Potty training mishaps

Mejinx

Hey guys, our little Shiba has been really good about not messing up in the house, she is only 4 months old. However, it seems recently she has messed up more and my fiance caught her in the act this last time but was kind of in too much shock to do anything about it...So she was not corrected while doing it. I guess she thought she was just sitting down and then went to pick her up and she was peeing! o.O and she didn't know what to do because it was going all over so she just picked her up and put her in her crate and didn't even say anything. This of course was right after she had just come in from outside. Why she didn't go outside is beyond me. Also she was at my dad's house yesterday and ran downstairs to take a dump on the floor ( This is more understandable because she was in a different environment then her own house, but still). And last week in her puppy kindergarten class, we had just come in from outside and she started playing with the other puppys then stopped and took a crap.

Anyways, I told my fiance next time she needs to take her straight outside while caught in the act of going in the house in case la I am not around. (i was sleeping this last time :) )

I am just looking for some suggestions as it seems she lately is more comfortable with going in the house instead of outside. She goes outside and sniffs around and plays instead of doing her bussiness. Seems to be more stubborn and not going when we take her out. We praise her every time she goes outside to use the bathroom. Short of sitting there with treats, im not sure what else to do.

Also when we are not home she is in her crate and when she is out, we try to have a very close eye on her, but she is just so quick, we don't always see her leave the room.

Thanks.

JessicaRabbit

Do gs tend to have more accidents when they are having growth spurts. Just remain consistent. She will get there.

tsukitsune

Agreed with jessica's comment... Also, dogs do not see other dwellings the way we do, I think through consistent housebreaking and pottying before entering they will begin to be able to hold it better when visiting other houses, but its never 100%. Just this past winter my 1 1/2 year old took a twosie on my mom's rug, because we barely bring the dogs there so she didn't really know any better. Oops on my part, not hers.

TheWalrus

Haru seemed wonderfully housebroken when she first arrived. After the first few weeks she started having the same issues you're having now. As she started to settle in, she seemed more comfortable with peeing in the house. It doesn't take very much for a puppy to get confused about where exactly the toilet is.

A couple tips that worked for us on the other side of the Pacific.

-Always supervise your pup. Don't give them too much room to roam around the house at first. Giving Haru too much space too fast never ended well for us.
-Pick a toilet spot as close as possible to home. Head there first every time you go outside.
-Anytime puppy stops playing/eating/sleeping make a quick trip to the toilet.
-Consistency and patience. Lots of it. We had a few times like you described where puppy would get walked, and moments after setting foot in the house, decided to pee.
-Playtime outside AFTER taking care of business. Haru now goes outside, beelines to her spot, does her business, and then runs to me with a big smile for playtime.

Pups are fast and sneaky with their 'accidents'. I've only ever caught Haru twice. I didn't really 'correct' her, just gave her a light 'no' and took her outside. I'm of the opinion that once they've already picked a spot in the house and are 'going' it's a little late for any sort of action. My focus is more on picking up signals and getting puppy to the toilet before it happens.

lindsayt

Ike is 2 years old and last week he peed in the guest bedroom. His cues are very subtle. It may have been related to a puppy bitch that's been visiting, but I think it boils down to keeping close eyes on them and learning to read very subtle signals. Also, remembering to keep "off limits guest rooms" gated off is important.

yukidomari

Some people like to take the pup to the same spot outdoors everytime, we like to walk ours a bit when potty training and praise whereever it is they go outside. All of "outside" is pretty much all okay, and we've found if we just took them outdoors and sat in one spot, that they'd either A) sit with us or B) pull the leash to walk somewhere else.

Don't play with them when they're outside until they've finished their business, and if you find that she sneaks off and pottys when you take your eye off her for a second, you can always try the leash method in which you attach a short/medium lead to her and you at all times. We also teach our dogs to potty on command. Whenever they are going, we say a cue word that become associated with it. This makes it really easy to travel with them, especially in doggy-walk areas in airports. :)

And of course, you need patience and consistency. Lilith took just about 2 easy weeks to housebreak, and if Shiba inu are anything like other spitze, it shouldn't take you too long either. :) Good luck!

Mejinx

thanks for all the suggestions and tips, we will definitely give them a try.