Hi
We have a pup (close to 7 months old) who's mostly border collie.
She seems smart but housebreaking isn't going so well. The guy we got
her from (she was around 6 weeks then, Ithink) paper trained the pups
he was selling. Some facts: We have a fenced in backyard and that's
where we take to take care of business. She has a cage where she sleeps
at night and when we're not home. She almost never has accidents in
the cage. We take her out frequently (every 2 hours)and she certainly
knows what we want. When you tell her "pee" she certainly seems to
understand and she will go frequently in the yard. Naturally, we
praise her when she does and give her a treat. But she's still having
at least one accident a day in the house. We're never present when she
does so I think she knows she's not supposed to do it. And if by any
chance there's a newspaper left on the floor she's sure to pee on that
(or close to it). but we don't really want to encourage her to pee
there by leaving newspapers around. Suggestions? Thanks!
Henry

On 25 Oct 2006 05:47:17 -0700, "
, clicked their heels and said:

But she's still having
at least one accident a day in the house. We're never present when she
does so I think she knows she's not supposed to do it. And if by any
chance there's a newspaper left on the floor she's sure to pee on that
(or close to it). but we don't really want to encourage her to pee
there by leaving newspapers around. Suggestions? Thanks!

Welcome Henry - I'm assuming this is a urination "accident"? Have you
had her checked for a UTI? Is she spayed yet?

When you say you're not present, where are you/where is she?
Supervision is imperative. That means closing off rooms to keep her
in your eyesight, using gates, etc. Cleaning the area is also
important - is her chosen spot only where there's a newspaper (more
vigilance needed!), or random? Carpet? hard floor?

Some of the "no-go" sprays on the market, are effective. A company
called Pet Organics makes some that have worked well IME. Spraying a
piece of newspaper and setting it out can help her learn that
newspapers are off limits. I still wouldn't be in the habit of
leaving them around, but it's a step that can be effective.
--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Hi Janet,
Thanks for the response. The pup (Sybille is her name) has been
spayed. She did have a urinary infection at one point but that's been
cleared up. Her accidents are mostly pee but occasionally poop. The
latter pretty much stopped happening when we switched dog foods but
seem to be happening more often again since we switched to a different
brand (obviously we will just go back to the old one) We have hardwood
floors and that's where she usually goes. Would this spray you
suggested be helpful on the floors? There are times when she has the
run of the downstairs unsupervised and of course this is when the
accidents happen. We're up and down a lot of course but we're not
watching her the whole time. I suppose we could just keep her in her
cage when we can't actually be downstairs with her (though I hate to
keep her in there too much) Is that the thing to do?
Henry
Janet B wrote:
On 25 Oct 2006 05:47:17 -0700, "
, clicked their heels and said:

But she's still having
at least one accident a day in the house. We're never present when she
does so I think she knows she's not supposed to do it. And if by any
chance there's a newspaper left on the floor she's sure to pee on that
(or close to it). but we don't really want to encourage her to pee
there by leaving newspapers around. Suggestions? Thanks!

Welcome Henry - I'm assuming this is a urination "accident"? Have you
had her checked for a UTI? Is she spayed yet?

When you say you're not present, where are you/where is she?
Supervision is imperative. That means closing off rooms to keep her
in your eyesight, using gates, etc. Cleaning the area is also
important - is her chosen spot only where there's a newspaper (more
vigilance needed!), or random? Carpet? hard floor?

Some of the "no-go" sprays on the market, are effective. A company
called Pet Organics makes some that have worked well IME. Spraying a
piece of newspaper and setting it out can help her learn that
newspapers are off limits. I still wouldn't be in the habit of
leaving them around, but it's a step that can be effective.
--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

wrote in message:
There are times when she has the
run of the downstairs unsupervised and of course this is when the
accidents happen. We're up and down a lot of course but we're not
watching her the whole time. I suppose we could just keep her in her
cage when we can't actually be downstairs with her (though I hate to
keep her in there too much) Is that the thing to do?

A pup who is having trouble figuring out the whole concept of housebreaking
should not be left unsupervised. Tether her to you (loop the leash through
your belt loop) so that she goes with you wherever you're going. That way,
you can catch her when she's showing signs that she's ready to go, and rush
her outside. If tethering her to you is not feasible, tether her to an
object in the same room you are if possible.

Suja

On 25 Oct 2006 07:27:06 -0700, "
, clicked their heels and said:

Would this spray you
suggested be helpful on the floors?

I think the spray is more useful when it's a specific spot.

There are times when she has the
run of the downstairs unsupervised and of course this is when the
accidents happen.

You know the answer - don't leave her downstairs unsupervised.
Encourage her to follow you.

We're up and down a lot of course but we're not
watching her the whole time. I suppose we could just keep her in her
cage when we can't actually be downstairs with her (though I hate to
keep her in there too much) Is that the thing to do?

Nope. The thing to do is keep her with you - if you are not allowing
her upstairs, she may be responding to stress about being left alone
downstairs.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi Janet,
Thanks for the response. The pup (Sybille is her name) has been
spayed. She did have a urinary infection at one point but that's been
cleared up. Her accidents are mostly pee but occasionally poop. The
latter pretty much stopped happening when we switched dog foods but
seem to be happening more often again since we switched to a different
brand (obviously we will just go back to the old one) We have hardwood
floors and that's where she usually goes. Would this spray you
suggested be helpful on the floors? There are times when she has the
run of the downstairs unsupervised and of course this is when the
accidents happen. We're up and down a lot of course but we're not
watching her the whole time. I suppose we could just keep her in her
cage when we can't actually be downstairs with her (though I hate to
keep her in there too much) Is that the thing to do?

Not in my opinion. The spray isn't going to make that much difference for
you (though it might later on when you've got this more under control). I
would tether her to your waist, or at the very least, have her on leash in
the house during the "danger times" (i.e. any time you would normally be
leaving her loose and unsupervised.....which should *never* be happening at
this stage).

The fact that she only does this when you're not around does NOT show that
she "knows" she's not supposed to do it, but rather its more likely that
you've been correcting her for too long before you really taught her how to
get this *right*. She's learned that you hate to see her pee indoors, *not*
that peeing indoors is in and of itself "wrong". Big difference, especially
to the youngster who is trying to figure out all of the rules without the
ability to speak or understand your language.

Preventing those accidents are still your responsibility at this point. If
you are correcting her (even if you're "catching her in the act"), please
stop this. Its probably just confusing the issue.

Good luck!
Tara

I'm Jerry Howe, The Sincerely Incredibly Freakin Insanely Simply
Amazing Grand Puppy, Child, Pussy, Birdy And Horsey Wizard {) ; ~ )

Yes - he's Jerry Howe, the insane child molester. Trsut him if you'd
like. Most of us choose not to.

TaraG wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi Janet,
Thanks for the response. The pup (Sybille is her name) has been
spayed. She did have a urinary infection at one point but that's been
cleared up. Her accidents are mostly pee but occasionally poop. The
latter pretty much stopped happening when we switched dog foods but
seem to be happening more often again since we switched to a different
brand (obviously we will just go back to the old one) We have hardwood
floors and that's where she usually goes. Would this spray you
suggested be helpful on the floors? There are times when she has the
run of the downstairs unsupervised and of course this is when the
accidents happen. We're up and down a lot of course but we're not
watching her the whole time. I suppose we could just keep her in her
cage when we can't actually be downstairs with her (though I hate to
keep her in there too much) Is that the thing to do?

Not in my opinion. The spray isn't going to make that much difference for
you (though it might later on when you've got this more under control). I
would tether her to your waist, or at the very least, have her on leash in
the house during the "danger times" (i.e. any time you would normally be
leaving her loose and unsupervised.....which should *never* be happening at
this stage).

The fact that she only does this when you're not around does NOT show that
she "knows" she's not supposed to do it, but rather its more likely that
you've been correcting her for too long before you really taught her how to
get this *right*. She's learned that you hate to see her pee indoors, *not*
that peeing indoors is in and of itself "wrong". Big difference, especially
to the youngster who is trying to figure out all of the rules without the
ability to speak or understand your language.

Preventing those accidents are still your responsibility at this point. If
you are correcting her (even if you're "catching her in the act"), please
stop this. Its probably just confusing the issue.

Good luck!
Tara
Thank you Tara, Janet and Suja for the helpufl suggestions. We'll
give them a shot!
Henry