Help housebreaking 1 year old dog

First post here and I'm sure its one you see all the time but I need some help.

We have a 1 year old Japanese Chin that has always had a hard time housebreaking. When he was younger we would crate him when not supervised and take him out often. This worked quite well so we moved on to just leashing him to the kitchen table and taking him out often. Sometimes he went in the kitchen but he goes everytime we take him outside so he KNOWS where he is to "go".
We do all of the suggested methods like treats, say "go potty", take him to the same area, praise him when he goes, etc.

Well, he's now a year old and can wander the house sometimes without a problem but most other times he goes without any "reason". He can be taken outside, come inside and within a couple minutes he'll poop or pee inside the house....sometimes even with us watching him. He gives absolutely no clue that he has to go. NOTHING! Believe me, we've looked for ANY type of sign and he doesnt give one.

He is not nutered yet and is starting to lift his leg so we are going to have that done ASAP which might help a bit with the leg lifting but will do nothing about the poop. Needless to say we're frustrated to the point that we're thinking of finding a new home for him. We love him with all of our heart but we just feel that after a year he would get whats going on and not do what he's doing.

Please, if anybody has some help for us we would appreciate it because we dont want to get rid of him. :cry:

Edit - Recently he has started to get even worse about going in the house for some unknown reason.

 

If he were my dog, I would have had him neutered no later than six months of age. Now that he's lifting his leg, most likely he won't stop. Oftentimes dogs that were neutered young never learn to lift their legs, and "squat" all their lives. But that's neither here nor there really - especially since he's also pooping in the house.

Do you let him know he's doing the wrong thing when he "goes" in the house? I like to make a very loud, abrupt sound, such as "Ahhh!" This startles the dog, and he stops what he's doing long enough to get him outside. Also, it gives him the idea that he shouldn't be doing that, without you beating on him. You might also grab the scruff of his neck after making your loud noise, and shaking. The mother dog does this to disipline her pups (not SUPER rough shaking, for fear you could injure him) and its often pretty effective. If you've never shown displeasure, then maybe he just doesn't KNOW you don't want him to go in the house.

Some breeds have a reputation for being very difficult to housebreak, and if I remember correctly, I think Japanese Chins are one of them. Toys breeds can be very stubborn (but I think an exception is Poodles, who I've heard housebreak extremely easily). We used the above method with our Pugs (who also have a reputation for being difficult) and it worked very well. You need to let them know they are doing wrong, but without traumatizing or terrifying them. Usually it doesn't take long to figure out what works best for your particular dog. Don't give up on him just yet - try startling him, as I described, first.

Randi

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, we should have had him neutered before now and that is our mistake, although I do know people that have indoor dogs that arent neutered and dont have a problem.
If we catch him going we definitely make loud noises and yell "NO" and take him directly outside (but by then he doesnt have to go anymore) but at least we're showing him that we want it done outside. Obviously this doesnt work too well either. LOL.

 

In reply

hey Avi, I have to agree don't give up on your dog just yet !!! And don't get rid of him, You need a-little more patience. First of all you need to get him fixed, but as far as him hiking his leg he's always going to do that now! but what you need to worry about is working on house training him! You need to stay consistant with him and if the crate training didn't work then try something else. I know with my Aussy he didn't like aaaahhhh because he knew he was wrong! just try different methods first, don't give up! good luck :y_the_best: keep us informed Aussylover

 

I agree that neutering will probably help to some extent especially if he is "marking".
I would completely start over from the begining as if he was a puppy. Your eyes need to be on him at all times otherwise he should be crated or confined. You can even put him on a long leash if you have to. Take him outside frequently and put him on a feeding schedule(if you are'nt doing that already). Lots of praise for going outside and if you catch him inside I would just startle him and get him outside. I would also practice teaching him to "speak" when he has to go so it will be easier for him to let you know when he needs to be let outside.

 

One thing that we did with my dogs was that everything she would squat to go in the house we would startle her and take her to the same door with a bell tied on it. We would ring the bell and open the door to take her outside. Now if she wants to go while in the house whe rings that bell and we let her out.

 

Thanks for the suggestions folks! He is getting neutered Friday and once he comes home from that we'll start from scratch and give it another try.

 

When he is going right after you bring him in - did he go outside as well, or not? I'm thinking that if you take him out and he does NOT go, then you should pop him in his crate when you get back inside and take him out again in about 20 minutes. Repeat until he goes outside. This doesn't give him a chance to go in the house and hopefully he will start to realize that the ONLY place he can go is outside.

Dogs get used to going on a particular surface, and unfortunately it sounds like yours has learned to prefer carpet! Make sure you clean the carpet very well with an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle or a similar product. You can also use a black light to detect places you can't see.

 

just a little tidbit, Luther still lifts his leg to pee, I have never seen him squat. He was ~1 1/2 when he got neutered.

 

when i was training my baby angel it took alot and finally I found a solution I keep an eye on her all the time and i keep her with me on a leash and take her out every 5-10 minutes i know that sounds like alot but it helps them learn faster

 

Hi Avi,

I have to agree, we had the same issues with Abbey. But once she was spayed, it was like she grew up! Almost immediately she stopped accidents.

 

Harley (our Japanese Chin) was neutered this past Friday and so far so good! He made it through the weekend without an accident although we have kept him much more confined than before since we are "starting from scratch" again.
While he was at the vet I steam cleaned all of the carpets to try to eliminate every possible reminents of previous accident spots so I'm hoping along with the cleaning, our renewed effort, and him being fixed that this will be the umph he needs to finally be trained.

Thanks for everybody that responded and I'll update this post on his progress.