So, new developments with "the dog." Yes, I know she has a name...
She pooped on the floor! Twice! AND peed once..... ummm, so why did it take several days for her to show her true potty habits? Her intake sheet said she was housebroken...so, either the people lied, or she is having issues. She has never told us when she needed to go out which is kind of a warning sign. When you take her out, she doesn't run out and pee immediately, which is what most dogs do. They take advantage of being outside and "go" while they can! So that was a signal.
I don't really know what to do here, because she is not an outside dog. So I can't just have her outside most of the time. She would freak out. We could get a crate and have her sleep in it at night, and put her in it, or outside, when we leave the house. We have never caught her in the act, so it's not like we can "train" her out of it. Once was when we were gone for only a couple hours, and the other was last night while we were sleeping. So, maybe she knows it's wrong. AND her seperation anxiety would make crating hard at this age.
I guess the other option is to trade her in, so to speak. You have a 10 day trial period with any rescued dog, to make sure it's the right fit. We could, theoretically bring her back and get a different dog, and possibly solve our other issues that way. A dog without seperation anxiety, that knows how to play, that is hopefully housebroken. But that would only mess up Mandy more, getting "dropped off" again. Not that she wouldn't get adopted, if the right person came along. But again, I don't want to make her worse :( and you never know what you're going to get with the next one either.
So, I am at a loss. I thought writing a blog would help me figure out what to do, but so far, nothin'. :P Here I go to think on it some more....
That is tough. I would do a little research on potty training pups. Potty training our pups was and is tough because we are not home all the time. The days I am home, my dogs don't have a problem because I can take them out and reward them when they do.
ReplyDeleteSo, reg. My big old bull dog is the struggling one. Mostly because he's old. If I take him out in the morning - afternoon - and evening around the same time and when he does pee give lots of loves and treats - that seems to help. We also walk him over to the 'pee spot'. In the house use some vinegar to eliminate the 'pee spot' smell or she'll pee there again. Dogs can be trained. Even old ones. Does take time and consistency.
But it's all about how YOU feel about it.
I LOVE my dogs. Even when they pee :)