Dog sitting and doo-doo.

[icarus]

The dog I'm pet-sitting is a tad shaky in his potty training. He'd never been fully trained as a pup (stayed at the paper training stage) before his current family adopted him.

They've worked on it, went to a PetSmart training on potty training your dog. In the last two months Simbha went from fairly regularly pooping on the carpet to doing it outside. Usually.

Until I came along.

Simbha's potty training has broken down. I've scooped poop off the carpet several times a week. I try to keep him within sight. I take him outside regularly and praise him when he poops where he's supposed to. He's being crate-trained.

Last night I had him in the computer room with me (I don't trust him out of my sight -- especially not in the living room!). I was giving him a break from being in the crate for so. very. long.

Apparently he took that as a break from having to control his bladder at all. Even though I'd taken him outside, he peed directly on the floor, when it was convenient for him.

My mom tells me that Simbha's potty training was already a problem. He's not worse. This is how it's been.

I'm back to: I don't understand dogs.

And: Cats are better.

Comments

[senmut]

I have known dogs who refused, completely, to house break.

I agree. Dogs are strange critters, and I'll take a cat any day of the week for inside companionship.

[icarus]

I've had it pointed out to me, by someone who knows the pup's owner, that the owner has the same problems.

They wanted me to do all these things to help housebreak Simbha. It was pointed out: "They wouldn't have asked you to help housebreak him if he were completely housebroken already."

I'm grateful for small favors. He left his hard poops on the carpet and the soft ones on the wood floor.

I have him either outside or in the crate today. I can't deal with more poop-cleaning.

A dog does force me to get exercise, I'll give them that.

[caseylane]

Funny. I was talking to my mother the other day and she was saying why she would never, ever get a cat...the litterbox. She just doesn't want cat poop sitting in the house all day in the box. She's much happier taking her little dog out to do his business.

I don't want any pets, I don't have the patience. I had a do for 11 years and loved her but now that she's gone I am done,

[icarus]

I can't relate to a woman who'd rather pick up poop in a plastic bag. :D

I love cats. And understand them. Dogs on the other hand....

[caseylane]

Also wanted to add that it seems like some dogs never get housebroken. They either get it or they don't. One thing that seems to help is to let him hang out with other dogs and see how they do it. They are pack animals and will mimic each other so you might want to tell the owners to sign him up a day or two a week.

[auburn]

Some dogs never learn to go while they're on a leash. You'd swear they were embarrassed. Also, Simbha may be acting out a little, since you're the pet sitter.

[icarus]

I would expect the acting to have occurred earlier, like when I first arrived, rather than three weeks later.

The owners wanted me to help train him, hoped that I would be able to be more consistent than them. I didn't think I could. I mean, I don't know a thing about dogs.

[auburn]

Oh boy.

They wanted you to be more consistent than they are? Ouch. You were screwed from the first. They've let him get a bad habit, and you don't get rid of a habit, you only cancel it with a different one. Consistency at this point is too damn late.

About all you can do is try to get a handle on his metabolism, predict when he'll need to go and get him out ahead of the urge. That and heave a sigh of relief when you're done with it.

I once took care of a Bouvier that Never Stopped Barking. It barked while it ate. I love dogs, but I was never so happy to see the back of one in my life, and it was all the owner's fault.

[icarus]

Yeah, when I get up and get home from work I haul him out of his crate and carry him leaking onto the grass. Every now and then I have to wash my pants afterward. I was told to stand there and make sure he does go, and doesn't get distracted.

Same thing after he eats. But if it's dark, and I do get home after 10pm, I can't tell what he has or hasn't done.

[forestgreen]

I think the carpet itself is usually a major trouble :( The smell usually remains (even if we humans don't smell it) and if they smell it, they tend to think that's all right to do it there again.

What helps with puppies (is it younger than nine months?) is taking them out ever two hours (more or less) and *always* after eating, playing or sleeping.

[icarus]

I agree with you about the carpet. It would explain why he does it in the same spots all the time.

No, he's not a puppy. He's full grown, a few years old. He was just never trained by his previous owners.

I can't take him out every two hours. I'm not here every two hours, I work more or less full-time. I do however take him out after every meal and out after he's been in his crate, etc.

[forestgreen]

The every two hours things was more because I was thinking it was a puppy. Their bladders are not big enough to hold it for longer, but if he's all grown-up that shouldn't be a problem.

So, I think that on top of the bad training from the previous owner (which is the rational explanation since it's old enough already) you should try cleaning the carpet (the spots he prefers) with some kind of enzymatic cleaner. I don't know what types you have in the U.S. or how expensive they are (depending on how long you'll have it, it might not be worth it). If you were to have a steam cleaner I'd be even better.

Anything that smells like pee or pop (even remotely) has the same effect on dogs that a huge "W.C." sign has on humans. They think is OK to go and do their business there. Even well house broken dogs might pee inside a house where another dog did it before.

Others might have mentioned this, but try to walk him longer and maybe "tired him". Nothing tires a dog more than thinking (even more than walking). There are easy ways to achieve this:

- take an old sock and put some dry food in it and let him figure out how to get it out

- hide food inside an old Tupperware turned upside-down (a plastic yoghurt cup works too) and let him try to figure out how to get it out.

--> Do this while you're home working on the PC or something. It's not good to let dogs unsupervised with plastic things; they shouldn't eat them.

- Hiding food in general and letting him search it is also good (at first hide it in a place were he sees you go and after a while you can start increasing the complexity)

I'm pretty sure that you can find a lot of other options if you search online, but these are easier ones that will tire him out and tired dogs are the best dogs :)

[hermitsoul]

I just got finished house-sitting/pet-sitting a dog and had the exact same problem. I ended up leaving the dog outside or in the kennel more than I'd like to have, but I just couldn't deal with cleaning up any more accidents. I'd rather deal with a litter box any day!

[icarus]

A Dog-Whisperer I know would put dogs she was training in the crate if they went in the house, to train them to hold it.

[alyndra]

My grandparents had a dog who would have 'accidents' when she got pissed off at us humans, so I find the above commenter who suggested he's acting out because you're the pet-sitter entirely plausible. Housebreaking an adult dog is tough, because they're a lot less willing to be molded.

If you're at the end of your tether, you could try just setting down newspapers for him again in hopes he'll use those if they're what he was used to.

[icarus]

I don't think so. He was doing the same thing with his owners. It's not like he's acting differently with me.

At one point I was about to put him in his crate at night and he tried to relieve himself on the floor right there before he got in. I think that because his previous owners let him pee on newspaper in the house, he genuinely doesn't get that he can't relieve himself in the house.

No, no, I'm not going to put down newspaper for him.