Anyone have a basset hound?

Hello,

Does anyone have a basset hound?
We have a 13 week puppy called Elvis who we have had since he was 8wks old. He is great but We are still having trouble potty training him ( 5 weeks in).
I know it takes time, but he does'nt seem to be getting it, sometimes he cries by the back door to be let out- when he does we take him out and give him a treat etc but then next time he'll just pee where ever!

We take him out reg and use a command word, praise and treat him when he gets it right, I thougth we would have seen some improvement by now.

I've heard basset hounds are hard to potty train, any advise?

thanks

claire

Hi haven't got a bassett but 2 beagles(another stubborn hound) with 6 months between them, our first was clean night and day from the 2nd day the 2nd took ages and if you went out for a few hours there would allways be a puddle, although he got it when we were there.I have fostered dogs for the last year and had dogs who have been kept outside for the first 6 months of their lives they have been really hard to train as they were used to doing it when they wanted, however after a few weeks of doing what you seem to be doing the penny will drop! Do you take him out on the hour and after, food ,sleep ,play ,people coming into the house? I know it can feel like you spend more time out than in but keep at it and it should work soon. If you still have problems perhaps a visit to the vet to rule out an infection or diabetes may be needed.Our 2nd dog seemed to be sorted and than a year down the line went backwards and was drinking huge amounts turned out to be a type of diabetes. What i have noticed with the foster dogs is, i think they've got it after a few weeks so ease of with the toilet routine to find they go backwards in a week, so i think sometimes we stop to soon and they haven't really grasped the idea .Good luck !

Hi Claire I don't have a BH so can't comment about that.

Some puppies do take longer than others to house train .
You can't really expect Elvis to ask to go out all the time at this stage ,he is still very young and if he asks at all it is a bonus.

For the moment you need to continue thinking for Elvis and consistently taking him out at the times he is most likely to want to relieve himself .That is first thing in the morning/last thing at night/ straight after food / after play/excitement/when he sniffs the ground and circles/about an hour after he last last went out.

I would take him out for a short walk (not for long exercise after food) at the times listed above preferably to a place where other dogs have been , their scent will help to prompt him to eliminate. When he does go give a reward (something tasty) and lots of praise .

You say..
''We take him out reg and use a command word''
..am I reading this correctly, aare you using a command word to get Elvis to relieve himself? If this is so you may be doing this too soon . It is no good using a command word before your puppy relieves himself if he hasn't yet learnt what the word means .

To teach Elvis to eliminate on command it is important to say the word when the puppy is in the middle of relieving itself so that it associates the word with the action, then the moment it finishes going treat/praise. Timing is very important here, get it wrong and the puppy will be receiving praise for the wrong thing . You need to repeat this many times until you are pretty sure Elvis understands what the command word means before you use it as a prompt to eliminate.

Once Elvis has learnt to associate the word with the action you can then use the word to prompt your puppy to eliminate . I use high value treats like chicken pieces to train this behaviour , after a while the treats should be given randomly then not at all but always give praise.

You also need to make sure you have thoroughly cleaned any previously soiled areas within the house with a none ammonia based cleaner like biological washing powder or the residual scent will prompt Elvis to use the same spot again .

Stick with it and all of a sudden the penny will drop and Elvis will know what he has to do.
By the time he reaches 16 weeks he will be starting to be able to wait a little longer to go out.

There is just a slight chance he has a urinary tract infection which will require trip to the vet . This usually results in lots of frequent small pees. I think it is more likely that Elvis hasn't yet learnt what is expected of him

Hi,

I don't have a Basset Hound myself but I have a friend whose Basset I walk for her every now nad then. Tally is now 14 months old and my friend had her from "Preloved". SHe wasn't house trained at all and had lived with another dog who had the back door left open for him all the time so she copied him.

When my firend had her at around 8 months old, she thought Tally would be old enough to learn quickly (which she is with other things) but it took untilo she was almost 12 months old for her to learn completely that she was only to eliminate outside.

I know it seems like hard work now but ion a few weeks I'm sure you'll have seen a vast improvement, particularly as your pup gets past the 4-month old stage. It will go really quickly so take the advice already given (about taking him outside) adn let him learn in his own time. He won't be a young pup for long. Enjoy him.

Laura xx

My friend has a Basset, and she was slow to toilet train too. Maybe it's breed thing?