Potty Training problems with new shelter rescue. Help!

11 years ago

Saturday, my husband and I adopted a rescue dog from our
local pound. She is the sweetest thing and is working out for our family perfectly
(one son and one cat)…except in one area: potty training. First, I want to note
that before my husband and I were together, I had a Great Dane and a Mastiff,
and I fostered a total of 8 Mastiffs for Mastiff Rescue, all of which I potty
trained. I used to brag about the fact that none of my fosters had more than
one accident…this is what I get for being cocky. :-s. Perhaps they were just
following the lead of my other two dogs. On the opposite end of the spectrum,
my husband grew up on a farm and has never had an inside dog and knows very
little about them. Also, we are crate training, and that is working well. She
only has accidents when not in the crate.

So, I think the main cause of these potty training problems
is that she is glued to my hip. She follows me everywhere. If I stand, she
stands. If I sit, she lays at my feet. Therefore, she can’t go to sit by the
door, because that would involve leaving my side. I know it has only been a few
days, and she is getting better about leaving me occasionally, but she is
always very concerned with my whereabouts. She has had several accidents in the
house, but oddly, she only has them in front of my husband. They have all
happened while I have my back turned for 2 seconds (moving laundry from the
washer to dryer, etc). She’ll run to the closest carpeted area and go. It’s
almost like she’s running away from me to do it, because she knows I don’t
approve. She has gone potty outside a lot too, but it has only been because I’ve
taken her out, not because she signaled that she needs to go. She seems to know
the word “potty,” because when I lead her to the place where she goes, I say
it, and she usually does it.

I don’t know what to do to fix this. How can I get her to
leave my side long enough so that she can tell me she needs to potty? Help!

Featured Answer

arkansas girl

11 years ago

Don't panic yet! Don't expect her to know what to do right away and plus it takes at least a few weeks just to get over going to a new house. Absolutely don't expect her to know how to tell you she needs to go outside! This only comes with training and some dogs never actually tell you they need out. My dog has been with us for over two years and for the most part I just take her outside every few hours, she doesn't tell me she needs out. She doesn't go in the house but she does not know how to tell me "take me out!". Every once in a while if it's urgent, my dog will come and nudge me on the hand but then I have to guess what she's trying to tell me. :)☺

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Comments (6)

Ninapearl
11 years ago
when you know you have something that will take your eyes off of her even for 2 or 3 seconds, can you just take her out to potty and then come in and do your chore? that way she will have been able to relieve herself and you won't have to watch her every second. i know it's probably a pain in the butt.

my second dane girl was much like this. she would absolutely NOT let me out of her sight for the first 3 weeks she was here. i got her when she was 3 (rescue) and she had no idea how to live in a house. she even had a dog door to use but was clueless. LOL! after a few weeks, she got braver and ventured out by herself.

give it more time. you are her security blanket right now. take advantage of it and use your time together for training and lots of cuddles. she will come out of her shell and your patience will pay off in spades!

also, because she does this only in front of your husband, i wonder if at some point in her life she was not treated so kindly by a man and perhaps she is peeing out of fear or anxiety. does your husband play with her, cuddle with her, give her treats, feed her? if not, those would all be good things for him to do to get her used to him and know he won't do anything to harm her.

good luck and thank you so much for rescuing!!!
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mdln
11 years ago
Want to echo, THANK YOU for rescuing. Would start with more trips outside, set a timer, every hour, give a reward/treat/attention every time she pees outside. Then gradually start increasing the time between the trips outside. JMHO. Good luck!
trancegemini_wa
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
"She has gone potty outside a lot too, but it has only been because I’ve
taken her out, not because she signaled that she needs to go."

I dont find this odd at all. whenever I've taken in a new dog, I always start toilet training from scratch, much like you would with a pup. Even if the dog was house trained in the previous home, they are adjusting to a new routine and don't know how it all works in a new house. what I always did was take the dog outside at regular intervals (hourly if possible). pretty soon they get to know where the toilet area is, which door etc and even though I have a fenced yard and leave the door open during the day, even when the door was closed they would learn to run to the door and wait (which I guess is the cue you are looking for). Keep at it, and I just think you need to be more proactive with toilet training as if she is not house trained so this new dog knows what the deal is and how it works in your house. soon she will start to feel more settled as well and not so glued to you but in the mean time, she is going to need you to take her out regularly and get her into the routine.
christine 5b
11 years ago
God Bless you, your an angel for rescuing your new fur baby. It takes so much time with rescues. I've had my girl over 6 years now and she has separation anxiety, she's 11 and was dumped by her family when she was 5, I cant post what I think of people that dump animals like they are garbage, sorry I vented, I just wanted to say THANK YOU... Be patient. Show us pictures, I know I'd love to see her...
User
11 years ago
Congrats on your new family member! It's wonderful that you're able to give her a new forever home. If she is glued to your side you probably already know that it's a sign that she's still not comfortable in her new surroundings and that's ok, like another poster said, depending on her history it could take a while. I echo the advise about taking her out every couple of hours and giving lots of praise and affection when she does good. What most people don't realize though is that it is equally important not to scold or yell at her when she potties inside. I'm not saying that you are, especially intentionally, but if you give off any kind of emotion besides calm, it could make her more timid or shy. I know it's hard too because if I saw my sweet Lab, who I absolutely adore was about to let it go on our (new) rug, I would instinctively try to stop her with a loud noooooo Ellie please nooooo... Our girl only cries (or groans) occasionally when she needs to potty. Usually her way of letting me know is she stares at me until I ask, do you have to go potty. Then I get a cute tilt of her head and a look that says "well what do yo think?".