Hello, I have a two year old (excuse my spelling) Lasaoposo/ Beagle who I cannot seem to fully housebreak. I would love some advice because my husband and kids love him but can't seem to get anything done during my days chasing him around to make sure he is not about to go.Please advice is needed. I dont want him to have to be an outside dog, but enough is enough! Jennifer

-- Jennifer (jenniferthf@aol.com), February 28, 2002

Answers

what really worked for me was to get a cage. i made my little dog stay in it unless someone was holding her or playing with her, when the kids were done with her she went outside ( she didn't always do her business), and then back in the cage. She didn't want to get her small living quarters messy. whenever someone took her out of her cage, first place she went was outside and she ALWAYS had to go then! as she got older she spent more time out of the cage and going outside to do her thing was old hat. Now she doesn't use it at all anymore and she's only about 6 mos old. I know it is so frustrating to find a mess on your floor...good luck

-- Susan (dsowen@tds.net), February 28, 2002.

Oh I just read the post that is right above this and I forgot to say that we do use the cage but not nearly as strict. I guess dogs are like kids If you give them an inch........

-- Jennifer (jenniferthf@aol.com), February 28, 2002.

Jennifer, no hints on housebreaking, but could you put a dog door in? I had an epileptic GSD that lost bladder and bowel control when he seized, and with the drug treatments he had at the same time, he gradually just lost most house breaking. The young BC I had at the same time was never house broken fully because of him, too. Anyway, to cut to the chase, I installed a dog door and this made it possible for the GSD with his limited brain power to get outside to do his business (except when he seized) and the young BC also started going outside with no problems. It was almost like magic. I'll never have dogs without a dog door again. Before the epileptic dog, we'd never had problems housebreaking a puppy within a few weeks, btw. You might want to consider it.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), February 28, 2002.

Jennifer, there is no substitute for a good book written by an expert. You have, unfortunetly, a cross bred dog from two of the more stubborn breeds and neither are known for being "quick". My favorite book is "MOTHER KNOWS BEST", by Carol Lea Benjamin. This will introduce you and you dog to "Crate Training" and you will be amazed at how many other little problems this solves. I have never owned a dog that I have not crate trained and I have never had a dog have an "accident" in mine or anyone elses home. My dogs regard their crate as their "den" and it is their place. When they get older and graduate from being locked in the crate at night they then use it on their own for naps, sleeping at night, a place to hide bones in etc. Get the book, you will not be sorry. Also, if you would like a wonderful book for kids on dog training, Carol has one out called "Dog Tricks for Boys and Girls". It gives kids a great feeling of accomplishment to be able to train their own dog to do fun things like help pick up the laundry and all the other cute stuff dogs do. Have fun and good luck. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 28, 2002.

Little Quacker gives good advice. I trained our German shepherd (got him at 3 months old) with the "crate training", have no problems. Your biggest challenge is getting all family members on board and being consistant. Be sure to praise the dog, even give treats , when he does his business outside.

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), February 28, 2002.

Our first dog was our child and difficult to train! One day my husband really yelled at her after a mess. That was the last mess. We now have 2 sisters that were raised outside and let in to visit. We never trained them. There have been a few times when they have had to stay inside over 8 hrs and they have never had an accident!

-- DW (djwallace@sotc.net), February 28, 2002.

I was just going to suggest the very thing DW suggested, but she beat me to it! LOL! I've never had to crate train a dog and my current three will bust a gut before they go in the house. All we did was watch for those signs they give before going (slinking around, smelling the floor, that certain way they stand, etc.). When they first squat, start making a ruckus ~ yelling, shaking a can of coins, making that growl sound that comes from the back of your throat (you know the one ~ the same one that works on kids, horses, husbands, and stops them in their tracks). Your dog will stop what it's doing to give it's attention to you. Take him outside immediately and wait 'til he does his thing. Then praise him to high heaven! Make a BIG fuss over him going outside. He'll get the hint.

It took about three times for my dogs to get it (well, one took a little longer). They're lab mixes, a fairly easy to train breed, but I've shown many a friend how to do this with their dogs (all kinds of breeds) and it's worked every time.

Good luck!

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 28, 2002.

All of the above work well especially when used together. We used a crate and a "no, no, outside!" with our dogs. It can take time and patience for awhile and some are just slower to get it that others, but it worth it in the long run. Eve Lyn

-- Eve Lyn (evelynv@valuelinx.net), February 28, 2002.

Take him outside after EVERY activity. This is going to take patience, but it works. Don't expect to get anything much else done unless the pup is sleeping. Sounds like a baby doesn't it? Remember that a dog doesn't want to mess in his bed and that's why a crate is a good plan. I lost patience with our first pup (flighty Aussie/Collie mix.) The last time she did the no-no I really got mad and lost my temper (she was 6 months old, big and heavy) I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and the long hairs of the rump and shoved her out the door with a tossing action. Getting 30 lbs into orbit was a bit much for me even tho I tried. I was practically screaming too, no that's not right...I WAS screaming. I was so mad. She never went in the house again. Scared the p*** right out of her. Keep in mind that his mother would never let him go in the den after he was weaned. And I'll bet a mother dog wasn't as tender about it as we are. You are momma dog now. Keep in mind that potty training doesn't last forever, just seems like it. I don't need to say Good Luck because it's going to work out just fine.

-- Susan in Northern LP Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), February 28, 2002.

Oops Jennifer, Just saw that your dog is 2 years old....Now for my advise on a teenager. :) I adopted a full grown Bassett Hound and let me tell you that was a trip and a half. His foster mom and I figure he had been kept in a basement or a garage. He only wanted to go on cement when outside...but that's another story. Some days when I came home from work I had a mess to clean up for the first 2 weeks. When that happened I ignored the dogs totally and got out the ole' Bassett Eating Steam Cleaner and went to work cleaning up the mess. That hound was terrified of that horrible sounding machine. He soon got the idea that if I came home to a clean carpet he got so much love he was in heaven. But if it had a wet spot....out came the monster, and no lovin's from mom.

-- Susan in Northern LP Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), February 28, 2002.

You may want to rule out any medical problems that could be causing this. They can also do this as submissive behavior. Are there certain times he does it more, or any patterns that you see. I would pick up water in the early evening and make sure he is taken out about 20 minutes after a meal and praised when he does his business. A crate is a wonderful tool to use. I would crate him during the night and let him out first thing in the morning. You can also crate him or confine him to an area when you cannot watch him.

-- Leslie in Western WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), March 01, 2002.

I have two blue heelers, that where quite a challenge, one would pee while walking (he still pees on his front feet) the other is just stubborn, and would play outside, come in, pee on the carpet then strut around like he owned the place, both stopped peeing inside whem I started screaming at them, I think it was about 3 times hollering at the stubborn one, [by this I mean a long drawn out, way over the top, yelling until I am tired, event, with repeted taps on the nose to keep his attention] and the other whom I beleve has a smaller than normal bladder, [he just can't wait as long as his brother], this one stopped after about a week of yelling and getting chased to the back door,[which is a screen door that they can open by pushing it] anyway he finally learned to run to the door strait away, when he needed to go.

And lest anyone think I was too hard on him, I never punshed this one, and always praised him if he was running to the door when he wet the floor, and I never even scolded him if he peed on the tile floor by the back door. Now he comes to me if the door is shut during the cold weather, and jumps and yips, to go out and he can hold it through most of the night [I think about 6 hours] And he will whine/yip at the times I'm asleep to wake me to let him out!!! I"M SO PROUD !!!!

He has turned out the be a very good dog. Oh, the yelling thing had a nice benefit in that now the care ALOT more about doing as they are told.

-- Thumper/inOKC (slrldr@yahoo.com), March 01, 2002.