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Help ..... I am so new to this forum thing and just need to connect with someone in the BC world right now ....brief history .... we rehomed a 1 yr. old female BC named Zoee in February ... she came from a very weird and un healthy situation ... she is a purebred BC and the folks who had her crated her for 8 hours a day, did not spay her, and she (Zoee) was involved in a very horrible accident on Halloween in 2012... she was taken to a parade and where she was spooked and she jumped out of the 2nd story of a parking garage which fractured both front legs. The previous owners did not follow up on her emergency vet care and her casts were never changed out as her legs atrophied and she never got any PT. We took her after they responded to an ad we had on craigslist as we were looking to rehome/adopt a dog to join our Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler male (4 years old, neutered male). Long story short, we got Zoee and took her rather quickly as her situation SUCKED. We have since worked with a dog trainer and our wonderful vet to right the wrongs ... she is now spayed and we have worked on the PT end of her front legs diligently. She has gone form being crated 8 hours a day to only being crated at night (if she chooses) ... we leave the door open for her. She and Racer (our other dog) adore each other although their are some dominance issues still playing out. Our biggest problem right now is that Zoee was housebroken in her previous home and she was doing great here, even using the dog door, for the first few weeks. then she became timid about the dog door .... she will go to the bathroom on command which is fine but she is having accidents as well. Even if we have played all morning (I am a teacher off in summers) from 7 - 12 and we go off for a 4 hour time span, she will have pooped in the house. It isn't all the time and that is the biggest issue. We played al day and night and she just came up and peed on our new rug in front of the family and our other dog .... Zoee is an incredible dog and we love her and have NO intentions of getting grid of her but the potty in the house thing is driving us insane! Again, n o real rhyme or reason to it ..... she went from March - June all day without any accidents while I was teaching. We have her outside for hours before bedtime .... we are OCD about making certain both dogs are out and go to the bathroom before we leave anywhere and always let them out first thing when we get back. Again, it can be fine for a week and then we have a pee accident or poop? Can anyone please help us out ..... tonight was really bad just because it was so un expected. My husband grabbed her immediately and went to get her outside but she jumped out of his arms and got into her crate. I cleaned the rug and then went and got her and took her outside and we walked and talked a bit and then I had her pee again and praised her like crazy. THANKS!!! Amy

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I don't believe she was actually potty trained in her old home so much as she didn't have the opportunity to go in the house because she was always in the crate. Go back to the very beginning of potty training, as if she was a small puppy.

 

And thank you for taking this poor baby and giving her a better life.

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I don't believe she was actually potty trained in her old home so much as she didn't have the opportunity to go in the house because she was always in the crate. Go back to the very beginning of potty training, as if she was a small puppy.

 

And thank you for taking this poor baby and giving her a better life.

We are going to try crating her when we leave the house and see how that goes for a bit. I don't know what to believe from previous owners .. here is the insane part .... Zoee's parents are straight from New Zealand (father) and Ireland (mother), accidental (?) litter while the owners were residing here in VT and they couldn't bring puppies back so they GAVE them away! The couple that took Zoee have admitted that they had no idea what they were getting into with her. We feel like we have made alot of progress in a short amount of time with her, getting her to come when called, not chase horses, lie down, walk on her leash ......... the potty thing is so weird ...... we think she may have gotten spooked by the dog door as it is very much "up to her" if she is going to use it or not. If she won't come outside, all I have to do is loosely drape a leash on her neck and she will just walk outside! If she won;t com e inside, I show her a bath towel and tell her it's "towely time" and she comes to me and u rub her face with the towel and she walks right in the house ..... not certain what went on those first 12 months of her life, but it was weird! Her front legs have huge calcium rings at the wrist joints from the fractures and sometimes she has to stop playing ..... occassionally she will limp or hold one of them in what we have started to call "floppy paw" stance. We love her so much and want this to be positive so we are willing to try anything!

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Nothing to add to the potty issue others than maybe a real strict timeschedule if possible?

After all, a healthy body will eliminate a certain time a day. With some ability down the road to "hold". Flipside is being tied down till it is understood that it is to be held until out of the living space.

 

But either way, thank you for being willing to give her a soft and safe place to lay her head. Would love to see some pictures of her.

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What a sad, sad story, Amy. You and your hubby are awesome for giving this gal a chance at the life she truly deserves.

 

I agree w/ Gideon's girl that the plan should include restarting housetraining as if she were a wee pup. That means frequent trips outside -- if she goes on command, great; use that! -- so that she has plenty of opportunities to empty and doesn't need to go in the house. But these frequent trips outside shouldn't be on her own. Go with her, each and every time. And praise her every time she goes.

 

Otherwise, don't give her the opportunity to have any accidents. As with a puppy, if you can't be actively watching her, either crate her or tether her to you so you won't miss the warning signs that she's about to go.

 

If you do miss it and she does have an accident, don't punish her or in any other way show your displeasure. Just ignore her and clean it up.

 

There are 2 things in your expanation that stand out to me. One is her refusal to use the dog door now. Something must've happened to spook her about it. It doesn't matter what it was. It's happened and that's the fact of the matter now. For the time being, I wouldn't worry about it and wouldn't try to force the issue. She has enough on her plate to deal with at the moment, and doesn't need the pressure of trying to deal with that fear. You may not feel like you're putting any pressure on her about this, but she may be feeling it nonetheless. She probably has a very limited capacity to deal with things right now and may have a very low stress tolerance. It's not about you; it's about her and what she can handle. So, regardless of what the other dog does with the dog door, for her, for now, pretend you live in a house that doesn't have a dog door and behave accordingly. If she ever does use it on her own, great! Gentle praise (don't get her too worked up) and go on about whatever you were doing. But still proceed with housetraining as if the dog door didn't exist. You can always revist this when she gains more confidence and it's not associated with housetraining.

 

The other thing I noticed was her reaction to your husband's "grabbing" to whisk her out when she had the accident. It may not have been harsh (and I'm sure it wasn't intended harshly) but for her it was too much to handle so she went into flight mode. Both of you need to consider your actions and reactions not from the standpoint of your own intent, but from Zoee's reactions. Being grabbed like that was terrfying for her. Learn from it. If you can't prevent a future accident, then if another one happens, instead of grabbing her to take her out, try an "Uh, oh!" followed by calling her to you briskly and happily to take her out for her potty command and praise.

 

Have you considered consulting a vet behaviorist? Zoee's had such an unfortunate past and, while she's making headway, it seems like there may be other things happening that you're not aware of that are setting her back. She might be a good candidate for medication for a while to help her through this. And with or without medication, a behaviorist should be able to offer some valuable suggestions as to how best to help her work through her fears.

 

I volunteer w/ a BC rescue in New England, and among us we have knowledge of good vet behaviorists and should be able to help you find one in your area. Please feel free to PM me if you'd like me to ask for referrals. roxanne at gentlelake dot com.

 

Good luck!

 

roxanne

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Nothing to add to the potty issue others than maybe a real strict timeschedule if possible?

After all, a healthy body will eliminate a certain time a day. With some ability down the road to "hold". Flipside is being tied down till it is understood that it is to be held until out of the living space.

 

But either way, thank you for being willing to give her a soft and safe place to lay her head. Would love to see some pictures of her.

I will figure out how to post some pics ... she is beautiful! This has been so helpful and just feel like a lifeline has been tossed our way! our other dog, Racer (1/2 blue heeler 1/2 aussie) is so understanding with her as well. He is struggling a bit with his dominance and seems to be trying to give Zoee the lead more and more ... he pushes the tennis ball to her when he is itired and tries to get her to bring it to me :) He even goes over to her after a potty accident and just sits next to her .... we think he knows more of her story than we ever will as they have a "language" all their own. Keep you all posted!

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What a sad, sad story, Amy. You and your hubby are awesome for giving this gal a chance at the life she truly deserves.

 

I agree w/ Gideon's girl that the plan should include restarting housetraining as if she were a wee pup. That means frequent trips outside -- if she goes on command, great; use that! -- so that she has plenty of opportunities to empty and doesn't need to go in the house. But these frequent trips outside shouldn't be on her own. Go with her, each and every time. And praise her every time she goes.

 

Otherwise, don't give her the opportunity to have any accidents. As with a puppy, if you can't be actively watching her, either crate her or tether her to you so you won't miss the warning signs that she's about to go.

 

If you do miss it and she does have an accident, don't punish her or in any other way show your displeasure. Just ignore her and clean it up.

 

There are 2 things in your expanation that stand out to me. One is her refusal to use the dog door now. Something must've happened to spook her about it. It doesn't matter what it was. It's happened and that's the fact of the matter now. For the time being, I wouldn't worry about it and wouldn't try to force the issue. She has enough on her plate to deal with at the moment, and doesn't need the pressure of trying to deal with that fear. You may not feel like you're putting any pressure on her about this, but she may be feeling it nonetheless. She probably has a very limited capacity to deal with things right now and may have a very low stress tolerance. It's not about you; it's about her and what she can handle. So, regardless of what the other dog does with the dog door, for her, for now, pretend you live in a house that doesn't have a dog door and behave accordingly. If she ever does use it on her own, great! Gentle praise (don't get her too worked up) and go on about whatever you were doing. But still proceed with housetraining as if the dog door didn't exist. You can always revist this when she gains more confidence and it's not associated with housetraining.

 

The other thing I noticed was her reaction to your husband's "grabbing" to whisk her out when she had the accident. It may not have been harsh (and I'm sure it wasn't intended harshly) but for her it was too much to handle so she went into flight mode. Both of you need to consider your actions and reactions not from the standpoint of your own intent, but from Zoee's reactions. Being grabbed like that was terrfying for her. Learn from it. If you can't prevent a future accident, then if another one happens, instead of grabbing her to take her out, try an "Uh, oh!" followed by calling her to you briskly and happily to take her out for her potty command and praise.

 

Have you considered consulting a vet behaviorist? Zoee's had such an unfortunate past and, while she's making headway, it seems like there may be other things happening that you're not aware of that are setting her back. She might be a good candidate for medication for a while to help her through this. And with or without medication, a behaviorist should be able to offer some valuable suggestions as to how best to help her work through her fears.

 

I volunteer w/ a BC rescue in New England, and among us we have knowledge of good vet behaviorists and should be able to help you find one in your area. Please feel free to PM me if you'd like me to ask for referrals. roxanne at gentlelake dot com.

 

Good luck!

 

roxanne

Taking all of this in and learning as we go .... so much of what you have share makes complete sense. We certainly don't feel so alone !!!!!! Zoee has made such great strudes since her spay and our working with her "floppy paws" to make them stronger. I think she just feels loved ....... what I didn't add in my long winded intro was that the couple Zoee lived with were both divorced and had their kids coming in and out of the house with crazy schedules so Zoee never knew if the kids would be there or not .... sometimes all 3 kids were there, sometimes no kids ... she has fallen in love with our son (11 yrs, old) and is happiest when she is lying on his bedroom floor just staring at him like "please don;t leave me" ,,,,, she is magical and we are the better for bringing her into our lives, that's for sure! Keep you posted and will for sure be asking more questions!

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I used a leash when housetraining. She hung with me inside the house everywhere I went - clipped to my belt or chair. I took her outside every 30 minutes for a short walk whether she needed to go or not. This is while she was just spayed and I was a brand new dog owner, so movement and patience was a bit sucky at first. Only took a few days for the dog to figure out the schedule. Over the following week I increased the 30 minute outside visit to an hour, then 2 hours, then 3 hours until I was totally sure no accidents were going to happen.

 

Also, get yourself some nature's miracle or competing pee enzyme cleaner so they can't set up a spot where they always go.

 

-Rich

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