Probably Going to Find a New Home For Our Dog

[FeathersandDrums]

My aunt gave her to us about a month ago because she was chewing up her things. I haven't had any problems with that but she does potty in the floor during the night if we leave her out and if we crate her she SCREAMS and barks all night. She refuses to go potty outside no matter what.

Not only that but she is taking too much time away from my birds. I don't trust her to even be in the same room as them if they are in a cage. During the first week of being here she got up on the table and knocked one of the bird cages onto the floor. I know this is my fault more then the dogs but I don't allow her into the room at all anymore. (My bedroom)

She is out of control though. I can't go in the room and shut the door or she will scratch at it and bark and scare the birds and annoy the crap out of me.

I am ready to take her back to my aunt.. I can't even put her outside. She doesn't sniff around one bit. Just sits by the door and barks and scratches to be let in (then poops in the floor) The neighbor complains about the noise.

Basically I either have to be with her supervising her or listen to her cry. My aunt didn't warn me about any of this or tell me that I was basically adopting a 4 year old kid..

:/ Should I give her back or is that irresponsible of me..?

 

[ShellyBorg]

Just as we train our birds we need to train the dog. Have you tried a training class? Any clicker training? Do you feed treats in the kennel? Do you walk the dog or just toss it out side by itself?

 

[Mayden]

Do you know anything about dog training?

If you give her back to your aunt, the dog will be back to square one, which I think is unfair on the dog. So I'd suggest trying to find it a good home with someone who is willing to put the time and effort into training the dog, rather than back to your aunt who will go back to struggling again.

Separation anxiety, soiling indoors, etc, is all behavioural issues that can be worked on. Jumping on tables and stuff is absolutely crazy. The dog is anxious and nervous in life and needs you to be her guide. She needs YOU to become the leader of her life.

Dogs need a reason in life too, training and 'working' helps that. What's her name? What breed is she? What toys does she enjoy?

Give us more information about her and her behaviours and how much time and effort etc you're willing to put into her training (I appreciate not everyone has the means) and I'll try and help the best I can.

Similarly to parrots, (who have a flock), dogs are pack animals and so they don't like to be left alone. It can be worked on though.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

Well my aunt gave her to me because I am home all the time and have tons of time to train her. After the first two weeks of nothing really improving I took her to a professional dog trainer. I didn't want to just give her back to me aunt-I have been wanting a dog forever..
But the dog trainer pretty much told us to keep doing what we were doing but be a lot stricter about it. She said:
Leave her in the crate ALL the time until she is potty trained and stops whining. She said take her out of her crate and straight outside (or on a walk) to go potty and stay out with her until she goes, if she doesn't go put her back in the crate and if she does let her hang out with me and give her lots of attention.
So we have been doing that for the past two weeks. The first 2 days of this she DID NOT poop at all. Then I took her on an hour long walk (usually when I do this she still doesn't go.) But she pooped on the side walk while walking..she didn't sniff around or stop..

I praised her anyway because it was the first time since my aunt gave her to me that I had seen her go outside.

Sorry this is so long but..
She continues to try and go as long as possible without using the bathroom after 2 weeks of crate potty training and continues to scream all night in her crate after a month of crate training.

I called the trainer today and she said that the dog is doing it on purpose and that if she really couldn't hold it (like pooping while walking on sidewalk and on the floor on her way outside) she would have accidents in her crate. She is refusing to go in the grass.

She also KNOWS commands like "no" and "down" and "sit" and will listen at first but then do the behavior over and over. And she is ashamed of herself when she potties.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

She is a Yorkie. 1 and a half years old.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

Her name is Rio and she likes stuffed animals, balls, and baby toys. And chewy toys and ropes.

 

[ShellyBorg]

Step one: Get a new trainer!

Yorky's are a terrier breed, they can be very smart, but also very trainable. Look for a copy of "Don't Shoot the Dog" Then spend some time reading on positive reinforcements. She may very well become your best friend if you give her the chance.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

Shelly what do you think of what we've been doing? She would just keep that up? I'm afraid she will hurt herself by holding in her poop for so long! :/

thank you. She is a sweet dog but only when she gets her way!

 

[Betrisher]

I think your dog is still really a puppy and not old enough to cope with all the changes she's being put through right now. I've never ever heard of the crate potty training method you describe: it sounds very odd and even a bit cruel to me. Usually, you just take the dog outside to do its business at regular intervals (whenever you think its bladder is full or it needs to poop). There's no point scolding for accidents because dogs have no English and cannot understand why you might be mad at them. All they know is, ya gotta go when ya gotta go. It takes a week or two to potty train and during that time there'll be messes. Once the dog figures out that pooping is an outdoor activity, he will always go outside.

I s'pose everyone who owns dogs could write an essay on their care and training, so I won't muddy the waters with my own opinions. All I will say is that you could prioritise the things that are annoying you with this puppy and start working on them one by one. Please don't give up on the dog! Ask questions and I bet every member who can will try to help!

 

[Mayden]

Well my aunt gave her to me because I am home all the time and have tons of time to train her. After the first two weeks of nothing really improving I took her to a professional dog trainer. I didn't want to just give her back to me aunt-I have been wanting a dog forever..
But the dog trainer pretty much told us to keep doing what we were doing but be a lot stricter about it. She said:
Leave her in the crate ALL the time until she is potty trained and stops whining. She said take her out of her crate and straight outside (or on a walk) to go potty and stay out with her until she goes, if she doesn't go put her back in the crate and if she does let her hang out with me and give her lots of attention.
So we have been doing that for the past two weeks. The first 2 days of this she DID NOT poop at all. Then I took her on an hour long walk (usually when I do this she still doesn't go.) But she pooped on the side walk while walking..she didn't sniff around or stop..

I praised her anyway because it was the first time since my aunt gave her to me that I had seen her go outside.

Sorry this is so long but..
She continues to try and go as long as possible without using the bathroom after 2 weeks of crate potty training and continues to scream all night in her crate after a month of crate training.

I called the trainer today and she said that the dog is doing it on purpose and that if she really couldn't hold it (like pooping while walking on sidewalk and on the floor on her way outside) she would have accidents in her crate. She is refusing to go in the grass.

She also KNOWS commands like "no" and "down" and "sit" and will listen at first but then do the behavior over and over. And she is ashamed of herself when she potties.

Is she spayed?

Am I right in thinking it's two different issues? Pooping in the house/not outside and crying when alone/locked out from rooms etc?

She sounds like she's anxious, an incredibly anxious and insecure dog. Your professional trainer also sounds like a complete idiot. You should never ever crate a dog for long periods of time - what is it going to learn?

"I don't know what I've done to deserve being put in here for so many hours a day..." things like that will increase her anxiety.

I personally do not like crates for anything other than for a dog to voluntarily sleep in. I feel that they are unnecessary and an excuse for a lack of training.

The fact that she is 'ashamed' of her potties, says to me that she has been scolded one too many times for pottying at all, so she's scared about doing it!

You are right in that she should be taken outside regularly, to the same spot (better to be quite 'private', so corner area/bushes) - give her the command "go potty!" and wait. Give her 5 minutes, if nothing, go back in, wait an hour, try again. When she goes, praise her with your attention and her favourite toy/play time. It WILL take time and there will be accidents but if you are persistent with this method, it will work!

In regards to the crying and clawing at the doors; separation anxiety is a big deal. You said you were home all the time - if you invest a lot of this time into training, the anxiety will begin to ease. Rio has recently just been taken from one home to another and is so conflicted with everyones rulings right now. I think for now you should stop banishing her from the rooms until ground rules are established.

With her jumping on tables and furniture, a stern 'down' and pointing at where you want SHOULD suffice, if not, repeat x2. When she doesn't listen, pick her up (the pros of having a Yorkie over a Newfoundland!), put her down and turn your back on her. Do not look at her, acknowledge her in any way shape or form, until she goes and does something else. Repeat when necessarily. Eventually all that will be needed is a raised eyebrow in her direction and she'll know to get off the tables!

Turn training into a game, find out if she's treat, toy, or praise orientated. Use it to your advantage. Keep training short and sweet and end of high notes. Sit, stay, down, paw, fetch.

Do not shout at your dog. Be calm, assertive and sure of your own commands - if you don't take your own command seriously, why should your dog? But it doesn't seem like you have a dominance issue, but an anxiety one. The calmer you are, the calmer she'll be.

She crying and yapping constantly? Go for a walk, play play play, burn off her energy. A tired dog is a happy dog.

Reward all positive behaviour.

Training doesn't have to be an exhaustive process, the potty training might be at first if she cries at night to be let out - get up and let her out.

I think I covered everything... but feel free to ask questions and things. I might not have answered properly. I think you're on the right track, just need to strengthen techniques.

 

[MikeyTN]

Ask your aunt if she went inside the house on potty pads?

 

[getwozzy]

I crate trained my huskies at a very young age, but never used the crate as a tool for potty training- that was separate. I personally don't think your trainer's idea of locking your puppy in the crate is very nice...it may lead to your puppy to hate the crate and associate bad feelings with it, making crate training difficult.

Are you open to the idea of using puppy pee pads? You could set up a designated potty area and every hour (or however often he/she goes potty) take him over to the pee pad and see what happens. Keep trying until he pees on it, then reward. Do not punish for accidents...accidents happen and getting punished may result in him peeing in hidden spots or wherever.

When I got Mishka, she slept with me in the bed and thankfully woke me up at night when she had to go...which ended up being every couple hours. Eventually she could sleep throughout the night without needing to go. if you see him giving you signals or sniffing around, don't wait- take him to the potty spot immediately.

If you want to crate train, you'll need one that's not toooo big, but big enough for him to stand up, stretch, and lay down comfortably... Dogs won't pee where they sleep, so if there's too much room he may go potty inside the crate. Also, sometimes it calmed my dogs down when I would cover their crates with a sheet.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

Yes she is spayed. We tried for the first two weeks taking her out at the regular intervals and no matter how long we walked or stood in the back yard she would hold it until she came inside.
And yes those are the two man issues (crying when alone and pottying inside ONLY)
And we didn't like the dog trainers advice either but we payed for it and thought we needed to try it. She said no to let her out while she is whining and to wait until she has stopped but she doesn't stop :/

She use to sleep in our bad but has to sleep in the crate now because she shreds blankets while we are sleeping and at my aunts house she chewed a hole through the wall. My aunts other dog is perfectly trained and I know they tried all of the same things with this one.

She is ashamed to potty inside bc she knows better. At my aunts house she has accidents but knew to go outside for the most part.

"You are right in that she should be taken outside regularly, to the same spot (better to be quite 'private', so corner area/bushes) - give her the command "go potty!" and wait. Give her 5 minutes, if nothing, go back in, wait an hour, try again. When she goes, praise her with your attention and her favourite toy/play time. It WILL take time and there will be accidents but if you are persistent with this method, it will work!"

This is what we tried doing but put her in the crate in between until after she went. Otherwise she just waited until we came in and then went in the floor every time. I can hardly even get her to walk in the grass she just lays down when we go out.

"In regards to the crying and clawing at the doors; separation anxiety is a big deal. You said you were home all the time - if you invest a lot of this time into training, the anxiety will begin to ease. Rio has recently just been taken from one home to another and is so conflicted with everyones rulings right now. I think for now you should stop banishing her from the rooms until ground rules are established."

I have no idea what to do here ^
She knows lots of commands and when we tell her "down" she gets down but just repeatedly gets back up there. She acts like she can't control her self. Really high energy and looks at us like she knows she not suppose to but then acts like she can't help herself. She completely ignores me when she can see the birds and if I don't ban her from the room I can't ever get them out :/
She loves training sessions too and is very smart but again when the birds are in the room it is impossible to get her attention. Outside as well. She loves playing fetch and it wears her out

 

[FeathersandDrums]

& yes she went on potty pads for her and outside as well. We offer both.. she won't.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

Oh and her crate is huge but she doesn't potty in it.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

She does sound still nervous and confused. I have 3 Chihuahuas, also 'nervous' dogs. One of them was a stray with major issues with anxiety and used to bite. Another was a breeding dog and therefore kind of 'unsocialized' and untrained. She was fearful of even being outside. It has taken time but I have her 16 months and she is like a different dog now. NEVER has an accident in the house.

Have you tried anything like a thundershirt or one of those adaptil collars or plug ins? I think these tools in addition to training can help.

And, dogs are really different from birds in some ways. I had a bird before I had a dog, and even though my first dog was 'easy', I thought 'wow this is hard....he is SO BABYISH'. In some ways they can be more needy and many have such an intense need for praise and to please you.

The crate is a wonderful tool, particularly with these nervous little guys. I swear by them. It takes a little time, but once they are used to it, they generally seek it, particularly when nervous.

Sometimes the vet even needs to get involved, because a mild anxiety med can be given during initial training, and once the routine is established, the dog gains some self confidence.
Give lots of reasons to praise and see how the dog responds maybe. That also works well for me. Set up a situation that is 'easy' for the dog to do right, and then praise and reward until the dog has a greater sense of well being.
Some of them can really be trying but I can say, if you do think you may want a dog, but are feeling discouraged with this dog, it can be done. The one of mine that was a breeder--I consider myself pretty good with dogs, but I thought 'I can't do this. She is beyond repair.' And she is very sweetly lying on my lap as I type this now. It was hard, I bought some dog training books, thundershirts, harnesses, talked to the vet, etc but not only has she come around but there is this bond we have that makes me SO HAPPY.
Sorry if that was rambling, but I was just trying to 'throw out ideas'. I truly believe she can become a good dog for you if you do want to keep her but are just giving up because you are running out of ideas.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

Thanks a bunch RuffledFeathers, loved that. And I guess that is what it comes down to but about the same time that I started thinking that I was out of options or getting frusterated my aunt texted me saying "the kids miss Rio, can she visit?" and they are taking her for the weekend..

If I hadn't gotten that text I don't think I would have considered giving her back but I told her I was thinking about it and we both want her but are both having a hard time. I wish I knew what was best for the dog. But I am sure she will be so excited to see their other dog and be assured that they are still in her life and didn't "just leave her."

I have a huge decision to make and I am very torn. I can't make up my mind. I would like to keep trying but really have tried most of these things. The thunder shirt sounds like something that may work. She has tried anti anxiety medicine before.

 

[kq_fan]

OMG my dog was just like that when we got her 2 years ago and she was 8 month old well except for the bird room thing. She would pee and poo on the floor and yip and yap in her cage! She would refuse to pee outside so what we did was when she would pee inside we would get her over to it and say NO BAD DOG and we would walk all the way down the yard with her to where they do their business and when she would pee and poo there we would give her a treat and say awww what a wonderful puppy and pet her. When she pood in side it was out of stress from being dumped at a airport and getting to be in the pound for 3 weeks then went to a new home so when she did that we just needed to comfort her. In the cage, we would ignore her but when we put her in there, we would give her treats and get her comfy and she finally was calm. So I hope that help!

 

[FeathersandDrums]

kq how long did it take her?