HELP with litter training

[turbogodswife]

I have a min pin that is 9 months old and she refuses to go to the bathroom outside. I think this is due to seperation anxiety from myself, due to when Chloe was younger. My father was dying from renal cancer and thought a dog would make him happier, so I let chloe go to live at his house. Following a two day stay he could not handle her and she has had this bathroom problem since. Also, when my father passed away we had to leave her at a friend's house. So as you can see I need any and all ideas on how to focus the bathroom behaviors to a litter box. So I was wondering if there are any good books or websites that are available. The ones that I have seen make me wonder how secure of a website that they have and how good is the litter training book. Please Help!!

[Cassiepeia]

If you would prefer to train her to go outside, I suggest you do that rather than teach her to go inside. In the long run it might be better for both of you.

Outside is simply a matter of keeping an eye on her at all times and taking her out after she's eaten, had something to drink, first thing in the morning, last thing at night and when she's had a good play. Don't just pop her in the back yard and leave her to do it. Put a leash on her, walk her out to a spot and stand there and wait. Don't let her explore, but if she doesn't do anything, try walking her around a bit then stop again and wait. It may take a (very) long time but wait for her and don't play. When she does pee or poop, tell her "good pee" (or something similar) and then reward her with lots of affection and/or praise.

Keep a good eye on her when you're inside, don't let her go anywhere you can't supervise and take her out as soon as she starts show signs she needs to 'go'.

As far as separation anxiety goes. What other signs make you think that's what it is? How do you react to those signs? How do you react when you leave the house or come home? Is she crated while she's alone? Do you exercise her before you leave for long periods of time? How much exercise and training does she normally get?

Sorry for all the questions. It's difficult to get a full picture of a dog online so the more info the better. Basically your behaviour is very important and really influences your dog's behaviour. If you make a fuss when you leave and/or return, you're telling the dog that you leaving really IS a massive deal and that can stress them out. So it's best to not make any fuss at all, completely ignore her before you go and don't pay her any attention at first when you get back (wait until she's calm and relaxed...you may have to wait half an hour or so before you react to her).

Giving her some good exercise before you leave and then crating her with a kong or other bordem busting toy can also help, because she's both tired (and "a tired dog is a happy dog") and has something to do while you're away.

One more thing about house training. Make sure you clean up any accidents she has with a special enzyme cleaner (you can get them from pet supply stores and sometimes vets) because otherwise, even though you can't smell the pee or poop, she still can and she'll automatically go back to where she went before.

Cass.

EDIT: Apologies for not really answering your litter box question. I'm sure others here will be able to help you with that, if you still want to do it.

[dogs4life]

Originally Posted by turbogodswife

Following a two day stay he could not handle her and she has had this bathroom problem since. Also, when my father passed away we had to leave her at a friend's house.

I wonder if someone has scolded her for going potty in the wrong area. If someone disciplined her for pottying instead of guiding her to potty correctly then she will have potty issues.

I would litter train only as a last resort. Like Cass said, it's not preferred to train a dog to eliminate indoors no matter what's going on. You are giving the dog too many conflicting signals, you can go pee and poop inside but only here...just too much room for error or miscommunication.

Best potty advice I have is keep in consistent and positive, no scolding or negative vibes. Keeping in mind that it's YOUR fault for accidents not the dog. Learning potty behaviors and schedules like Cass did above is critical. All dogs poo after eating and after or during exercise. I always use treats for potty training dogs. After dog goes pee or poop in the correct area, treat! You can also teach a potty command, I've used "Hurry" in the past.