Housebreaking Kennel dogs - Page 1

Any tips for the process of housetraining a dog 10 months old that has spent its life in kennels. It would seem they have no impulse control.
My trainer says it is easier to train a young pup in contrast to an older dog.

Perfectly possible. I have housetrained two 'kennel-dogs', a 3.5 year old bitc h and a 18mth dog, during the past 20-odd years to turn them into my housedogs. I have also housetrained a variety of ages who were STILL kennelled, but had to be irregularly taken indoors, and sometimes sleep indoors overnight. You just need to be proactive and consistent. And observant of the dog. Treat exactly as you would a new puppy :

Take the dog to the garden / place you want them to defecate preferably before you even bring them into the house, wait for them to 'go' (pee &/or solids), attach a keyword command you will then always use, and praise the result. Thereafter, they are taken outside (on leash) every time they have eaten, and every time they've just woken up, and every time they start to sniff the floor, in between. Again, wait for them to perform, using your keyword; praise the result. Be rigorous about doing this, make the effort, and I can almost guarantee you success inside a fortnight. This will also (except in the very odd case) result in a kennel-clean dog, as well as a house-trained one, (as long as you don't forget to let them out regularly).

Leash the dog to your waist. The more proactive you are about preventing accidents, the faster they will be trained!

Limit water before bedtime. Take dog outside just before going to bed. Crate dog at night, but have it close enough to you that you can hear if it is restless/crying and may need to go out.

Gustav says he can housebreak a puppy in 5 days. An older dog should be even easier, as they have better control!

Here's the regime he follows:

They are done eating by six and no water after eight. Potties at 10 and potties at 12 for last time. Let out to potty at 6 am. Also, keep pup in crate in room with me, so that if they become restless in middle of night, another trip outside. 5 days of extreme vigilance on my part equals pups understanding to wait until 6 am in about 5 days or less.

Of my 6 GSDs, 3 were acquired from kennels at ages 6, 8 and 18 months. They were all housebroken within 2 days with no effort on my part other than taking them out frequently the first couple of days until they understood where they were supposed to go. They were not crated at night or restrained in any way other than the 8 month old had to be crated while I was at work because of other destructive behaviors probably related to being young and bored.

Armauro, it is of course generally true that (as the Trainer mentioned) it is easier to train a new puppy than an older one or an adult ( that is true not just re toileting, but many other things ) but it is far from impossible, as we have shown ^, provided you obey basic 'rules' of all dog training - like putting in the work, being consistent, rewarding progress, and so on.
However: re what you said about 'seeming to lack impulse control', there could be other factors at work here.
One thing is that it does depend a lot on HOW the dog was maintained while in kennels - there are good kennels and bad kennels ! If a kennelled dog has become used to being left in its own waste because where it lives is poorly managed, then that may well have an effect on how quickly & effectively you can get on top of any 'accidents' with your dog, I'm speaking of those that haven't been made worse in any way by your own actions in dealing with them. [On that, there are of course a host of things an owner should NOT do when housebreaking ...]

If it is really proving problematic, you can come back here and tell us exactly what you have tried so far and ask any practical questions you have. Everybody can use training tips ! But first and foremost I think you should get a vet check done to make sure there is nothing else going on. A urinary / bladder infection might be fairly 'silent' as to other symptoms but still causing the dog to be less able to hold on to its pee. A stomach disorder could affect the timing of defecation. Only if you are satisfied as to your dog's state of health can this be treated as purely a training difficulty.

One further thought: there are cases of messing in the house that can be linked to Separation Anxiety in dogs, you might want to consider whether the dog's behaviour in other areas of his/her training are indicating any problems ?

I get the dog from trainer today. He had a tough time housebreaking her. She was vet checked. So he had her finally good - house is all tile- then she is in his office and pees on rug- only room with rug. I have seen this before where dogs think rug is grass?

Whatever you do, do NOT bring them right back in after pottying.  You always want to let them sniff, play, do whatever for a few minutes so they don't associate potty with end of outdoor fun. 

My youngest was a kennel dog, my behaviorist/trainer rescued him for me and she was able to house break him quickly but had to really work with him to get over his terror of making messes.  He had a few accidents when he came to me, we dealt with them.  I had to be super calm and cheerful, he had a habit of being terrified of messing and trying to clean up his own messes (friend worked with him to calm him down since he would FREAK out when he had an accident).  I saw it first hand when I came home from work and found him shaking like a leaf, whale eyed, and cowering as he frantically licked up his pee and tried to eat his poo. I finally managed to coax him out to clean up the mess, he was a terrified wreck.  He is much better now and has not had a single accident since those first few weeks when he was a young dog (friend got him at 18 months).  He he has gotten so much better with throw up messes as well (first time he vomited he was whale eyed, shaking like a leaf, running from me tail tucked, I finally got him to come over, he was terrified, and got to clean him up).  Only problem is he still tries to "clean up" his messes and will eat his poo, tried everything, but then I have a female that does that as well, disgusting and why is it they always want to burp in your face after...........😝

LOL, Mindhunt...or worse yet, give you kisses!

I have a poop eater, too. Have never been able to break her of the habit.

Armauro - I do not believe dogs 'mistake' a rug for grass. There is something else going on here.

LOL - but there is always someone who has a worse problem ! ^^^


Treat the spell at your Trainers house as if it were the kennels she came from, and start from the beginning, using the tips we have given you. Stay calm. Get her checked out at the vet. And please remember, dogs are individuals, sometimes it takes them longer to 'get' something than others.  She will doubtless be fine in the end.

 

PS How much faith do you have in this Trainer that he knows what he is doing ?

Sunsilver, oh yeah, especially give you kisses with poo on their chin or in between their teeth.  YUCKY