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need advice: dog's housetraining is unreliable away from home
HELP! I have a 2-year-old Shih Tzu who is very well housetrained at our
home, but goes without discretion inside other people's homes. This happened when we visited my boyfriend's parents' house a few weeks ago, and again when she stayed with friends over the weekend while we were out of town. In a few weeks, she will be staying with a cousin for three weeks while we are on vacation, and we want to know how we can prevent this problem from occurring again. At home, she normally uses a litter box (we live in a high-rise apartment without much greenery nearby), and aside from occasional minor mistakes (e.g., peeing right outside the box, or sticking the wrong end of her body into the box), she is fully housetrained. Although she uses the box most often, she also goes outside during her walks. However, like I've mentioned, she seems to forget all her housetraining whenever she visits other homes. She's a very outgoing and friendly dog, is familiar with the people whose houses she visits, and has been to their houses before. When she's just staying with them while we're away, she doesn't display any signs of separation anxiety. Although she gets walked several times a day (the friend who was watching her over the weekend is a veterinarian, so she was in the best of hands), she still goes inside their houses. It seems like she just doesn't quite realize that she isn't supposed to eliminate freely in other people's homes. We're wondering if this is a result of the fact that she's litterbox trained and we didn't bring her litter box with us when we took her to new environments. As a puppy, she was also somewhat difficult to housetrain, and it took over a year of regular mistakes before she became reliable at home. Has anyone who has litter box trained his/her dog also had the same experience? Does anyone know what strategies we can use or suggest to the person who will be watching her while we're gone to make sure she doesn't forget her housetraining while she's away from home? This time, she will be staying at my cousin's house with her crate and litter box to help prevent accidents, but any specific advice or experience about how we can help her remember her housetraining manners away from home is much appreciated! |
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need advice: dog's housetraining is unreliable away from home
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#4
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need advice: dog's housetraining is unreliable away from home
Janet B said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior: How hard is it to bring her litterbox if that's what you've trained her to? If it's not longterm, I'd suggest management rather than carting something about that the dog may not even associate with the new space. I've looked after a number of pee-pad trained dogs and they have no problem with peeing outside when I figure that it's time for them to pee. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
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need advice: dog's housetraining is unreliable away from home
Janet B wrote: On 10 Dec 2006 20:28:05 -0800, , clicked their heels and said: HELP! I have a 2-year-old Shih Tzu who is very well housetrained at our home, but goes without discretion inside other people's homes. At home, she normally uses a litter box We're wondering if this is a result of the fact that she's litterbox trained and we didn't bring her litter box with us when we took her to new environments. How hard is it to bring her litterbox if that's what you've trained her to? I used to travel with a cat and always brough her litterbox - what's the difference? I think you're confusing your dog and not being an attentive houseguest. I did actually mention that the litterbox will be going with her when she stays with my relative. We didn't bring it on earlier occasions because we were there with her and walking her every few hours (about 3-4 times a day), or the friend she was staying with over the weekend (who is also our veterinarian) walked her at least 3x a day and didn't think she would need the litterbox for a two-day stay. |
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need advice: dog's housetraining is unreliable away from home
How hard is it to bring her litterbox if that's what you've trained
her to? I used to travel with a cat and always brough her litterbox - what's the difference? I think you're confusing your dog and not being an attentive houseguest. I did actually mention that the litterbox will be going with her when she stays with my cousin. We didn't bring it on earlier occasions because we were either there with her and walking her every few hours (about 3-4 times a day), or the friend she was staying with over a weekend (who is also our veterinarian) walked her 3x a day and didn't think she would need the litterbox for a two-day stay. As another poster pointed out, I think she just doesn't realize that it is never okay to go inside EXCEPT in a litter box, so in new environments, she "lets it all out," so to speak. I was asking if anyone had specific advice beyond "bring your litterbox" (which I've already admitted I realized and wasn't expected to be sniped on about) or similar experience and how they dealt with it. Although we were mistaken in not bringing the litter box the first two times, we were horrified when she made mistakes in other people's homes, and trust me, insisted on taking care of all stains (and sending along big batches of apology cookies!). |
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need advice: dog's housetraining is unreliable away from home
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#8
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need advice: dog's housetraining is unreliable away from home
On 11 Dec 2006 21:51:30 -0800, , clicked their heels
and said: (and sending along big batches of apology cookies!). Apology cookies are always a good thing! Staying in other peoples' home can be challenging for a pet for a lot of reasons. The best advice I have is keep the dog with you 24/7. For the most part, that's what I've done (except in the case of my dogs being frequent visitors to a sister's house). I want to know what my dog(s) is doing, what someone is doing WITH them (like my adult cousin, who even with me right there, had no idea how to physically handle my 8 week old puppy and seemed to think it was the same as a cat). I am a little (hah!) protective of my crew, and don't leave them with anyone in a strange house. It's just not foolproof enough for me. I'd rather take them along in the car with me than risk someone doing something stupid. -- Janet Boss www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com |
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need advice: dog's housetraining is unreliable away from home
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#10
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need advice: dog's housetraining is unreliable away from home
As you recognize, consistency is so important with housetraining. What
about some of that scented spray for that good ol' reminder smell? In terms of portability, I like the Doggie Divot (http://www.doggiedivot.com) because it is so lightweight and easy to clean. They recommend sprinkling some blades of grass on the artificial turf to help remind the dog of what to do--and where. Having a consistent and familiar place for dogs to relieve themselves is helpful for everyone! ;-) |
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