Question
Maddy
I have a 9 month peekapoo. She is pad trained, But i have to put 6 down at a time every day some times 2x a day.( shes a traveler ) I would love for her to go outside some times but she will not. And also the pads are i my dinning room.. Why? Because she said so. when i moved in the apt from a house she held it 2 days . remind you her pads was in the wash room at this time. She went on the carpet in the dinning room. and thats how it all got started.. Her name is maddy she is a beautiful, loving and loyal baby. .
Answer
Hi Melissa,
You've discovered the reason why paper/pad training isn't a good idea. To a dog, "inside", is "inside". Many dogs don't get the concept of it being okay to relieve itself in one area, and why having an accident behind the couch is met with yelling. The best place for a dog to go to the bathroom, is outside, preferably during a leashed walk.
Don't give Maddy the run of your home when you are not home, or unable to supervise her. During these time she should either be crated (if she's crate trained) or confined to part of a room with the help of a child gate or two. There are also indoor dog pens you could use for this purpose, such as this one:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16677
If you choose to use either the child gate or dog pen, lay newspaper down over the entire containment area. Accidents can happen in a second, and when they do, the fault is yours for not supervising her closely enough. Because the fault is yours, you can't yell at Maddy or punish her for any accidents that occur. If you can't watch Maddy, she needs to be crated or contained in some way.
Get Maddy on a schedule of walks at specific times of the day, such as first thing in the morning as soon as you wake up, before you leave the house or at mid-day, before dinner, etc. Don't ever wait for your dog to "tell" you that she needs to go outside. What you're doing is making sure Maddy has the opportunity to relieve herself outside BEFORE she has to go badly enough that she's looking for a spot in your home to "go". For the first few weeks you need to be diligent about taking Maddy outside on walks. Letting her outside by herself to relieve herself isn't going to work to get Maddy used to going to the bathroom outside. She needs you to encourage her to eliminate outside and reward her when she complies during walks, and she can't get that by being let outside alone.
On the walks, take her to quiet areas, if there is a place you can walk to with ground cover, such as shrubs that can help her to not feel exposed, or vulnerable. It could help if you took your dog to an area where other dogs have been known to go to the bathroom. Using a longer leash, or one of those leashes that automatically extend in length can help, it gives her some space from you.
The easiest way to teach a dog to go to the bathroom in a specific place is to combine cue words with rewards. When you walk to the toilet area walk back and forth or circle around and around. At the same time say and repeat a cue word you would like to attach to the act of your dog eliminating. Any short phrase, such as "hurry up", or "go potty" will work, as long as you always use the same phrase. In Maddy's mind you are building an association between the cue "hurry up!" and her emptying out. If she does eliminate continue to repeat your cue word and the instant she finishes doing her business enthusiastically praise and reward her with a small tasty treat. Make it clear that you are very happy with her and that she is the best dog on the block! Go back to walking while happily repeating the cue word every so often if Maddy still needs to go to the bathroom. Repeat the same cue word for both solid and liquid waste. If a while of circling around your dog shows no signs of needing to eliminate, but you know she hasn't done "everything" take her back inside, put her in her crate or pen, and try again in about twenty minutes. The point is, you know she still needs to go to the bathroom, and giving her the run of your home at this time might be setting her up for a house training accident. Prevention of all accidents inside your home is what you're looking for. Maddy needs to learn that it's never an option, so don't give her the choice!
Best of luck,
Patti
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