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A 1-year-old Dog Still Messes in the House

Dear WOOF:

We have a golden retriever who is almost one year old. She has never been great about signaling us when she needs to go out to go to the bathroom. We thought that a regular schedule would help, modeling by our older lab would help but she still seems to not let us know when she needs to go out. She has never messed her crate, even as a pup, so I know she is a clean dog. She just doesn't seem to mind messing in a bigger area.

I am wondering if you offer training that could help solve this issue. Currently, Zoe is staying with my in laws because we moved to Switzerland in September. Zoe is scheduled to come home with us in December when we finally move out of temporary housing.

She is a lovely dog with just the sweetest personality. I know that she can overcome this little issue but we need help! Can she be trained (and us by email) at my in-laws as long as the clicker is consistent?

Thanks for your help!


Hello:

Zoe's lack of "signaling" is the result of incomplete housetraining. It's just not clear to her that despite the fact she feels the urge
to go, she should hold it until she gets outside. If she understood this, she'd let you know (signal you!), or she'd hold it until she's
outside.


Unfortunately dogs do not model the behavior of other dogs per se. While she may follow your Labrador outside and sometimes eliminates there, she won't learn that she should only potty there just because your other dog does.

She "doesn't mind messing in a larger area" (outside of her crate) because when she feels the urge to go, she just goes! So from her
perspective, she has no reason to ask to go outside for eliminations sake - she's not clearly associated the feeling of having to go with
being outside to do it, nor has she learned to "hold it" until she is outside! The living room (or wherever else she is going) works
just fine.

We know that dogs will repeat behaviors that are reinforced when they occur. Just like humans, she gets relief from the
uncomfortable "urge" when she eliminates. The most important thing to understand here is the habit of eliminating in a particular place will develop based on where she is when it occurs.


The key to housebreaking (and how long it takes to accomplish) lies in how consistent you are at preventing the unwanted behavior. This is critically important to the process, because remember, the behavior of eliminating is inherently reinforced no matter where it
happens. So you must prevent Zoe from continuing to go in the house at the same time making sure that the only place she does go is outside.


The good news is you already have the perfect tool for prevention, the crate. It's perfect because she will not eliminate inside it.

Prevent her from going in the house by making sure she is in the crate when she is not fully supervised. Another option is to leash
her to you (or one of your in-laws) so she can't wander off to eliminate in the house if she "feels the urge".

The clicker can aid in the housebreaking process, but remember that the reinforcement is inherent in the behavior itself, so the most
important thing to work on is preventing her from continuing to go in the house...the rest will take care of itself.


Other things that will help:

• Go outside with her. You must know that whether she went
  or not, which will help you know whether she has to be crated or
  tethered back in the house before another attempt outside.
  
  This also provides you with the opportunity to reward her too.
  Remember that reinforcement for behavior must occur immediately -
  within 1/2 to 2 seconds in order for her to put it together, so
  praise her (or click) as soon as she's done and reward her with a
  yummy treat right there on the spot. You're adding to the
  reinforcement that's already occured (relief!!) but it surely won't
  hurt!
   
• Bring her to the same small area each time. Dogs are more
  likely to go where they have gone before - this also makes for
  easier yard clean-up.
   
• Also be sure to clean areas inside the house where she's
  pottied with an enzymatic product. If Zoe can still smell her
  urine, she will want to continue to eliminate there.

Please visit our site for more articles on housebreaking:

http://www.woofology.info/rescue_housebreaking.html
http://www.woofology.info/housebreaking%20myths.html

Share this info with your in-laws and make sure that they are consistent - she'll be housebroken quickly as long as they're doing
their part in helping Zoe to be in the right place at the right time ; )


We can certainly do in-home work with your family if necessary. Please keep us posted on your progress.

We hope this is helpful to you.

Thanks for writing,

The Woofology Staff


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