PLEASE HELP: I'm having trouble with my dog going to the bathroom and leaving her

Hello, I have a 1 year old Plott Hound.We have only had her for a few days and she is very sweet and loving but she is having a few issues. The previous owners had said she was potty trained but when we take her out side she will walk around for about 30 minutes on a leash and then come in and use the bathroom in the house. She went from a place were she could run around in the back yard to a place were she has to be walked on a leash due to our lack of a fence. Also she is having separation issues when we leave. We put her in her cage before we leave (3 hours has been the max amount of time) and come back to the bottom messed up ripped to pieces. Please help if we don't get this resolved then we might have to get rid of my baby girl.

Hi & welcome to Dogsey, firstly it will take more than a few days to get your dog used to you & the surroundings that she is now in. Remember that everything is new to her, it will all be a new routine.

When you crate your dog, what do you have in the crate when you go out & leave her there? I don't understand why you would have to get rid of the dog for messing up its crate?

She has only been with you a few days and really that is no time for a dog to get setteld into your routine. Was she caged before or is this all new to her? if she has never been caged before you cant just put her in there and leave her, she is going to try to get out, do you not have one room you can leave her in?

A lot of dogs do find it difficult to go to "the bathroom" when they are on the lead especially when they usually are off the lead.

Things take time with dogs, when everything changes at once its a bit much for them to take in, so dont expect her to get it all right in a couple of days.

If all this dog is doing is being confined in a cage and taken to do its business on a lead... what is the quality of life for the dog?
You may of course be going on long hikes every day or doing agility or scentwork, but you don`t state this.
A Hound needs free running and the chance to use its instincts. And any dog needs at least an hour a day enjoying being a dog - sniffing, running, socialising, playing.
The toilet issues are a symptom not a problem IMO. Please just put up a fence and then find somewhere to let your dog run?

I have just looked up "Plott Hound" (not a breed we see a lot in the UK) and you have an adult active dog bred to hunt - far from a baby and not an easy type of dog to keep satisfied when you have no fenced area and have to keep it on a leash. As others have already said it will take quite a while to resolve "your" issues and adapt to living with an active young hunting hound. You will need to allow this dog some free running - it doesn''t sound as if this breed is the sort to keep confined. Also if it has never been crated you can't expect it to take to it happily. Most dogs no longer need a crate at 1 year - my pup is now out of hers at 6 months. Is there anyone nearby you could seek advice from, someone who has experience of this type of hound.

Hi,

I've just googled it and found this description.........

"They are vicious fighters on game, have a super treeing instinct and take readily to water. They are quick to learn. They are often indifferent to other dogs but seek the attention of humans."

I'd suggest that you take her with you when you can for now and if it's absolutely necessary to leave her at home, then leave her in a locked room (rather than a crate) with a kong (with filling), bone or something else that can take a while for her to get bored with. You can crate train over time if you feel it is necessary.

I'd also suggest erecting a 6 ft fence round the rear of your proeprty and then your girl can go out to sniff around, chase bugs, do her business and anythign else she wants to without being attached to you all the time. It could be this that's preventing her from toileting outside at the moment.

Also, if every dog who messed up it's crate was rehomed then nobody would have a dog for longer than a week! Please bear in mind that she's been taken froma situation she's familiar with. You've taken her home, put her in the crate (and 3 hours is far too long for any dog if they're not already crate trained) and left her. She wouldn't have known what was going on, why she's been left or even if you were going to return. So it's no surprise that she messed up the bottom of the crate. it certainly isn't, IMO, a reason to get rid of her and you've only had her a few days. So she's had NO opportunity to learn what is expected of her, what is right or wrong, what is acceptable behaviour and what isn't etc.

Do youhave any training classes? I'd suggest getting advice from a gundog club if you can but you'd certainly need to have the basic of obedience under your belt (and hers) if you want her to be able to go out to the park/dog park etc and to be able to walk nicely on lead, to be ablet o walk to heel off lead, to have fantastic recall, to be able to retrieve (as a scenthound this should be second nature to her).

You can focus on her genetic traits. Practice doing a little bit of scentwork at home int eh garden (on lead to begin with if necessary). You can use treats and plantpots. this will make her use her nose and brain.
You should also take her out for a walk both int eh morning and evening - each walk of up to an hour in length. During teh walk you should change pace at times, get her to sit at the kerbside, get herto sit next to you when YOU decide to stop, etc.
You can buy a longline and train her in the garden first in recall. Set her up to succeed every single time. When outside and she staerts to walk towards you give her whatever command you want to use for her to come to you adn when she does, reward her. She will soon acssociate the command with the reward.
Then practice retrieve. This can start as a simple game of fetch to begin with.

Make sure that she has the opportunity to run adn sniff things out. let her BE a scenthound. but you need to train her so YOU know she's safe both on and off lead, in and out fo the house.

Do youhave any reservoirs nearby or lakes? or are you near the beach? These dogs seem to love the water so let her spend time in it. You could buy a dumbell that floats and get her to retrieve it from teh water. She'll have a great time, she'll wear herself out, it will incorporate a littel bit of training and that alongside crate training (if you think this is necessary) will mean that by Christmas (which is only 3 months away) you'll have a well behaved, well trained dog who wants to please you.

can I ask please - why did you take her on? Was she a rescue? I am both shocked and surprised that you are considering getting rid of her after only a few days. Also, did you do any research or homework on her breed before you had her?

Laura

Firstly, house trained in one house doesn't mean house trained in another house. If I took my 8 year old dog who is perfectly clean in our house into my neighbours house I'd have to watch him like a hawk until he learned that the same rules apply there as at home. Dogs can be VERY context specific. This is probably part of the problem you're having with her refusing to toilet on leash. Have you tried a harness and long line in a place where it's safe to use one? Rupert is very reluctant to poo on a normal leash but on a long line seems to feel more comfortable about it.

Second, you can't just put a dog in a crate and leave it for 3 hours unless it's crate trained already. You have to build up to that. I started off simply rewarding my dog for looking at the crate, then sniffing it, then putting his head in and so on until I was able to leave him crated for a few hours without a problem.

What do you actually do with the dog? Training, games, physical exercise? She's a young, active breed and I would think she has a ton of energy she needs an outlet for.