We have a beautiful and smart 15-week old French Brittany named Piper. We've had her since she was 8-weeks. We absolutely love her, but we've been having some serious trouble with the her housetraining when aren't home.
When we are home, she rarely has accidents. The main issue is that she'll poop and pee in her crate when we are gone or sleeping. We've tried making the kennel smaller (so she can only lie down, turn around) and taking out her blankets. Her response was to EAT any poop accidents and lap up any urine accident. (I've caught her in the act.) I think she's trying to keep her space clean....so I guess that's a good instinct. Eating poop? Not so great!
At the vet's recommendation, we relocated her to an empty room in our house. (We actually moved out all the furniture!) We left her kennel open and newspapers on the floor. But it was the same story. We'd find just remnants of poop near (but not on) the papers. Sometimes we found pee on the papers. And she started jumping the gate and getting into trouble (despite all the nice toys in there with her!). Now, we're trying a larger kennel with newspapers in one area and her bed in another. But she just poops whenever and eats it...
She does much better at night, but it's not nearly fool proof. We get up at 2:00 a.m. to let her out, and again at 5:45. I'm wondering if maybe she needs more chances to go outside during the day? When we are working, we have two dog walkers, so she goes out every 3 - 3 1/2 hours each day. She's nearly 4 months, so you'd think that would be enough. She also gets three 20 minutes walks and one 30-45 play time with a neighbor dog every work day. But maybe she needs more exercise too?
We tried giving her pineapple to discourage the poop eating, but so far that hasn't worked. I had a dog with separation anxiety (she was a rescue) previously. And this really doesn't seem to match any of those symptoms. So I don't think that's it.
We are half-way through a puppy training course with her, and I just started her in puppy agility this week. I'm hoping training will help....
Here are my questions:
1. She's almost 4 months. Is this too old for this kind of behavior? Are we to assume she'll grow out of it? We're worried about her making these bad behaviors a habit.
2. Anyone out there with similar issues? What did you do?
3. Should we try having her let outside more often? Even thought she's almost 4 months, I'm starting to wonder if she just can't hold it for 3 hours at a time during the day. Dog walkers are expensive, but I really want her to kick this habit...and I feel so bad for her!
When we are home, she rarely has accidents. The main issue is that she'll poop and pee in her crate when we are gone or sleeping. We've tried making the kennel smaller (so she can only lie down, turn around) and taking out her blankets. Her response was to EAT any poop accidents and lap up any urine accident. (I've caught her in the act.) I think she's trying to keep her space clean....so I guess that's a good instinct. Eating poop? Not so great!
At the vet's recommendation, we relocated her to an empty room in our house. (We actually moved out all the furniture!) We left her kennel open and newspapers on the floor. But it was the same story. We'd find just remnants of poop near (but not on) the papers. Sometimes we found pee on the papers. And she started jumping the gate and getting into trouble (despite all the nice toys in there with her!). Now, we're trying a larger kennel with newspapers in one area and her bed in another. But she just poops whenever and eats it...
She does much better at night, but it's not nearly fool proof. We get up at 2:00 a.m. to let her out, and again at 5:45. I'm wondering if maybe she needs more chances to go outside during the day? When we are working, we have two dog walkers, so she goes out every 3 - 3 1/2 hours each day. She's nearly 4 months, so you'd think that would be enough. She also gets three 20 minutes walks and one 30-45 play time with a neighbor dog every work day. But maybe she needs more exercise too?
We tried giving her pineapple to discourage the poop eating, but so far that hasn't worked. I had a dog with separation anxiety (she was a rescue) previously. And this really doesn't seem to match any of those symptoms. So I don't think that's it.
We are half-way through a puppy training course with her, and I just started her in puppy agility this week. I'm hoping training will help....
Here are my questions:
1. She's almost 4 months. Is this too old for this kind of behavior? Are we to assume she'll grow out of it? We're worried about her making these bad behaviors a habit.
2. Anyone out there with similar issues? What did you do?
3. Should we try having her let outside more often? Even thought she's almost 4 months, I'm starting to wonder if she just can't hold it for 3 hours at a time during the day. Dog walkers are expensive, but I really want her to kick this habit...and I feel so bad for her!
