Need Help With My CC!!!

[Gevaudan_Jo]

Hi All, sorry i've been away, kinda busy with alot of diff things... i'll catch you's up eventually
Anyways, My chinese Crested, Reba, is giving me a really hard time going potty outside. I can have her outside, i swear, for 2 hours, let her inside then she will run and potty on the floor... The other day i went to put her out with zero, and as i was shutting the door, zero plowed in, opened the door, reba ran inside, UPSTAIRS into jigsaws room, and pee'd on the floor... she ALWAYS pees either in jigsaws room *yes, jigs has her own room* Or in the kitchen or on memphis' blankets... So, i had someone suggest put her out, then when she wants inside,i put her directly into her crate for a while then back outside. BUT, when i do that, she potty's in her kennel. its been a little cold here, so i had her sweater on. she somehow took it off, pottied on it in her kennel. so anyways... i have about 6 blankets that are in the washer, memphis' jigsaws and rebas... (and zeros because he puked on it). Any suggestions??? i really dont know what to do.. i tell her bad, i give her a slap, and put her outside, but she will go play outside, run around and chew bones, steal toys, etc. then after X amount of time, come to the door and howl to come in. so i let her in and Piddle all over.
HELP
Thanks
Jo

[Gevaudan_Jo]

also, i want to add that if i go outside, she will pee and poo outside, than she will STILL come inside and about 5mins later, pee again on the floor... 

[Anakalia]

Do you think it's behavioral or is there a chance she could have a UTI?

Our Maltese was never really house trained, if he'd get mad at someone he would pee or poop right in front of them. His problem was definitely behavioral.  The ONLY thing I found that helped was putting a denim doggie diaper on him after he'd peed in the house.  He HATED that thing!  We had tried the praising, positive reinforcement and none of that helped so we used the doggie diaper.  We'd take the diaper off when he went outside, if he peed where he was supposed to he'd get a treat and no more diaper until he peed in the house again, then the diaper would go right back on, it didn't take him long to figure out what he needed to do to get rid of the diaper.  Probably not the best way to train a dog but it worked for us.  Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be!

[Brownis15]

I would definately check with the vet too! See if its a med problem first.

If you see her pee on the floor, dont punish her. This is called positive punishment. What she learns is not that going potty on the floor is bad, but going potty in front of YOU is bad. She will become confused. Therefore, she may become sneaky and pee places where you dont see her, or not pee when you are watching her (like when she is outside and you are with her). It may not have happened yet, but it could start. Negative punishment is like when a puppy bites you and you ignore it and leave the room, the puppy learns biting is bad. The punishment is directly linked to the behavior and is clear and direct. You are removing the stimulus that caused the behavior, where as with positive punishment you are adding an aversive stimulus, which can cause fear and confusion for dogs and not solve the behavior problem but actually make it worse or develop it to something different. I know it sounds confusing... sorry.

What I would do is the second you see her pee in front of you, pick her up(even midpee, they will sometimes stop and hold it) put a leash on her and take her out. Dont say anything, just do it. Take some treats and walk around with her, saying "go potty Reba" walk her till she goes. If you caught her mid pee, she should go again soon. When she does, YEY act like she just won the lottery. Treats and lots of praise. Then take her inside and keep her on the leash and close to you. If she tries to go again, repeat. But chances are, if she is leashed to you, she wont go. Keep up this routine and develop a command for going potty. Soon she will learn going outside is what she needs to be doing.  I hope this helps!!

I think once she completely understands you she will start responding better, but until she is going outside on command consistently, crate her or have her with you when she is in the house. I dont think it will take too long! Be patient, she's a smart girl and she'll figure it out!

[Moni]

I know how to fix it.  First you put her in a little box, then send the box to me in MA.  Voila!    

Whatdya mean no?  ok, lemme think of something else...

Seriously though..  When I'm potty training(which took FOREVER with Ol'Gyrl, remember?) I leash walk them outside and keep them tethered to me inside.  Its a royal PITA, I know!  Especially if you have 5 other dogs and 2 kids...  However, that way I always have my eye on them and can watch for 'potty language'.  If I can't watch them then I put them in their crate.  One that is only big enough to curl up in and with NO bedding, because for some reason some dogs think that bedding means PEE HERE!  lol  Since she's so tiny, maybe one of those puppy back/front packs would work to keep your hands free?

I also agree with Brownis on the no punishing thing, since that just causes them to hide and potty (aka going into Jiggy's room).  She is right, it will take a while for her to get comfortable and go in front of you, but stick to it with the treats and she'll come around. 

Good luck hun.. and remember, there's always the box option...

[Gevaudan_Jo]

thanks guys, I think that is a great idea, butits SO hard when
A) Hubby works in the am, so hes up way before me, un crates her and leaves her out when he leaves...  she pottied ON THE STAIRS today grrrr
or B) Hubby just wont help with anything, he is too intune to his stupid video games to put the dogs out... like, say if im in the shower or something, or in the basement doing laundry, etc. etc. U know? the weather here is REALLY cold again, so Its hard to get her. i put her outside, and wait at the window this morning, she just sat the bottom of the stairs... til the neighbour come out she danced for him and he gave her a cookie  so yeah- im really not liking little dogs hahaha so moni, keep an eye on your mail  box haha

[marypyrs]

First of all, Jo, your Baby Reba is absolutely adorable! & I put seconds on that "box" to mail! Want my address?!?! (ha ha)  Sounds like a behavioral/insecurity thing to me. Maybe she's just trying to establish her Pecking Order in the household of much larger puppers. I think, once any medical problem is ruled out, it's going to be patience, patience, and more patience.

Even my big girl Rainbow does some marking on the trail of the Lake Walk. She's just making a statement, I guess, to all the 'other ones' out there. Could it be that your little CC is doing the same? I agree with everyone. Positive Reinforcement. And a bit more time. 

[2Criminals]

I had a "friend" whose Samoyed came trained to pee on towels. Why, I don't know but the breeder trained them to pee on towels, so breaking him of the habit and making him pee on grass was difficult. I know your friend is her breeder so is this possible? CAn you put a towel outside with her and see if you get a result?

[bluskygirl]

I don't know how big the crate is, but maybe it's a tad on teh big side? If it were smaller she might feel less apt to want to pee in it since it will be harder to avoid it in a smaller space. I would agree with your original advice; let her out to pee... if she does she gets 10 minutes of "free time" in the house followed by another 30 minutes of crate time. Then repeat. If she doesn't pee outside, then she goes straight back to her crate. I did this with Bella, and she seemed to learn very quickly that being in the house with me was a reward that seemed to follow only pottying outside.  I guess if the crate's already the right size than I don't know what to do!!! Best of luck with the little squirt (pun intended).

[ZooCrew]

I third the option of tethering her to you inside and leashing her outside.  You should try this with two dogs.........l ol.  When we moved, my previously fully potty trained ratties totally forgot they were potty trained at 6 mo of age and started going to the bathroom inside again........a t my parent's house.  They were not pleased, nor was I.

Back to square one.  I always leash walk those two outside.  Only recently (b/c they listen better now) have they been allowed to come off leash outside, and only when they are done going to the bathroom.  That way they learn, potty/poo first, then I can play.  And inside they were leashed to the table where I spent most of the day so I could keep an eye on them or they were kenneled at all times, with only small supervised breaks to run off some energy.

And even then, it took about 4 months for them to relearn their manners.  Small dogs are notorious for being hard to housebreak, some breeds are worse than others (be glad you don't have a bichon or maltese).

Good luck with the potty training.