What happened???

[nlavett]

Xasha is eight and a half months old. We got her when she was ten weeks and have done everything by the letter. She has done beautifully. She has been completely potty trained since around 4 months. ZERO accidents. We have a large pool area that is caged in. We have fenced off an area along one side of the cage (around 25' long by 5' wide). This is her potty area. She has a doggy door to access it. (Let me interject before the question is raised...the area is kept up daily) I spend alot of time out here and we allow this to be her "free zone" (i.e. no leash, play time, etc) as long as she is being proper. Last week, we found a pile of poop in the far corner of the pool area. I didn't actually see her do it. No other dogs in the house and I know my cats aren't capable of putting out something that size. Couldn't correct her, don't know what posessed her. Well, tonight....I'm out on the patio...she goes to a side of the cage (totally different spot) and did it again!!!!!! What the h*##? Any insight would be appreciated.

[brunie's mom]

Not sure what the problem is? She pooped outside didn't she??
She may not be able to distinguish between the two areas...they are both outside and both concrete?

I would not be too worried about it. She is a young dog....they have their trying moments.

Gina

[hokisteph5]

If you think it might be medical, take a fecal sample to the vet and have them check for worms, coccidia, etc.

I remember Gretchen tried my patience for months and I wondered if she would ever learn self-control beyond a few minutes of her deciding she had to go. She was having accidents inside, though.

[SABELLESMOM]

For goodness sakes! You expect her to "understand" one fenced area is OK, and another is not? She's a dog! She may be "doing beautifully" as you say, but your expectation in this case is totally out of reach for her.

Nothing posessed her but the urge to eliminate. Outside = outside.

[Urika]

As I continued to read, I assumed you were going to say that she has begun to eliminate inside.

What is wrong with her potting in the section of the yard that you don't want her to? .....Flower beds or veggies? Or is it just because you don't want her to. I am confused.

[Mick Trainer]

To cure this simply go back to reteaching her to toilet in that area you desire. It is simply a matter of her not quite making the association 100% or simply trying else where for some reason but in the end the solution is to go back a few steps in training and re-establish it.

Mick.

[nlavett]

In my defense of "expecting too much", maybe I should have been clearer. The caged area around the pool is concrete. Her potty area is grass/dirt. I don't believe outside is outside. We set this area up before we even got her. This is where she has been taught to go since day one. Of course we had accidents early on. Of course I know she's still a pup. But when you say the urge just came on....I don't agree with that. She holds the urge when crated. There is a doggy door in said area that she has access to and has never had a problem going in and out of. At 8 months, actually 9 today, I do expect she can hold the "urge" to get 10 feet to the appropriate spot.

I hate to think that I can't expect her not to go on the patio because it is outside. It is a living area the same as in the house and is treated as such.

And of course I don't expect her not to go in some other part of the yard when we are outside of the pool area. Dirt/grass = acceptable. Not my patio!!!! She doesn't go on the concrete sidewalk when we go for a walk.

And I want to reiterate....this is the only problem. She is not having accidents anywhere else. Not in the house, her crate, other people's homes, class, etc. Nowhere.

[Mick Trainer]

It is fine to teach here to identify such areas and in the end expect her to go in this area just as others expect the dog to go outside (and thus make the distinction between inside and outside). It is simply a more difficult association for the dog to make so you must expect a few mishaps, mistakes etc and when you see one as described go back to training as though it is from the start. A few weeks odd should do.

Mick.

[nlavett]

I think we figured it out. Xasha went to her breeders for a few days last week. First time she has been away from us overnight since we got her.The kennels there are concrete floored. Hmmmm..? Could this be the reasoning for the new behavior? I was so confused because truly, it's been 4+ months since any kind of accident. It's not like she has always been doing this. It was alarming because it was new.

I agree Mick, that we retrain from the beginning. I feel bad though because that means she loses her "free space". As this is the only problem area. After I posted this morning, she did it again. I caught her in the middle of the act and with a sharp NO redirected her to her area where she finished her business. Lots of praise afterwards.

Am I to assume that everytime she goes to the breeder we will have to retrain when she comes home, or is it safe to say that she will eventually "get it" as far as what is acceptable at which place. That seems more likely to confuse her.

[princessmom]

Hi, I was just curious. What does she go back to the breeder for?

[nlavett]

PrincessMom,

We are fortunate that our breeder is literally 20 minutes or so away from us. My daughter was involved in the steer show at the Strawberry Festival that week. We spent from sun up to sun down there. So, I boarded her with "Grandma" (her breeder). When we got Xasha, she specifically asked us to not take her to other boarders if we needed to go somewhere. I too feel better about her being there rather than anywhere else. As I said, it's the first time she's went since we got her. However, she will be going back this Thursday as she is going to travel to a show early Friday in NC with her breeder. So...it's not a regular occurence. Not for overnight. We do go for training for Seiger show every couple of weeks though. It enables Xasha to train/watch around the other dogs.

[princessmom]

Oh, that is really convenient. I hate to board my dogs and so I end up not being able to go away very often. I had read your post and was just trying to figure out why a dog would need to go back to the breeders at times. Thanks for answering, I would have kept wondering!!!lol.

[SABELLESMOM]

You did not mention the one area was grassed and the other not. That makes a difference. While outside is still outside, in the sense there are see thru "walls" and no ceiling, you should be able to go back a few steps to have her understand.

I believe you're right about the trip back to the breeders....hmmmm, concrete floors, with fences, I assume? From Xasha's perspective, can see where the association mistake was made.

Oh, and HAPPY 9th MONTH BIRTHDA, XASHA!

[nancyhq]

I'm not sure if this will help but one of my dogs started going potty on my patio right by the sliding glass door last sumnmer. It was odd to us too. We took him to the vet and found he had worms. After his treatment he started going in his usual areas again. However, since he's gotten older he will still do this when he is let out to go potty if the weather is bad. We don't redirect this because of his age and the behavior changes as soon as the weather does. My point is....if it's odd behavior there is often a reason. Sounds like you've found her reason.

[nlavett]

Just a follow up....seems like we are back on track. Went back to square one and she seems to have picked it back up (fingers crossed). Thank you for all of the advice. My apologies for leaving out crucial info in my first post and causing confusion. Thanks everyone who posted.