A dog eliminating in the wrong place is not an uncommon event in many homes, however, having a home that smells like a dog's toilet is not the nicest! We have a full range of the Eco Pro products that can go a long way to helping your
Withholding - a lot more common than you may think, and happens in various situations
By Scotty Valadao – www.friendsofthedog.co.za – Canine Behaviourist
By Scotty Valadao – www.friendsofthedog.co.za – Canine Behaviourist
Covers shelters dogs that have trouble eliminating in new home, dogs that only eliminate at home, dogs that only eliminate when out, and different substrates.
This can be a difficult toilet training problem to resolve, especially if you do not know the reason why the dog is refusing to go to the toilet in the first place.
Let’s look first at why this behaviour tends to occur:-
If dog eliminates inside during retraining, or areas are already marked.
Please note, that if the dog was eliminating normally previously, and the withholding behaviour has just started, it could be that there is a physical element, so do check with the vet first of all, as if physical, very little you do from a behaviour point of view will assist.
If any ‘accidents’ do occur, make sure you clean with either 1/3 white vinegar to 2/3 water, or a pet specialized product such as EcoPro products, and never use a household product as these often contain ammonia, which will make the area smell more like a toilet than ever.
If there have been multiple accidents in the home previously, best option is to really clean the whole area before starting your new toilet training regime – by the way, dap, don’t rub, as rubbing will just result in the smell being pushed more into any carpeted areas. If any areas are heavily soiled, try dampening them and putting on a layer of bicarb – cover with a plastic container and leave overnight, and then dab with the water/vinegar mixture or dog product. You can even put a few drops of pure citronella oil on top of the soiled area. Dogs, on average, do not like this scent and will avoid these areas.
If the dog does have an accident during training, clean immediately without making any fuss or chastising the dog, and then roll up a newspaper and hit yourself over the head for not supervising! The dog is never, ever, reprimanded for inappropriate elimination.
What to do – the basics
No matter what the reason for the withholding is, what is crucial is to start at the beginning again, as if working with a young puppy. Some pointers to help to change the behaviour below and we have added in a few pointers for dogs that only eliminate when on walks, and those that will only eliminate when at home, at the bottom.
Dogs that only eliminate when they are out – very often what has happened here is that the dog has figured out that the second they eliminate, they are taken home immediately, so they tend to take as long as possible before they eliminate. Praise lavishly as above for when the dog does eliminate, and keeping the dog on lead, have a good 10 minute or so smell around before taking the dog back inside, varying the time period.
Limit daily walks to only once a day and about ten minutes as above, and for the rest of the day, you can engage in the basic routine as described above, with the dog being on lead – balance of daily walks will now take place in the garden.
The dog could also have been punished, or even just shouted at for eliminating in the home, so ensure that his does not occur.
With dogs that only eliminate when at home - are normally nervous of being in new places, and very often will not eliminate when out on walks, only to perform (often in the wrong area), when they are taken home. If the dog was ever punished for performing in the home, this will tend to make the situation worse. Your own reaction can impact as well, as the dog will feel any nervousness thought the lead – so be chilled and laid back.
What you want to do here is to build up the dog’s confidence to being in strange places, and ideally with no other dogs around initially – it may be the other dogs that your dog is nervous of, not just new areas.
We would suggest taking your dog out to the garden for his morning elimination, using the sequence above of rewarding, praising, and using the new cue, and keeping him on lead – with this dog, do not use only one designated area, let him eliminate in any part of the garden he prefers.
In between, choose just one area relatively close to home where other dogs are not likely to be to take your dog for a short walk, and you are going to start using as his new elimination area. You may find that it is easier to start with the area of pavement outside your home, as long as your dog will not stress when cars go by and there are no other dogs. Although the area you choose may be relatively large, do not expect your dog to walk around the whole area, rather keep him closer to the car so he feels more confident (or your gate). You can gradually walk him further away from the car/gate when he is more confident.
When it is getting close to the next elimination time, then go and walk in your new elimination area, really going overboard with praise and treats when he does perform. If he is happy to walk around a bit more, then it is his decision, not yours. Then take him home and do the same for the next elimination time.
Continue in this manner until the dog is happy and confident and eliminating happily in the whole area. Your next step would then be to choose another new location, and yes, you are going to start at the beginning again and gradually build up his confidence.
Many dogs like these have issues with other dogs and that is why they do not want to eliminate, or it could be a combination of a new area and other dogs – remember that when a dog is in the elimination position, especially for a stool, it is in a very vulnerable position. If you feel this is the case, then follow the suggestions above and consider getting hold of a canine behaviourist who can take you to the next step of actually having another dog in the area and gradually building his confidence.
Let’s look first at why this behaviour tends to occur:-
- Fear – especially with dogs that come from a shelter that have not been taught basic toilet training, and that have been shouted at or smacked for eliminating in what the owner decided was the wrong place in the previous home. Dogs such as these will often hide away to find a place to eliminate where the owner will not see them perform, and more often than not this occurs inside the home, behind a couch, inside a box or similar.
Our rescue Willow was just like this, and following the procedure we describe below, over the period of a week, she learnt that eliminating outside was actually a good thing, although she always avoided eliminating in an open area, and preferred to eliminate behind a bush for a good period of time. - Toilet training not taught properly, and dog becomes confused as to which is the right or wrong place to eliminate and tends to think that all eliminating is bad.
- The above tends to be reinforced when a dog does eliminate in the wrong place and the owner may drag the dog to the area the elimination occurred and sticks their nose in it – or the dog is reprimanded for eliminating in what the owner believes is the wrong area - the dog is not being given clear direction as to what is, and what is not, acceptable.
- Substrate – often shelter dogs that arrived at shelter when very young or were born there, develop a preference for a particular substrate to eliminate on, such as sand or concrete. If, at the new home the new substrate is not available, the dog will eliminate on whatever is available when it needs to go.
If dog eliminates inside during retraining, or areas are already marked.
Please note, that if the dog was eliminating normally previously, and the withholding behaviour has just started, it could be that there is a physical element, so do check with the vet first of all, as if physical, very little you do from a behaviour point of view will assist.
If any ‘accidents’ do occur, make sure you clean with either 1/3 white vinegar to 2/3 water, or a pet specialized product such as EcoPro products, and never use a household product as these often contain ammonia, which will make the area smell more like a toilet than ever.
If there have been multiple accidents in the home previously, best option is to really clean the whole area before starting your new toilet training regime – by the way, dap, don’t rub, as rubbing will just result in the smell being pushed more into any carpeted areas. If any areas are heavily soiled, try dampening them and putting on a layer of bicarb – cover with a plastic container and leave overnight, and then dab with the water/vinegar mixture or dog product. You can even put a few drops of pure citronella oil on top of the soiled area. Dogs, on average, do not like this scent and will avoid these areas.
If the dog does have an accident during training, clean immediately without making any fuss or chastising the dog, and then roll up a newspaper and hit yourself over the head for not supervising! The dog is never, ever, reprimanded for inappropriate elimination.
What to do – the basics
No matter what the reason for the withholding is, what is crucial is to start at the beginning again, as if working with a young puppy. Some pointers to help to change the behaviour below and we have added in a few pointers for dogs that only eliminate when on walks, and those that will only eliminate when at home, at the bottom.
- See what the dogs normal elimination patterns are, as this will help you to be successful. On average a dog will need to relive themselves at least 3 to 5 times per day. Each and every dog is different, and age and amount of food, and what fed will impact, but if you watch carefully, you will quickly get a good idea of the approximate times elimination is going to occur.
- The dog is 100% supervised when inside the home, and when taken outside to the toilet, is always on lead – dog is not allowed outside without you at this time unsupervised – you want to take advantage of every chance you get to change the behaviour. If playing ball or similar, engage in this activity after the dog has eliminated and been duly rewarded (will be an extra reinforcer), and then back inside.
- The second you see any signs that the dog does need to eliminate such as sniffing, walking in circles, barking, scratching at the door, put on the lead and take the dog out to the garden.
- Take the dog out in a happy tone of voice, making this a happy, exciting event, and have high value treats near the door to go outside, and as above, put the lead on before going out. It is always a good idea to have a specific cue for toilet time, and if you were using one previously and the dog was having accidents, then change to another cue, as the one used previously was not working. Personally, I prefer ‘hurry ups’ – let’s go hurry ups’. This cue came about having adopted a young 5-month-old GSD rescue, who needed to go out during the night in the middle of a very cold winter – something that will never be repeated!
- If your dog does not eliminate after about 3 to 5 minutes of being outside and sniffing around, then still on lead, take him back inside, keep on supervising, and then take the dog out again about 10 to 15 minutes later, unless the dog shows you that he really wants to go out to eliminate. We want out dogs to learn that going for ‘hurry ups’ means that it is to be done quickly and is not time for a walk around the garden – use procedure as above every time.
- Dogs can be taught to eliminate in certain areas of the garden, so if you decide to go this route, choose where you want the dog to eliminate and take the dog to that area immediately. Let the dog sniff around holding the lead loose , and the very second the dog eliminates ‘good hurry ups’ in a happy tone of voice and doubly reinforce this wonderful behaviour by offering a high value treat – the dog is being rewarded in 3 ways – one, it is able to eliminate – two, it receives your praise – three, it gets a high value treat for eliminating! Let the dog sniff and smell a bit more if it wants to, and then back inside the home.
- You can make your garden smell even more like a toilet to a dog, especially if you decide on using only one area as above. Ask a friend to ‘save’ their own dog’s stools and put in a plastic bag for you. Bring this home, and place in the area of the garden you have decided to use for elimination. Dogs will tend to do the toilet where other dogs have been, so this is a good way to stimulate the dog to eliminate in this area. Ideally, use a new stool every two days, and do for about a week. If you decide to freeze these ‘free samples’, then they must be defrosted before being placed in the area, and normal hygiene measures to be taken.
An alternative to above, is If you have friends that can bring their dogs to visit, then ask them to try and get their dogs to eliminate on the chosen area.
Dogs that only eliminate when they are out – very often what has happened here is that the dog has figured out that the second they eliminate, they are taken home immediately, so they tend to take as long as possible before they eliminate. Praise lavishly as above for when the dog does eliminate, and keeping the dog on lead, have a good 10 minute or so smell around before taking the dog back inside, varying the time period.
Limit daily walks to only once a day and about ten minutes as above, and for the rest of the day, you can engage in the basic routine as described above, with the dog being on lead – balance of daily walks will now take place in the garden.
The dog could also have been punished, or even just shouted at for eliminating in the home, so ensure that his does not occur.
With dogs that only eliminate when at home - are normally nervous of being in new places, and very often will not eliminate when out on walks, only to perform (often in the wrong area), when they are taken home. If the dog was ever punished for performing in the home, this will tend to make the situation worse. Your own reaction can impact as well, as the dog will feel any nervousness thought the lead – so be chilled and laid back.
What you want to do here is to build up the dog’s confidence to being in strange places, and ideally with no other dogs around initially – it may be the other dogs that your dog is nervous of, not just new areas.
We would suggest taking your dog out to the garden for his morning elimination, using the sequence above of rewarding, praising, and using the new cue, and keeping him on lead – with this dog, do not use only one designated area, let him eliminate in any part of the garden he prefers.
In between, choose just one area relatively close to home where other dogs are not likely to be to take your dog for a short walk, and you are going to start using as his new elimination area. You may find that it is easier to start with the area of pavement outside your home, as long as your dog will not stress when cars go by and there are no other dogs. Although the area you choose may be relatively large, do not expect your dog to walk around the whole area, rather keep him closer to the car so he feels more confident (or your gate). You can gradually walk him further away from the car/gate when he is more confident.
When it is getting close to the next elimination time, then go and walk in your new elimination area, really going overboard with praise and treats when he does perform. If he is happy to walk around a bit more, then it is his decision, not yours. Then take him home and do the same for the next elimination time.
Continue in this manner until the dog is happy and confident and eliminating happily in the whole area. Your next step would then be to choose another new location, and yes, you are going to start at the beginning again and gradually build up his confidence.
Many dogs like these have issues with other dogs and that is why they do not want to eliminate, or it could be a combination of a new area and other dogs – remember that when a dog is in the elimination position, especially for a stool, it is in a very vulnerable position. If you feel this is the case, then follow the suggestions above and consider getting hold of a canine behaviourist who can take you to the next step of actually having another dog in the area and gradually building his confidence.