Having major trouble potty training!

dotties · 06-02-2010, 02:57 PM

I've been training my Basset for six months and he's still peeing in the house!! I've successfully trained many dogs to pee on command but this guy isn't getting it. He's a year old (I got him at 6 months) and he's just as bad as he was in the beginning. I've used crate training before and it's always, always worked. I also use major praise when he goes outside. I can't figure this out! Why is this taking soooo long??

Basset Mamma x's 4 · 06-02-2010, 04:18 PM

We had the exact same problem with one of our dogs, Daisy. We have adopted several dogs throughout the years, in addition to fostering for a basset rescue - never had any trouble pottie training any of them with the traditional monitoring of food/water intake, rewards for eliminating outside, crate training as a last resort, etc. We adopted Daisy from a rescue at about 4 weeks old, and knew better than to expect she would catch on to pottie training any sooner that six months. Well, at a year old she was still soiling the floor (arghhh!!). It wasn't until we adopted her first sibling, Bo, (as she had previously been an only-child to that point so we could devote our time toward raising her), that she finally shaped up. The first time Daisy squatted in the living room floor, Bo looked at her, looked at us, looked back at what Daisy was doing on the living room floor, then put his tail between his legs and slinked over to the far corner of the room, as if to say, "I'm not getting blamed for that!" It was really weird, but after a few days Daisy quit completely quit going in the house. I wish I could ask her what the sudden change of heart was! I can't help but think it had something to do with her seeing Bo's reaction...

I know that doesn't help you out much, but I think what I learned from my experience with Daisy is that sometimes bassets just do things when theyr'e darn good and ready, and not a moment sooner!

dotties · 06-02-2010, 05:21 PM

Thanks for your reply. I've been totally successful training other breeds to pee on command (people are always amazed at this-neighbors have noticed that I'm not outside very long for the last potty trip of the night!) so I have confidence in my ability to train....it's just that precious little Watson is a bit of a doofus. I know that Basset owners like to say they're stubborn but at least with my Basset, it's not stubbornness as much as it is complete airheadedness. For example, my husband caught Watson peeing in the house and scolded him, putting him immediately in the backyard. In other scenarios, a loud NO! has been sufficient coupled with a trip out the back door. But noooo, not so here. Not 30 minutes later Watson peed again and this time RIGHT NEXT TO MY ADULT SON!!! He didn't learn a darn thing.......And since I already have two big dogs (over 100 pounds each) getting another Basset to "teach" Watson isn't an option.

Lightning&Stomps · 06-02-2010, 05:42 PM

Any idea what his living circumstances were before you got him? For instance, was he in a kennel or a home? Bassets can be difficult to housetrain, but this sounds like there is something else going on. That being said, Lightning was about a year old before he "got it." I never did trust Stomps with the run of the house, but he was a rescue with issues.

vb3 · 06-02-2010, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dotties

I know that Basset owners like to say they're stubborn but at least with my Basset, it's not stubbornness as much as it is complete airheadedness.

Is this your first basset? If so, welcome to bassettude!

Rosco picked up on crate training pretty quickly, but he had the ocassional accident up to about 11 months of age. Layla was an adoptee and she had several accidents within the first month we brought her home. None for her for a few weeks now, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again. I still crate them both (1 year 2 months and 1 year 9 months) when I leave the house just to be safe.

Of course there could also be health issues like urinary tract infections that might contribute. If my own experience is any help it's all about patience, patience, patience, but it sounds like you are pretty experienced with that when it comes to training dogs.

Good luck!

Mikey T · 06-02-2010, 07:25 PM

You will never be successfully until you can eliminate accidents. I have never met a basset that learns well through punishment so reprimands etc general do not work well with them. It is apparent than this dog has developed or came with a substrate preference for carpeting or whatever else you have for flooring in the house. You need to be exceedingly diligent and treat the dog as if it were a very young puppy. prevent accident by taking him out often and on schedule, a rigid schedule for food, water. play/exercise and sleep. Confinement when he is not strictly supervised. Because in additional to having to train the dog where to go you are having to first over come a preference for going where he should that he came with.

FWIW my last floor basset were trained to relieve themselves on command quite successfully. What are you suing to reward the dog for going when and were you want? How high is it on his desirability ranking. Contrary to many breeds basset to not can any real pleasure from please humans. It is all about them. Food for most bassets is an effective way to change attitudes.

House training Your Puppy is my favorite house training article.

There are a couple of things that can also dramatical effect housetrain a basset that maybe occurring or at least have an influence. Many bassets do not like to get wet, either from rain or dew and will actively avoid wet grass, ground or going outside in the rain. You need to counter condition and desensitize the dog to these conditions with extra special reward so the eventual are actual looking forward to them. and be extra diligent when they occur because it means an accident is more likely.

Keep in mind this water phobia certainly does not effect all of them and not even most but a significant portion that it noticeable in the breed as having a predilection for it.

Basset Mamma x's 4 · 06-02-2010, 07:28 PM

I'm glad to hear from other owners that it took about a year to pottie-train their basset puppies! Daisy has been our first and only puppy we've raised so far - the rest have been adopted from shelters or rescues, ranging in age from 1 or more years old - most of them were either already pottie-trained or caught on quickly. I was worried Daisy was, um, slow - my husband was worried we had a delinquent on our hands!

Mikey T · 06-02-2010, 07:52 PM

I have never seen a basset puppy house trained before six months a year or more is typical they a natorious slow to house train, if the come with some issues like having accidents for thefirst siz months its going to be a lot longer. House train is more than just not having accidents. One of the hardest thing can be to train a basset to let you know it need to go out rather than sneeking off and find his own secret spot It is general better to train a "go out Signal' rather than leave it to change like ringing a bell

House Training: Ring My Bell!

If you have a problem with the dog not doing anything when you take him out the folloing hint can help
Potty training tip

LoveMaxwell · 06-02-2010, 09:53 PM

I would never say that bassets are slow or airheaded. They are very intelligent dogs. You just have to realize that they are a unique breed and what worked well for your other breeds may not work with your basset. As another poster put it perfectly, they have bassetude. Please don't think of your puppy as slow or airheaded.

Scully · 06-02-2010, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vb3

Of course there could also be health issues like urinary tract infections that might contribute.

Exactly what I was thinking. It can't hurt to at least have a UTI ruled out, just in case. Our puppy (now 5 months old) had one and it was absolutely impossible (not to mention extremely frustrating) to even attempt to housetrain her because she just could not hold it in. Once the infection cleared up, the accidents have reduced drastically, and in fact she now gets that she should paw at the door to go out.

Scully, our girl at the bridge, was a nightmare to housetrain. It took a very long time for her to get it. It wasn't until she was at least 9 months old that she realized peeing in the house was not winning her any brownie points!

06-02-2010, 02:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
dotties Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 2	Having major trouble potty training! I've been training my Basset for six months and he's still peeing in the house!! I've successfully trained many dogs to pee on command but this guy isn't getting it. He's a year old (I got him at 6 months) and he's just as bad as he was in the beginning. I've used crate training before and it's always, always worked. I also use major praise when he goes outside. I can't figure this out! Why is this taking soooo long??

06-02-2010, 04:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
Basset Mamma x's 4 Junior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 21	We had the exact same problem with one of our dogs, Daisy. We have adopted several dogs throughout the years, in addition to fostering for a basset rescue - never had any trouble pottie training any of them with the traditional monitoring of food/water intake, rewards for eliminating outside, crate training as a last resort, etc. We adopted Daisy from a rescue at about 4 weeks old, and knew better than to expect she would catch on to pottie training any sooner that six months. Well, at a year old she was still soiling the floor (arghhh!!). It wasn't until we adopted her first sibling, Bo, (as she had previously been an only-child to that point so we could devote our time toward raising her), that she finally shaped up. The first time Daisy squatted in the living room floor, Bo looked at her, looked at us, looked back at what Daisy was doing on the living room floor, then put his tail between his legs and slinked over to the far corner of the room, as if to say, "I'm not getting blamed for that!" It was really weird, but after a few days Daisy quit completely quit going in the house. I wish I could ask her what the sudden change of heart was! I can't help but think it had something to do with her seeing Bo's reaction... I know that doesn't help you out much, but I think what I learned from my experience with Daisy is that sometimes bassets just do things when theyr'e darn good and ready, and not a moment sooner!

06-02-2010, 05:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
dotties Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 2	Thanks for your reply. I've been totally successful training other breeds to pee on command (people are always amazed at this-neighbors have noticed that I'm not outside very long for the last potty trip of the night!) so I have confidence in my ability to train....it's just that precious little Watson is a bit of a doofus. I know that Basset owners like to say they're stubborn but at least with my Basset, it's not stubbornness as much as it is complete airheadedness. For example, my husband caught Watson peeing in the house and scolded him, putting him immediately in the backyard. In other scenarios, a loud NO! has been sufficient coupled with a trip out the back door. But noooo, not so here. Not 30 minutes later Watson peed again and this time RIGHT NEXT TO MY ADULT SON!!! He didn't learn a darn thing.......And since I already have two big dogs (over 100 pounds each) getting another Basset to "teach" Watson isn't an option.

06-02-2010, 05:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
Lightning&Stomps Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Versailles, Ky. Posts: 1,203	Any idea what his living circumstances were before you got him? For instance, was he in a kennel or a home? Bassets can be difficult to housetrain, but this sounds like there is something else going on. That being said, Lightning was about a year old before he "got it." I never did trust Stomps with the run of the house, but he was a rescue with issues.

06-02-2010, 07:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
Mikey T Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: West Warrwick, RI Posts: 7,728	You will never be successfully until you can eliminate accidents. I have never met a basset that learns well through punishment so reprimands etc general do not work well with them. It is apparent than this dog has developed or came with a substrate preference for carpeting or whatever else you have for flooring in the house. You need to be exceedingly diligent and treat the dog as if it were a very young puppy. prevent accident by taking him out often and on schedule, a rigid schedule for food, water. play/exercise and sleep. Confinement when he is not strictly supervised. Because in additional to having to train the dog where to go you are having to first over come a preference for going where he should that he came with. FWIW my last floor basset were trained to relieve themselves on command quite successfully. What are you suing to reward the dog for going when and were you want? How high is it on his desirability ranking. Contrary to many breeds basset to not can any real pleasure from please humans. It is all about them. Food for most bassets is an effective way to change attitudes. House training Your Puppy is my favorite house training article. There are a couple of things that can also dramatical effect housetrain a basset that maybe occurring or at least have an influence. Many bassets do not like to get wet, either from rain or dew and will actively avoid wet grass, ground or going outside in the rain. You need to counter condition and desensitize the dog to these conditions with extra special reward so the eventual are actual looking forward to them. and be extra diligent when they occur because it means an accident is more likely. Keep in mind this water phobia certainly does not effect all of them and not even most but a significant portion that it noticeable in the breed as having a predilection for it.

06-02-2010, 07:28 PM	#7 (permalink)
Basset Mamma x's 4 Junior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 21	I'm glad to hear from other owners that it took about a year to pottie-train their basset puppies! Daisy has been our first and only puppy we've raised so far - the rest have been adopted from shelters or rescues, ranging in age from 1 or more years old - most of them were either already pottie-trained or caught on quickly. I was worried Daisy was, um, slow - my husband was worried we had a delinquent on our hands!

06-02-2010, 07:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mikey T Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: West Warrwick, RI Posts: 7,728	I have never seen a basset puppy house trained before six months a year or more is typical they a natorious slow to house train, if the come with some issues like having accidents for thefirst siz months its going to be a lot longer. House train is more than just not having accidents. One of the hardest thing can be to train a basset to let you know it need to go out rather than sneeking off and find his own secret spot It is general better to train a "go out Signal' rather than leave it to change like ringing a bell House Training: Ring My Bell! If you have a problem with the dog not doing anything when you take him out the folloing hint can help Potty training tip

06-02-2010, 09:53 PM	#9 (permalink)
LoveMaxwell Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 46	I would never say that bassets are slow or airheaded. They are very intelligent dogs. You just have to realize that they are a unique breed and what worked well for your other breeds may not work with your basset. As another poster put it perfectly, they have bassetude. Please don't think of your puppy as slow or airheaded.

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