[rootbeerlove]

Anyone have some advice for me? Harriet is peeing in the house while we're with her. When we're away, she holds it for 4 hours regularly. When we're home, she goes out just about every hour, and pees each time. For the last few nights, she has also been peeing on the living room floor, 3 feet from us. The floor is hardwood with a throw rug that has been treated with nature's miracle. I don't think she is smelling pee there and going because of that, she's chosen different spots. When she's alone at home, she's restricted to the kitchen with baby gates and there's been no mess in there for 2 weeks. When we see her doing it, we say "outside" and take her out right away. It seems to me like she holds it most of the day, but for some reason doesn't think she needs to when she's out in the house (she's always on leash within 6 feet of us, so we see it when she does it).

Help?

 

[bubbad]

Possibly restricting her water in take would be helpful.You could try just taking her out every 10 or 15 min.I know that is alot of trouble but it could work. Has she been checked for a urinary tract infection just to be sure that is not what is causing it.

 

[Josie's Dad]

Just when I think we are reaching a good area with Josie, she craps everywhere and finger paints with it.

 

[Mikey T]

. It seems to me like she holds it most of the day, but for some reason doesn't think she needs to when she's out in the house

This is actual not that uncommon. What is shows is you have done a better job of teaching her what is aspected when you are not at home than when you are. Keep in mind dogs are poor generalizers and great discriminators when it comes to learning. That is they do not take what is learned in on situation, when your not home and apply it to another when you are home. Rather they quickly decern the differance in the two situations and act different based on that. One also has to keep in mind some other factor that come into play

!. activity level, When yoju are gone it is likely she simply sleeps, when sleeping dogs can go for more prolonged periods of time because less urine is produce, when your home more active more urine. So simply assuming since the dog can go 3 hours when your away it can do the same when your home is a recipe for disaster.
Activity makes urine. The more active the dog the more frequently it needs to go,.

2. Have you taught the dog a signal to use to notify you when it needs to go? most expect the dog simply to come preprogramed with a signal the will understand. It general does not happen, a lack of clear signaling is IMHO the spot where most housetraining breaks down. See House Training

3. It is possible the dog has developed a substrate preference for hardwood, When it does not have access to hardwood like being confined to the kitchen no access however when that is not the case accidents occur. See Housetraining Your Puppy For more more details on substrate preferrences and how puppies acquire them and what you can do to change them. (also included more detail on urine production as well)

for more on generalization and discrimination see

Generalization versus Discrimination

Dogs ARE poor generalizers, but excellent discriminators. Generalization is the ability to take something learned in one way and apply it elsewhere, when the conditions are different. Discrimination is the matter of picking up tiny details about a situation and recognizing them as factors in other situation. From a survival standpoint, it isn't good for a dog to generalize too readily... while it is essential for a dog to discriminate very readily.

Generalization and Discrimination: Fraternal Twins

 

[rootbeerlove]

Signal

So the general consensus is wait? We've got the bells on the door, but when she's on leash with us, she can't reach the bells. She does ring it when we go out, but it's our decision when we go. Any suggestions about signals?

I was also wondering if possibly she's started to think of the kitchen as her den, and the rest of the house as "outside"?

Josie's Dad, I feel lucky now, it's only pee.

 

[SophieB]

So the general consensus is wait? We've got the bells on the door, but when she's on leash with us, she can't reach the bells. She does ring it when we go out, but it's our decision when we go. Any suggestions about signals?

Maybe you should get her a bell like Frank has!!!

 

[Mikey T]

but when she's on leash with us, she can't reach the bells

Which explains why she pees thre feet from you in the living room because that is as far as the teather allows. Thethering the dog too you is not some magical cure to prevent accident. You still have to take the normal precautions to prevent accidents however there are some sever draw back to this method

1, theathing can create barrier fustration in a dog which could lead to higher levels of aggression.

2. it prevent the dog learning one of the more important aspects of house training signaling.


IMHO strict supervision is the bettter option with confinement when strict supervision is not. If you are not strictly supervising the dog accident can still happen when they are teathered too you which defeats the purpose of the teather
There are some that it works for I'm not one of them.

 

[rootbeerlove]

No, she's got plenty of room to go pee elsewhere. The tether was our trainer's idea and it's working well for us. The tether isn't to prevent accidents, it's to keep her with us. We're working on eating the cat's food (that we can't put up any higher) and eating out of litter boxes. When she's on the leash we can prevent the behavior as well as work on correcting it.

Add to that the fact that we're looking right at her when she does it and I really think the problem is the signal, if she's giving one, we're missing it.

I like the step on the buton idea, and Harriet was barking at the noise when I played the video. Anyone else out there who uses bells, is there any reason that I can't move it off of the door?

 

[Mom2Flash]

It's entirely possible you are missing a signal. Flash just stares at me when he needs to go outside. It took a few frustrating weeks before I finally figured it out. I think he knew to go outside long before I knew he was telling me he had to go out.

Like Mikey T said regarding signaling, I assumed Flash would be preprogrammed to tell me when he needed to go outside. Our lab would always go sit by the door when he needed to go out and I assumed Flash would do the same.

I remember thinking what a funny dog he was staring at me with this weird look. I'd pet him, laugh at him, tell him how cute he was and shower him with affection and then he'd eventually give up and go pee on the floor. I used to tell my husband that Flash would stare at me like that because he thought I was so beautiful! Once I made the connection, that he only stared at me like that a few minutes before he would pee, it was smooth sailing from there.

Try being very observant of Harriet. Does she do anything before she pees? Look at you, start pacing, sniff the floor, whine, anything at all?

 

[Mikey T]

is there any reason that I can't move it off of the door?

The bell can be anywhere however inorder to associate a behavior with a reward the must be given within a second or two of the behavior at least to start. With this in mind I think you will find success quicker by having the bell close to the door to start. and if you want it farther away move it incrementally away from the door over time.

We're working on eating the cat's food (that we can't put up any higher) and eating out of litter boxes.

without a physical barrier you are "spitting into the wind"
if you thing you are going to reliably stop a basset from eating these. If you can not elavate ,then look into a physical barrier like a gate the cat can jump but the basset can't If the problem is the cat's leaping ability then use the size differential as a barrier i.e. cat door to allow the cat into a room with the food and litter box but prevent the dog.

The typical scent hound is different than other breed in that it is never sated. Well that ain't exactly true the are sated until there tummy is so large their feet no longer touch the ground. It is my belief that the lack of a normal feeling of being full/not hungry has its basis in selective breeding. One of the more desired traits in scent hounds is determinedness. What is going to me the more determined hunter the dog that is always hungry or the one that feels full? This is one area you can not extrapulate what works with other breeds will work with bassets.

We're working on eating the cat's food (that we can't put up any higher) and eating out of litter boxes.

No doubt it will prevent her while on the teather from reaching these item but unless accompanied by additional training it will not translate to not eating these items. Give the high rate of self reward that occurs when these items are eaten it is not likely you will ever overcome this self rewarding behavior in bassets even with the use of punishment. It is going to be virtually impossible to consitently reward the dog with a higher value item for not eating these items as well.

On Punishment

animals do come equipped with a certain level of built-in resistance to the influence of aversive stimuli. A pup that is punished for nipping at a momma's nipple too hard does not abandon the nipple. The pup might be a bit tentative while nursing for a bit, but gets over it, and there is usually less nipping at the teat that feeds it. I watched a coyote pup fall into a cold spring and come out whining and shivering. However, the pup was soon back trying to catch the minnows that attracted it there in the first place.

 

[Kirska]

Is she an older dog that might have bladder control issues? If so, I cannot recommend this supplement enough to help their bladder control:

NaturVet Senior Bladder Support Time Release Tablets for Dogs at PETCO

It has worked absolute wonders with our dog.

 

[rootbeerlove]

She's almost 5 months. I'm a go outside nut right now, because I'm making everything her "signal" what do you guys' dogs to to say "I need to go out"