Potty Training Regression

[Lolabee]

Dear All,

I have a seven month old female English Bulldog named Matilda. We had a bit of a hard time potty training her but she was accident free for the last three months. When we first got Matilda I was spending a lot of time with her. Now that my bf and I are back in school, Matilda is spending a lot of time alone. I leave her at about 11 o clock after a long walk, and leave her in the crate till 5. When I feed her and then take her on a one hour long walk and then put her back in the crate till 9h30 when my bf comes home and walk her. She's so excited to see us now that she pees as soon as we touch her. We've counteracted by just leaving her in the crate until she calms down.

Before now when she used to need to pee, she would go stand by the door. Now she doesn't do that at all anymore. She's had 2 accidents in the last three days. Is this because she's been submissively urinating? How can re-potty training her?

[t.pettet]

From 11:00 until 5:00 - 6 hrs, and again 6:00 until 9:30 - 3 1/2 hrs. = 9 1/2 hrs. in a crate. Way too long for a young (or any) dog to be alone and crated. From having alot of attention to very little is why she's so excited and pees when you come home as her routine is all messed up so you can't expect such a young dog to continue her old routine of standing by the door to ask out when everything else has changed. There are doggy daycares or have someone babysit her in the afternoons who will offer her some training, walks and company.

[Diamondsmum]

I agree with t.pettet.. That is a long time for young pup..

Puppys dont need just walks & food but play, socilization is also important.

IMHO that is not fair for her..

[JennieV]

May I ask why is she crated after you are back home? She needs to be with you, around you, not put away.

Put yourself in her shoes. she is alone most of the day and even though you take her for long walks, it cannot replace her socializing and being with you. :sad: Then, you crate her some more...
Do you leave her out at night or crate her as well?? She will come to resent her crate, instead of seeing it as her den. She will not know how to behave outside of the crate, you see that already with her peeing again. It will damage your relationship if you continue on the same path. :sad: Things can get bad...

I am all for crate-training, I use it too. Its a great tool, but too much of a good thing is not that good either. Key word is training...not a permanent arrangement How about getting a playpen and enclosing a certain part of your home, with a corner for her to go pee, lined with pads...At least untill things get into a routine. It would be better than having her sit in a cage all day.

Try to find some kind of solution, maybe hire someone, I am sure you can find a neighbour teen that will be able to come over and play with her and take her out while you are gone. Thats what I have done, I am pretty lucky to have my 2 nephews living upstairs from me. I pay them a small amount (like $2) per walk. Yes, it adds up, but knowing that Sparky is having fun and is taken out for walks is priceless to me. Maybe you have a retired someone, who could use the company during the day? That could be a good solution too!

[bendyfoot]

She's going to take some time to get used to the new routine. You're never gone for more than six hours at a time which should be a piece of cake for a dog with good bladder control to "hold it". Give it time, and be as consistent with the new routine (the times for new "breaks", walks, feeding, etc.) as you can so she can re-establish.

Our pup would pee when we tried to put a collar/leash on her immediately after removing her from the crate too...now we're lucky that we can let our dogs run out of the house off-leash right away rather than put a collar on (large country property), but depending on your situation/living environment that may not work safely for you.

When you come home, I would simply go to the crate, open it, and then turn and walk away rather than try to bend down and put the collar on immediately. Maybe wait five minutes, ignoring the dog until she calms down, then put get her to sit while you put the collar/leash on. A big, loud, excited greeting when you come home may be bringing on the pee. Keep it as low-key as possible, and be patient...it'll come.

[Soter]

i definatley agree. way too long time in the crate during the day. and when you get home, don't leave her in the crate until she calms down. ignore accidents, but start from the beginning at potty training, only way! as well as re-starting potty training, when you get home, be calm and after taking her outside (or as far as you can get) play with her and show her loads of love and affection, play something outside or a game with a toy inside. with added re-training, she should get better, and less of the crate time! doggie day care sounds really good though. don't reward any mistakes in the house (but don't punish) and go crazy rewarding outside the house, even if it is just outside the front door.

hope it goes well, keep us posted