Tips on how to housetrain a dog which is currently living in kennels

[Bertie_Boo]

I lost my beloved dog a few weeks ago and as I'm sure many of you will understand, it has been awful. Anyway we decided not to get a pup and would prefer an older dog that we can crack on with walks straight away. We've found a dog which is 20 months old (part trained lab) but he has been living in kennels for quite a while, not sure exactly how long. Apparently he was house trained when small but has probably forgotten all about it now.

I'd really appreciate any advice from anyone who has been through this scenario in the past. Do I housetrain as I would a small pup? Or are there certain things I would need to do differently? I'm home all day so can put the time in.

 

[JBM]

It’s pretty much the same but will take longer as they can hold it soooo much longer
You will find it hard to train on grass rather than on a hard surface
We got a pup at 4 months old who was kept in a kennel type yard since born
Had her around 4 weeks now and she is won’t go in the house but likes to go on the cement instead of the grass

 

[Clodagh]

Just start from scratch. Marking is to be treated the same as accidents, just put him out every time you see him sniffing or looking thoughtful!
Is he clean in his kennel? If so it’ll be a breeze. If not a bit harder but quite doable. To start with I’d never leave him unattended. Like a pup but a bigger bladder and he’ll learn quicker!

 

[Clodagh]

Red has never been dirty in the house but she’s not in overnight. Also not male! She is clean in her kennel though.

 

[Bertie_Boo]

I never thought to ask about being clean in the kennel. That's also interesting about the type of surface they are used to going on, it makes sense really!

Thanks both for your swift replies.

 

[honetpot]

I have had mine just over a year, and although he is basically house trained he has not learned to ask to go out, and gets to involved in sniffing so has the odd accident if the routine is disturbed and goes in the house.
If you have the right set up I suggest confineing them overnight for at least the first week, I woken up to a sea of poop several mornings in a row, that covered the whole kitchen floor. They pick up bugs in kennels and then the stress of the move might start stress poos.

 

[Chiffy]

I took on a rescue who was found in a muddy yard, she was about six months old. She was no trouble to housetrain and went on grass no bother even though she had never seen any before.
Be vigilant and take out regularly, it helps to have a key word. I have always used ‘hurry up’!

 

[Clodagh]

I took on a rescue who was found in a muddy yard, she was about six months old. She was no trouble to housetrain and went on grass no bother even though she had never seen any before.
Be vigilant and take out regularly, it helps to have a key word. I have always used ‘hurry up’!

I say ‘go widdles’ which is really uncool. Bet it makes the neighbours laugh! It’s a blessing though as took Scout and Red to lunch at the golf club today (no I’m not a member) and we’d walked on the way where he’d tried to empty a river. Golf club car park, took him to the hedge, said ‘GW’ and a good two minute wee.

 

[skinnydipper]

Some dogs who have never lived in a house are clean from the get go. Others, back to basics. Praise for toileting outside and keep a beady eye on them inside. It doesn't take long.

Clodagh and Chiffy, you've got it wrong. It's "have a wee wee"

 

[CorvusCorax]

My dogs are clean in kennels (they're in at night/weekends/if I'm home) and were house trained normally.

As a generalisation, adult dogs who aren't clean in the kennel (or house!!) unless they have a physical or mental or training issue, just aren't getting out enough.

 

[twiggy2]

Most of ours are clean in kennels and if they do come in the house which is very rare they are clean there too.
Just don't leave unattended and give the dog plenty of opportunity to be clean.

 

[Maryann]

I have had two mature dogs from kennels and although there were some accidents for a day or two they got the hang of where to go inside a week with very little effort on my part. I've always had older dogs and am not always alert enough to consistently praise them for getting it right.

 

[rabatsa]

When taking on retired racing greyhounds the advice is to take them out every hour for the first day, they generally go to the loo due to the strange place, day two take out every hour and a half, day three every two hours. Mine have all been housetrained by then but they do not know how to signal that they want to go out so you have to be vigalant and learn your dog. These dogs are all crated overnight to avoid accidents.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

When we left the farm, we took the 8yr old farm collie with us. She had lived outside in the yard all her life so we took her kennel too. I caught her weeing in the house one day and took her straight outside and put her on her chain. Never said anything to her but amazingly she got the message and never did it again. Such a clever girl. She lived in the house from then on and we got rid of the old kennel.

 

[Moobli]

I took on a three year old border collie who had lived in kennels on a farm since birth. I bought him a kennel (it’s before I moved to the farm here) and he chewed the door and howled so I brought him in and he took to it like he’d always lived inside. No accidents, no barking/howling or chewing. Just made sure I took him out regularly.

Same thing with an 8 month old GSD who had lived all his life in a kennel. He came to me and I kept him in a kennel (the same one I’d bought for the collie ) for a week. He was clean and quiet in the kennel so I brought him in the house and he never moved back out. Not a single accident from him either.

Good luck with your new boy. We need pics.

 

[silv]

I have fostered a couple of failed farm dogs who had been kenneled all their lives probably both were about 2 years old, only took them a couple of days, I just kept an eye on them and every time they looked like going I popped them outside. Plus I think they both teamed up with my own dogs and copied them. I certainly would not let it put you off.

 

[meleeka]

Both dogs I had that were housetrained as pups weren’t a problem when I got them. They had both lived in kennels in their previous home (well over half their lives), so I wasn’t sure if they were housetrained or if they’d remember. Current dog has only had a few accidents and I can’t have a shaggy rug because she seemed to think it was grass and ok to pee on.

 

[Bertie_Boo]

Thank you all for your replies, I feel a little less daunted now. We are off to see him on Monday - fingers crossed!

 

[Clodagh]

Thank you all for your replies, I feel a little less daunted now. We are off to see him on Monday - fingers crossed!

Colour? Type? And definitely photos needed when he comes home. Is he from a rescue or a rehome?
So many questions!

 

[Bertie_Boo]

He is a chocolate lab, part trained gun dog. The guy who is selling him is downsizing the number of dogs he has due to financial constraints.

I have another question if that's OK? He has been living in the middle of nowhere and has had no exposure to traffic. We also live rurally but the roads here are single track with passing places. We live opposite a farm so we get tractors, combines etc on a regular basis. How hard will it be to get him used to traffic like this and is there a particular method to use?

 

[meleeka]

He is a chocolate lab, part trained gun dog. The guy who is selling him is downsizing the number of dogs he has due to financial constraints.

I have another question if that's OK? He has been living in the middle of nowhere and has had no exposure to traffic. We also live rurally but the roads here are single track with passing places. We live opposite a farm so we get tractors, combines etc on a regular basis. How hard will it be to get him used to traffic like this and is there a particular method to use?

Mine just glued herself to me. She will have seen cars, just not on a road, so it wasn’t the scariest thing she came across. I think if you can just let him see traffic from the safety of your home or car at first then that will help a lot. The dog will need a period of adjustment anyway, so just see how he goes as it will largely be dictated by how brave/curious or nervous he is.

 

[Moobli]

He is a chocolate lab, part trained gun dog. The guy who is selling him is downsizing the number of dogs he has due to financial constraints.

I have another question if that's OK? He has been living in the middle of nowhere and has had no exposure to traffic. We also live rurally but the roads here are single track with passing places. We live opposite a farm so we get tractors, combines etc on a regular basis. How hard will it be to get him used to traffic like this and is there a particular method to use?

Much will likely depend on his genetics and whether he has weak nerve. If he’s generally a confident boy, you may find he doesn’t bat an eyelid at the traffic. If he’s not confident then you may need to expose him gradually, at sufficient distance that he feels comfortable and gradually take him closer. I would reward him for calm, unbothered behaviour. Does he travel ok?

 

[malwhit]

One of the easiest dogs I had to house-train had been kennelled. Admittedly, he was only 4 months old.

The breeder said the pups followed their mum from the kennel to the outside run when she toiletted. I don't know if that is true or not, but he was virtually house trained in the house from day one.

 

[Moobli]

The rehomed collie I took on years ago wasn’t in the least bothered by traffic (or anything else). He was the most calm, confident dog I’ve ever owned so was a complete breeze from day one. I still lived in a more populated area then.

The GSD came from a kennels next to an extremely busy dual carriageway (the A1 close to London) but he was a bit skittish around noisy traffic when I first got him. I live in the middle of nowhere with no passing traffic so I made a concerted effort to take him into the village 10 miles away, where we sat and watched the passing traffic, cyclists, horse riders etc and, once he was comfortable there, into the small town 15 miles away where there was more traffic and people. He was fine after that and it was just a case of needing to be exposed to these things.

The rehomed collie I have now was brought up near Edinburgh in a new housing development so was exposed to traffic from a young age but she is not confident around fast moving or noisy traffic. Being a rather sensitive border collie this is down to her genetics and while I have exposed her to traffic gradually and over time, I don’t think she will ever be completely relaxed in that environment.

 

[BigRedDog]

I rehomed a Lurcher who had probably only lived in kennels and had been in hospital ward of rescue organisation so effectively kennelled for several months.

I brought her home expecting her not to be housetrained and she was perfect from day 1!

 

[CorvusCorax]

For me it's not really about 'house' training, it's more 'this is where I pee and this is where I don't'. It's more about where the 'toilet' is and where the 'bedrooms/living room' are. And it's early imprinting. You could see from video footage of the litter my female was from, they all slept on the tiles and toileted on the sawdust. The intention was the other way around, but there was a demarcation line and they stuck to it.

Re traffic, just start him from a way out and get closer, see where his comfort zone is and reward neutral behaviour.
A car's noisy/shiny/moving bits are generally at a dog's eye level so don't go too close too soon.

 

[ihatework]

My spaniel came to me at 5yrs from a kennelled working home (and not a particularly diligently managed kennel) she wasn’t at all clean and still isn’t 100%. It’s a bit of a PITA if I’m honest.

She does try and hold it but doesn’t quite care enough, especially about wee’s. She is 99.9% clean during the day but most nights we get a puddle, despite being quite militant about waiting her out for a wee before bed.

 

[Bertie_Boo]

ihatework, I'm sorry to hear about your girl, I suppose it is all a bit of a lottery.

Thanks for all the traffic tips. I am hoping that as he is a lab he will be fairly confident in himself and we can build on that. I will report back on Monday. Have a good weekend everyone!