strange house training! Help desperately needed!

[PottyPip]

Please help!

I have an 8 month old lurcher who I rescued from a kennels in August. His house training is not going to plan and I am stumped! He knows not to urinate in the house and will hold himself until he is let out, pooing in the house is a completely different issue! During the day he is fine but first thing in a morning he just goes. His toileting routine goes as followed:

Walked at 3.30pm- he empties on his walk, I give lots of praise
Feed at 4.15ish when he gets back from walk
Let out to empty at around 7pm - he urinates
Let out at 9.30 - he completely empties
Bed time
This is where it gets strange
Get up and let out 5.40- empties completely, I let him out at this time to try to avoid him pooing in the house, if I leave it any later he poos. It is normal poo so he can hold it.
Walked at 7.30am - empties completely
Feed at 8ish am

I praise him every time he does it outside, I put him outside when he has done it in the house. He looks guilty when he does it in the house so he know!

I am stuck and welcome any suggestions as I am willing to try anything!

Thank you,

PottyPip

[nick_j007]

Try giving the evening meal much later, like 7/8 pm.

You're currently giving the later meal at 4:15.... 12 hrs later and this is ready to be eliminated in the early hours.

Is he crate trained btw?

How long have you had him?

Thanks,

Nick

[PottyPip]

Thank you for your reply. No he isn't crate trained. I am reluctant to crate train him as he has a fear of small spaces, his history is completely unknown, but when he goes through a narrow space he either refuses and cries or he goes through it really quickly and cries. Plus he likes to sprawl completely out on his back and I don't think they make crates that big! I have had him since the middle of August.

I shall feed him around 7/8 tonight and see if that helps.

Thank you very much,

PottyPip

[PottyPip]

I did as you suggested and fed him at 7.45pm. He made it until 6am this morning when I took him out however, when I came home from work at 12 he had done a poo. My dad is convinced smacking him will make him understand, I do not think so though. I think the problem is more deep rooted. My dad does smack him when he does it in the house and he will not understand that this method obviously isn't working.

Any more suggestions please?

PottyPip

[nick_j007]

Smacking the dog may well exacerbate the issue, creating anxiety on the dog's part and erode trust in you, your dad and people generally. He must stop this now.

Dogs DO NOT associate the smack with the accident...especially if carried out after the toileting event. Your dad is plain wrong, and is not helping...if anything he is creating a bigger problem by using such an approach. This just displays an ignorance on his part of dog behaviour, and how they think and work.

The dog is not toileting on purpose remember!

I wonder if your dog has a separation anxiety in your absence? Any thoughts there pls?

What is the dog fed on please?

How long is the dog left for please?

Keep you meal times later. To help the dog (and you) manage the routine it may help to reduce to one meal per day for a time...let me know what you think.

Sorry to go on, but you must remove the physical punishment from this equation, as I feel it is now a apart of the problem.

HTH,

Nick

[PottyPip]

I think he does suffer from separation anxiety because when I am not there, he apparently is really romose. He also cries none stop if I leave him in another room.

I completely agree with what you are saying about smacking him, I have had a few rows over this issue and I have told him regularly that it is not working so a different tactic should be used.

He is being fed at 8pm and so far *touch wood* he has been dry, I have even been able to leave him after 6am which was not possible before. Did you mean to feed him all his feed in the evening or is staying with the morning feed ok? He has a really sensitive bowel so I have tried various different feeds. At the moment he is on winalot dog mixer (to act as a bulking agency as he needs to put weight on), raw meat consisting of chicken, bones and offal, and a raw egg. This diet seems to be agreeing with him so far. I have tried him on complete dry food; very good quality stuff i.e. James Wellbeloved, Royal Canin etc, none agrees.

Thank you

Rowanne

[christys]

Try this for the seperation anxiety: get a kong toy the appropriate size for your dog; the night before, fill it with fat free peanut butter and freeze it. Give it to the dog just before you walk out the door. This worked for my dogs. It gives them something to do-they actually work for a long while on getting the frozen peanut butter that is inside the kong-they forget that you have left them and how that makes them feel. Also, this works as a treat for them when you leave. Also, if he is still emptying during the day, I understand not wanting to crate him, but maybe gate him in a small area in the house. He may hold it being in a smaller than normal area. And FYI, if your father continues to smack him when he has an accident in the house, if the dog doesn't become aggressive, he will start hiding when he has to do his thing. Good luck!

[susan.doglover]

Hi every one. I am glad to be a part of this community.