Toilet problems

Question
Hi I have a 7 month Huntaway male who learnt inside of two days that outside was his toilet however initially at night I would leave the door open for him as it was warm and I thought I was doing the right thing. The problem is now that its getting cooler and we want the door shut I cant get him to wake me up and he just goes inside at night. Pleas help me find a way of teaching him to wake me.

Thanks Matt

Answer
Hi Matt,

Whenever a dog or puppy starts having housebreaking problems after they have already been trained we usually recommend a veterinary visit to rule out medical causes, but in your case it sounds like the issue is the door being closed.

What I would recommend is to start back with the basics. I would use a crate to confine him when you are not able to supervise him directly because dogs are not willing to soil their sleeping areas. So at night I would crate him.

Put him back on a regular schedule of visits outdoors to eliminate. At 7 months he should not have to go out but every few hours. I would put him on a daily feeding regimen of twice daily feedings, if you don't have him on one already. Put the food down for him to eat and leave it down for 15 minutes only. What he doesn't eat in 15 minutes gets picked up and placed back in the storage container. Keep your feeding times regular.

Your pup should have water all the time. I do not recommend restricting water.

Take your pup out after eating, after waking from sleeping, after play, last thing at night before you go to bed and first thing in the morning after you wake up.

Take him out on leash to the same spot every time.

Your pup should only have about a 6 foot radius from you in any direction to choose from.

Leave some excrement in the toileting area to remind him of what he is to do in this place.

Stand still and allow your pup to sniff around a bit, but say nothing. Wait about a minute or so for him to eliminate. If he eliminates praise him and give him a treat, if desired. If he doesn't eliminate, take him back inside and place him in a matter-of-fact way in his kennel. Wait 10-15 minutes and take him back outside to try again. Once he eliminates, praise him and give him a treat, if desired, and take him for a walk if you like.

Remember if you allow your puppy to play indoors after eliminating this could stimulate the need to eliminate again, so take him back outside after a play session.

Another thing you can do is teach your dog to target some bells on the door to signal to you that he needs to go outside. The easiest way to explain how to do this would be for you to simply ring the bells prior to going outside. Your dog should get the idea that ringing the bells will let him outside. However, I usually teach my clients who want to use this technique to teach their dogs to actually target the bells prior to each visit outside. Targeting bells causes the door to open. so, when you are not around, the dog will have learned to target the bells to let you know he wants to go outside.

This video I made to accompany an article about clicker training will show you how to teach your dog to target: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHKOra47fsQ Once your dog learns how to target your hand, you can teach him to target other objects such as some bells. I would teach him first with the bells off the door, then place the bells on the door.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Cindy