Please Help-Our New Dog Has Issues

[deannamorrison]

We just got a 3 year old rescue who has been through a lot o\f trauma. He's a sweet dachshund who was apparently housetrained.Now he is anything but.
We live in an apartment with carpeting. He has already urinated on it:( We immediately cleaned it but there is still an odor!
How can we housetrain this dog? Also, what can we do to make our place smell better?

[Momof3Labs]

How did you clean the urine? I like Nature's Miracle, just be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle - it doesn't work instantly.

Are you crate training him? That is a must. And with his history of trauma, look for a good trainer who uses gentle methods like clicker training. The trainer will teach you how to train the dog; it will do wonders for his rehabilitation!

Here's a pretty decent article on housebreaking:

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/housebreaking.htm

Keep him on a leash at your side when in the house so that he can't sneak off and relieve himself - that will speed up training quite a bit. And don't hesitate to use the rescue group as a resource; they know the dog and can give you good advice to help him adjust to your family.

Good luck!

[elliput]

Pick up two things at the pet store- some house training pads and a big bottle of Nature's Miracle. Diligence on your part is most important for making sure he gets outside as soon as he is showing signs of needing to urinate.

[jayali]

We rescued an 11 year old cocker in 2003. She is the SWEETEST thing in the world. We did/still have housetraining issues, but because she was older we really didn't have the heart to try and train again. I put down incontinence pads in various tiled rooms in the house and if she has to go she finds her way to them. Your dog is younger so you may have better luck.

Our problem was because Cinnie was a Kennel "bitch" she didn't know how to tell us she had to go out. The vet suggested crating her, but I didn't have the heart to do that so we just lived with her accidents. Even though we have never crated any of our dogs I think that may be a solution to your problem (if you aren't already doing so). Also, the vet suggested a strict walking schedule in the beginning. We had a dog walker (I was still working) and then when I quit my job I continued the schedule. Maybe that would help also.

Your little guy is still a puppy in my eyes, so hopefully he will be trainable. As far as the odor. I used to cake the rug with baking soda overnight and let it dry. Then I would just vacuum it up. It really would help. But when I say cake, I mean CAKE!!!

Good luck with your little sweetie.