New Adoptee Dog Multiple Problems

[Jan762]

Our dog is a 2 1/2 year old, neutered Golden Retriever. He is very passive and does not even cock his leg to void or mark his territory. He came to us 4 weeks ago when his 2nd owners said they could not keep him because between he and their other lab/retriever cross the two were just too boisterious. I did wonder why the man said that I should take him out and say: "Hurry, Hurry pee!" This set of owners indicated that Thaddy was a mess when they received him. They said he was very dirty and had been kept outside. Now I know why.

Thaddy is a friendly, very responsive to standard commands (sit, stay, shake a paw, heel). But, in the entire time we have had him he only barked once during frisbee play. He does not know to bark to go outside and pee. If we take him to the front door associates it with a walk which he loves. If we want to take him to the back door, we literally have to drag him there so we can put the lead on to let him out for a brief period so he can void. He is very anxious when he is outside and hides under our picnic table on our covered patio.

As fate would have it, we just had new carpet/underlay. Thaddy peed on itmultiple times . Does anyone know of anything to take away the horrendous odour that regular steam cleaning just seems to worsen?

How can we teach Thaddy to bark and house train him? Right now I keep him in our 10x5 bathroom when nobody is at home or we're sleeping and can't watch him. His other issue is that he takes off which means my children have had to scamper after him. I am worried his antics will get them hurt.

We're trying to sell our house right now too, so this is coming as the worst possible time. At 2 1/2 is there much hope of training him? He does not seem to comprehend scolding and having his nose rubbed in it. He seemed quite oblivious. Our last dog was a German Shepherd, a very quick learner so this is something new.

HELP

[BMDLuver]

Originally Posted by Jan762

As fate would have it, we just had new carpet/underlay. Thaddy peed on itmultiple times . Does anyone know of anything to take away the horrendous odour that regular steam cleaning just seems to worsen?

You can use the steam cleaner but instead of putting in the product they give you with the rental, by KOE (Kennel Odour Eater) . A friend had a beautiful persian rug that smelled something awful of cat pee, she took the KOE to the rug place along with her rug and they used it. The carpet is brand new now, no odour and the rug place is now using the product for clients with pets. It does not usually cause any staining and you only use 1/4 oz per gallon of water.

[SarahLynn123]

Originally Posted by Jan762

He does not seem to comprehend scolding and having his nose rubbed in it. He seemed quite oblivious.
HELP

This is an old method that actually doesnt work because the dog does not associtate having his nose rubbed in his pee with you wanting him to pee outside. He learns that he will be scolded if he rubs his nose in his pee.

House training is possible, I had a 6.5 year old untrained dog.

When he goes out back do you go with him? If not, you should, so he's not alone. Also keep him on a leash all the time, In the house and outside, just attach it to you so you will know when he has to go to the bathroom and you both can go outside together and he wont beable to hide. Tell him to go pee and praise praise praise when he does. This also prevents him from peeing on your rug because you are watching him at all times. He needs to be treated like a puppy.

Good luck and Im sure more people will be along to help!!!

[Lucky Rescue]

He does not seem to comprehend scolding and having his nose rubbed in it.

This is inhumane and cruel and does not work, as you can see. In fact you're making the problem worse since your dog is already submissive and nervous and now has to deal with abuse for something he cannot help.

He does not know to bark to go outside and pee. If we take him to the front door associates it with a walk which he loves. If we want to take him to the back door, we literally have to drag him there so we can put the lead on to let him out for a brief period so he can void. He is very anxious when he is outside and hides under our picnic table on our covered patio.

HE doesn't know how to bark to go outside because he has not been trained to do this.

He now associates going out the back door with peeing, for which he has been severely punished. He's now confused, anxious and afraid to go in front of you.

It sounds like this dog has had a horrible life, and it's not improving. You need to start over, with patience and kindness, and treat him as though he is a young puppy who is being housetrained. It's never too late to housetrain a dog.

Confine him when you can't watch him, take him out at regular intervals - in the front of the house for now - and praise like crazy when he goes outside. He needs his confidence built up, so use encouragement and praise and no abuse. It doesn' work anyway.

[maddoxies]

Goldens are sensitive dogs and this dog has already suffered emotional abuse which has heightened his sensitivity even more.

1. Take him out front to pee for now and praise like crazy (maybe even a treat).

2. Take him out to the back yard, even for a few seconds, then praise (maybe even a treat) when he does not have to go pee. Just get him to like the backyard and not associate it with some sort of punishment.

3. Steam/heat makes pee worse in carpets. Cold is the way to go. I use cold water in my carpet cleaner when a foster dog has an accident.

4. Lifting the leg to pee is learned behaviour, it is not a sign of submissiveness if they do not lift their leg. They have just not seen another male dog do that.

5. As for taking off, why is he loose in the first place? If the yard is not fenced and secure, then he should be on a lead/rope at all times (and supervised). Do you want to scrape him off the road after a car has run over him??? He is new to your home, he needs to bond with you and feel that your place is home and "safe". When walking my new dogs, I would say "find home" when we were a house or 2 away, so that they would associate the word "home" with our house.

6. Barking, or not barking. I got my first golden at 8 weeks old, she was well adjusted, well socialized and barked maybe 3 times in her 16.5 years of life. Not all dogs, especially goldens, are barkers. Kitty would stand at the back door when she had to go out. If we did not see her, she would come to us and then go back to the door.

Please give this baby a chance to settle in. I am sure he will come around. The fact that he already knows, sit, stay, etc, means that he is intelligent and trainable.

[BernerLver]

I have a BMD and they are a VERY sensitive breed also. Bailey had an accident recently and was terribly upset. The thought of punishing him didn't even enter my mind. I just cleaned him up and the crate and that was that.

I can tell you from experience that treats work very well in the housetraining area. I also found a good routine helps too (i.e. get up, out to pee, breakfast, go fo walk). I find Bailey is less anxious because he knows our routine and what to expect and when.

Please don't punish your pet for having an accident. It sounds like this dog has had a very rough life so far. It's not his fault that his former owners didn't want him or that your life is busy right now. You wouldn't punish a child for having an accident, so don't punish your dog.

He needs patience and understanding and needs to feel confident that even if he makes mistakes you will still love him and not abandon him.

[Prin]

Don't forget that if a dog disobeys you obviously, it's because the doggy doesn't understand what you want. Before attempting discipline again, I suggest you enroll in obedience classes and ask tons of questions about what to do in different situations. If you discipline wrong, you can bugger the doggy up for life (make him fearful, snappy, etc) and you don't want to do that at all.

[StaceyB]

You should really enroll into a basic obedience class for both of you. As for the house breaking you need to go back to basics as if this were a brand new puppy. He was an out door dog and may associate the carpet for grass. Purchase an enzyme cleaner to get rid of the stain/smell. Some dogs are not very good at letting you know they need outside, you can try bell training. I believe I have some info about how to do this on my site.

[coppperbelle]

Poor guy is probably so confused and doesn't know what you expect of him. Once he does figure it out you will find that he goes out of his way to please you.
For now to clean up those spots use can try something called Nature's Miracle. It is a wonderful product and will get rid of the smell and stains.

As for the training for the next few days you will have to go outside with him for his pees. When you witness him pee outside make a huge fuss about it while he is in the act. Praise with love and treats, yummy ones. Make sure you use the word, pee or something while he is going so he knows what you are talking about.

Your boy is very insecure right now and needs to know that he is secure in your home. This will sound silly but you need to build up his self esteem. Teach him a little trick, like sitting on command or giving a paw. He will feel good about this accomplishment. If you can enroll him in an obedience class. This too will really help with the bonding and make him feel like he has a job. Make sure you bring him to the right class and not one of those military style training classes.

I have been where you are right now with one of my goldens. Once we got on the same track and she figured out what I was asking her to do she responded immediatley.

Good luck, and please remember patience. Your guy has been through hell and needs to know security and love right now.

[LM1313]

Golden retrievers are very intelligent, so I'm sure he can be housetrained. But remember, you have to communicate to him what you want.

First of all, do not rub his nose in his mess. As other people have indicated, this will only confuse the dog. Plus it can cause health problems and encourage them to eat their feces. You wouldn't shove a child's face into their mess while you were potty training, right?

Second, praise like crazy when the dog goes outside. LIKE CRAZY. Give treats, tell him how good he is, the whole shebang.

Third, make sure he has access to the outdoors a LOT and try to keep him somewhere where he's not inclined to pee (a small room, a blocked off kitchen--somewhere easily cleanable is best) until he understands. But also try to have it be a place where people are around--you don't want to isolate or punish him!

Fourth, for heaven's sake, make sure he can't get out of the yard. If you don't have a fence, only take him out on a leash. If you do have a fence, figure out how he's getting out of it and take appropriate steps to stop it.

Fifth, don't worry if he doesn't bark. Some dogs don't. My dog hardly ever does, and never to be let out. Your dog will find his own way of communicating. Ebony will go find people and lead them to the door when she wants out. Or she'll sit down and just stare at you. She stares so hard she can wake me up when I'm asleep.

I hope all goes well for you and Thaddy! Be patient with him, let him settle in.

~LM~

[.unknown.]

My Dog Luna is extremley sensitive as well.... To boost her confidence i chose to only praise and not discipline. If she started to do something that was "bad" (like jumping up to greet), instead of giving her heck for it i would make her do a command that she knew well, like sit. She gained so much confidence from this it was like a miricle.

Also as far as smell goes, go to a garden shop and buy some Activated Zeolite Mineral. It works magic. You can get it at pet stores but i assume it costs alot more for a smaller quantity. I bought some from Petsmart a while ago and it very honestly eliminated the odors completley and permanently. My mom was told about it for gardening, it helps keep clay beds loose!