Hi Everyone,i have posted a few times before and have managed to get just the help and advice i have needed,i hope my luck holds out!.We have a seven month old Westie xLhasa Apso,she has been with us for three weeks now and its hard to remember what life was like before her,When we rescued her we were warned that she would need a lot of patience as she is very strong willed(they were not wrong there) but we have a real problem trying to house train her,she refuses to go to the loo on her walks no matter how long we are out,as soon as we are back she performs in the house ,infact she waits for me to witness this , we are at the end of our tether ,this is happening all day everyday everywhere!! as soon as she has done this she acts very scared ears back and hides under the table ,up until now we have tried to be so patient ,she has only been shouted at these last couple of days because she also pooed in front of me on the rug in the sitting room ,we have decided she has to stay in the kitchen until we can work out what the problem is !!.I have never had a pup act so blatently before its as if it is an act of defiance ,please can anyone help i just dont know what i can do !! P.S.in all other aspects she is great ,and full of life no problems at all .

Hi

I don't think its an act of defiance - you are giving human emotion to a dog, and actually making it harder for yourself to understand. I have had a rescue just like this, and she did it out of insecurity. My 9 month old dane won't go on walks (which I actually prefer), so he goes out in the garden as soon as we get back - have you tried that? I think you need to break the cycle she is in at the moment - but there is no point getting cross with her because that will just make things worse :(

HTH a bit
Chloe

PS - has the vet checked her out, adn have you spoken to Lhasa rescue to see if its a common thing?

I would love it if my lot wouldn't want to 'go' when on walks. None too much fun walking four dogs and a couple of steaming poo bags until you can find an appropriate receptavle to deposit them in.

Not so bad in a quiet street, bu when opne deciodes to perform right in the middle of busy high street. Well the looks you get, even though I am stood there with poop bag at the ready!!!

Your own Garden is the most appropriate place for your dog to perform, as it is your property and can be dealt with at your convienience.

If you always take a puppy out to the desiganted spot, they can learn to keep their toileting to a certain area of the garden. Say within a couple of yards.

I love it that Willis won't go on walks - he doesn't even wee on a walk - it makes my life very pleasant :) I don't encourage him to go either when out. If we go visiting then he will go in someone elses garden as a last resort, but I'm ready for it then! I know what you mean - the garden is the most appropriate place.

Our old lab was like this for a while - she refused to wee or poo outside of our garden because of being insecure. As soon as she felt more confident and settled with us she was able to relax and make heself comfortable when we were out - which of course meant more 'picking up' for us!

When you come back from a walk I suggest you stay in the garden with her until she has 'performed'. Let her off the lead and just potter around, looking at the flowers or whatever, just take the pressure off her. She'll go where she feels safe.
:)

Although Libby is not insecure (well shows no signs) she won't GO when on the lead. Let her off and she's fine, and yes it's out with those plastic bags

liberty :)

Could you try to get the scent of some wee on a piece of paper and put it out in the garden, that way she will smell it outdoors and it may encourage her to "go" there instead? Take her out into the garden on her lead and PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE when she performs!!

Terri

Just read this quickly so hope i have the details right, but it sounds as if one of the reasons she was a rescue was because she was never housetrained and if she acts scared when she has done it, so expecting human punishment, she may well have no idea :(

It is absolutely nothing to do with defiance or Alpha or anything else.......

One aspect that crops up when a pup is punished for messing in the house is that they associate wee or poo and human presence = punishment. So, they are too scared to go when a human is around. So they wont go on a walk as the human is around :(

They then get desperate and "go", often in the presence of the angry owner, who cannot believe the dog has done it in front of them.

She will need going back to absolute basics and certainly build up trust and ignore calmly any messes. Do a ssearch on here for housetraining help, for example please be careful which cleaner you use, as some disinfectants will contain ammonia which will encourage her to go in the house.

Good luck

Lindsay

Hi eveyone ,thanks again for your help,i dont have a problem with her coming home and "going" in the garden our last dog did this most of the time and as you say its easier to clean up .its just that she only seems to want "to go" IN the house,each night just before she goes to bed we go for a walk and then have a wander around the garden (we have a good size garden on different levels the top being quite wild so she has her choice of where she wants to go !)when she does go we all give her lots of praise she takes no notice at all ,allthough at all other times she loves praise!i have had rescue dogs before as well as pedigrees,i love dogs all types ,shapes and sizes but there is something about a cross that is so unique and i know that also means that by virtue of being rescued life has not been straight forward for them,and you have to be aware that there are possibly going to be problems you dont know about,i like to think we can learn together, i have time and patience for Lola as much as she needs ,but ,its the same going for a walk she goes mad when she sees her lead ,but once out keeps pulling to go home she is a very bright and sassy little girl and i cant help feeling she is trying to see who is really the Alpha Dog!! (i am told it SHOULD be me !its just when i look into those big brown eyes!!!! its not easy and whats more i think she knows this !!) ...maybe i am expecting too much too soon after all she is only seven months old ,but why is she waiting to poo and pee as soon as i enter the room?when its obvious she knows she has done wrong ?i just want to get this right,i would not swop her for the world ,(well maybe her toilet habits!!) Ciao, Sue T. p.s. hi Chloe, what does HTH mean?

HTH= Hope this helps HTH :-)
Jane

Hi , Thanks Jane(wish i could do a smiley face!)i have just found a thread "advice for new owners toilet training"page 9 , i say this each time i should check out previous threads !! its just that its a little more tailored to your own problem when you post yourself,anyway i did not realise that puppys had such short memories !!the last thing i want is for her to dread me coming home to her (we hardly ever come into a mess we almost always see her do it !then i say,.. naughty !!,,when i see her do it otherwise i say nothing ,at the moment she gets so excited! when she sees me !it is hard to smile though when she insists on doing it in front of me ,and its not that she is scared !!she just runs in front of me and performs!so i am afraid she is not happy but the sitting room is off limits until we get the hang of it (i have a stair gate so she can see me )Thanks for words of wisdom.Sue T. x

hi there if i were you i would go right back to basics ,when she wakes take her straight outside and when shes eaten ,to relieve herself. when she goes outside go way over the top with praise, but ignore it when she goes inside. if you tel her off the situation will get much worse, try using odour eliminator to spray on the spot where she goes inside its available from your vet,when you come back from the walk don't let her in the house till shes been,its going to take a lot of patience and time but your get there in the end,shes lucky to have you and i am sure she only wants to please you. puppy pads for use indoors are brilliant. GOOD LUCK!

Hi Jackie,you are right its back to basics ,we have had three days and only one accident!YEEEEEEEEEEES! she is a rescue puppy so someone gave up on her early on in her little life (their loss is our gain) but it also means we dont know how she was treated before ! The fun we are all having with her, way outweighs the toilet training setbacks,she loves her walks, still pulls to go home if we walk locally (we have heathland and nature reserve on ourdoorstep)but i have found it easier to take her out in the car(which she absolutley loves) drive 5 mins down the road and walk her away from home ,one thing at a time !! little steps, and even the cats are venturing back slowly but surely ,isnt it amazing how everything changes with a puppy in the house, isnt it great!!!....poo, pee, mud, and all !!Regards Sue T.

great news sue!! keep up the good work

jackie