How To House Break An Older Dog That Was Rescued From A Puppy Mill.?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I am at my wits end. I have a Italian Greyhound that was kept in a cage for here whole life pregnant. I am having difficulty house training her. Does anybody have any suggestions?
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I would have to give her back. I am really a very caring person who falls in love with every dog I see but if this can’t be done, you can’t ruin your life.If any one can help a person & a dog it is this man http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/ I don’t know if he has a list of questions on there he has answered or if you can write to him or if will help you for an extemely high fee or put you on his show but I do have faith in him knowing the answer. Of see if there are any dog groups you can find on line that are just for owner’s of this breed. They might be able to help or a site for resue dog owners. My friend had to once find a home for one her rescue dogs after having this dog for a long time. I think the dog needed more of an out in the country. Out country house place to live. So know that if this dog is not the right match for you she/he might find a better match & you can find a better match.
Italian Greyhounds, even ones not from commercial breeders, are notoriously difficult to potty train. Your dog has known mostly enclosement for its whole life, spending the majority of her life in a cage. When a dog spends that much time caged up, because of this, they are more comfortable being caged. Suddenly allowing the dog open spaces makes them nervous and fearful. So, go with crate training. Buy a crate from a petstore, just big enough for your dog, there are plenty of websites for crate training, just google crate training and you’ll get plenty of info.
Ouch… Italian greyhounds are known for being especially stubborn about potty training, and she’s older, and from a puppy mill…
Well, I don’t know if the normal methods would work… I suppose you will just have to try and be very persistent and consistent with training. Crate training may be easier than training her to ask to go outside to pee, especially at this point, however. Good luck!
The same as a young puppy, only sometimes it can take longer with a dog used to sitting in their own waste. Since she will likely potty in a crate, I would leash her to you and not allow her unsupervised ever until you are done training. Get her on a schedule and take her out every half hour to hour at first. Praise profusely for pottying outdoors (this means you need to stay out with her and watch her). If she starts to look like she has to ‘go’ inside, take her out right away. Should she begin to squat, make a noise to interrupt (I clap my hands), pick her up, and take her outside. Keep her out there until she potties and make sure and praise her a lot when she does. The key will be not to allow her to have any more ‘accidents’ outside. Be consistent and keep her supervised all the time. Also make sure anywhere she has had an accident indoors has been cleaned thoroughly and completely with a pet enzyme cleaner, otherwise she will continue to go back to the same spots. Good luck and thank you for rescuing!
Add: Once she gets the point that she’s supposed to go outdoors, you can train her to use a bell to alert you to her needing out. There’s a lot of sites on ‘bell training’ out there if you google it. It also may help, if you have a securely fenced yard, to install a doggy door so she has instant access to the outdoors when she has to go.