My poodle isn't house trained; I am!!!

I hate to be a prophet of doom, but we also had a dear little poodle who, sadly died last year aged 10 years. He was never house trained, I'm afraid. He would go outside if the door was left open, but if closed he thought nothing of 'going' inside. My late DH used to be driven mad by it !

I've just 'rescued' a stray from Sicily. He's a border collie/fox terrier cross aged around six months when I got him. He was house trained in a week and hasn't slipped up yet, although he does have other issues like barking at other dogs. Most embarrassing.

Good luck with your little poodle, I hope someone else can suggest something to help.

There is a thread on a similar problem on Mumsnet. There may be some useful hints there. Good luck!www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/1978726-Help-please-9-month-old-puppy-still-not-toilet-trained

That's a very helpful link from shysal, saved me setting out the back to basics advice. I have not heard that poodles are difficult to house train. The are very intelligent, usually an advantage in any training. I have poodle crosses and have fostered several. I had one arrive at eight months who had until then lived in a barn at the breeders. She was a first cross and very poodle like in looks and nature. I was a bit concerned that as she'd never been toilet trained at that age, it may be a challenge. She was reliably trained within a week. Good luck in training yours, the link to the mumsnet thread gives good, straight forward advice. The only difference is your dogs bladder won't be tiny like a pups so you won't need to be out in all weathers on the hour.

Thanks for the link shysal, very informative if a little disheartening because where doing practically everything suggested already.

Actually Bellasnana rather than being a 'prophet of doom* your post really helped me. We had a consultation with a trainer to help us help our little poodle overcome his timidity and it was she who said they're a difficult breed to toilet train, even though they're intelligent.

When I read your post I thought it is what it is. It doesn't happen all of the time, not even on a daily basis and he's so adorable I'm going to stop worrying about it, do my best and clean up his 'accidents'.

He's like Mary Poppins 'practically perfect in every way'.

Get a cat flap and train him to use it. I've always had to work so always had two dogs so they were company for each other. And a cat flap allowed them access to the garden whenever they wanted to go out to relieve themselves or simply to play with the geese or sunbathe.

Just make sure you secure it at night so the local Tom cat doesn't seem refuge in your kitchen overnight. They come in a variety of sizes.

Re cat flaps- be careful re the size that you buy because a local burglar could being his small child along and he/she could slither through the cat flap and create havoc. This has happened in London.

Yes, I saw Oliver too!!

We had a toy poodle from a puppy of twelve weeks, until he was run over by a car at age 12. When we got the puppy I had an eighteen month old toddler and a three year old daughter. The puppy was toilet trained before the toddler. He was a very good little dog, I loved him and miss him still.

Oh dear I feel your pain smileless we have a rescue greyhound who just dosent "get it" 4 poos and 2xwees in the night.despite being walked before settling down for the night ..put her in her cage and she cries ...someone told me greyhounds where easy

I don't agree with what is said on MN. We used pads and kept moving them nearer the door which worked. But she (my darling little doggie) was put in a kennel too, in the house and took out to do her business. It soon dawned on her that she had to do it outside.

Also, you should be giving the treat where you dog toilets, not when he comes back in. Go out with him and when he goes say "do a wee" or "do a poo" and then treat if he does. Mine now wees on command, especially when we are out or going out in the car but she does it when we are on the scooter too. Get words into his vocabulary, but stick to the same command for the same task. The main key is to keep on doing it, just like you would with a child.

downtoearth Does your greyhound have anything in her cage which smells of you or a toy which she cuddles? You may have to give her your dressing gown or nightdress, something with your scent on but which she can cuddle into. Again, try commanding her to wee, try making her associate the action with the word. Just keep repeating "wee" or "poo" if she does one when out and she will start to associate it. Treats and positive praise when she does it. Also there are vests on the market and they give your dog a hug, for separation anxiety issues. Thundershirt they are called, look them up.

Do your dogs do any other commands like fetch, sit, beg, come or lead? Maybe some puppy lessons would help? Or just spending oodles of time teaching over and over again. Patience and consistency is the key, I think. Especially a rescue dog, lots and lots of cuddles. They ultimately want to please you, so you have to teach them how to. Good luck. x

Just a note on the cat flap idea - ours operates on a chip so only 'paired' cats can come in and I'm sure there are small dog flaps that work in the same way.

We don't have a dog currently but I wouldn't use a dog flap as I'd be concerned about them disturbing the neighbours by barking like the flipping labrador over the road!

thanks Ruby anything in her cage gets chewed,ripped,cuddly toys which she has get mullered within minutes she seems only happy being laying beside me on the setee all day/night ..I think Christmas unsettled her and she has gone back to the way she was 6 months ago when we rescued her..strict routine is the way forward but so hard to keep around the needs of other family members and my energy levels which flag when overtaxed..onwards and upwards

downtoearth Did you look at the Thundershirt? It may help, although look on various sites as prices vary. Good luck. Let me know how you get on. X

downtoearth - good luck with your rescue greyhound. I found crate training for pups and foster dogs a real boon to stop them eating the house. Just a thought, have you looked at those nyla bones (I suspect I've spelt that wrong) they're available on the internet and shops like Pets at Home sell them. They're expensive at about £8 - 12 but even the strongest jaws can't destroy them. I don't know how old your dog is but mine all needed to chew until almost 3 years old so cuddly toys were a non starter as they lasted minutes.

I bought a Thundershirt for my young anxious/rather highly strung dog but it didn't help at all. Dog trainer friends suggest buying a cheap T shirt or similar from the supermarket because it's the feeling of being held in that helps calm the dog. If it's going to work, you can then invest having only wasted about £5 rather than the expense of a thunder shirt. Mind you, buying something big enough for a greyhound yet skinny enough to fit tightly may be a bit of a challenge.

Thanks for the tips Ruby and I am will look at thundershirt have a jumper that I bought for her and put knicker elastic in the bits where her tummy goes up and round the shoulders to keep her snuggly . Nope that doesn't work....also chewed another new harness yesterday as I didn't take it off quickly enough after a long walk (I needed a wee) she is certainly hard work but we love her and quite a complex girl

how old is she downtoearth and how much do you know about her life before she came to you.
I fostered a five year old dog some years ago, she was a challenge. She'd lived indoors with a family and was great with children but she had no idea about boundaries, behaviour or recall. She loved to hunt so recall was an issue. She was with me for a couple of months and we made big progress but she remained a Work in Progress with her new family. My young dog came to me as a pup from an excellent breeder, I met both his parents, followed the advice about early socialisation and training - he's been more work than any rescue of foster I shared my life with. I suspect that as with children, we can help or make things worse but we get a package with a personality.

Morning IAM
Bella is a 4year old ex racer...who was kenneled by the Retired Greyhound Trust...her previous life as a racer apart from her racing results is unknown.
Bella was better until Christmas and visitors knocked her routine out ..so we are now back to basics again ..but she won't go in her crate and cries all night...we gate her in and this is when we get a dirty protest as she wants to sleep on bed with us....we live in a small GF flat so she can see us from the gate as the doors are open...she is walked 4 times a day two in day or as needed..and last thing at night first in morning.. she can hold on as she does if she is allowed to sleep on the bed..chewing is a problem she has a Kong and various chewy things to chomp on but prefers the wooden chairs ..

Oh you do have a challenge there don't you downtoearth. I bet your'e right about Christmas unsettling her, back to basics sounds ideal. I'm a fan of crate training but I wonder if either you go right back to crate training basics, you know always feed her in there and at night she goes in with a tiny high value bit of cheese - then the crate is covered over so it's very dark and she can't see you. I used to leave radio 3 on low - in fact, I still do if I leave mine for longer than half an hour.
Otherwise, if you can remove anything she can chew or damage, could you just leave her behind a child's gate so she can see you and feel secure?
I suppose given the length of her legs, she could simply stride over that.
Many foster carers in the charity I volunteer for allow their dogs to sleep with them. I never have but it does seem to work for highly anxious dogs.
Best of luck - do greyhound rescue have a behaviourist who could advise. Our charity does, she volunteers free of charge and is a life safer.

We do have child's safety gate. And she is able to see us ..crate is covered and she is given a treat when she goes in...in order to sleep we have allowed her on the bed and she is happy to snuggle up. It's easier to was beddingv2-3 times a week than to keep deep cleaning carpet...we used to allow our lab to sleep with us it started as a small pup until 4st Ellie took up bed it was then too late ..when Ellie died we said no more if we have another dog sleep on bed ....Bella is also a nightmare on lead pulling and has had me over twice crossing in front of me ..a short lead means her long legs trip you up..and she is very strong ..trying to cross road..not chase cats..rabbits and other small ferries in our sight is a work continually in progress..mehh

Hi downtoearth I'm so sorry to hear you are struggling with your greyhound. How long is it since you adopted her? We have just adopted (3.5 weeks ago) our third retired racer and each one has had a different approach to transitioning to living as a pet in a home. Our latest is 6 years old and raced 129 races, she has found living in a house a little daunting and has been very nervous, but is a different dog outside on her walks. I wondered how she would cope at Xmas with family coming to stay plus two dogs she'd never met, but she managed! We have had a few "accidents" of the wet variety, but she's got the hang of it now as long as we don't ignore her subtle hints to go out! I do know that greyhounds can suffer from separation anxiety, although so far we haven't had a problem with that. I don't know if you've tried crating Bella in your bedroom? Perhaps if she's actually in the room with you it may help to settle her. Regarding her pulling on the lead, as Iam64 suggested, have you been in touch with your local RGT, they should be able to either help with this or point you in the direction of a dog behaviourist in your area who could give you one to one sessions.

hi moomin thank you for coming in on this...Our bedroom isn't large enough for crate...did speak to one of their volunteers whilst meeting her when walking our dogs ,she was surprised ..perhaps I need to ring them ..have consulted behaviourist nurse at vets ..reply she is settling ..she has been with us since 10th July 2016..so 6 months...as long as we are there she is fine and as long as she can lay on bed during day and sleep with us at night

good to have input from moomin who has experience of rescuing greyhounds. One of my friends recently rescued a greyhound/lurcher and is having exactly the same issues you are downtoearth, though they aren't 6 months in.
I agree with you, ring the rescue, they may have a behaviourist who can offer advice. The dog rescue I volunteer for has a behaviourist who will offer support to foster and adopters on our particular breed.
Best of luck with this. On reflection, my rescue's have taken up to a year to really settle, especially the two who had been badly treated and had little trust in anyone.

Thank you IAM Bella has been on the bed last few nights and no messes..I believe she has developed separation anxiety ...am going to contact RGT about this and other issues like walking etc ....really appreciate the support from yourself and moomin and ruby

I've often wondered why dogs can't have litter trays for the Times when they don't have access to the outisde?