Housebroken at home, but not elsewhere

[roxyllsk]

Hi all,

I have an 11 month old male sheltie - he was neutered about 3 months ago. I got him from his breeder at 7 months of age, and he was crate trained but not necessarily house broken. Took me about 3 weeks to get him housebroken. He has not had an accident in a while at home (months). He will tell me if he has to go out, and if I am not home for extended periods of time he is crated. He will even wake me up at night if he has to go out.

My friend dog-sits for both him and my older sheltie when I go away for business of vacation. The pup is getting more comfortable being there, and the older dog considers this home to be his second home. I am over there a lot for dinner and the boys always go with me.

Sometimes when he is there when I'm away he forgets about housebreaking. It's never a pee accident, but a poop accident. I suggested they crate him if they think he is 'due' and hasn't gone, because he won't go in his crate. Then take him out right away and praise/treat like crazy when he does go out.

Any other suggestions ? He's kinda sneaky about it, he'll go in the spare room and poop. They keep the upstairs blocked now so he can't get up there.

He's so good at home so this has me befuddled. My older guy is really good about letting them know he has to go, as was the dog that passed in December. Romeo just doesn't seem to let them know.

 

[Diana]

Sometimes when you get a dog in a new place they need to be re-housetrained. Starting with the crate, going out every few hours, etc. Buffy was fine in our house but would occasionally have poop accidents in my parents' house for a few months. (My parents didn't want to crate her though.... thought it was cruel...) When Buffy was a puppy she visited a few relatives and friends houses, and every time I watched her like a hawk.

It's mostly just supervision. Puppy needs to be crated or supervised at all times when in somewhere new. If crate isn't an option then maybe a mudroom/front entrance or a baby gate around the kitchen will work. Eventually s/he will learn, and usually faster the second time, but it's better to just be safe. My understanding is that sometimes dogs like to find a quiet, deserted place to do #2 so watch for that.

Sounds like your friend is doing the right thing with limiting the area and crating/rewarding. I know sometimes it's hard to ask others to do this kind of thing, though (and I always kind of figured my parents weren't quite as regular about letting her out as I am). You could try spending some time over there yourself, enforcing the housebreaking plan and crate training.