Training

[Miley153]

Hi I am new here my dog is Miley
Miley was doing great with potty training(she is two) but then my brother got a puppy. All of a sudden Miley was pooping in the house instead of outside. We've had the puppy for about 4  months. Both dogs poop in the house. We take them out on a regular basis and they pee then they come in and poop in the house a couple minutes later. Help me please!!!!

[Mai Tai]

Well I think Miley is pooping and peeing in the house because the puppy is doing it.  Dogs will poop and pee to mark their territory and Miley wants the puppy to know that the house belongs to her.  You will have to potty train both dogs.  I would look on this site for the crate training posts as they are very helpful.  I have two dogs also, and don't know how I could have done it without crate training.  You don't say whether the new dog is male or female, but if it is male, neutering it at the appropriate age (around six months), will help to keep it from marking it's territory.  It is not a guarantee, but it is very hard to stop them from marking without neutering.  Females mark too, but it is not as frequent a problem as it is with males.  I know this can all be VERY difficult.  It took me about 4 months to housebreak our second puppy, and only two weeks to housebreak the first, so dogs do differ.  You have to be consistent and patient.  Research crate training and see if it is something you are interested in.  There are also other methods which are just as valid, but I have not used them, so I cannot speak for them.  Best of luck and let us know how you do.  The people on this site are very nice and extremely helpful, so I am sure someone else will give you more info.  Take care, and welcome to the site.

[Miley153]

The puppy is a female. The thing is we have 5 guys(not including my mother) in our family and none of them like to take 5 min. to take the dogs to the bathroom and at night they expect a middle school girl to go outside with a four pound dog.It would be different if it was a pit bull but it's not. They expect me to take Miley out at 9(before it gets dark) and have Miley hold it in till 12 the next morning.They are so annoying!!! So if not everyone is on track the dogs are never going to learn. And we do have crates. When my brother got his dog he took Miley's crate and Miley has to use a really small one so I don't make her all cramped and lock her in. She just goes in it when ever she wants. I can't afford a new crate(I am a middle school-er)
Help me Please I'm confused???     

[Kim]

So sorry to hear that the guys aren't helping you out. But I have to say that training and taking care of 2 dogs is something the WHOLE family has to do. You should tell your brother that if he is not willing to train and take care of the dog then he should not have got one.

First, I suggest giving them their last meal no later then 6 and their water no later then 8. That way, they will have time to go to the bathroom before you go to bed. It's also best that they sleep with an empty bladder.

Second, stay out longer even after they have peed. If they do poop outside, praise them and give them a treat. Try just standing in one place for a couple of minutes while they just circle around. Hopefully, they will get the idea that they aren't going back inside until they have pooped. If you have a scheduled time when they eat, you should know when is the time they will poop.

Third, if you can, try using the pee pads during the times when you can't take them for a walk, i.e. night time. Or you can just use newspaper. Basically, you will have to train them to only "go" on the newspaper and no where else. If they keep peeing or pooping in the same place in the house, it may mean that you did not clean the spot up and it still has the scent.

I know it's a lot of info. but I hope it helps. I really hope that your family will get more involved in training and taking care of the dogs because it's not something you should do on your own. I know if I had to do it alone I would go crazy. And I only have 1 dog.

Keep us posted.