8 year old rescue dog, peculiar potty training issues-I need help

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Kluglife
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2016 11:54 am

8 year old rescue dog, peculiar potty training issues-I need help

Post by Kluglife »

Hi there,

I rescued an 8 year old chihuahua mix from the pound about a year ago and since, have experienced potty training difficulties.

To begin with, I've always had a doggy door, she uses it often and ALWAYS poops outside.

She has consistently chosen to pee however, inside- always on carpet.

The home has wood flooring throughout, so I've experimented by removing all decorative area rugs and watching what she does.
-when all area rugs were removed, she opted to utilize the doggy door and pee outside, every single time- for months!
- when I placed a bath mat in the bathroom only and shut the bathroom door and all other rugs were removed, she would first scratch on the bathroom door when she needed to go. I would then pick her up and put her outside-shed go potty-and all was good for a while (with no area rugs or carpeting anywhere she could get to)
- when I opened the bathroom door, she'd choose to go on the carpet, if access wasn't available (if the door was shut- she'd go outside)
-I then decided, to place a new mat elsewhere in the house and see what happens (no familiar scent (new floor mat placed in a different room, in combination ability and knowledge to go outside -she never ever poops inside and she chooses to go outside if only given the option of tile or wood flooring inside).

I encountered the same results, she first looks for carpeting inside the house and will choose to pee there. If no carpeting is in the house, she chooses to pee outside, every time. She will let me know she has to potty by scratching my bedroom door in the middle of the night, so that she can get out- and if I've removed all area rugs, she simply goes directly to the dog door, goes out to pee and then comes back in. however, if I place so much as a mat down, anywhere in the house, she will let me know she has to pee, and instead of going outside, she will hot to the mat inside and pee.

I eventually removed all area rugs, just had bare wood floor and voila- she's "potty trained"- no accidents and no concern that she'd have an accident.

Problem now is, I bought a new house which has installed carpeting- and she pees on it.

Same scenario, if I block her off to the carpeting, she will utilize the doggy door and go outside every time.

If I leave her in a crate, she lets me know and I take her out and she goes outside.

If she's in my bedroom, she will wake my up, I open my door to let her out and if I put a dog gate up restricting her ability from my bedroom to only the end of the hallway (Hallway is all tile) and she can still access the dog door-She will go outside 100% of the time.

*if I remove that gate inside, at the end of the hallway- she will wake me up, walk down the hallway, pass the dog door and pee on the carpet in either the family room, dining room, or area rug in the kitchen.

Her preference is to pee on carpeting!!! Regardless of restricting her, reinforcing outside, etc. the second the OPTION to pee inside, on carpeting, becomes available, she will do it every time. Any carpet, anywhere it is, as long as it's carpet, area rug, bath mat etc. she opts to pee on it inside FIRST.

Remove it, she pees outside.

I can no longer remove all area rugs, my new house has actual installed carpeting- restricting her access to it has ensured that she uses the dog door on her own, accident free.... But, this also restricts her access to hang out with the family, not to mention it makes my house look awful (gates everywhere, open concept arrangement with dispersed tile flooring and installed carpeting which gives shape and distinction of "family room", "dining room" and "kitchen" (with area rug under kitchen table...


The extension gates are just odd looking and basically an adaptation to living in my dogs world, not mine.

I need help!!!!!!
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
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Re: 8 year old rescue dog, peculiar potty training issues-I need help

Post by JudyN »

Duplicate post, please respond here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=22157
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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