New puppy! My mom needs HELP!!! PLEASE!?!?!

[Shakkadoodoo7465]

HELP!!!! I'm 15 and my family just got a new puppy. We already have two dogs, a yorkie (Max 5) and a 1/2 pitbull 1/4 bulldog and 1/4 pug (Quinton 4). She's 4 1/2 months old, half Boston terrier and half pitbull. Her name is Rousey, and boy is her name fitting. We have tried everything we can think of. She will not stop peeing inside. We let her out every 45-1hr to go to the bathroom. She will go 2-3 times outside each time we let her out (we have her outside with us for about 10 minutes)but she will come in and about 10 minutes later she pees inside!!! We tried rewarding her when she goes outside and it didn't work. We tried telling her no/bad and bringing her outside than to her cage and that didn't work either. We tried this collar that beeps or vibrates and it didn't even phase her. We don't want to use the shock setting. We will not. I don't know what to do and I NEED to help my mom figure this out. PLEASE HELP US!!!!!!!!!!

[Sabrina]

Hi there! First off all, have you seen the potty training post over in the Articles section? If not, have a read through it: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=6125

Then, could you give some more details so that folks can offer you more personalized advice?
- Has Rousey had a recent vet check? Any known health problems? Has she been checked for a UTI (urinary tract infection), etc?
- Rousey is 4 and a half months old - how much do you know about her background? Where did she live before? She may have no idea that you would like for her to pee only "outside".
- What's her "typical day" like? If you could run down everything in detail, folks can get a better idea of "a day in Rousey's life".
- What are you using to clean up the spots where she has peed in the house? You need an "enzymatic" cleaner to get rid of the smell to Rousey's nose. "Normal" cleaners might get rid of the smell to you, but Rousey's nose is much more sensitive. If Rousey can still smell pee indoors, she will likely think that's an ok place to pee again.

For Rousey's sake, and for the sake of being able to potty train her, please do not do anything as "punishment" when she goes in the house. I would suspect she either has (a) a medical problem like an infection, (b) has no idea she isn't "supposed to" potty indoors, (c) has a lot of stress/anxiety about something, (d) a combination of these/other factors. "Punishment" will make no sense in her mind, and will only increase her stress which will potentially make this worse.

This situation must be very stressful for you, your mom, and Rousey - please do let us know some more about her so that we can help advise you.

[Erica]

What's her daily schedule? When does she eat, sleep, etc? Detail is great - we like lots of detail.

Has she been to the vet? You may want to make sure she doesn't have a health problem, like a urinary tract infection. You can't fix a medical problem with training!

Otherwise - if she pees about ten minutes after you last take her out, take her out five minutes after the first trip. It might take time for the training to stick, really - Pippin wasn't reliably house-trained until she was nearly a year old, but she got better quickly so it was only the occasional accident. But consistency is key - the more they pee outside, the more likely they will pee outside in the future!

Don't punish dogs for peeing inside. It makes them nervous of peeing in front of you - which impedes housetraining since they'll hide when they pee and you may not find the spot to clean. (Which reminds me - are you using a pet cleaner on the spots? You need something that kills the smell for DOGS, not just humans. Otherwise they will want to pee there again.) They will be less likely to pee in front of you outside, since they're scared of being punished for peeing near you.

The beep/vibrate collars are useless, though you could teach the beep to mean a recall (positively! beep = awesome treat from teacher). However electric collars have been known to malfunction (and shock the dog randomly or even continuously!) so I personally would just throw it out.

Do you walk her when you take her out? At 4.5 months she could easily do 20 minute walks. These might encourage her to pee more, meaning she'll have less in the tank for peeing inside.

Here is our thread on house training, which is worth a read-through.

((Well dang, Sabrina beat me to it. ))

[Sabrina]

Jinx Erica! - to the OP: as you can see, there are plenty of folks here to help you!

[Shakkadoodoo7465]

Rousey eats in the morning before I go to the bus stop (6:45ish) because that's usually the only time someone can feed her until around 12. She eats again but a little less at around 2ish. She goes out before she eats and sometimes after depending if I'll miss the bus. She goes out around every 45-1hr like I said. We didn't know if it was because she likes to drink a lot of water so we give her slightly smaller amounts but enough so she's healthy and drinking enough and stuff. Then she eats one more time at 7. She usually eats in her cage just because of our other dogs. The yorkie has his in the corner of the room and picks at it here and there and the bigger one eats in the other corner. Since rousey and Quinton (the big one) like food, alot, we separate them to eliminate the eating each others food issue. The only time she doesn't always go out before and after eating is in the morning. All other times she does. The morning and night she gets a cup of food and in the middle of the day she gets 2/3 a cup. While me and my sister are at school, my mom and dad are back and forth between home and work and their schedule changes every few days. So she's in and out of her cage. She is ALWAYS playing with Quinton she she gets a lot of play. We bring her outside for extra long times like maybe twice a day to hang and play and she loves her tennis ball. When we can, we bring her across the street for a walk to the pond on the bike path. She went to the vet a few weeks ago but I think she has to go again for more shots and tests. I'm not quite sure. We use a few different things to clean up... We use pet cleaner and Mr clean febreeze stuff. Then a few days ago my mom read that you can use vinegar, dish soap, and water. So we're trying that now. Seems to work a little better besides the bitter vinegar smell. Rousey was from a house full of other dogs and her siblings. I haven't been there yet but mom said were going to bring her so the man can see how she's doing. Apparently the man said she was his favorite but we think he didn't pay attention to were she went potty or anything. Thanks for the no punishment tip when she goes in the house, I will have to show my mom. Thank you for the link to the article. I will definitely try a few of those. Its good to know about the collar I will make sure we never use it again. And about walking her, its actually pretty funny. We bring her on walks on the bike path and she's all hyper and pulling and pees a lot but like ten minutes after some of this were practically dragging her. She starts panting and if we stop she will immediately lay down and just look up at us. Once she does that we turn around and start heading back. But on these walks we stop every few feet for her to pee if she needs to or anything else. She's usually good about not stopping just to sniff but stopping only to go potty. If this clears anything up so there would be more advice I'd be thankful!!!! Thank you to the ones who already replied!!!! Much appreciated!!!!!

[Wes]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't vinegar ENCOURAGE dogs to go in that area? I would be looking for an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle.

[Shakkadoodoo7465]

Well my mom read it somewhere and tried it and it seems to work, but on Sabrina's link its also listed in a mixture for getting rid of the scent.. I thought; I could be wrong.

[Sabrina]

(That's interesting, Wes - I'm no expert, but everything I've read says that white vinegar is a good cleaner to use (The potty training article on this forum, http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/he ... esses.aspx , etc) I haven't tried it myself because I have a nearly full sprayer of enzymatic cleaner.)

Shakkadoodoo7465 - let us know how it goes for you with the ideas from the potty training article! The great thing about this forum is that folks are so helpful in personalizing "general" advice to fit your specific situation!

I still think I'd get in touch with the vet see about getting a urine test done to check for infections - drinking a lot "can be" a sign of a uti (of course it doesn't mean that she absolutely has an infection). If it's nothing medical, then at least you know it's nothing medical.

[Shakkadoodoo7465]

Thank you guys so much!!!! I'll post an update as soon as we get results from trying the tips. And I just found out she was already tested and she's clear of all diseases or infections. Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!

[DianeLDL]

Also, while at the vet have a blood test for sugar or diabetes.

Two of the signs in humans are extreme thirst and having to pee a lot. (I am a human RN, so dont know much about sign & symptoms for dog.) I would think that might be similar for dogs as I know that some dog get diabetes.

So I check with your vet and get blood work as well as urine tests.

Great you found us, and let us know how it goes.

Diane