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Training questions around a foster puppy
Hi. I have a foster puppy(who is actually more of an adolescent at the age of 10-12 months they believe) however due to missing his whole puppyhood being in shelter type care he has had no training and acts like a puppy. I am currently working with him on two issues
1) potty training. I don’t know if he has ever really eliminated let alone been trained to eliminate outside. I have been working with him on tryong to go potty outside in a designated place. I will taken him out there several times during the day. I have tried both on and off leash saying go potty. We have been successful twice and I immediately reward him trying to create an association between the words go potty and eliminating outside. Most of the time though we just walk around outside for about 5 minutes with no results and so I take him back inside. He almost immediately starts peeing or pooping inside so I immediately redirect him outside and nothing. We have been working on this now for 3 days so not lonf and I know this will take a long time. I am wondering if there may be some behavioral issues also behind this such as fear or anxiety as he is an extremely skittish dogs and noises scare him. It is almost like he feels safer eliminating inside. Any ideas?
2) Crate training. I introduced the crate to him slowly and he does great going in there no issue. The issue is he paces the whole time he is in there and howls. He doesn’t do anything destructive just the pacing and howling. I have a video cam set up so I can watch him and he literally paces and pants the whole time. I tried a Kong today but he was too dysregulated I think to even acknowledge it even though I showed it to him. I have a lick pad that can be attached to the side of the crate I am going to try tomorrow. Any suggestions?
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7 Replies
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@Cory , I’m glad this foster pup has you in his corner.
For the potty training, if he is indeed fearful of certain outdoor stimuli, do your best to select times/locations that are as quiet as possible so he’ll feel safe enough to pee/poop.
But if he was raised in a kennel, he may have developed a strong substrate preference for indoor flooring as the place to pee/poop. If that is the case, I wonder if you can mock up a similar surface outside, temporarily, to get him started. For instance, if he’s attracted to linoleum-type flooring, get a piece to lay on the ground outside. If he’s used to eliminating on concrete, walk him on hard surfaces outside instead of grass or mulch. Once he masters eliminating outside, you can begin to sprinkle on more natural outdoor substrates, like leaves, grass clippings, mulch, etc., to his originally preferred surface.
The behavior you describe when he’s in the crate sounds like he’s very stressed. Perhaps feed meals inside there as well as using lick mats and snuffle mats, etc., with the door fully OPEN at first. (The pic I’ve attached shows stuffed Toppls mounted to a crate so a dog can’t walk out of the crate with them.) You can also stash treats inside the open crate when he’s not looking so he can discover them on his own.
You could also teach him to settle calmly on a mat outside of the crate at first, then transfer it into the crate. When you get to that point, have the door open at first and build duration on the mat before you begin to close the door. Once you’re to that point, we can go through next steps.
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Thank you for this information it is very helpful. I have been working on a lot of it but there is some great additional information here
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Sure thing — please keep us posted on his progress!
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This is actually the last day I have him in my home so hopefully the next foster parent works on this with him as well. I just don’t have the capacity to have him in my home after this but I have afford to provide ongoing services in their home
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Hi Corinne,
I read that this pup has moved on already, but that you may be able to consult with the rescue/shelter for future efforts about this pup?
What you are describing – the year in a kennel and the fear outside – sure sounds like a very undersocialized pup who may have some chronic and global anxiety. Does that seem right?
If so, you may want to suggest they speak with a veterinarian about the possibility of medication to stabilize the pup’s emotions so he can relax enough to learn (and to potty outside!)
Hoping all the best for you and this pup.
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Thanks I will mention that to them
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Happy to help. Thanks for the work you are doing to help the dogs!
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