Housebreaking an older dog

[baregan]

I purchased a 2 year old Cairn from a soldier who was being deployed a year ago. We are his 3rd and lasting owners. Scotty is a very sweet loving dog and gets along with my older Cairn and my 2 cats very well. The only problem is that he marks his territory in the house all the time! He will be outside for a long time, then come inside and lift his leg on something right in front of me! I don't know how to break him of this. We love him to pieces, but we don't love that habit! Does anyone have a suggestion on how to make him stop? He is 3 now.

[BetsyNoodle]

Cairngratulations on your new boy!! We adopted Murphy, our Cairn, from a rescue organization when he was two. He was not completely housetrained, and started marking in our house. I bought several belly bands and made sure he wore them while he was indoors. He accidentally peed in his belly band a couple of times and HATED it, so he stopped doing it. He had no further "accidents". To reinforce housetraining, I took him out immediately after waking, after each meal, after playing, after he drank water, and late at night. I learned his signals for when he wanted to eliminate. I was probably taking him out every 45 minutes for the first week or so, and each time I took him outside I took him to the exact same area of the yard and stayed with him until he did his business. The moment he would potty, I would exclaim, "Good boy!" Now, all I have to do when I want him to potty really quickly is say, "Good boy!" and he goes on cue!

Also, be sure and really clean all the spots he soiled in your house, or he will continue to mark. I used Nature's Miracle.

IMO, the belly bands really can be lifesavers. Murphy was fully trained in a very short period of time. But, you must be consistent, and never harsh with your Cairn when training. By the way, has your Cairn been neutered? Sometimes, but not always, this cuts down on male marking.

Good luck!!!

[baregan]

thanks for the information. I never heard of belly bands. Do I find them in a pet store? I will have to look. Yes, Scotty is neutered. I will try that. Thanks so much for the information!

[BetsyNoodle]

Good morning! I just sent you a private message.

Melissa

[sanford]

I've never found belly bands in pet supply stores, but if you google dog belly bands, you'll find a good selection to choose from online. The bands are wide strips of fabric that secure with velcro. A disposable absorbent sanitary pad is inserted to capture the urine. ("Overnights" are the best pads to use)... The pads are rectangular, not contoured, which can some times leak. We have several bands. Some for travel, some for when others are in the laundry. They're lifesavers!

P.S. Scotty looks adorable! With a face like that, I could forgive him anything!

[pkcrossley]

excellent advice. take care of your own peace of mind first with the belly band, then proceed to put scotty in the picture regarding your household customs (which probably don't include peeing on the furniture). your dog is still a very young dog, but the general rule applies: you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. if he is completely out of it (as he appears to be), begin with housetraining one on one, just as if he were a puppy. i think the general opinion here is that crate training is most effective, and i agree with that. scotty may zoom up quickly to the intermediate class, but if not, just proceed as if he is a newby.

i agree, he is a tremendously appealing little boy.

[Puddlesmama]

You got all the advice you need but I had to say that I think he is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!

[dianer]

We are house training a four year old cairn. I found our belly bands at Petco, they are near the bottoms for females when they are in heat and are made by the same company, Simple Solution, both of my dogs wear Medium size. They have saved us from many aggravations. Leo is super sensitive to anything a human does or says and has a very low IQ, so you can imagine it has been slow going.

[baregan]

Thanks for all the great advice. Yes, Scotty is a cutie so I can't get too angry. I have ordered a belly band from Ebay from a really nice lady who makes them for $7 plus $2 shipping. Of course, I grow all my animals big so I had to order extra inches so it was an additional $2. But $11 seemed better than the prices I was seeing at Target and Petco. Plus I found directions on the web on how to make them. So, I figured I'd order one first, see how they are made and sew up some spares! Let's keep our fingers crossed that it works. Scotty is a bit fussy about things....he isn't too big on wearing any clothing (although, you can see in the picture, he was willing to wear that tie!) so we will see how it works. Thanks again.