The untrainable dog?? Help please

[desies]

I'm not sure what else to try with my foster puppy. I'm trying to house train him but he is very dirty and doesn't care where he messes. He is 4 months old. We kennel him when we are not in the house and he will pee in the kennel and soak in it. He will poo in there as well..almost in his food dish ! He is praised when he goes outside and yelled at when he goes in the house, we almost always catch him in the act. Neither seems to make a difference. It has been a week with consistent training and no improvement. He does not present any cues that he has to go outside, he will just let himself go right in front of us. Not much seems to be helping. We have to clean him so much because he just soaks in his own excrement and it obviously stinks up whatever room this dog is in. I have fostered several dogs and have never encountered such a difficult dog. Any suggestions?
He has been to the vet recently and there are no known issues that would be causing this.

[totallyhip]

A week is still early. It often takes dogs longer to adjust to new environments. Esp. if he came from a kennel or shelter. Even if they were potty trained at their last home, don't assume they will be the same in yours. At 4 months old potty training is still difficult and can't expect him to be fully trained.

Hang in there and keep being consistent and stick to a routine so that he knows. The best thing to do with fosters I find is to go back to Puppy potty training 101. No matter how old they are. We have had fosters any age that we have had to do that with.....they just needed a refresher course.

Take him out every 1/2 hour and watch that he pees (and treat) and then poos (and treat). Praise praise praise .... have a huge party when he goes! Please don't yell at him when he pees in the house. It stressful on them. I always make a loud noise like stomp on the floor it makes them pinch it off or a clap.

Make sure you take him to the same spot. Is there a regular time that you take him for walks? What are you using to clean the messes? Use Nature's Miracle to get rid of the urine smell. Otherwise the dog will want to keep going in the same spot if the smell is still there.

Make sure your new dog goes to their designated area ,First thing in the morning; After they eat; Before being crated; Before going to bed. And I always find helpful is to use the same door everytime.

Good luck and hang in there. It will happen. Thank you for fostering!

[R. Bear]

Give it at least 8 - 12 weeks. Even with a young puppy it's hard for him to adjust. Don't give up.

[BenMax]

This may sound a little nutty but what breed is this dog. Some breeds are a little more difficult than others. Also, what is this dog's background? Is he from a puppymill, shelter or owner surrender - this also is important to know.

Totallyhip is absolutely right about routine. This is the key.

Depending on his background the process may be a little longer - but be persistant. If you really cannot handle it, contact the rescue and give the dog back to them. Animals can sense when there is stress and they will not progress.

Do you go for walks with the dog? Do you put the dog outside and if so, do you go with the dog?

Best of luck.

[BenMax]

Almost forgot to mention the following:

You said that you have had fosters before. If these dogs soiled this dog will pick up the scent and soil as well. I would ensure that every spot previously used and is being used is cleaned well with Nature's Miracle as Totallyhip previously points out.

[totallyhip]

Originally Posted by BenMax

This may sound a little nutty but what breed is this dog. Some breeds are a little more difficult than others. Also, what is this dog's background? Is he from a puppymill, shelter or owner surrender - this also is important to know.
Best of luck.

Yes BenMax good point. I always find the dogs that come from mills or petstores are alot harder to potty train. Because they are used to going in their cages and not being cleaned out. Its very sad :sad: but it does make it difficult. Same thing with being in a shelter....sometimes the dogs just can't get out (due to lack of manpower) and they get used to going in their runs.

[desies]

Thanks for the suggestions.
To answer some of the questions. He was abandoned with siblings, not sure what the history was before that, he’s a lab cross. He was in a foster home before I got him, but was kept mostly outdoors. The routine doesn’t seem to be an issue. He will go through the routine and go in the usual spot but the point seems to be lost. I can take him outside to go, he will do his business and get praised, then he will come in the house, pee in his kennel and lay in it. He will not give any signals that he has to go and he is let out first thing in the morning, again before we leave for work, at lunch, when we get home in the afternoon, after supper, loooong walk in the evening, let out before bed. I have two resident dogs and usually the foster dogs will pick up on their cues. Not this dog.
Most dogs will not go to the bathroom where they eat or sleep. This dog will and it doesn’t seem to bother him at all. He will do it right in front of us so it gives us the opportunity to distract him, doesn’t have any affect on him, he just carries on. When he goes in the kennel, it is cleaned after each accident with nature’s miracle. It’s hard to stop him from soaking in it because he goes while we aren’t in the house and sometimes it’s hard to tell if he peed or not (until you see wet fur ….and the smell, don’t get me started). We also use the nature’s miracle on our floors, we don’t have any carpet so the smell doesn’t stick around for long. We have someone come and clean our floors completely twice a month. I just find it odd that this dog shows no signs of improvement in a week. I don’t expect perfection but at least some sign of retention would be nice.

[totallyhip]

He was in a foster home that kept him outdoors???? I would say that is probably contributing to his problem. We have had foster dogs that were kept outside and they take longer to figure out the potty training.

Give it some more time a week really isn't long enough. You can also look into bell training, some dogs seem to do really well with that.

[BenMax]

I cannot believe he was in a foster home initially and kept this way. For him, I am certain that this is confusing as things have changed so rapidly in such a short time. From being with someone, then transfered to a rescue, then to the vets, then to a foster and then another foster. Poor baby has had a tremendous amount of bouncing which is not helping the situation. Thank dawg he is with you who will stabilize him and his behaviour.

I have had now 69 fosters. I know what you are going through as so many others here that also foster. When I get dogs that are like the one you describe I tether the dog to me. Wherever I go, he/she goes. If the dog is about to go, I say 'outside' and go quickly with the dog. Once done I praise, praise, praise. When we get inside I ask the dog to sit - go to the cookie jar and praise with the treat.

You have a tough job but you will succeed. Don't give up - this poor little guy has no idea due to confusion.