# New Here- 14 mo. male - poop training issues still



## carlyphillips1 (Jun 3, 2011)

Sorry for long title. I need help please! I have a 14 mo old male Hav, Brady. (I also have a 5 yr old female wheaten terrier). I have been consistent in crate training since we got him from breeder, taking him outside to one place, "do business" command etc. I'm a very routinized person. They should know what to expect by now. Yet unless I am ahead of him, knowing the times he has to poop, he will poop where ever he is in the house including on my bed. I've gotten pretty good at knowing his times but on occasion, like a rainy day or he didn't "finish" all outside, or I don't go outside with him (rare), he'll go wherever. Weirder still, he will scratch at the door to go out, I open to go out w/him, he's already walked away and won't come to go. Other than that, his training is pretty good for what we need/live with here! Help please!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

These guys can just take a LONG time. While Kodi didn't have many (if any) accidents at that age, he also NEVER "asked" to go out. We avoided (poop) accidents by me knowing his schedule. If he didn't go when I took him out, he was confined to the kitchen where his litter box is. While he had been 100% reliable about peeing either outside or in the litter box from a very early age, he has always preferred pooping outside. And if he had the option of the litter box or the dining room rug... it was occasionally the dining room rug.:frusty: So if I didn't KNOW he was done, he didn't get the opportunity to go in that room.

It wasn't until he was close to two years old that he FINALLY started ASKING to go out when he needed to go poop. Now, fortunately, he's pretty reliable about asking. If he hasn't asked by supper time, we take him out right after supper anyway. Usually the combination of a full timmy and a quick but brisk walk will get things moving.


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## CrazieJones (May 28, 2011)

Same breed. Different problems. Funny.
Roshi was good at asking to go out by about 9 months. However, my 'asking' training turned against me. Sigh. When he was really wee, I trained him to pounce on the door to reach the bells before going out. Then when he got a bit bigger, all the pouncing and bell swinging scratched up my walls.  Now my wall next to the door looked like Wolverine came for a visit! So I removed that 'asking' system, and now he is trained to bark to go out. However, since loves being outside, he could stand at the door every half hour barking to go outside. :suspicious:
But anyways, Roshi's been pretty good with the poop. He had a few poop accidents indoor - because I didn't know how to train a pup in the first few weeks, otherwise, it would have been on his pad in his pen. However, his pee. OMG!!! Where did all that pee come from? His bladder was filled every 45 min - 1 hr. Then, about like 5-6 mths ago, he gotten better at holding it, but if I wasn't at the door the moment he swung the bell, he would just pee on the rug. Now he's pretty reliable in the house, but not all indoor places. Yesterday, I just found a piddle at our office's emergency exit. But then the office is like 5x larger than my house and the emergency exit is very far from my desk (or his den). So ... maybe he considers it 'outside'? 
But I just think, just be consistent and patient? Keep that hawkeye working. Mine is still hard at work.


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## carlyphillips1 (Jun 3, 2011)

Thank you both! Karen, for letting me know it takes A LONG time. That helps so much. I am keeping ahead of him and that stops it mostly - I caught him in the act in front of the "out" door (Casie, you get this) and grabbed him by the scruff and hauled him outside to do business. Not sure it made an impact. He rather do anything than poop, so sometimes I have to make him go back to the grass twice to actually finish and the day he didn't, that was the in front of the "out" door. Sigh.

They are challenging!  But I love him!


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## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

Sergio is 2-years-old. I've had him almost 2 months now. And I have only just yesterday after numerous observation confirmed for myself that he "tells" me he need to go outside by sitting down and STARING at me intently. He won't get on the furniture, even when I call him. If I still don't get his cues to go outside, he barks at me. Once. Twice. Starts to look a bit agitated with me. I finally got it. 

I don't underestimate his intelligence in this area. The other day there were signs out that the grass was treated with some chemical, and Sergio pooped on the side walk just as I was about to give up and take him inside. Well, I don't want him to make a habit out of pooping on the sidewalk, but maybe he smelled chemicals or something, and just knew better than to poop on the grass. I picked it up and I didn't correct him. He hasn't done it since.

These are sensitive little dogs, so being extra "stern" with them really gets us no where. Good luck. Stick with it.


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## tokipoke (Feb 13, 2012)

Hey curly_DC, your Sergio is the same age as my Louis, and I've had Louis for about a month! He was not housebroken at all. Not sure what his previous living situation was (probably a kennel), but I've been very vigilant with him about eliminating. The first week I had him, there were many misunderstandings. We were both getting to know each other. Now, we are on a good schedule and his poop practically falls out after eating (I learned this the hard way. Took a minute to do something before letting him out and there was a present in the living room). 

I try to show him the door and the bells (my other dog is bell-trained), but not sure if he's picked it up yet. I just watch him for his cues. He has a potty-dance he does before peeing, and when he intently sniffs the ground several times in circles I know he has to poop. I just really wish he would go wait by the door or ring the bells. I KNOW he is smart and has spatial awareness because when I take him outside and he wants back in, he will go to the door and scratch at it. He will also do this after we come home and he can't wait to get in the house, he'll scratch wildly at the front door. SO, if he only would do this in reverse! Scratch the door to be let OUT.

I realize that Hav's may take a while to housebreak, and I have a lot of work to do with mine because I got him as an adult. I have a lot of bad habits to break but positive reinforcement helps a lot! He is very treat motivated and gets a yummy treat when he eliminates outside. It also helps that I walk him a lot so I know he is "empty" and I can relax in the house a bit. I still don't trust him to be "let loose" in the house so if I cannot watch him, I crate him.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

I've been on the forum a long time and it is actually pretty common to have some housebreaking regression around this time, 1-2..not sure what it is, terrible 2's, terrible teens..? idk, but you aren't alone. Gucci is mostly reliable now except for if she gets anxious over us being gone and there is a storm..or certain things like that, Thank god for my Bissell little green steam machine! lol..

Although,pooping in the bed is really pretty awful and not as common as just housebreaking regression, hopefully someone can pipe in on that with some suggestions.

Kara


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## carlyphillips1 (Jun 3, 2011)

*Love this thank you*

Thanks again. I LOVE hearing from everyone about their Havs. I'm on a wheaten loop with so much interaction but I haven't found as much on the Have loop I'm on. This place is wonderful!

Trying to figure out how to post a pic of my babies! Think I did it! That's Bailey the Wheaten girl and Brady my Havanese boy.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

awwww, they are adorable!! Welcome!!


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## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

Have you considered just taking him outside in a schedule and not expecting him to use the door system to tell you? Also is it normal to poop right after he eats? It takes Sergio about an hour or so after he eats and walking a bit and sniffing before he wants to poop. As for pooping on your bed did you put him there and did he have a way to get off the bed? I got an ottoman bench for Sergio so he can jump on and off the bed on his own.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

carlyphillips1 said:


> Thanks again. I LOVE hearing from everyone about their Havs. I'm on a wheaten loop with so much interaction but I haven't found as much on the Have loop I'm on. This place is wonderful!
> 
> Trying to figure out how to post a pic of my babies! Think I did it! That's Bailey the Wheaten girl and Brady my Havanese boy.


Ha! Great picture! I looked at the photo before reading your post, and my first thought was "Those are the LONGEST legs I've ever seen on a Havanese!" Only then did it click that this was a Wheaten, not a Hav!ound:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

curly_DC said:


> Have you considered just taking him outside in a schedule and not expecting him to use the door system to tell you? Also is it normal to poop right after he eats? It takes Sergio about an hour or so after he eats and walking a bit and sniffing before he wants to poop. As for pooping on your bed did you put him there and did he have a way to get off the bed? I got an ottoman bench for Sergio so he can jump on and off the bed on his own.


I think "normal" is different for each dog, just like each human. Kodi poops FIRST thing in the morning, before breakfast, before ANYTHING, he needs to go OUT!!! And there is no fooling around, he poops as soon as he gets out the door. In the evening, it can be pretty variable. It can be as early as 4:00, or as late as an hour after his 6:00 dinner. USUALLY, it's before dinner, though. When he was less reliable about communicating his needs in the afternoon, we found that a good brisk walk (not dawdling along sniffing) usually got things moving and produced the desired result!:biggrin1:


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## carlyphillips1 (Jun 3, 2011)

He jumps on and off the bed no problem. I have a bench too. I also don't bring him up here without giving him an opportunity to go outside first. He's not two like Sergio, he's 14 months and I wonder if it's just time ...


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## Izzy-bella (Mar 26, 2011)

So glad to hear I am not alone in this regard. Izzy is almost two and all of a sudden she has become afraid of going out in the yard....or heaven forbid her feet might get wet. She has taken to pooping in out bathroom (connected to our bedroom) sometime during the night. Posted this question on the training forumn but will keep my eye on this one for any suggestions. Wish I could help you but since I am in the same boat ....no real suggestions. Just hope that we can conquer this problem. 

To the Wheaton and Havanese mom ...they are gorgeous!!!!!


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## Tessa's Mommy (May 20, 2011)

Your pups are beautiful. I've been struggling with poop training with Tessa since we adopted her. She will go for two or three weeks with no accidents, and then poop at the front door two or three days in a row. I'm not sure why she does it at the front door because she never never goes out that door. It's always the back door or the garage door. 

The vet suggested going out with her each time and as soon as she has finished even before she rises from her squat to give her a treat. I live in Canada so it's not been as easy as you'd think (I hate the cold). I'm hoping that now that the weather is better, I can get this training finished. It's a frustrating venture though.


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