy spot in the house she refuses to move and plays dead. It's a case of treat time to persuade her to go out for a wee! I've used this behaviour to help her at night - I got her a new bed a few days ago and some new fluffy blankets. First night on it she had settled before I left the room, no barks, not even a squeak and no more damage to flooring or doors! We've never left her at night to squeak as she has always calmed - I usually gently tapped on the door and said 'ah ah Peg quiet and bed now' or 'that's enough, quiet and bed' and she quieted down for the night. I'm not sure during the few hours she's left how much the comfy bed will work but from what I've seen it should calm her for short periods rather than persistent barking. I can't take her on the school run, I'm not happy leaving her in the car on her own yet as I can't take her on the school grounds(dogs are not allowed). I'm working on ideas to keep her occupied in the day so as well as comfort she's got something to do. It might not stop the barking completely but it should reduce it. If I put her comfy bed where she sleeps at night she will choose to go there instead of lying at my feet. late evening I move it away from the living room to the kitchen when I'm watching tv, I leave the door open so she can come and go. She is crate trained but we don't have a crate. I don't like the idea really but I do understand why you're suggesting it. I don't think even in my room I would hear her if she needs the loo...she doesn't bark she just stands with her head on the door if she needs to be let out. Plus when she does ask we have to let her out quickly...we have a three storey house and I'm not sure we would make it. Accidents in the kitchen are easily cleaned up. I think in a couple of days we've made improvements. I only work 2 weekdays and every other weekend. My husband is at home the weekends and she's only alone school hours. im planning an hour out tomorrow so I will set up a camera now she has her comfy bed. She has lots of toys too. shes only been with us for 15 days having suddenly been torn from the only home she knew. I expected a few issues but she's a clever girl and learns quickly (as I am) and I hope that this is just a settling in stage.

[JudyN]

It sounds like it's all heading in the right direction

Some dogs will entertain themselves when left alone, others hardly ever 'self entertain' - it would no more occur to my dog to play with toys when I went out than it would to clean the bathroom for me Particularly if she's the latter, it's very important she is tired mentally & physically before you leave her, so she's happy to snooze.

Good luck!

[Herman_peg]

No my last dog didn't self entertain - he spent the time growling and barking at everyone and everything that walked or moved in the street. That and sleeping. Peg does pick up toys, we throw them down the stairs for her to run after. She clearly hadn't played this game (good for tiring her out too!) with her previous owner. Earlier today I was busy and hadn't noticed her with her ball until I heard it bouncing down the stairs - she had dropped it down so that she could go and get it. She repeated this a good few times before she looked at me with a 'come on human this is your job!' look on her face! I will set up camera and see what she does the next time I go out. I try and take her for a short work before work but I'm already up at 06:15 before a 12 hour shift...I really walk her the afternoon before, and exercise her in the back yard as well. She's not used to being walked....she's easily spooked and the first time she went out with me everything spooked her. A truck driving past about 15mins in to her walk spooked her so badly it was all I could do to get her home safely. Every little sound after that caused her to try and bolt in whichever direction she chose, including in to roads. Even though she was on a lead it was difficult! I couldn't keep her attention on me even with treats and she's massively food orientated. She doesn't spook as much now to traffic but every new sound makes her spook, a little or a lot. For that reason 15 mins out twice a day was plenty exhausting for her physically and mentally. Now she's getting better I'm managing longer walks. Except for today as I've been poorly and couldn't leave the house - my boys ran her around outside for about an hour this afternoon and she's flat out asleep.

[JudyN]

She would probably benefit a lot from mental exercise, as she does sound smart. People often find it tires their dog out even more than physical exercise. There's a thread on how to exercise your dog's mind here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1135 and there's lots more ideas on the internet. It can also be easier on you if you're not well - I hope you feel better soon.

[Erica]

I would be careful with having her run up and down stairs a lot - it can be hard on their joints when they're still forming Playing fetch and tug on flat surfaces would be fine though!

[Herman_peg]

Oh yes good point about joints...I didn't think about that especially with her being so young, she's still a puppy really albeit a big one! I did run her up and down the stairs for a few minutes earlier but then my boys took her out in to the yard and threw a ball for her until she got fed up and tired out. I will have a look at the links tomorrow. She's definitely tired after a short walk and I will look at the mental stimulation. I suspect she's only tired after a short walk because her previous owner didn't walk her much maybe. She's got a bit of filling out to do and I think she'll get stronger too. Thanks again for the advice!