Puppy Trouble

[Steph3968]

Well, he's not exactly a puppy. He just turned 1yr old a couple weeks ago. He's a miniature dachshund named Henry and we are having a lot of trouble getting him house broken. He has no problem going outside, but he refuses to (excuse me for being blunt) poop outside. His favorite place is in front of the guest bedroom door, and if we block it off so that he can't get to it, he just goes wherever he can.
On the rare occasion that he actually poops outside, we make sure to give him lots of praise and he even gets one of his favorite treats afterwards, and this is the only time he gets them. I thought that this would maybe help, but it hasn't made any difference. We'll even keep him outside for long walks or just circling the yard for half an hour when we know he has to go, but he'll just wait as long as it takes and then poop as soon as he gets inside.
We've been having this struggle since he was 12 weeks old. I've tried bringing him to it, telling him no and then bringing him outside and he doesn't get it. We've tried so many different things and I really don't want to have to use puppy training pads because he's smart enough to know better, and also because he starts peeing on them too.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!

 

[Barb04]

Go back to basics.

When I first get a puppy, I take it out every 2 hours (24 hours a day) for 2 weeks and also after napping, sleeping, eating, drinking. Then you can extend the hours. After a few weeks, they are almost trained completely to go outside.

 

[AllieMackie]

Make sure to give him the treat and praise IMMEDIATELY after he finishes. Some folks even give the treat WHILE the dog poops, but if he has trouble doing outside as it is, best not to interrupt him.

Up the ante. Dance around with him after he poops, like pooping is the greatest thing in the entire world! Excite him and engage him with you, and he'll get the picture even faster.

Hope that helps! Since this is an ongoing habit it may take a little while to break. Be sure to supervise closely while in the house. Tether him to you on a leash if you have to so you can keep an eye on him and correct immediately if he starts to poop.

 

[Dog Connections]

From experience I know Daschund are sometimes hard to train. A little like Huskies, they are very independant and like doing their own thing.

You need a little bit of a different approach. The way to get through to it and is motivation. So my first question to you: What makes him tick? What is its absolute favorite thing to do or treat to eat.
Now you say you tried the treats. That is great My sens this is not what makes him tick. You need to find something that is so special for him.
Now you are going to work with him with a training technique call" Positive reinforcement"
So say is favorite things to do is play tug a war.
Nothing takes place until he poops outside where you want him to go. Once he does ... get an incredible game of tug a war happening.

You are on the right track with "poop and treat" you just need to find that "special thing"
Remember that this habit might take a while to break....!
I hope that helps a bit.

 

[TheGoldenRetriever]

Go back to basics.

^^^ Agreed. Start from square one.

Have you tried crate training? That's often helpful with hard-to-housebreak dogs. Another thing to try is in addition to the favorite treats when he poos outside, say a special command (any that's convenient for you and not a common every-day word) when he goes while outside ... many dogs eventually associate the special command with going outside and will begin to go outside upon hearing that command.

If it makes you feel better (or perhaps worse, sorry if so) I have personally known four separate owners of miniature dachshunds, three in my old neighborhood across the country and one out west in my neighborhood now ... and every one of those mini dachs was very difficult to housebreak.

One of the males from my old neighborhood never did get completely housebroken ... he was over 2 yrs. old and still had accidents in the middle of the night. They brought him to a vet and there was no medical problems so it wasn't that. Suggested they crate him every night .... that stopped the accidents as he didn't want to mess the "den" in which he was sleeping .. and his owners were careful to un-crate him and bring him out first thing in the morning.

 

[Doberluv]

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/t4679/

Check out this link. Scroll down to Mordy's post. I think it's particularly good.

 

[Maxy24]

The dog should not get the chance to potty in the house because he should never be out of your sight. Put him on leash so if he starts circling to go poop you can rush him out, he can't go hide and do it somewhere. The more you get him to go outside, the more you can reward, and the more he'll want to go outside. He'll also learn that when he feels the urge to go he is brought outside so the urge means outside, hopefully he'll start moving to the door himself at some point when he gets that urge.

 

[adojrts]

Actually he doens't know better, especially if this has been a problem from the start. He thinks it is ok to go in the house. Agreed you have to go right back to the start and do it correctly.
If you are free choice feeding him, that makes the house training process much harder. Crate training or keeping him TIED to you is also a must until he goes.

 

[Maura]

Mordy's post (see above) is really good. You really have to have him outside when it is "time" to go. And, if he doesn't go, he either stays outside or goes into the crate. If he's been going on carpeting you have to really make sure the carpet is clean. A white vinegar solution will help, but there are products on the market you can use. Feeding him his dinner right over the spot can be useful as well.