Hello everyone

I'm currently being driven mad by my new puppy and while I know that what I am experiencing is all normal and there is loads of good advice out there I was wondering if anyone could offer me some advice specific to my circumstances?

I have adopted a lurcher cross (not sure what she's crossed with!) from the Dog's Trust two days ago and she's lovely! The problem is that I bought her a crate as advised to by a few friends and she immediately started weeing and pooing in it, then trampling it all over. She follows me around everywhere I go round the house and just lays down and watches me. When she's on her own (either in the crate or just in a room) she gets very distressed and whines and howls, and this continues all night while she's in her crate. Now she whines as soon as she goes in the crate, but her not being in it while unattended is not an option.

I moved her into my bedroom last night and she settled down after about half an hour of howling, at 3am she was whining so I took her out for a wee which she dutifully did after about five minutes. Within thirty seconds of being back in her crate she did a huge poo!

She wees round the house so while I am at home I take her out into the back yard (no grass, just stones / gravel and flowerbeds) every thirty mins or so. She tends to just look at me or lay down and stare at me, in the two days I have had her she has only gone for a wee outside four times in about thirty attempts to get her to. Inevitably, as soon as she gets back into her crate she will then wee....

I have divided her crate with a box so it is only big enough for her to sleep and turn around in but she has just had a widdle in there AGAIN

I have had dogs before but they were always adults and housetrained when I got them. I have three days off now so I can concentrate on her for that time but come monday I am back in work. I'll be able to pop in at lunch to let her out but I'm really really worried she'll just howl the house down and poo everywhere all day. My girlfriend and little girl (14 months) are away at the moment but are back in three weeks, I'd love to have her at least semi-trained by then - is this possible? When they are home the dog will almost always have company but I'd like her to be able to be left alone when needed.

Any advice on what I could do is much appreciated!

Tom

hi there n welcome all i can say is well done 4 takein a rescue dog on i have 2 n they each have had different probs.i also addopted a gsd for aprox four months until unforfunatley he bit my oh quite badly on his face,it did end happiley 4 him tho as he went back 2 his prev owner who had been in hosp.
right here goes ,all rescue dogs are different as i said.They each have come from maybe an unknown/abusive/?? background & landed in a kennel.they pee n poop in that kennel all day run in it etc,then usualy inside @ night.day after day until some lovely person like you says thats the one the only trouble is if they have ever even been taught the basics they have had a while 2 regress in the kennles+ living back in a house added 2 being passed from pillar 2 post she will have anxiety & stress.
there is no immidiate fix im afraid as she learns 2 trust you she will slowly begin 2 relax & follow you less once she knows your not goin 2 dissapear.but she poos in her crate as its like the kennel.loads of praise when she gets it right. & try a game outside with her 4 a while so she just has 2 go .then praise her like mad lol a really tasty treat a bit of cheese or something & just save it 4 that no other time.she will have prob howled her head off in kenels all th dogs barking @ each other.as said as she bonds she will improve no end .sorry its a long reply hope it helps please keep us all posted there will be more help soon xx

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]mummy 2 :_lucy x rescue,2 golfish & 3 gals, african grey parrot - mojo x

She probably doesn't understand where you want her to do her wees and poos. Help her by putting a word to it, and using it when she does it. I trained my dog with 'go biz' while she was doing her business, then 'good biz' and a treat when she finished in the right place.
Take her outside, wait till she starts peeing, say your word (obviously not something that will come up in general conversation), say good whatever as she finishes, treat and praise. Within a few days she should be going on command outside. If you keep her meals regular you should soon learn to predict when she will need to poo, same thing again. If you think she's due to poo, keep her outside until she's done it. Clean up any indoor mess with a biological detergent to get rid of the residual smell that could cause her to go again in the same spot.
She will probably sniff and circle before weeing or pooing - if you keep her tied to you, you are likely to notice this in time to get her outside.
It sounds like she has separation anxiety as well, but I don't have any experience of this.

Hi. You don't say how old the pup is. But I would guess that she has had no house training at all. So it is back to basics. I agree about the advice about words for peeing and pooing. Doesn't matter what the words are. I just used the words "Out for pee pees"

Try to structure the feeding routine. Food, water then outside for pee pees on a lead after she is finished. Try to walk around until she is ready for the business, allow sniffing and investigation. Take a book or music! She needs to grasp what the routine is for. Positive result of any kind - give a treat. If not, keep walking. If she soils in the house, if you can handle it, take the soil outside and the pup with you, put the soil down, try to get her to sniff it and then praise her. She might grasp that good is outside.

Good luck! You need lots of patience at this stage. Try not to react negatively to soil in the house. Any reaction might prolong the process. Just clean up or try the above. Positive reactions only.

Forgot to mention the "being on her own" problem. Think about the kennels she came from, full of noise and activity all the time. She is just a baby and the quietness may be the problem. Try using an old fashioned radio and tune it in to a music / talk channel. Leave her with the radio on and make like you are going out. Then be very quiet. See if the background noise settles her. Might take a while so have patience.

Then try a routine of ;back in her bed with background noise without you: if she settles, go get her, praise , pet and play with her for a while; then repeat. It might reinforce that you are still there and coming back for her but she has to be patience and quiet in the meantime.

Thanks for the great replies everyone!

Yes, I forgot to mention she is four months old but she has kennel Cough so I have to wait at least another five weeks until her injections are all done before I can take her on a walk outside : (

In the meantime I am trying to get her used to wearing a collar but she just grabs the lead and chews it while she is walking! I guess something should be used to distract her?

And things are improving slightly today, last night she slept in my room (with the lights on! Honestly, even when I had a newborn baby it wasn't this tiring!) and she went from 12am to 4:30am without making a peep, then went outside for a wee. As soon as she got back inside (remembering the advise here and previous mistakes) I played with her and let her potter about. She started circling and fussing so took her outside and she had her first outdoor poo! Woo hoo! Back to bed, same again and up at nine. Fed her and took her outside, same again only this time when she was inside I didnt catch her quickly enough and she started to poo so I said NO, picked her up and took her outside where she finished. Then a nice big play!

She is starting to play on her own instead of following me about and I can leave her in her crate while I go out into the garden for a minute or two...so fingers crossed things will continue to improve!

Thank you all so so much for you kind words and advice - dog owners are the best

Tom

Leaving a radio on when you're out is good if it's normally on when you're home, but if you only switch it on before you go out you're telling the dog you're about to leave and it's time to get anxious.

I think she's also quite anxious about her new home, and should settle down after a few days. It's hard to poo when you're anxious! When you take her into the garden to do her business, be calm and gentle with her, and when she does her business give her praise and stay with her outside for another five minutes or so. My new pup would usually do another wee/poo a few minutes after doing the first one! Going out in the garden when she doesn't need to go and playing some games with her might also help to form an association with garden and relaxation/enjoyment.

Hi Burrowzig. Did forget to mention using the radio when you are there! I have a radio program on all day here

Things are constantly improving at the moment but I do have a question:

If she is four months now how long do you think it will be between toilet breaks? The last four times I have taken her out (30-60mins between) she hasn't gone....