I'm hoping someone here can help me with this....

[KathyP]

Good Morning! I'm actually posting for my Mom this time. Buddy (Hemi) has been with her for about a month now and when she came to my house yesterday I could see that she was very upset about something. I asked what was wrong and she said that if she can't get these two things worked out w/ Buddy over the coming month she is going to have to rehome him.
The first thing is that he has started pooping in the house. She will take him out every couple hours and walk him all over the yard and even sometimes leave him out back on the long, long lead she has for him. Even after a half hour outside he comes IN THE HOUSE and poops! This is very frustrating b/c she doesn't understand why he is doing it and how to make him stop. Any ideas???
The second thing is that he barks VERY aggressively and snaps at both my brother, Phil and my son, Greg when they come to see her. At first we figured it was just a passing thing and once he got settled in he'd stop. I even suggested to both of the guys that they might try feeding him a treat or a few pieces of his kibble so he can see that they are friendly. Greg tried it last week and Buddy came real close to biting him. My brother won't even try. I also suggested that they try ignoring him...nope. My Mom is 80 and I'm afraid this is just almost too much for her to deal with. She feels bad b/c she said she does love the little fella and that other than those two issues he is a real honey.
I know that you all are very knowledgable about these little puppers and I would surely appreciate any insights that I might share w/ her!!!
If by chance it gets down to rehoming him, I will come back here and let you know as we will probably want to get him to a rescue so he goes to a good home. He is such a sweet boy and this just makes me so sad.

[doxielady5569128]

Oh how sad!!!  i'm sorry its not working out!   Unfortunately, I don't think i can be of much help here.   My only thought is maybe Buddy is being agressive and pooping in the house to show his dominance over your mom?  Is she very firm with him?  Also the agression thing could be his way of protecting her from your brothers.  He may see tham as a threat.

  My best advice for her would be to leave him outside until he finally poops and then rewarding him by immediately giving him a treat when he does go.   This takes patience and sometimes takes a long time before they go.   We had a problem with Porky doing that when we first moved.   I would get him up in the morning and take him outside and then wait and wait. Until he went both and immediately praise him and feed him a treat or give him his favorite toy.    If she consistently does this during the day for a few weeks, he will learn to go outside.  Porky even has a schedule for going poop now that we have done that.  Does she know how many times he needs to go poo?   That will make it easier if she does.  Then she can make sure he goes poo that many times a day outside.   For example, Porky goes 3-4 times a day, so i took him out when he wakes up in the morning, at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and then at bedtime.   

Also, teach her how to watch for the signs of when he has to go poop.   With Porky, he walks around nervously, sniffing at the floor. If you watch him he is almost squatting and walking in circles. Before he does the nervous circling, his little butt lags closer to the ground than it usually, not a squat just lower than his top half.   My brother's weiner dog Bandit does the same thing.   Maybe Buddy just isn't sure how to ask to go outside in his new home? 

I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you with the agression thing.  I haven't had to deal with that yet, so I'm not exactly sure what to do about it.   I really hope everything works out so Buddy can stay with your mom! I'm praying that everything gets worked out soon!  Good Luck!

[KathyP]

Thanks for your input doxielady! That is pretty much what she is doing with him. I have taught her how to deal w/ him when he is barking at my brother or my son and she does it. I told her that it will take some time since these little fellas can be pretty stubborn. I remember how my Piddleman was and he was not an easy dog to teach. But he did finally pick up on the rules! Thanks again!! :)

[David C.]

With the barking & aggression, you can try using a "Can O' Whoop A--" as I call it.   Take an empty Coke can (or a beverage of your choice) and put a few coins in it.  Dachsies don't like this noise.   When he barks or acts aggressively, shake the can.   Some dogs are a bit more resilient than others.   Rudy-angel, for instance, learned to tolerate the can, so we had to move onto something else.  Zeke, on the other hand, immediately disliked it and the mere sight of the can makes him calm down.  Squirt guns work well, too.   If the dog is develops a tolerance, you rotate.   We also purchased an ultrasonic dog trainer.   It kind of works like a Star Trek phaser.  You point it, push the button, and an ultra-sonic sound is emitted that dogs don't like.    Dogs that have extremely strong alpha tendencies (such as Rudy-angel) you really need to stay one step ahead of.

[KathyP]

 :thumb:  I read your post to Mom and she said to thank you! Neither of us had thought about that. She said she has an empty pop can and that she will put that together tonight since my brother will be down in the morning. My brother brought her one of those ultra-sonic things and she said when she used it Buddy just turned around and looked at her and continued barking! lol Hopefully the can will work! Thanks again David! And thank you for your post too doxielady! I tried posting earlier but lost it!

[doxielady5569128]

You're very welcome. i'm glad i could be of a little help to you.  David, What great advice!! I will have to try the can with Porky this week.  He has been a real pain, challenging our authority all last week.   The whistle isn't working for him anymore so I'll try the can.   

Kathy, please keep us updated on how Buddy does with the new training techniques.  I really hope everything works well for you all.   :xfinger:

[KathyP]

Between here and my Golden forum I've gotten a lot of good ideas to share w/ Mom. I have faith that it will all work out fine. He is such a sweet little fella and I know he is glad to be at Mom's instead of sharing a home w/ the Bully boy.
Yesterday I went to see Mom and Buddy. He jumped up in my lap and his little tail was going a mile a minute and he was giving me kisses and kisses. It made me cry as I was holding him and thinking about what he has already been through in his 7 short months of life. My Katie girl has it so much better...wonderful, caring breeder and then right into our home where she is the only dog.
I will keep you posted on how things go with him! Thanks again!!  :thumb:

[DP]

We have two stubbbbbooorrrrnnn!!!! doxies.  The older one 5 and the younger one 2.  We had a relapse of pooping in the new house when we moved.  We started closing the doors to the rooms where they had started going poop.  The next step was taking them for a walk after they ate.  If they did not go poop they would be put in their kennels  and we would walk them 5 minutes later.  We did not take them out for too long or they thought it was just for play.  We repeat this every 10 minutes until they did their business.  Once they would go we would give them their favorite treats and praise them. (
The neighbors looked at us like we were crazy. ) It took about a week maybe two for the younger dog and now they will go poop first and then demand the treat.  The older one will even go twice if he can so that we will give him more treats. They both will poop almost every walk so that they can get the treat.  They never miss that opportunity for treats!!!!! You have to kennel them so that they will not poop in the house after the walk if they did not go outside.  These are smart little stinkers but they learn fast if you give them the right motivation.  We did not give them any other treats when we were trying to retrain them in the new house.