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Going Out

2K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  José 
#1 ·
A month ago we adopted a five year old basset from a local shelter so I am new to this discussion board and to basset ownership (though I have wanted one for years. They have such great ears!). Bailey is really mellow and has a wonderful personality (with a major stubborn streak as well!) We have been doing really well on the housebreaking (we think in her former home she didn't go out as much as she needed and so went in the house) but she will ask to go out by standing at the top of the stairs upstairs or at the back door but then when we try to take her out we have to force her outside. We know she needs to go because she asked but we sometimes have to lure her down the stairs or out the door. Has anyone else had this experience with their bassets? I don't know if this is part of her stubborness or if it is something that will get better with time.
 
#2 ·
Glad that you are now owned by a Basset Person. Basically, just love her,feed her, do not raise your voice to her and take time with her-------it takes as long as it takes for the stuff you mentioned to straighten out.
She will have you, if not already, wrapped around her finger. This is a great site and wait until you see the pictures of various members!
Good luck
don
 
#3 ·
Welcome to the land of bassets!!!

You might want to put the leash on in the house and take her outside to "make potty" until she gets used to it. Offer lots of hugs and praise after. Pretty soon, you can take the leash off and it'll be second nature.

Janice and little Ruby
 
#5 ·
Moe's signs that he needed to go out used to be very subtle. He'd sit in front of the door quietly and patiently wating for someone to open the door. If no one did I'd find a puddle where he was waiting. We learned to keep an eye on him so we wouldn't miss his sign. :)

Try luring her out with some sort of treat... a small thing like kibble peices or broken up biscuits or chopped dog treats. We used Pupperoni's cut into one inch peices that I kept in a jar near the door. Our problem wasn't getting Moe to go out, but rather it was getting him to pee once he WAS out. Our routine was this: Every half hour or so I would leash Moe, grab a treat from the jar, and go out to our gravel driveway. There I would stand holding the treat in my fist, telling Moe to "Go pee" over and over again. If he peed he got the treat. If not, we went back inside and the treat went back in the jar and we'd try again in another half hour. Eventually Moe learned to pee on command where we wanted him to. He even learned to "fake pee" (squat, squeeze out a couple drops, and then run happily to me for his treat :lol:). Eventually we no longer needed the treats but we continued for a time because it made Moe happy and it made me laugh. I think a treat lure could possibly work for your situation.
 
#6 ·
It's very likely fear of stairs or even that he is unable. Is your
stairs very steep? The stairs in our house is and with a big dog
like Mr. Runcible there was no other choice than to install a dog
ramp. Yes, there is dog ramp taking up the half closest to the
wall. Closest to the wall of course, as that is the largest part the
staircase. People always react on that one when they visit for
the first time.

If the stairs are so steep that it will physically cause any problems,
you should start to train him on this. Not only when he has to go
out, but all the time. And make it fun to go out. Dogs can do a lot
of things if they think something fun will happen or something good
will be served them.
 
#7 ·
I didn't even think sbout the stairs being steep but that reminds me that Moe and Tally flat out refuse to use our cellar stairs, either to go up or down. They are no more steep than the stairs that go to the second floor (which Moe can fly up and down and Tally will go up only - she needs to be carried down because her short legs sometimes cause her to tumble :eek: ). But our cellar stairs are open stairs and for some reason that scares them. Are your stairs open? Perhaps that bothers her as well?
 
#8 ·
Terry, Francis was exactly the same way when he needed to go out. He'd stand quietly in front of the door and then just let go. It was brutal.
I finally read about the "bell at the door trick" here at the forum and it's been the trick for us.
Good luck, CDombrowski, and welcome to the forum!!!
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the replies! We have been having a better time of it actually, which is probably partly due to her settling in a bit more. We also have been using the bell by the door which she is beginning to use (she also I swear uses to fake squat as well to get a treat sometimes!). Bailey actually loves going up and down our stairs during the day, but we have found that in the mornings or when she's really sleepy they pose a challange. We make sure we have all the lights on around them, which seems to help. The vet has told us that she will probably have arthritis when she gets older so we will probably have to look into a doggy ramp at some point in time. As of now we have accident free in the house for over a week and seem to be on a good schedule. We are enjoying basset ownership so far! Attached is a picture of her!
 

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#10 ·
While in the process of moving when José was 4-6 months old, I stayed at my parents'. Slept upstairs - the steps in their nice new house were nice and wide and carpeted. In the morning I had to carry him down all 16 steps... I would put him on my lap and bump down one step at a time. Later in the day though he tore up or down the stairs like it was nothing. Just wasn't a "morning dog" I guess. Seems a lot of bassets are not - including yours! Good luck :p
Lisa
 
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