Dog Behaviour Advice - Dog Advice Articles

Case Study, House Toilet Training Part 2

In last weeks article, the dog in this particular case was fouling in the house, yet at six months of age he should now be house trained. Husky type dogs are quite commonly dominant and for this one, fouling in front of the owner, when she was doing something else, like working on the computer or answering the telephone, was an indication he was seeking her attention.

Whilst dominancy will appear in many forms, this dog does not seem to see height as important. Many such dogs might attempt to sit in places that are above the head height of their human owners. As you will read, this dog was trying to walk in front of her by weaving from side to side on the stairs. This could be in order to prevent her from attaining the lead position. Whilst this can be dominancy, not all Alpha wolves necessarily have to lead from the front. If this does happen to you, just turn round and walk back down stairs again so that you are now in front. Eventually your dog will give up.

At least placing the dog’s mistakes in the outside area did seem to be working, but following this method on its own, without the dominancy training for the owner, I doubt it would have succeeded.

Hi Alan,

Thanks for all the advice; I will carry out your suggestions.
The washing powder (Arial) with disinfectant plus some fabric conditioner, seems to have done the trick (smells good too). He does however seem to be afraid of the rain. This morning I have been playing with him in the rain and splashing some of the water at him, he seems to be reacting okay. If it rains later, I will take him for a walk. He is okay when I bathe him so it is really very strange, he is not afraid of the water in this circumstance.

He did sleep in my bedroom, until a few weeks ago, when he started chewing up my underwear. Now we have banned him from the room and he sleeps outside, but does come in to 'wake' me at about 8 o’clock, which is my normal 'get up' time.
We do not allow him on the furniture, which he seems to understand; at least when I am there. He does rest on the stairs sometimes, about three steps up which is a larger turning area but he cannot see me if he does, as they are round the corner from the main sitting/TV area. Most of my floors are parquet; the stairs are granite, so I think maybe that they are cooler for him. He has not done it for the last few days and is resting on the rug at the moment.
The major problem I have with the stairs is him going from side to side in front of me (stairs are quite wide at 42 inches). I have tried to get him to go behind me, but it has not worked.

He is very good with his food, not aggressive in anyway. Lots of the time, he will leave some and he usually will not eat if I am not near (now down two meals a day). He now waits until I put it down for him and usually gives me a lick before he starts eating. He will happily put his chewy bone on my lap (not always welcomed by me) and allow me to pretend to chew it without any fuss. I will however still carry out your instructions with his food dish.
Thanks again for your advice.
P.S.
It is strange, some of the things you have said we did with the previous dogs, but not with this one. I always prepared the dog’s food when I was doing something else in the kitchen, but then put it up out of the way until an appropriate time. I had less time then, so I suppose the dogs did not get so much attention and 'knew' their place a little better.
It has just started to rain here so I will see if I can get him to go out for a walk.
I will let you know how I get on.
Regards

My reply

Dogs, for their survival, will naturally retreat from things moving towards them, or chase things moving away. Rain or water from hosepipes or waves coming in from the sea, dogs will normally back away from its advance. As the waves go out, the dogs chase them, but only until they come back in again. When washing the dog, the water is not really coming towards them, as they are standing in it. Playing with your dog in the rain or splashing water towards them as part of an exciting game, will desensitise their fear.

Alan

Hola Alan,
Some great news, my dog now seems house trained, 4 days and no mess indoors. He is even going out on his own, but I make sure I know he has been, in order to get his reward. He actually ran down five flights of stairs to do a piddle. I am not sure which thing did the trick but that is not important now, something worked for which I will be forever grateful. He now sleeps (at night) on the bottom floor with access to the outdoors, but not to the main part of the house. I think this was the deciding factor. Possibly, he didn't like the smell of his own mess over night, so decided to go out and do it. Anyway, we are both a lot happier, he gets more cuddles and I get a smell free house plus a happier dog. He is still a handful, but at least the major issue is resolved.

Thank you so very much for all your help and guidance, I really was in a state of despair last week, so again, thank you for your kindness and understanding.
Regards
Ps He also likes the rain now.

My reply

Glad it is all working and that you can now enjoy the company of your dog, as it should be.

Kind regards

Hi Alan,
I have never hated any animal in my life but I was almost at that point with him.

Thanks again.

Almost certainly, attention seeking was the problem. The combination of designating the fouling area, along with dominancy training for the owner, as well as restricting the dog to downstairs, seems to have provided the solution.

Top