Can’t house break my 8 month old BC. EMBARRASSING!

[normtrum]

Hello again to all!  I hope everyone is safe, and healthy. So many people on this board remember my last thread from about 1 month ago, when I almost lost my dog Cody Mack due to a Rimadyl overdose. The support and well -wishes I received from this forum were incredibly!  Quick update, Cody is just fine. His emergency vet, who not only owns BC’s, but also had extensive experience in Rimadyl overdosing, was “happily surprised” with Cody’s recovery. So thanks to everyone again!  So my new problem is very embarrassing. Cody is now 8 months old. He is my 7th dog. I have always thought of myself at being pretty darn good at house breaking my dogs. I won’t go into exactly what I do, but I’ve never had any issues. So I don’t know what else to try with Cody. I thought I had him trained about 3 months ago. No issues at all for 2+ weeks. But for the last 4 months he’s doing both #1 and 2 in my kitchen, behind my island. It’s ALWAYS in the same spot. And most of the time I don’t know he’s doing it. So the problem is that Cody KNOWS he’s supposed to go outside!  50% of the time he does what he’s trained to do, and will come up to me and whine, then go straight to the backyard slider. When he does go in the kitchen, he will come up to me and lie down at my feet, looking VERY guilty. When he does go inside, I’ll show him what he did, tell him “no!  Bad boy”, and then I put him in “the kennel of shame” LOL. One of the issues (I think) is that like so many other BC’s, he’s very smart. If it’s pouring rain (I live 20 miles south of Seattle), he makes no effort to go outside. I’ve tried pads, then moved the pads outside, but he could care less. He’s just very stubborn. I try and keep him on a schedule, but even that doesn’t work. I don’t EVER hit my dogs for bad behavior, nor do I do stupid things like rubbing his nose in it. I WILL use “super treats” when he does go outside, like a small cube of cheese. Like I said this is embarrassing. I have always been very successful at trading all my dogs. But this one is really giving me trouble. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Keep in mind however that I have tried everything I can think of. I had my “super dog” Truman....a Golden... trained in 3 days in 1998. Just the occasional accident. I THOUGHT I knew what I was doing, but I’m at a total loss here. It’s really pissing my wife off as well!  

[SS Cressa]

Can you block him from that spot? Also increase him potty breaks?

My terrier is 4 and he is the same way but blocking him and doing more potty breaks seems to decrease accidents inside.

[D'Elle]

I agree with the above:  First thing is block off his access to that specific place in the kitchen.

Taking him to the place and scolding him is not a good approach. As is obvious: it isn't working! 

Using the kennel as a punishment is also not recommended. All you will do is teach him that the kennel is a bad place, and that will not help you when your dog needs to be kenneled for some reason. The crate can be used as a time out, but should never be used as punishment.

The other thing I would do is I would go back to puppy training, which in my case means never leaving the puppy unattended for even one moment unless he is in a crate. I often tether the puppy to me. Puppy can tell me about needs like water or outside, whatever, but cannot go off somewhere I can't see and potty inappropriately. Therefore, I have the chance to see it happening, or better of course see the pup getting ready to do it (watching body language is a very important skill to have), and intervene with a mild correction and a trip outdoors to do it properly.

You don't want to say how you did the initial training, but it might help us to help you if you did, just because there might have been something that gave the dog mixed signals or something. 

I had a border collie who suddenly decided that a certain place in the basement was suitable to potty. When I made it impossible for her to get to the basement, the whole behavior stopped. In your case, I would try that first and if he pick another place, then start the training over from square one. And make sure that after you block that area off you clean it completely with enzymatic cleaners so it doesn't retain any smell. And keep it blocked off for several weeks until he has a chance to forget it's even there.

[urge to herd]

Everything that D'Elle said ^^^.  I'd add quiet praise when he eliminates outside. A simple 'good potty' might help. With the scolding you did he might benefit from calm reassurance that he's doing it in the correct place now. 

Ruth & Gibbs ETA ~ my parents lived on Whidby Island for years. Every time I visited I'd be grateful I didn't have to potty train a dog there. Anyway, if he's wanting to eliminate inside when it's raining outside, maybe set up a tarp or something else that he can get under. Good luck!

[mol]

Our 8 month old will sometimes still go inside in wet weather and we're not paying close enough attention, she used to be much worse though, and was a particularly difficult dog to house train despite being super clever! I spoke to a behaviouralist about this and it's very common for young dogs to not want to go outside if it is raining. We've got a very particular spot where we've trained ours to go outside which is partially sheltered from the rain. I think having this has helped, as has just being super patient and persistent with training. It's very frustrating though and I feel your pain because it seems like a relatively simple thing to learn. Our dog also kinda went backwards at around 6 months and we had to start from scratch again - maybe it's a weird puberty/teenage thing? Best of luck.