# HELP!



## munchkin1616 (Dec 8, 2005)

I rescued Nikko a year ago and he's now 8 y/o. In his 1st 7 yrs, he had 3 homes, none of which he was trained in. (They believed that it's easier to clean up puddles and piles than remember to walk him.) He was also abused.

After getting him, I tried to crate-train but it seems he was locked in a crate for days on end by someone as he immediately freaks when put in one no matter how long it's for or how i get him in there. He howls, shakes, and wets himself immediately.

Then I tried leashing him to me and keeping him in the same room so I could keep an eye on him to get him out when he has to go along with walking him hourly. He'll wait until we get inside, then crap on the floor!

Next I tried to see if he would take better to being litter trained, but he wouldn't get in the box to go, he'd pee on the outside of the box, if we could even get him near it.

Of course any yelling I do makes him cower in fear, so that doesn't help.

He knows it's wrong when he does it as he waits until no one is looking to go in the house and he tends to pee on anything plastic for some reason (grocery bags, balloons, etc).

I've also had the vet check him and test him and all is medically sound.

So now what? I'm at my wits end (and afraid the roomie might move out as she's so sick of it too). I've cleaned the carpets, used the odor/hormone removers, he knows it's wrong to do, he gets walked every time he hints that he needs to go out, he does it when I'm in the room... what am I missing here?

He's an absolutely wonderful dog other than this, but with at least 2 times to clean up after him daily, I'm going nuts!


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

I'm glad you're no longer yelling at him. Yelling would do nothing but make him afraid of you and he would likely pee and poop where you couldn't see him to avoid being yelled at. He must have been punished in his earlier homes for not going where he should so now he does it surreptitiously. 

I think it is great that you rescued him and I sure hope it works out. JMM is very knowledgable about training. Here is some info she has posted here on SM in the past. I sure hope something in this info will be of help to you. Even though he isn't a puppy, I would think you should start potty training all over again as if he were a puppy.

FROM JMM: SM Thread - Examples or Tips on How To Potty Train 

I find the easiest thing is an x-pen collapsed down to about 2x4 ft. I cover the entire bottom with papers (wee wee pads). I put the pup in at potty time just like I would take them outdoors. As soon as they go, I open the pen and let them out and give them a treat. I put the pup in after eating, playing, waking up, etc. until I get a good sense of their schedule. I keep my pen in the kitchen and all playing is done in the kitchen next to the open pen. Once they start going in on their own while we're playing, I start offering a little more freedom. It takes time and confinement. When left alone I either extend the pen so papers are on one end and food/bed on the other or crate the puppy. 

Basically, you should use the same guidelines as you would for training a puppy to go outdoors. In my experience, I have found getting a consistent and reliably paper trained dog takes more time and work than training them to go outdoors.

FROM JMM: SM Thread - 4 Months Today

He is not having accidents, he has no idea that he has to go outdoors. 

1. Every accident is really your fault for not getting him outside in time. 

2. Playing puppies may need to go every 10-15 minutes. Sleeping puppies can usually go for 1 hour more than their age in months during the day, but for toy breeds with little bladders it can be a bit less. 

3. If your dog has the opportunity to have an accident, you gave it too much freedom. Crate time when you can't watching and leashing your puppy to you are the ideal ways to ensure supervision. Crate time is especially important so that dogs learn how to hold it for brief periods of time. 

4. Motivate your dog to go in the right place. Give good treats and praise when he goes outside every time. Go out with him on a leash each time and praise him. Ignore accidents in the house. Do not punish him. 

5. Set a schedule, especially for feeding and play time. This will help him to need to potty on a schedule. Wake up, outside, eat, outside, play, outside, nap, outside. Eating on a schedule will tend to have him defecating on a schedule which can help aid in housetraining. 

FROM JMM: SM Thread - Potty Training Frustrations

1. Not all dogs have the obvious signs. This pup I have now is the same way...she'll just walk along and go if you don't take her out. So, when she's playing, she can go 20-30 minutes. I set a timer and take her out every 25 minutes and tada, no accidents (and we have an elevator ride to get outside!). I carry her from her crate to outside when she gets released from the crate. Depending on his age, it may be every 15 minutes for him now. 

2. Let's make is impossible for him not to succeed. Take a small x-pen (2x4ft) or bathroom w/baby gate and cover the whole bottom with pads. Put him in there at potty time and wait. If he doesn't go within a few minutes, CRATE him for 10 and try again. Be stubborn! Repeat, repeat, repeat. Don't forget a really great treat when he goes in the right spot and, let him out as soon as he goes. Using this method most pups figure out fast that they get out if they go and it speeds things up. I used this method with my poop smearer. 

3. Set a schedule for crate time, play time, etc. This will help him learn to go at certain times and hold it. 

The rule in my house is don't give the pup a chance for an accident. It means we go potty a whole lot so she succeeds a whole lot. It also means if I'm not standing their watching and she's peed within the last 25 minutes, she has to be in her crate. It takes a lot of discipline (and a timer LOL) on my part, but the only time she has accidents is if I slack off.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I very rarely recommend this, but a diaper or belly band might be a good tool to use. You are right that he has a very long standing habit and other issues that won't make this easy. 

When you leave him, confine him to a dog-safe room like the kitchen with baby gates. You can leave him with his diaper on. 

Find a treat he is nuts for (hot dog, fish treats from CleanRun.com, etc.) and give it to him only when he potty's outside. 

For him, your rule is going to have to be reward the good and ignore the bad. The diaper/belly band is sort of like a bandaid to help prevent him from doing the wrong behavior without confining him. 

Have you done any obedience training with him? It can really help your bond...


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## Boobookit (Dec 3, 2005)

Oh, that poor furbaby, and poor you!! I didn't see you say anything about pee pee pads...Have you tried them?? I definitely agree with the other posts, you have to treat him as if he was a puppy just starting out.

I wish you much luck and I hope it works out because it would be so traumatic and heartbreaking if he had to find yet another forever home.......My heart goes out to him because this is not his fault it is the fault of the past owners who never had the time, love and patience.......so sad.


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## munchkin1616 (Dec 8, 2005)

> Oh, that poor furbaby, and poor you!! I didn't see you say anything about pee pee pads...Have you tried them?? I definitely agree with the other posts, you have to treat him as if he was a puppy just starting out.
> 
> I wish you much luck and I hope it works out because it would be so traumatic and heartbreaking if he had to find yet another forever home.......My heart goes out to him because this is not his fault it is the fault of the past owners who never had the time, love and patience.......so sad.[/B]



oh, there would be no giving him up regardless, but I hate that I can't ever bring him to a neighbor's house or that I have to stay in hotels with him when I go to visit someone because he'll go in their house if it smells at all like another dog. Oddly, when I took him to a mall once, one that had just begun allowing dogs so it didn't smell like them, we walked tons and he didn't accident once!

Still trying... some days he's great, other days he has 2 accidents within the morning hours.


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## Deanna (Jan 14, 2005)

Rescues have such challenges, especially one so mature! 

Wilson and I have had a couple of battle of wills, but I have always won. When I take him outside- we stay outside until he goes, no matter if its freezing, raining, or snowing. We don't come in until he goes. I don't know how practical this is for you- if you don't have your own private backyard it might be not be very convenient. As soon as he goes treat him and make a big deal about what a good dog he is, and then go right back in. For the first 5 days that I had Wilson I took him out every hour or so- and sometimes we had to stay out for 30 minutes before he would go. I wonder if the Pee Post would help him understand where to go?

Hang in there, I think he is just confused, he probably goes when no one is looking because he got punished in one of his previous "homes". Maltese are so smart, and as soon as it clicks in his head he will be so pleased with himself- you will be able to see it! 

When you start trying something- clean the carpets. Wilson has had about 4 accidents since we got him Oct 31. I sprayed down the area with Vinegar and water. It kills the smell. If he can smell it- he will think it's ok to go there- that's why he marks when you are out. I wouldn't even consider using pee pads or litter box- I think for a dog that is having a hard time understanding insude vs. outside- all it does is confuse them more. I think re-training a rescue is very different than training a new puppy. A new puppy doesn't have any learned behaviors-only instinct. With a rescue you not only have to teach, you have to un-teach (I just made up a new word!). 

I would get the Belly Band for going out places. Wilson wants to mark too, he did it once in the vet's waiting room, and twice at the groomer's, but now I watch him like a hawk- when I see that leg go up, or when he starts to rub along the side of something I make a "uh uh" noise, and he stops. 


Also, I can't confine Wilson- not even to an X-pen, or with a gate into a room (even if he can still see me he freaks out), and especially not in a crate. He freaks out so bad- I don't even try anymore. It is too upsetting to him, and it's not fair to put him through that! I figure we all have our fears and issues, and I respect him enough to be sympathetic to his fear and issue. When I need to confine him, like when we were moving and I didn't want him to get stepped on, I put his harness and leash on and looped his leash through either the bottom part of the stair railing, or through a cabinet door. I never left him alone like this- but it kept him confined to one spot, without him freaking out. 

Good luck!


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

My Lady is also a rescue. The book _Secondhand Dog _ by Carola Lea Benjamin was recommended to me and it is fabulous. 

I have always loved this poem.

Baggage
---- by Evelyn Colbath----


Now that I'm home, bathed, settled and fed,
All nicely tucked into my warm new bed.
I would like to open my baggage
Lest I forget,
There is so much to carry -
So much to regret.

Hmm.. Yes there it is, right on the top-
Let's unpack Loneliness, Heartache and Loss,
And there by my leash hides Fear and Shame.
As I look on these things I tried so hard to leave-
I still have to unpack my baggage called Pain.

I loved them, the others, the ones who left me,
But I wasn't good enough - for they didn't want me.
Will you add to my baggage?
Will you help me unpack?
Or will you just look at my things
And take me right back?


Do you have the time to help me unpack?
To put away my baggage,
To never re-pack?
I pray that you do - I'm so tired you see,
But I do come with baggage -
Will you still want me?


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## Deanna (Jan 14, 2005)

Marj that poem makes me cry!!









Whenever I have to leave Wilson I know he thinks I am not coming back, and it breaks my heart every single time! 

munchkin, Marj recommended the same book to me, and it was a wonderful read with lots of great tips. It has helped me a lot!


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## fifi (Jan 26, 2006)

Oh boy, I know I will get a lot of people who maybe disagree, but I strongly feel that maybe the bond is not yet established between you and your little one....With a rescued dog, it takes sometimes longer, because their trust has been shattered before...Remember, this is the only way he had attention in the past. He went, and had attention, even though it was negative attention. It is a circle that you must break, with love, patience, and showing him that no matter waht you will be there for him. Corny, but it worked for us...Fifi has been in our bed since we brought her home from the OSPCA. Any cage makes her go in hiding...But since we recue horses as well, we took the same approach. Close to us at all times...This little one, once the bond in place, will be a devoted companion, as rescue dogs often are...I wish you many happy years with him.


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