Potty training accidents at 10 months

[Georgia]

Our 10 month lab mix Georgia just had another accident in the house. This time it was while both of us were standing just 5 feet away (she was behind a half wall so we didn't see it until after). We're really stumped about this and wanted some general ideas on:

1) Why she did it (mad, dumb, head strong)?
2) How do you punish or correct it?
3) Ways to fix it?

The only wildcard in this is that we are babysitting the neighbor terrier mix. The dogs seem ok with each other but Georgia will not let Pepper keep any toy and immeidately takes it. Pepper is afraid of Georgia and tries to hide behind our legs mostly but Pepper will go for toys right next to Georgia when another toy is available on the other side of the room.

The only other possible drawback to Georgia is that she rarely barks. We love her for it but it means that sometimes we don't hear her whine that she needs to go out. That didn't happen here but it did happen last week.

We had a good two week period with no accidents but now we can't go a week without one. The foster mom who had her before I think either had her in the crate our outside so my guess is she never had to learn to ask to go out.

Any tips would be appreciated.

[skunkstripe]

I am not an expert, but here is my stab at it:

1) Why she did it (mad, dumb, head strong)?
Assuming there are no medical issues, none of the above. Dogs do not seek to 'get even' with their owners. The most likely cause is that she does not understand that it is unwanted behavior. And even if she does understand, she might honestly forget.

2) How do you punish or correct it?
The trick is to catch her in the act. That means you cannot let her out of your sight. If she starts to go in the house, say "no" and whisk her outside. Do not make a big deal or punish her, because all you will accomplish will be that she will 'figure out' that you get mad when you see her peeing or pooing so she will get better at doing it where/when you are not looking. Keep treats in your pocket at all times, because if/when she pees/poos where you want her to (or at least close, like on your walkway, which is still better than on your carpet) fuss over her like she just won the Nobel prize.

3) Ways to fix it?
I think I just tried. It takes a LONG time. When we got Sophia, she had spent the first 18 mo of her life in a concrete kennel, so for her, peeing/pooing within 5 ft of her food dish was ok. After having her for 2 yrs she is fine, and will make a noise when she needs to go out. Zircon on the other hand, well, heaven help me if he ever needs a fecal exam, because he is so good at being discreet and going off into the woods around our house. When he was little I figured out that he REALLY liked pig ears, so each time he pooed outsdie for a while that meant instant pig ear. He caught on fast.

Another thing you may want to do is try teaching her to ring a bell when she wants to go out. Let me know if you are interested, that would be another LONG post. :)

[Georgia]

We actually may look into the bell trick so anything on that would be interesting to hear. Since we like Georgia without barking the bell might be a good compromise to her whining which can be very quiet.

I've tried to over praise when she goes outside but to be honest it's almost like she could really care less what I think at times. She's a sweet dog for sure but no matter how high you make your voice at times she seems to act like she could care less if you even existed at times. It's then that I think she's being headstrong.

You bring up a good point though. We haven't been good about giving treats for doing business. Since praise isn't working that's a good idea. There are some treats that she really seems to like a lot (forgot the name) so if we plan better in advance we can give that a try.

[lkeffect]

If she has already been housebroken I would take a serious look at medical problems. A bladder infection and many other possibilities. I would bring your dog in to get checked out before even working with anything else.
Hope this helps :)

[ChipperDOG]

On this topic, I'm having problems with my 10month Cavalier. When it is cold outside or wet he keeps going inside. wet and raining i can understand, but now just cold. HELP

any ideas?