[emmagrace]

Hi everyone

I got my pitty Emma at the end of April. When I first brought her home from the shelter she was recovering from being in a neglected home/a kill shelter before being rescued to the no kill I got her from.

At first I tried to just let her roam the house while I was at work but she was just a tornado of destruction and would usually use my spare bedroom or living room as a bathroom.

After a couple week and countless refills to the carpet cleaner I got her a crate and began to crate train her. Everything was going great with that but it was starting to get into the dead heat of summer and I felt bad having her in her cage with water/food that she wouldnt touch because she would have to go to the bathroom before I got home.

After some trial and error [and 4 new set of blinds] I have got a system down where she walks first thing in the morning to go pee, then I have her crate blocking the living room [its still her safe haven but I dont bother locking her in there anymore] and a locked door to the spare bedroom, leaving my room/kitchen/basement open for her to roam.

She has gotten so used to just going into the basement and doing her 1's and 2's that she will still beg to be let out for a bathroom walk 3-4x a day but not do anything [especially if it is raining out] then we come back in and a few minutes later she just heads down to the basement and handles her business.

Any suggestions on curbing her need to use the basement as a potty and to get her to realize that if she bother me for a potty walk that I expect her to actually go potty?

 

[angelbaby]

Id crate her while you arent watching her { really not cruel and its the only way you will get a hold of the potty breaking} when she comes out its straight outside and TONS of praise when she goes so she learns going outside is good and makes you happy. { alot like you do with pups}. I found it does take alot more tmie and consistency when they are a bit older we brought an adult home last year and had to go through this. I wouldnt allow her to roam the house until she learns where its ok to go to the bathroom.

 

[dixieland]

I agree with angel.We are housetraining a puppy right now.You have to keep an eye on them to prevent any accidents and to keep from confusing them.If you ever cannot watch them for a specific amount of time then crate them otherwise they are going to go anywhere they can and will not learn anything.

 

[helhedded]

Id crate her while you arent watching her { really not cruel and its the only way you will get a hold of the potty breaking} when she comes out its straight outside and TONS of praise when she goes so she learns going outside is good and makes you happy. { alot like you do with pups}. I found it does take alot more tmie and consistency when they are a bit older we brought an adult home last year and had to go through this. I wouldnt allow her to roam the house until she learns where its ok to go to the bathroom.

I agree. Letting Emma roam unsupervised is risky. Emma has to learn that the house is not a place for that. The best way (as angelbaby mentioned) is to keep Emma locked in her crate at all times when she can't be supervised. As soon as you let her out of her crate she is to go straight outside. There is a chance that she will go in her crate but she will learn. The longer you let her roam out of her crate unsupervised the harder it will be for you to break her "going in the house" habit. It also helps if you can catch her in the act and then take her straight outside.

 

[American_Pit13]

Block off the basement. You have trained her that it is ok to go there so now you need to re train her to go outside and that is where she needs to know she has to go.

 

[dixieland]

Also I was going to add that when mine are in their crates I don't put food and water in there with them.They will be fine without it until they are let out again.

 

[performanceknls]

She will be fine without food or water for 8-9 hours a day while you are at work. make sure she has a bone or something safe to chew on in her crate and just put her in there. There is no reason for her to be going to the bathroom in your house you are creating a bad habit that you might not be able to break. Crates are the safest place for her to be while you are gone.

The other option is to build a dog run with a top and a bottom and let her be outside while you are gone and the weather is ok.