house-training problems

by katie
(rensselaer, IN)

i have an 11 month old male basset hound, and i am still struggling to house train him.

i know that he knows to go outside, because he will hide when he messes. also, when i put him in a crate, he will mess in there. even if it is just small enough for him to get into, he will mess on himself.

i know that it is not a matter of having accidents, because he stops if you catch him at it. what do i do????




Hi Katie
I'm sorry to hear that you're still having problems with housebreaking. That can be extremely frustrating I know.

Although it appears as though your pup is doing this on purpose, he isn't. Dogs simply can't reason in the way you think he's doing, they don't have that capability. They are however very capable of linking cause-and-effect and they learn by association.

He's learned that if you see him eliminating in an inappropriate place then you will be angry, and he's going to get into trouble. So, he tries to 'hide' or stops what he's doing. But he doesn't actually choose to eliminate knowing it's wrong.

However, that isn't any help right now. Most puppies/dogs won't eliminate in a crate that is small enough if they can possibly help it. Sometimes puppies who come from 'puppy mills' or pet shops and have been kept in tiny crates for long periods (especially if this was before they had any bladder/bowel control) have been forced to eliminate in their crates and have lost their natural reluctance to do so.

I wonder if this is a possibility for your pup? Or perhaps he is having tummy issues due to a sensitivity to his food and has the 'urgent' need to eliminate, or he needs to 'go' more often than he has the opportunity. Not all dogs have good control even at 11 months of age.

I would suggest that you have your vet check him out to make sure there are no underlying physical/health issues that could be causing this behavior. Also, be sure to use a good, enzymatic cleaner to remove all traces of odor/stains from the areas where he has eliminated indoors. Use it on his crate too. Regular cleaners really aren't effective at this. You can find out more about this on my Dog Urine Cleaning page.

If he check out okay physically, perhaps a change in diet (done slowly, over a period of at least a week) may help. There are many good foods available for dogs with sensitivities or allergies and one of them may suit your pup better. My Dog Food Allergies page has lots of tips and advice on this.

If you're not feeding him a premium food right now, changing from a generic or store-brand food will help reduce the number of stools he has per day. Cheaper foods contain less nutrition per cup and contain a lot of junk/fillers which pass through your pup pretty much undigested. This makes for larger, more frequent (and smellier) stools.

If none of the above seem to help, I would recommend talking to your vet and perhaps getting a referral to a behaviorist or similar.

Best of luck.