My dog drives me nuts. She is 3 yrs old and refuses to go to the bathroom in the back yard, she MUST be on a leash to go to the bathroom. This means even though I have a yard I find myself picking up dog crap in public twice a day. If I don’t take her out to go to the bathroom and she needs to go she will sneak up my stairs and pee in the hallway while I’m not paying attention. I can’t lock her in the yard because she has excellent fence jumping skills. She’s also a biter. Since I got pregnant she has bitten 5 people on the back of the leg. Anyone who comes into my home is her potential victim which means I can’t have guest over without locking her in her crate and hearing her bark forever, this really sucks because I am a photographer and work from home. I have clients coming and going ALL THE TIME. Plus I am afraid if she bites someone they will sue us. This hasn’t happened yet because they all have said “oh, it didn’t break the skin, I’ll let it slide” little do they know, they aren’t her first victim. Oh, back to her only going to the bathroom on a leash while on a walk, I have a husband and daughter perfectly capable of taking her out to pee and she’ll gladly go with them, but she will not go to the bathroom unless I am walking her. This really sucks since I’m pregnant, exhausted, and will soon have the pleasure of toting a newborn around with me while I walk her and pick up her crap. I want to rehome her but feel bad about it.
I have litterally tried training her in every which way I can think of, and I’ve researched different techniques online, nothing has worked. My theory is that she was abused before coming to us and that is why she feels the need to sneak when she pees. I think her previous owners lived in an apartment and only took her for potty breaks while on the leash and beat her if she did it in the house.
Thanks for all the advice, she actually was desensitized to visitors until I became pregnant, now she barks and bites whenever the chance presents itself. I assume she’s trying to protect me. The biting is not provoked, I tell all guests to leave her alone yet she will bite them as soon as they turn their backs, litterally. As for affection, we’re still very affectionate, she cuddles with me for most of the day. I wish it were possible to just hire a dog trainer but believe it or not I have yet to find one in our area (we live 1 1/2 hours from a city in a very small town) thanks for the support and advice.
January 4th, 2012 - 3:28 am
I know of a pit bull that was severely beat every time he went potty inside, which of course did nothing to house train him but severely traumatized him. A friend of mine rescued him from the local shelter, but he is not 8 and potty training hasn’t been going so well. If left alone in the house he will go potty, and he’ll even go potty in a crate. He refuses to go potty when he is being watched. It’s heartbreaking, because he is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met. She has a large detached garage that he is kept in during the day when she is gone (It is completely empty and set up completely for him with beds, toys, water bowls, even a kiddy swimming pool in the corner, and AC), and when she is home he will go in the backyard if she lets him out every few hours and doesn’t watch.
That being said, I would never allow my dog to annoy me like that. You’re right, it is frustrating, and you have tried everything you are capable of doing yourself. Good for you. It is EXTREMELY hard to solve deep set behavior problems. But now you need to get Professional help. Not some idiotic run of the mill PetSmart trainer. You need to find a trainer with experience working with problem dogs, and I guarantee you will see results. It is hard now, with you being pregnant. But have your husband start taking her to training classes, and take it from there.
January 4th, 2012 - 3:41 am
well, try walking her in your backyard with her leash on and while she is peeing take the leash off and PRAISE her and give her treats.
As for the biting….. what are the situations? do people try and pet her that she is unfamiliar with or is she maliciously going after people?
have you tried crate training her? that could help with the potty routine and establish a routine in general with her and dogs feel safe in crates as they like having dens….
and i totally sympathise with you on being frustrated as i have a 2 year old dog and a new puppy which is a huge change in schedule and it’s alot of work. why isn’t your husband or daughter helping?
have you consulted a professional dog trainer? that may really help you work through her issues with biting and potty training her…
January 4th, 2012 - 4:36 am
Kick the dog square in the nuts!
January 4th, 2012 - 4:38 am
Your theory is probably right
Get a trainer to come to your house. Don’t give up. She loves you, she just needs help being guided…that’s not fair to your dog either
January 4th, 2012 - 5:14 am
Sounds like a problem for Victoria Stillwell to me–you know that show on Animal Planet? It’s called “It’s me or the dog”? Your dog may be jealous of the unborn baby and wants to make sure you continue to pay attention to her. If you get on the show-Victoria will come to your house and help you and your dog. Check it out…Good Luck!
January 4th, 2012 - 5:52 am
You have to pick up dog poop wherever she poops, be it in the yard or outside in the street.
You cannot rehome a dog with a bite history. This would be unfair to anyone who took her on and unless you reveal her bite history you can be sued when she does bite someone. A biting dog is a dangerous dog.
You have two choices. You either keep her and have a trainer come in to teach you how to train her or you take her to your vet and stay with her while she is gently put to sleep. Rehoming her is out of the question.
Any dog can be trained. The key is consistency and without that no method of training will be successful. It seems you don’t have much affection for this dog. Dogs know when they are not loved by their owners.
January 4th, 2012 - 6:48 am
give it away .
or get professional help:)
answer mine?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090820162541AAXzg91
January 4th, 2012 - 7:33 am
Instead of doing online research for training ideas, have you considered hiring a trainer or behaviorist to work with you? It sounds like this dog has many issues. Having a dog like this and being pregnant is really hard especially when you are not getting any help from the rest of your family. Also since this dog has a bite history she will be really hard to rehome. I think that you need to sadly make some decisions as once your baby is born, things are bound to get worse. Sorry that I don’t have any good advice for you.
January 4th, 2012 - 7:34 am
It’s understandable that you are overwhelmed. This dog has some behavioral problems that you have not been able to correct when trying things you have found online. If there is any possibility that your family can hire an animal behaviorist to work with her and with your family regarding the problems with aggression and other behavioral issues (and the trainer should be involving your husband so he can also take control of her) then she may be able to get beyond these problems. Get references and check them out.
If you can’t do this (most people don’t have the resources to do this), then re-homing her to someone who is aware of her aggression and behavioral problems and who will work with her would be the better route to go.
You are right that someone could sue you, or someone could be hurt. She could become aggressive towards your baby since she is already biting other people. Could it be that the previous owners could not train her and they dumped her on you without telling you about her problems?
I hope you don’t feel bad for doing whatever is in the best interest of your family. Especially if you can re-home her to someone that is in a better position to work with her.
January 4th, 2012 - 7:56 am
I think you’re giving her altogether too much choice in the matter.
She’s a dog. She walks where and when you say so–it’s not up to her.
Give her a whole lot of water. Then lock her in a crate for two hours. Then have your husband or daughter take her into the back yard and stay there with her until the little angel pees. (I recommend a good book and an extend-a-leash) Remember, your goal is to force her to pee in the backyard. She must be crated whenever she is not either in the backyard or in someone’s (not yours!) lap. Do not let her walk around unattended in the house–or she will pee in the hallway instead of the backyard.
The biting is unacceptable. You cannot rehome a dog that bites and isn’t housebroken. She would have to be put down.
Training for this usually involves desensitizing the dog to visitors. You have someone come to the door, and if the dog jumps or barks, they simply turn their back and ignore it. When the dog stops jumping or barking, you reward her with a bit of food. Gradually increase the time the dog refrains from barking to get a treat until they are able to lay down and watch someone enter the house, chat with you, and leave without any excitement.
Alternatively, you could train her to stay in her crate without barking, perhaps with the use of some peanut butter filled Kong Toys to keep her attention. A bark collar might also work–we got one that emitted a high pitched squeal every time my beagle-basett mix barked, and it reduced his barking by about 50%.
January 4th, 2012 - 8:55 am
>>I want to rehome her but feel bad about it.< <
I'm probably going to get thumbs down for this, but that's what I would do. I wouldn't tolerate a biter with children in the house. Their safety needs to come first. And when the baby comes, you'll have even less time to devote to this dog. All this stress is no doubt having a negative impact on your family life, your work, your health, and possibly damaging your unborn baby. I love dogs, but humans come first.
http://www.abc15.com/content/living/yourhealth/story/Why-a-mother-s-stress-can-affect-her-baby-s-IQ/ioupXk7W6kquOcFhMwZMFQ.cspx