My cairn only poops inside right after we return inside

[Rmh283]

My name is Raianna and my 4 month old cairn Nola is having a hard time going number two outside. Nola is my first cairn terrier ever. She's smart, well mannered, loving and surprisingly calm.

I spend a lot of time tediously walking her in and out. She has no problem going pee outside but will not cooperate after going pee. She gets a treat immediately after peeing as well as tons and tons of praise. Unfortunately Nola becomes easily distracted after peeing and either runs off chasing leaves or runs to the door to be let in. If I force her to stay out with me for up to thirty minutes she simply whines and digs into grass with her snout to eat what I assume is ice or dirt. As soon as I let her in and she gets one second to be alone she squats downs and goes number two. It's frustrating because we just spent so much time outside (30 mins) to which she had no interest in going number 2. It's almost like she's holding it in to go inside on the carpet. If she doesn't have an accident within five minutes i take her out every 10 mins (only when i know she hasn't had a bowel movement for awhile)

She also tends to go when I am in the shower. If I crate her she goes in her crate (crate is only large enough for her to stand up, turn around, and lay down). As soon as she can sneak away ( I keep a vigilante watch on her) she manages to go. Today I let her out before I began my shower, crated her during, and let her out immediately after my shower. She didn't poop either time but within 5 minutes if being inside she pooped on the carpet.

I have caught her in the act and carted her outside where she will not finish. I have also relocated her accidents from inside to outside. She has only pooped outside 3 times and inside multiple times.

I am unsure of what I am doing wrong. She is fine peeing outside. I feed her twice a day at the same time and she get adequate exercise, family and play time.

I do not yell at or hit her when she goes inside but I can't help but become frustrated because I take her out so often and I'm doing everything online articles and literature from veterinarians office have recommened. Please help me with my stubborn dog!! I love her so much and it's so disappointing when she does this.

[Lizzie&Addie]

She's only 4 months, she is still learning, I know it's hard but just keep persevering, keep taking her outside and when she gets it right like you have been doing, give her lots of praise. You mentioned ice, maybe cold on her bum? Bandit got it right very quickly, never pooed in the house, it took Leo a little longer and yep, he pooed in the house, like us, they are all different, she will get it right.

[Rmh283]

Thank you for the support! I can't think of trying anything else. She isn't giving me signs that she needs to go because she's always sniffing and circling looking for he toys or the laser pen. I love her so much and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. Thanks again

[Hillscreek]

It takes time for these little guys to be reliable.  Angus was over six months before he was completely reliable. Use a word to tell Nola what you want eg 'go potty' or whatever. Leave her poop around for a few days to remind her. Take some poop out to the bathroom area and let her see/smell it out there. Whenever she goes in the appropriate place praise her enthusiastically.

She will get it eventually! Raising a cairn takes a lot of patience and perseverance but the rewards sure are worth it!

[Dempsy's Mom]

I bet you are enjoying Raianna, other than the poos.    Four months is an adorable age.    She's got the peepee part, she'll get the poopoo part too.  Like the suggestions.  Associating a word with the action is good reinforcement.  Have you tried walking her on leash instead of letting her run - maybe she would pay alittle more attention on what she is supposed to be doing.  Also like taking poo out to the area that she is supposed to poo. 

 

You sound like a wonderful owner and I hope that little Raianna gets it soon.  Some of our members have taught their little devils to jingle a bell hanging on the door when they want to go out.  If you have a chance we would love to see a pic of Raianna.  Good Luck and hang in there!

[Idaho Cairns]

This too will pass.  Cairns this age can be so frustrating--they are so smart and yet so hard headed.  Sounds to me like you are doing everything properly, or at least, what I would do under the circumstances.

Just completely clean up and deodorize the mistake spot completely, take the droppings out into the yard and be patient, she will eventually come along.

[tlwtheq]

This too will pass.

 

NYUK NYUK NYUK       Not making fun of your situation Raianna, I just couldn't resist yucking it up at the double entendre.

Glad you found your way here.  Nola sounds like a gem, and you've gotten some great advice.  Hang in there!

[Rawrkats]

Boo will never go potty and poopy in the same 'trip' outside. Not unless its a 3hour affair around the dog park. and even then, its VERY iffy if he'll go at the dog park. After about 20 dog park visits, Boo has only poo'd at the park twice. The 2nd time was actually yesterday.

 

I have figured out his schedule, and I have to adhere to it, or I will be picking up poop in the mornings. Afternoon isn't such a big deal because once he #2s in the morning, he's pretty much set until about 5-6pm at night.

 

Figuring out his schedule means this - First thing in the morning when we wake up its Pee Time. For both of us, so I drag him into the bathroom with me where he stares at me waiting for me to finish so he can go. Then we go to the door, he #1s. If I don't bring him into the bathroom with me when I've got to go, he will go wherever he pleases. After #1, we come inside, I set breakfast down. Now here is the important part - Boo must eat his breakfast right away, so he can go poop within the next 10mins and I dont have to worry about this interfering with the rest of my morning duties. The 2nd trip he will finally start doing the poopoo dance and then we're good for the rest of the day until near dinner time.

 

If Boo ever takes too long getting his bowels ready to dump, playing fetch or ball with him for a few minutes tends to stir it up and before I know it he's whining at the door wanting to go out.

 

I dont know how I did it - one day it just happened, but Boo comes up to me wherever I am, and whines at me to take him out, whether its #1 or #2. Of course he also does that when he wants to play, so you have to do a little more interpretation. For instance, if he grabs his toy after I stand up, I know he wants to play, if he high speed darts to the door, clearly business needs to be taken care of.

 

It took me months and months to finally get him completely housebroke and off the pee-pads. Even now I won't call it a 100% success, because if we leave the gate open to the upstairs and we've missed a potty break, he'll go to the original 'pee pad' spot and lay a present there!  Big reason I won't ever use pee-pads again.

 

If Lola won't chow breakfast or dinner immediately, sprinkles a fresh raw veggie on top and that will get you instant results ( not too much - read the forums for more details about serving 'human food' to dogs ) 

[Ivy & Lucy's Mom]

Four months is still very young..You will get past this eventually. Congrats on your new baby cairn.

[Rmh283]

Thank you so much to everyone for the support and advice! I am just worried that she is afraid to poop in front of us so won't go when we supervise her outside. She is a joy though! I will stay strong and post many puppy pictures

[Rmh283]

Breakthrough!  Today after feeding Nola I decided to block off her access to the room where she normally has mistakes.  After a few minutes of trying to enter that room and some confusion she decided to talk to the door, ring the bell and we went straight outside.  No funny business!  She did her business in record time.  You better believe she got the mardi gras parade, treats and praise galore!! so proud!!   Hopefully we can work to perfect this system to full potty train her!  She's also learning simple tricks like sit and lay down with ease.  So happy!! 

[Hillscreek]

Yay!!!!!!! :) You are on your way.

[tlwtheq]

This situation rocks!

[Lizzie&Addie]

Great stuff! Congrats... What a good girl!

[Lynn in TN]

You have gotten so great advise.When we first got our Cairn I couldn't tell when she needed to potty either. Young pups are always sniffing so that doesn't help. Someone told me to keep a journal of pees and poos. I wrote down the time and what she did (pee,poo,eat,drink) They tend to stick to a schedule fairly accurately. It worked for me. After 2 days of writing it down I knew about what time she would do her business. I also new exactly how long after drinking or eating she would need to go. 

It can be time consuming but worth it.

 

It might work for you. Keep your patients and give lots of praise when she gets it right. Kelly is now 2 years old and I still tell her good girl when she does her business quickly. It also helps to not let them play until they have done their business.

 

Good luck with Nola! Have fun!

[hheldorfer]

Wonderful news!  Way to go!

[Rmh283]

Just an update,

Nola is doing wonderfully with potty training.  She has learned how to ring the bells on the door when it's time to go out and she hasn't had an accident for two weeks.  She has however had accidents while visiting my parents house and i'm blaming it on nerves or the fact that they don't have a bell.  The thing that worked for me was keeping her contained during a week off.  I kept an eye on her and noticed every time she went up our stairs in meant it was time to go.  We would take her out and she would do her business.  As she got more comfortable with the concept of outside I grabbed her paws and made her paw at the bells everytime we went out.  Before you know it she was ringing them on her own.  She still isn't going at the same time every day.  Sometimes she will go first thing in the morning other times she will wait until 3 pm. Sometimes she will go 3 times a day others 2.  I am just glad she rings the bells when she wants out! Now if only i could get her to come to me when i call her and get her to stop barking at her own reflection (she does is for 30 minutes non stop sometimes!)  Thanks again for all the support.  I hope this post can be helpful to cairn owners in the future!

 

With love,

Raianna and Nola Bear

[Lizzie&Addie]

Ah, the joy of cairns! Hmmm, not sure how much luck anyone on this forum has with the recall...

[Hillscreek]

Nola is doing great. Congratulations for your patience in working with her.