General

I have a friend who recently adopted a dog from the shelter. She (the dog) is approximately 5 years old and was rescued from a puppy mill.
The problem is that the dog refuses to go to the bathroom outside. When my friend takes the dog outside, the dog just stays close to her side and will not go to the bathroom. As soon as she goes inside the house, the dog will promptly use various locations in the house to relieve herself.
My friend says she knows the dog is aware that this behavior is unacceptable just her demeanor. She hangs her head and acts ashamed, etc.
How can my friend get the dog to understand that she MUST go to the bathroom outdoors?

My rescue did the same thing, so I bought pee pads and confined her to the bathroom when I was not there and she got the hang of it. And when I was there and she peed, I put her out on the deck immediately and left her out there for 15 minutes and that helped. Both my fosters peed in the house when I first got them and now it's rare. Maybe they just need some time to adjust to their new environment. I also bought some better food (Avoderm) and that cut down the urinating as well. Please give it time.

Patience and repetition are what this poor pup needs 2. I'd recommend geting a crate to train her. And don't scold her for the accidents, she's scared & very insecure and just needs to learn confidence and feel safe.
MUCH luck to you & good for you for giving her a second chance.

Thank you both! However, my question about the crate is, since she spent all of her life in a cage (pregnant and producing puppies) would a crate be a good idea?

What works for me is cleaning up the pee inside with a paper towel and throwing the towel right outside the door to let the dog know, "this is where your pee goes". Maybe my dogs are strange, but this has worked for all of my former adult stray dogs.

I'd think not as long as you don't use the crate in a negative aspect, never put her in there to punish her. Let her know that it is her safe place. She may actually feel more secure in it as this was the only way she'd lived before. Dogs don't think like we do & don't live in the past, ya know? They live in the now & how they feel NOW is what helps them heal. Does that make any sense? And when training her, you want to praise good behavior. Redirect when she displays negative behavior, don't punish her. She'll learn better and will gain confidence when she feels good, not when she feels bad.

It's mostly the pooping that is causing her the biggest headache. Can the pee pads be used for both and can they be effective once the dog has already gotten into the habit of going on the floor?
Also, if the dog was used to pooping and peeing in the cage and just getting hosed down before, wouldn't it think the crate as the same thing?

I had the same problem with my shelter pup, Shyla. It was like she thought that's were she was supposed to go.
I just kept correcting her gently...putting the paper towels outside and not leaving her unattending in the house.
Finally, one day it was like a "Light bulb" moment! She got it! I quickly shampooed the carpet with Bissels Pet Care formula! Yay!! No more problems!

So she should clean the messes with the towels and put them outside? So, the dog smells them when she's outside, ergo, making that important connection?
Hmmmm...thanks everyone! I will let her know (Really it's a friend--NOT me! LOL!)
ANy other tips would be greatly appreciated too! I have her try some of these this weekend!

I use the crate at night for crate training. I've also noticed that since it's a secure place when my puppy gets upsett about something he heads for the crate, it's his "happy place." First thing in the morning I take him out and he goes in the back yard. Of course then he decided he couldn't go outside unless I was with him. I carry treats in my pocket and give him treats when he goes outside. He also has a special blanket and baby just for the crate. Also Nature's Miracle does wonders about taking out pet oder and stain, even old ones. It's a little pricy, but well worth it. You pour it on the stain, put a towl or washcloth down and leave it. it breaks up the enzimes and the oder and stain will absorb up into the cloth. You can also spray it with water after it's dry and it'll re-activate. It saved my downstairs carpet.

2 don't forget, don't put human feelings in a dog.
As long as the crate is just big enough for her to stand up & turn around & you let her out often, she'll get the idea. But you don't have to use a crate, it could be any small area that you can confine her in. & don't forget, be consistant(sp?)!! Just because something doesn't "work" after a coupla days, does not mean it won't.

I told her on Friday about what I learned here. I haven't talked to her yet, but I am anxious to know if anything helped. Thanks for the tips.

I foster dogs for a rescue. Recently I have 2 fosters and couldn't figure out which one was pooping in the house. I decided to place the younger one in a crate because she was roaming the house around 4:00am in the morning. She now sleeps in a crate when it is time to go to bed so she is restricted until I choose to get up (around 6:00am). It has worked for a couple of days. I just hoping this will give her the routine that she needs. I make sure she is taken out before she is placed in the crate at night. She then is expected to go out after coming out of the crate in the am. I will let everyone how it goes.

Housebreaking a puppy mill dog is challenging. I would try two things.

1)If she was puppy mill raised, she may be used to going potty on top of a grate. I’d go to the thrift store and get an old shelf from out of a refrigerator. I’d set that up in the yard, or confine as you do with crate/confinement training, and set it up on newspaper in the house. She may naturally go potty on it. Eventually, you could cover up the grate with dirt, until she realizes dirt is OK too. (I had to use a similar technique with a dog that would potty on grass only, and I had no access to grass.)

2) I have no experience yet with this technique, but have heard it works well with some dogs.
It’s a bit intense, but I’ve heard it often works within two weeks, if you can do it. I’m about ready to try it myself with my new dog.
Tie a short leash to your belt. The dog goes on the other end. Where you go, the dog goes. It stays by your side so you can notice everything it does. When it potties outside, praise it, etc. When inside, the dog must stay by your side. Every time the dog needs to go potty, it will likely get up and move around. Immediately take it outside, praise it, etc.
That is it. Luckily mine won’t potty in the crate, but as soon as he is out of my sight, anything goes. For awhile, I will be doing this whenever he is outside his crate.

What also worked with the "potty on the grass" dog (who I believe had been somebody's backyard breeder) was a doggie door. She never did figure out how to tell me when she had to "go". With the doggie door, which led out to a chain link kennel with a top on it, she could take herself out as needed.

The potty problem dog was only 15 pounds, so she was safe from the wildlife in the kennel.

That's a neat tip about the fridge grate on the grass. Hope that works!!
& 2, just so you know, crates that you get from the petstore are not breeder crates & look different specially the bottoms, so I wouldn't worry bout that.

Ronnie, question for ya - Why the comment about your dog's weight? Yotes & other wildlife have been known to attack much larger dogs. But having an enclosed kennel is good protection!!

Just that in the 50 years I've lived in coyote country, my experience has been the smallest pets are more often targets in their own yards. Most coyotes won't climb the fence and attack a large dog in its own territory. Now, if they can get the dog to follow them into the coyote's territory, all bets are off.

I know of numerous cases where, in broad daylight, a coyote has snatched a cat or a smallish dog by climbing over the fence and taking it back over, coming up onto the deck, and even grabbing it off the leash while being walked. It's a bit harder for a coyote to grab a large dog and carry it back over the fence.

I had one coyote follow me at mid-day while I was walking my little dog on a leash. He'd stay back 100 feet or so, but would trail us the entire time.

Cougars will take anything, the raccoons will come through the doggie door, and the hawks and owls will take small cats and pocket dogs. Hence the kennel with a top. Keeps my various pets safer.