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1) Introduction.
If the dog has once been housetrained and is now unclean make sure that the problem is not due to an urinary infection or diarrhoea, which may be caused by a food allergy. Also ensure that the dog is not being asked to remain clean for an unreasonable length of time. If long periods of confinement indoors are unavoidable, provide an area lined with newspaper where the dog is allowed to relieve itself.
The dog has to be taught that it will please you and be praised when it relieves itself outside. Your dog may have been punished when it was unclean and have learnt, not that soiling the house was wrong, but that relieving itself where you could find the urine or faeces was wrong. Such dogs try to relieve themselves where it will not be noticed in the house and when outdoors on a lead will wait until they are running free before doing so.
2) Retraining.
Retraining starts by confining the dog on soft bedding in an area so small that it only has room to lie down comfortably. After a few hours take the dog out on a lead to the back garden. If the dog has never relieved itself on the lead, substitute a 30 foot length of light nylon rope ( Canadian Tire ) but do not just turn the dog out into the yard. Give the dog no more than 5 minutes using a phrase such as "Clean dog" or "Hurry up". If nothing happens in 5 minutes the dog goes straight back into its travelling cage or pen. When the dog does relieve itself do not rush up to it as it might think that it is going to be punished. Instead praise it from a distance, slowly approach and show your pleasure. When you go into the house have the dog with you in a room where he cannot leave or hide from you. This will be an additional reward for having relieved himself in the right place. When you can no longer keep an eye on him, return him to his pen but take him outside as before every few hours except at night.
When the dog is relieving himself promptly when taken out of the cage he should be allowed to be with you in the same room but not allowed the unsupervised run of the house. I find baby gates across doorways are a great help for this. Continue to take the dog outside frequently on a lead, maybe adding treats to the spoken praise when he relieves himself. This makes the act of relieving himself a conscious action, something he has learnt to do to please you and this gives him a reason to go to the door and indicate when he wants to go out.
When a dog has got to the stage that he is making no messes when with you in the same room, is asking to go out and relieving himself promptly outside he can be given more freedom but if a single mess is made indoors, bring the dog to the spot and scold in a low growling voice while making the dog look at the mess. Do not hit him and go back to caging for a few days. Areas which were soiled previously should never be cleaned with a product containing ammonia or bleach. Instead use a biological detergent such as President’s Choice Laundry Detergent with Enzymatic Action which removes the protein component of the urine or faecal matter, rinse well and finish with a solution of 25% white vinegar and water. Remove excess water with a towel and allow to dry completely. These areas should be the last parts of the house the dog is allowed to enter.
I have found if I always precede taking the dog out to relieve itself with the question "Do you want to go out?", a strong association is built up between the words and the action. My dogs react to the question in various ways if they need to go out.
3)Training puppy mill dogs.
If a dog has been kept for a time in poorly run kennels or animal shelter where it was in a small cage and allowed to lie in its own filth the caging method above may not work as it will soil its bed. It is always worth trying the caging method first as it is the easiest but if, after a week, the dog still soils its bedding the following method should be used.
For a week the dog should go everywhere in the house that the owner goes, being taken outside at regular intervals and always instantly when it starts to sniff the carpet or in any other way suggests it needs to go out. If the dog is afraid of relieving itself in the owner's presence the long nylon rope should be used. The command word, praise and treat should be used as before. To keep the dog next to you in the house tie the rope or lead round your waist. In a family the task may be shared. At night put the dog's bedding besides your bed and tie the dog so it has enough lead to lie down comfortably but not wander round the room. When the week is up try to keep the dog with you but not tied to you. It should not be left alone in a room until it is showing signs of wanting to go out and relieving itself promptly when taken out.
In the winter, female dogs may soil in the house because as they squat to urinate or defecate, tender parts of the body come into contact with the snow. Unless you are watching the dog constantly while it is out you may assume the dog has relieved itself when it has not. These dogs then lose control in the house and learn how much more pleasant this is than relieving themselves outside. With female dogs or small male dogs dig out an area in the snow that they can use before starting the retraining described above.
Any dog that defecates in the house should be put on a high quality dog food if not already on one. To get a low price per pound, cheap foods use large amounts of filler that the dog cannot digest. This leads to large stools which make it difficult for the dog to be clean over long periods. Precise and Natural Life are both excellent dog foods which produce small stool volumes. The amount you feed per day is so much less that they are not as expensive as they seem. A 60 lb dog will eat 2 cups a day costing about 90 cents.
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