sally brodrick

[sally brodrick]

Pee pad training an 8 year old dog
Its 1 am and I am in my garage having a stare off with my 8 year old Puggle who still wont pee, poop or explode. We sail in January and it involves an 8 to 14 day passage. Its our first passage. We have a crew of 5 including a liscenced capt and likely 1 very constipated dog.

The dog didn't sign up for this but I am determined that he do his business on a pee pad or at this point anywhere in the garage would be progress. We are on day THREE. I have had him tied to me when we are not back at the pee pads, so I know he has not gone.

He is a food hound and I have the treats awaiting the eureka moment, but nothing. He is now( finally) wanting to go outside, but still nothing. I guess my husband and I are getting in some training for watches this way as I have been up at strange hours trying to accomplish this. We love the dog. I dont want to hurt his inner workings and am having serious concerns about taking him with us if we can not get him to do this new trick.

I have peed on the pee pad. I collected 4 neighbours dogs pee and spread that on the pads. We have only been encouraging, I have run him on the treadmill, get him wound up and excited, made him bounce around with me, hoping his bladder may spill a bit, sat in the garage and ignored him after hours of trying to be perhaps too nice.

Anyone out there with solutions or encouragement for us?

[socaldmax]

Feed him some beans, lots of them, with some bacon to really make it appealing.

That should move things along, naturally. I'm not fond of drugs or laxatives on pets, even though vets will prescribe them. Sounds like you've got yourself one determined dog!

Good luck!

[Coops]

No doubt you have spent 8 years training the poor dog not to go to the toilet in the house. Now you are trying to make him break his training. Sounds to me like you are just being somewhat cruel to him and no doubt totally confusing him to be honest.

Coops.

[JPA Cate]

Sally, if you want help with this, I have a friend who trains dogs, Tina Spring, at Sit Happens, in Athens, GA. Give her a call. Say I sent you, I'm sure she'll be able to help.

Ann

[StuM]

Maybe start off with the pad outside and then move it in once the dog is using it?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Sally.

[gamayun]

Welcome and good luck with that. Even if you do succeed in the garage, a moving boat has got to turn everything upside down again. I am waiting it out for my old dog before I hit cruise control. No way I'd subject him to that lifestyle without him having grown up with it.

[sammyo]

Demonstrate. I assume there is no human audience at 3am, it won't embarrass your dog. Let him get a good smell, he'll get the idea.

[sally brodrick]

Thank you Ann Cate, I communicated with Tina at Sit Happens; she is clearly passionate and had some very encouraging ideas. Plan B is to fly him directly and have him miss the passage. He is a great boat dog, but has never done his business inside the boat. We have always been able to get to shore.

This morning at 5;30 I let him go for his giant pee and poop outside; no pad. I think we were all relieved and can all get a good nights sleep at last. Glad we tested this before hand. Clearly some dogs dont pee when they have to, like the literature says.

[Strait Shooter]

I'm another that's decided to just wait if out. My old guy didn't buy into this, and I wouldn't do that to him. These are his years to just lay on the porch and watch the chickens. My time will come.

[Teeto]

Much easier to start with a pup and teach them to "go" on command. It's simple that way and you can teach them to go on a patch of fake grass. A bit tough on an old dog.


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[Winf]

Get a cat?

[roverhi]

Went through that with our Labrador, nothing worked. Finally went on a short cruise and kept her on the boat the entire time. After a couple of days, she couldn't hold it any longer and took a dump on the deck walkway. Gave her lots of praise and love and never had a problem after that. On long passages, 24 days to the Marquesas, she'd let us know when she needed to go and we'd go on deck with her, scoop the product over board and wash down with salt water. Boat had good bulwarks so the walkways were very secure. Might be an issue with the typical racer/cruiser. In really bumpy conditions we kept her in the cockpit to do her job.

[captain58sailin]

What you could do is put the poop on the mat for him and then praise him, after a couple of times, he will get the idea, no more problems.

[COLINFLTENG]

My Golden still can not go thinking real patch of grass may work fake waste of money

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