Hi there,

I so hope someone can help.

We rehomed (private add, not an animal shelter) a bassett hound called Truffle 6 months ago. She's 6 years old and a lovely dog in every way except she is not toilet trained- well sometimes she will go out side in the garden but 9/10 she will go to the toilet in our hall way during the night and day when we are at work. When we are at home with her all day she she will occasionally go to the toilet inside even following letting her out. When we rehomed her the previous owner said that she was toilet trained so I hoped it would just settle down.

Also we find if we forget to close our bedroom doors she will go to the toilet on our bed, our daughters bed, her own bed and yesterday she even did a poo on our desk-what a lovely surprise!!!!! :)

She is such a lovely dog and full of mischeif and I really want her to stay with us as she's a much loved part of our family. However, obviously I can't have a dog going to the toilet in the house day and night. Can anyone help?

Thanks, Jo

how long has she been with you? my boy did belong to my parents and he is perfectly toilet trained. however, once he moved in with my partner and i he spent a few days widdling all over the place till he settled in, then back to fine.

otherwise i would think you need to go back to basics and toilet train her again- have you had a pup and know how to do this?

You will need to start her training all over again as though she was a puppy but you can allow longer of periods of time due to a better bladder control in an adult.  So this means taking out and going with her after every meal and every nap.  Waiting for her to perform and then praising her.  If you give a command word as she goes after a while you will be able to use this word as a prompt which will help speed things up.  How long are you leaving her in the day and is she used to that period of time on her own?  Does she sleep in the hall?  It is a good idea to restrict the area that she has use of during the night as they are more likely to hang on.

We have had her since August, so nearly 6 months now. She used to live with another dog-a boxer. The previous owner said that used to leave them for most of the day when she went to work 9-5pm and she said that Truffle was fine to be left re toileting however was quite naughty, i.e- empty kitchen cupboards, climb up on tables for food etc. I work 3 days a week and at home the rest of the time. The days that I work my partner goes home at lunchtime to let her out etc and we always leave the radio and lights on for her.

I have not trained a puppy before but have grown up with dogs- this is our first family dog. Do you think it is worth investing in a crate to start the toilet training process?

Thanks for the advice.

> She used to live with another dog-a boxer. The previous owner said that used to leave them for most of the day when she went to work 9-5pm and she said that Truffle was fine to be left re toileting

It is possible that she wasn't entirely clean but that either she or the boxer removed the evidence - plenty of threads on poo eating recently!!

Do you feed her at the same times each day?  On the days that you are home it may be worth making a note of input and output times - I have a dog of 5 who is regular as clockwork.

The other thing you might want to look at is the habit element of her toiletting.  One of my dogs will often not go completely - he has half a poo, gets distracted, then finishes later; I've learnt to just wait him out!  The other dog is much more likely to go if I'm not watching - he likes to takes himself into the long grass or under a hedge and he turns his back on me whilst going.  With the exception of the late night outing, both boys are more likely to toilet after exercise - the walking seems to stimulate them to go.

I'm not sure a crate at this late stage will be the answer.  At age 6 it's likely that your girl has developed clear habits and preferences - you may just need to understand them better and then factor them into your routines.  Do check your partner is exercising at lunchtime rather than just letting her out.  In the meantime when she is left on her own do confine her to an 'easy clean area' in case of accidents and, as others have said, go back to basics with rewarding her for going outside.

Bassetts, on a whole really don't enjoy being on there own, they can become distressed they are real pack dogs in the very sense of the word, need rather than want company.  Toileting is often a way to relieve stress or to mark territory. At 6 years old as already said, it isn't the fact that she can no longer hold her bladder, so there may well be other reasons why she is doing it, I feel being on her own may well be one of those reasons.

As already advised treat her as a big pup to start toilet training again and see if that does help. I note you have not trained a pup before, praise her like mad when she does toilet in the garden to get the message across that she has done good, and completely ignore her when she goes in other places.

I would never myself put an adult dog which is not used to a crate in a crate, it is differenent using them for a puppy and then keeping them as a den for an older dog, but IMO it will cause her even more stress.   What I would advise is that you pop up dog gates to confine her into larger areas, but be warned she may well become distructive aswell, if a dog is bored it may well find it's own entertainment, as this breed does not enjoy being alone, she may do this which is probably why in her previous home the two dogs got up to mischief.

So dog proof a room, hallway, kitchen for her as best you can, put up a dog gate to stop her wandering around the house at least any problems are then contained in one area and keep going with the toilet training. :-) Then give her the freedom of the house when you are awake and home.