How do I housebreak an adult dog adopted from a shelter?
Posted: April 11th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Common Questions | Tags: Adopted, Adult, from, Housebreak, shelter | 7 Comments »My family adopted a male black Labrador about two months ago. He’s 2 1/2 years old, and we’re pretty sure he’s never been in a home before now. We were told he was picked up by the Humane Society as a stray.
He’s a very clingy dog, who needs to be with someone all the time. He’s had quite a bit of trouble with having accidents in the house. Most of the time it is while we are all gone, but sometimes one of us will be sitting near him and he’ll just get up and go urinate on a chair in the next room. He does this while we are gone, no matter if we’ve just taken him out before leaving.
He doesn’t do this on a regular basis though. There will be days we leave and come back to find that everything is OK, while other times he’s peed on the same footrest or chair as usual.
I suspect he has some degree of seperation anxiety, and we’ve tried all sorts of things to help this. I’m home all day everyday with him, always supervising him. What can we do to break him of this bad habit?
Patience and persistence just like a puppy
Good job on adopting him. Just treat him as a puppy. It might be easier to potty train an adult dog, being as they don’t have to go potty constantly.
But, just as you would a pup, take him out regularly, every hour and a half to two hours depending on how much water he drinks. Monitor him like a puppy, when he gets up, see where he is going. Just like a todler. This will also aid in teaching “stay” lol. When he does do his buisness outside give him lots of praise and maybe even a treat. Also, watch him, he is a boy. (and you said he was going on the chairs) Depending on how long ago he got neutered, (and if you ahve other dogs) he might want to mark everything. I have a un-altered male Rottie and a altered male Chihuahua and they had marking wars in my house for the first couple of weeks. The chihuahua is 11 years old (we think) and had just gotten neutered, so he still wants to own everything. ugh. boys.
Good luck. Just be sure to let him out regulary and watch him. Also, while you are gone, try putting him in a kennel. This way he can’t “go” in the house and he can’t tear anything up or eat somthing he isn’t supposed to. Specially if he has seperation anxiety.
Hope this helps.
It sounds like anxiety rather than a house breaking issue if he’s peeing on furniture. I would use a crate to keep him in while you are gone.
Now, I know that sound awful, but keep in mind that he is anxious and that big ol’ house left all to himself seems intimidating. The crate will feel safe and secure and really help the issue. If you do not want to do a crate, close him in a small bedroom or bathroom with a comfy bed and some toys. He really will feel less imtimidated and feel less separation anxiety.
As for when you are right there, use pet gates to keep him in the same room with you that you can climb right over but will keep him there. And watch him like a hawk!
If it’s only been a couple months since you adopted him, the anxiety should lessen as he starts to feel more secure in his new home. Especially not knowing what he’s been through before you got him, he’s probably not sure of what to expect and needs some time to adjust. Be patient and you will end up with a great and loyal friend.
Good for you for rescuing a dog! I love people like you!
The same way you would train a puppy. You have to pay attention to how he acts, and look for those specific signs like sniffing around like hes looking for something, then make sure to get him outside before he actually goes, even if your not sure he has to go, but suspect he might, take him out until he does. Whatever place he has peed make sure to clean it up good, and even after cleaning it put some vinager in that spot(my mom did this) for some reason I guess they dont like the smell, and decide not to pee there anymore, but keep up with him, you have to pay close attention to the signs so you catch him before he does it. On days you cant be home to watch him if you have a yard tie him in the yard while your not home so he cant go in the house. I would say stick his nose in it(because thats also part of the way to train puppies)but he being at a shelter, etc probibly would feel even more insecure right now if you used that method. He will eventually learn that outside is where hes supposed to be going to the bathroom. He also probibly needs time to adjust not only to being in a new place, but being inside seeing on how hes 2 1/2, and still not trained. He will catch on, you just have to have the patience.
you need to start by using a heavy duty cleaner that will clean deep down to get rid of the sent because that is alot of why he keeps using the same spot because he can smell his marking from the last time. then start taking him out side every say 10-20 minutes and take him to the exact same spot out side each time and make him squat like if he needs to use the restroom (even though its a boy) and when he does use the restroom in a certin spot keep taking him there for a few minutes each time.that way he gets the smell of that spot stuck in his head and after awhile he will start to use the bathroom there but you just have to be very continuous about taking him out side then after awhile he will start to wait for you to take him and then just barking to let you know he needs to go out so that you open the door and he runs byhimself to that spot and uses the restroom.remember it will take a while for an adult to learn it but he will get it. it worked on 2 of my dogs and one was an older dog as well. Let me just say thank you so much for adopting from the humane society!! i work at the on in new mexico and those dogs need any love and care they can get and alot of them are the best dogs you will ever meet.
Thank you for adopting a rescue dog. Have you considered crate training your new buddy? There are a lot of adjustments dogs need to make right after being adopted, especially from a humane society or shelter. Is he neutered? If not, getting him done should help, but I am guessing he is neutered, as most shelters spay/neuter before adopting one out.
The places he pees need to be cleaned with something to totally remove his scent, as he is no doubt “marking” these things as his. I find white vinegar to be a wonderful, chemical free option for doing so. Either pour the vinegar straight from the jug, or put it in a sprayer bottle, but make sure you totally soak the areas he has peed on, so that the vinegar can soak in to all the areas the urine has touched, or he will continue to mark over them. It smells a bit like pickles for a few hours, but the smell goes away, and I have found that this works better than any of the products marketed for this purpose, and it is much safer for your family AND the dog, and less expensive as well.
Good luck- I am sure before long your new friend will begin to feel more secure and less apprehensive about his new surroundings.
In a situation such as this, crate training can be your best friend. Dogs don’t like to soil where they sleep and eat so if he is restricted to this area while you are gone and is taken straight outside to be relieved when out of the crate(with the appropriate praise of course) he will quickly associate going outside as good and going inside as not. You can get a nice pet crate from Wal-mart or a local pet store and they are very usefull traing aids. It should be just big enough for him to stand and turn around in. If used properly, it will become the pets safe haven and act as a den would in the wild. He will be just as happy inside of it than out and your house won’t get peed on anymore.