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I need help, I can't get her housebroken

3K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  SA BASSETS 
#1 ·
I have a 1 1/2 year old basset I cannot get house broken, I have her crate trained she can be in her cage for 8 hours while I am at work and she can hold it but when she is out of her cage in the house she doesn't hold it at all, I take her out she does her business then 20 minutes later I catch her going in the house, I am at a loss of what to do, I got her spayed in hopes that would help, so far no results from that. She will be out side for 45 minutes and not do anything, she gets so easily distracted. She always pees outside but pooping is another thing. When she does poop outside I throw a mini party with praises and treats and belly rubs, but it isn't sinking in. I am at the end of my rope what do I do. I have limited her meals to only twice day, I have thought about changing her food to maybe a food that would create less poop but I don't know what that would be. I love her I will never get rid of her, but this is awful that we have comtemplated maybe finding her a new home, but that thought last only 5 minutes cause my eyes well up with tears and I just say I love her I can't do that. But it is so gross I have to get my carpets cleaned every month.

She has a spot that she always goes in the house. She goes underneath the dining room table. We have an area rug under there, I considered buying a new rug and cutting teh old rug into pieces and taking the pieces outside, but would that help? I even thought about getting a small table to take outside with us to give her some privacy so she will go, since we live in an apartment complex there is always something going on. I have tried all the traditional house breaking things I need help and I hope one of you can help me. I love her so much, and i want her to be happy and I want to live in a pee and poop free house !! Please help
 
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#2 ·
I would get rid of the carpet that she's peeing & pooping on so that she's not tempted!

A lot of people have really good luck with tethering the dog to them while they are in the house. When you feel her start to squat - get her outside fast! And, of course, praise her for being such a good girl. People say that it only takes a week or so to get them trained.

I find my dogs want to be good (unless they're mad at me!) but it's a question of learning the signals. A bell hung by the door works for a lot of people too!

Be consistent and she should get the hang of things.
 
#3 ·
I had a lot of trouble housebreaking Lightning, so I feel your pain. But eventually it stuck, and stuck good. I would get ride of the rug, take her to the vet to make sure she doesn't have a UTI or incontinence problem, and restrict her movement when she's out of the crate (especially from that pesky dining table). My boys are 9 and 12-ish, and I still let them have access to only part of the house. When Lightning was young, I taught him what "go tinkle" meant, to the point where when we were out on walks I could tell him to go tinkle and he would do it. And Elvismom's tip is supposed to be very good. But I'd definitely double check to make sure she doesn't have a health issue. A lot of bassets seem very difficult to housetrain, but eventually they get it.
 
#4 ·
Thank you both for the advice, I will try the tethering her to me thing, I have tried that before but I didn't have a good leash to do it I will try again, I am going to get rid of the rug, do you think cutting it into small pieces and taking that outside when we go out that will work? I have tried the bell thing and she had no idea what it was for I rang it everytime we went out the door and she never got it, it has been there for probably a year now, but she never used it. I do have a problem with her signals, since she really doesn't give me one. Thanks for the advice I will try that, if any one has any more I would love to hear it. Thank you so much
 
#6 ·
I have tried the bell thing and she had no idea what it was for I rang it everytime we went out the door and she never got it, it has been there for probably a year now, but she never used it. I do have a problem with her signals, since she really doesn't give me one.[/b]
As far as the bell, this is what I did: I put a tiny bit of cream cheese on my finger and held it next to the bell. When the dogs pushed their heads forward to lick the cream cheese, THEY rang the bell. At that point I said "out", opened the door and took them to their potty place. Do this EVERY TIME you take her out to relieve herself.

And yes, I think putting a small square of the soiled carpet in the yard, in the place you want your hound to potty, might help.

At this point,getting her on a strict schedule is something to consider.That, along with the tethering sounds like it's worth a try.Also, keep her away from the dining room- even without the carpet,old habits die hard.

You're smarter than she is- be persistant and she'll get it! :p
 
#7 ·
We had a terrible time with Baroo but with persistence and patience (a lot of patience) she finally caught on. We just rescued a golden and were told he would ring a bell at the door to go out. So we bought a christmas decoration with three big bells on a ring to hang on the door. The dogs both hear the bells when we open the door to go out and now without any prethought Baroo will ring the bells to go out. What luck we had. Good luck to you maybe this will help.
 
#8 ·
A little peanut butter on the bell works, too. The important thing is to always open the door when the bell is rung. My kids sabbotaged Eloise's training a bit because they wouldn't open the door when she rang. As a result, she started peeing in the house. Did I discipline the dog? No way. But my lazy a$$ kids got a major tongue-lashing!!!
 
#9 ·
We were having the same types of problems with our 12-month old. I mentioned it when we took him to the vet for a nail trim, and it turned out he had a urinary tract infection. I was surprised because he was able to hold it through the night just fine, but would have accidents out of the blue when awake. We thought he was just difficult to house break. I felt guilty for not checking it out sooner. :( We didn't have problems with pooping though, so maybe it's a different story with your dog. Good luck.
 
#10 ·
I think my pup will eat the bell :) Softie EATS EVERYTHING!!! - but they like the idea!!! Wellington even pulled our blind cord to signal us that he wanted to go out!!!

ooo and put a bit of an unwanted flavour under your diningroom table after removing the carpet...maybe a little bit of pepper or clean it very well with heavy detergent (while the pups aren't inside the house-dont want them ill-mine always wants to lick the cleaning equipment!) so that the smell is totally eliminated. they wont go back if they cant smell "themselves" there...

all the best!
 
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