Maris needs advice about her Golden Retriever:
“I have a 2 yr old golden retriever, female, who weighs 80 lbs. she is generally very well-behaved, but I try and take her for long walks each day. Where we live the walks are usually limited to the same 2 or 3 places. And she also has an affinity for other animal’s feces. Through either attempting to get at animal feces along our walk, or just for no apparent reason – she will decide to just stop walking and no treat or command will prompt her to continue. any suggestions? She’s too heavy to really ‘nudge’ along very far.”
Just to be on the safe side, I would ask the vet to take a look at her just to ensure there is no underlying medical condition contributing to her behavior, though I am sure she will be just fine. Golden’s do like poop and, given a chance, will happily roll around in it all day. The key is to find something she likes more, such as a favorite toy or an extra tasty treat.
In an earlier post, I mentioned that one of the best treats for even the most difficult to please dogs is pilchard (sardine) cake, though tuna cake and liver cake can be just as effective. You can make these at home, but they do stink. I have seen them on Ebay, so you could search and buy it ready made. Find what she cannot resist and use it to lure her away from the poop or to get her moving again.
Also, try and vary the walks. I know you mentioned there are only two or three places, but you can vary the route each time and change the day you go to each. It really can make a difference
Daschunds (often referred to as Sausage Dogs) are a really popular breed nowadays, but are gaining a bit of a reputation for being difficult to train – with housetraining being a particularly troublesome time for inexperienced owners. As every dog is different, this is definitely not going to be a step by step guide to getting your Daschund toilet trained, but rather giving you a few pointers to help you make a success of whichever housebreaking method you choose. more…
Tracy contacted me via my Squidoo housetraining lens:
“I have a seven month old Boxer and I can’t get her potty trained. She doest seem to care if she soils where she sleeps and she gives no signs of needing to go out. I take her out every time she wakes, plays or eats, sometimes she goes outside and then within a few minutes she goes in the house. I have a four year old great dane so i thought she’d learn from him, but she didn’t. I’m really at my witts end so if you have any ideas please let me know. Thank you “
Here is the assistance I was able to offer… more…
Mary Ann posted this question:
“I have a blind 9 yr old daschund. When I cage her she poops in her cage and goes in circles and stomps it in. If I let her loose in the house she still poops and sometimes stomps it in. She does this even if she was just out and has taken care of her business. If I take her in the car with me and let her in there on mild days, she does the same thing and stomps into my leather seat. Any suggestions on what to do with her? I have bopped her nose and scolded her numerous times but with no success. She is doing this more and more as time goes by. I love her to death, but this is getting old.”
This is what I had to say….. more…
Vic posted this problem on the submission page….
“We have 2 Boston Terriers and when we go away for a couple hours the younger one (year and a half old) will chew up things. WHY. The older one(4yrs.old) never has done that so we let the young one lose also and chew chew.
What can we do to stop this behavior ?”
Below is my assessment of the problem and a possible way around it: more…
Melanie sent this question via Squidoo…
“I recently got a chihuahua puppy about 4 days ago, and having a horrible time with potty training her, especially at night time, when she’s in her crate. I have not been using the divider that came along with the crate, but I put a puppy pad on one end of the crate, and a towel at the other end. She cries constantly all night long, and poops(not on the pad) and tracks it all over the crate. It gets everywhere and I seem to have to give her a bath every morning. What am I doing wrong?? Should I use the divider? What tips can you give me for nighttime?”
This is our suggestion on how to deal with the problem: more…
CJ posted this question on my Squidoo puppy potty training lens:
“I recently got a knew mini dachshund puppy (9 wks. old) although i have never had many problems before potty training dogs, this one is throwing me. have tried newspaper, proper sized crate, and outside every hr. or so. do u have any tips on what i can do or may be doing wrong?”
Here is our reply… more…
