karen
Junior Grey Lover
[red]Tiger and Fiona's Mom[/red]
Posts: 226
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Post by karen on Sept 26, 2006 20:09:24 GMT -5
We brought Fiona home on July 9th and are still having problems with housebreaking. I think we have the pooping part pretty much under control, she does have an accident now and then, but the peeing is not going so well. If I don't have her out the door the minute her little paw hits the floor in the morning she pees. She doesn't seem to know how to let me know when she needs to go out. We put her out several times a day but I don't think she always knows what she is supposed to do when she is outside. We make a big fuss over her when she poops or pees outside. When we return home she often pees on the floor because she is so happy to see us. I don't like to scold her for that because I want her to be happy we are home.
She is also extremely hyper. When we first brought her home she paced for the first two days. She has settled in and no longer paces like she did and actually sleeps almost as much as our 8 year old Tiger does. She is very skittish.
We love Fiona very much but she is everything our Tiger is not. He is calm, very well behaved and has basically the perfect child. When we first talked about adopting a second grey my husband kept saying to me "are you sure you want another one, we already have the perfect child now". Fiona is 2 and we adopted Tiger 4 years ago when he was 4. I'm hoping in the next 2 years she becomes just as perfect as Tiger. Nonetheless we still love her.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, what I'd like is some advice on housebreaking and ideas on how to get Fifi to calm down.
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Post by Tigger's Mommy on Sept 26, 2006 20:27:57 GMT -5
We have had Tigger since April and just reciently had a housebreaking breakthrough.... until tonight when he peed on my floor for no apparent reason. My best advice is patience. They say teaching a grey to sit is one of the hardest things to do... I beg to differ, teachin them sit is a hell of a lot easier then housebreaking!!! Some dogs learn a lot faster then others. I know with our two that everything is a schedule, and heaven help us if we break it. It may just take time for Fiona to learn to do things on your schedule, not on hers.
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Post by stylishhound on Sept 26, 2006 21:21:59 GMT -5
A quick question for you. Do you crate her? If so, don't let her out until you're ready to take her outside. Something else is to not make a fuss when you come/go from the house so it doesn't encourage her to get excited and possibly have a pee from the excitment of "mom's home". I don't think the fact that she paced for two days indicates that she's hyper but she was in a new environment and not relaxed. That's different from being hyper. Do you take her out at the same times every day? Routine is extremely important for house training (I prefer to use the term training rather than breaking). Also, do you take her out on a leash and tell her to "go potty" or teach her a command that she knows what you mean? Or are you just letting her out in the backyard? Also, I'm sure you know this but never scold her for peeing if you haven't witnessed it. A dog doesn't have any idea what you're upset about if it's not "in the moment". It may make a skittest dog worse. You also need to remember that not all dogs have the same personalities even though they are the same breed. They are all individuals and have different quirks, characteristics, issues, etc. so she may never be like your other greyhound. Get to know her and love what makes her special and unique. Also remember you've only had her a couple of months. It may take several months for her to become comfortable and for her personality to really shine through. Good luck.
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Post by GreyPoopon on Sept 26, 2006 21:52:25 GMT -5
Just one thing to add to what Jenn/stylishhound said: if the excitement-pee when you get home is a widdle while she's greeting you, it could be a submissive pee. You don't want to correct this, or you'll make it worse. On the other hand, if she says hello, then flies to the nearest carpet to pee, it's just excitement. I'd suggest getting her outside ASAP.
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Post by tara on Sept 27, 2006 7:29:50 GMT -5
Making "go pee" a command (like sit, stay ect.) worked wonders for Tyson. I have had very little trouble house training Ty since he got over his Big D problem. He will go on demand now just like saying Stay or come. My lab was a submissive wetter until he was about 2 and a half. Then one day he just stopped. Good luck with the house training. I also never take Tyson out without taking my Lab out. My Lab really gets all the credit for house training Tyson. The first week was rough (the Big D) but they both went out together on leash always. So Tyson's schedule was really my Lab's schedule. Now they are both on a very defined schedule and they really only need to go out about 4 times a day (first thing in morning - 6:00 a.m., between breakfast and lunch around 11:00 am, late afternoon between 3-4pm then late about 10:30 - 11 pm... It may be easrier for me because I am a stay at home mom and I home school so someone is home at most times. After writing this I realized that I really got lucky with my beautiful Grey he is easier than my Lab, as a puppy, was to train. Again good luck and much patience and love, Tara
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Post by jiffer on Sept 27, 2006 10:16:08 GMT -5
She's still quite the puppy. Sometimes, even though they are supposed to be "adults", they stay a bit younger... like immature people. She does have a lot of energy, too.
The pee advice above is really good. Submissive peeing is not uncommon especially if a dog isn't quite sure how to react. I once knew a lab mix who would pee as soon as I looked in her direction (I can't explain why). There were only two of us who would elicit this response in her (me and my Mother-in-law).
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