Okay, I have been rereading Ed's articles on housetraining and also reading previous posts about it. I also have the Puppy DVD 8 to 8.

My Dobe pup has not pooped in front of me outside in about a week. She is eating fine and acts just fine physically. She is playful and active and is having no trouble peeing (handler mistake I'm sure) in her crate sometimes.

I'm fairly certain (as I can be) that she is 'recycling' her excrement.

I take her out everytime with leash and collar to potty. She gets a treat when she's done with both pee and poop. But it is so cold outside (-20 during the day) that she pees and then tries to head for the back door.

How do I get her to do ALL of her business? I'm going to be home all day for the next four days... so any suggestions or further questions you might have for me, please, by all means... I am open to anything. I KNOW that this is handler error, I just can't pinpoint where for newbie ignorance I guess.

Thanks,
Cat

Hi Cat,

How old is your Dobe pup? Is her crate a bit big for her?

Kimberly

Being at home all day for four days will give you the answer, if you tether her to you.

If she's actually not going, and hasn't gone for days, you'll want to call the vet.

To encourage outdoor pooping, though, you can walk her vigorously (and keep you both from freezing!) about 3-4 hours after her food (as I recall, she is on raw; faster turnaround time) and then once every hour, until she has to do it outside. Then you'll be able to 1. Praise like crazy, and reward, and 2. Get an idea of what her meal's travel time is.

Then, if you aren't normally at home when the poop time happens, you can adjust the meals so the poop time is when you are at home.

I'd want to get her back into the outdoor habit, and IME it has a lot to do with fast walking to get things moving along. Standing in the freezing cold most likely just makes her want to get back inside.

JMO! I think your 4 days at home is well-timed. :>

Okay, lets see. Annie is 6 mos old. Her crate isn't huge for her. She doesn't really have room to go crazy in it. It's closer to a den than a condo.

I take her out @ 0530-0600 every morning. I feed the girls breakfast @ 0630 most days, sometimes it has to wait until 0800. I come home around 1100-1200 to take them out again. They eat again (this is where I feel I am being inconsistent) anywhere from 1830-1930 and then the water comes up for Annie. My Brittany is fully housetrained and she has free rein in the house except for the bedrooms. She is only crated to eat or when I am letting the Dobe out. They don't peacefully coexist yet.

I almost always go outside with the Dobe and I don't praise until she pees AND poops. Handler error? I have started carrying treats in ALL of my jackets.

Connie, I have booties for my girl to wear outside, it just takes forever to put them on her to take her for a walk. She is out there for a more than 5 minutes and she starts limping around like the snow and ice are getting to her, (I live in Alaska!) I'm thinking that if I tried to go take a dump outside in -20 weather barefoot that I'd be beating a path for the backdoor too.

Lots of little things i need to tweak to put the big picture together for this dog and me apparently. I keep telling myself it's all going to be worth it.

So, I'll have her tethered to me or in my vehicle when I go out or in the crate when I'm in the room. Wow! our bond is gonna be great when it's all over and done. Thankd for the advice. You have such a good memory, Connie.