My siberian husky (Yoshi) is 8 months old. We have had potty training issues, however, I noticed that he wouldn't let me know he had to go out. He would go to back door and sit and if I didnt notice him he would pee or poop by the door. Solution, we got a dog door. He goes outside to pee and to play etc. However he still poops in the house. He really likes to poop on the couch and in our spare room that is not used often....(door doesn't latch shut so he pushes open the door). Yoshi Had some tummy troubles last week and had diarrhea. This dog went outside EVERY time to poop when he wasn't feeling well. But now hes better and back to finding brown surprises on my couch! 4 piles of poop yesterday that I cleaned up!!!! And 2 so far today!!! After seeing no accidents with his bout of diarrhea, im aware he knows to go outside. I've decided that this must be a behavior thing. He knows to go outside but chooses not to. Any suggestions to help my dog choose the lawn instead of my couch?! Btw....i have tried cleaning the area with vinegar, steam cleaning the floor where he poops, sprays to deter him from pooping in the same spot, but to no avail.....it doesn't work. I have a very stubborn husky. Thank you in advance!!
Do you find that there are particular times of day that this happens? For example, my boy usually does all of his three daily poops on his mid morning walk, whereas my girl rarely goes away from home, and chooses to go at intervals throughout the day - often after she has eaten. If you have an idea of his natural poop rhythm, you can arrange to spend some time outdoors with him at those times, hoping to catch the act. When he does oblige, tell him 'What a Good PooPoo', dance with joy, and reward him with a game or a treat. Don't give him the opportunity to fail. Put a new catch on the spare room door, and put unwelcoming objects on the couch when you are not there to supervise. I have housetrained several adult kennel dogs using this method, it is a bit tedious during wet weather, but worth it in the long run.
It sounds as though he really was telling you (although silently) when he wanted to go. Then the dog door came and now he's confused. Personally, I'd keep a log of the time when he goes - see if it is at generally the same times every day then go out with him at those times and wait with him until he performs. Carole is right when she says 'don't give him the opportunity to fail' because you need to establish a new habit. Once you have, you will have a reliably 'clean' dog so it's well worth the frustrations of getting there
Thats a good idea, im going to try blocking off that part of the house with a child gate to help with his wandering. I'm just dumbfounded as to why he would suddenly start going outside to poop when he's sick for 4 days, and then all of a sudden when he's better he goes back to pooping in the house. There s not really a pattern to his bowels. Which makes it difficult to try to time him, but with keeping the other half of the blouse blocked off it'll be easier watch him. I'm open to any other suggestions!
I'm no expert at all, but, I was just wondering if you mention how often do you feed him. I thought once you tell the experts this it may help with a solution
Hello, I think you guys have got it sorted. Nothing I need to add without repeating other people's comments. Jane xx
@Tiffany.riha How are things going with Yoshi, I bet you are exhausted physically and mentally. I understand Huskies are quite a handful, but, truly adorable Are you getting sleep yourself or does he cause you problems at night ? Philippa
I don't have any issues at night. He lays at the foot of my bed and sleeps. He will bark or howl to let me know if he needs to go at night but usually he s pretty good about it. It's just during the day. The past 2 days I have been following him around anytime he wanders, and I haven't had a poop since yesterday afternoon. But I know as soon as I stop following him or stop paying attention to his wandering he'll I'll be back to finding surprises on the couch.
That's great that he does the right thing at night. I'm sure there will be someone who can help you with the problems during the day, there are a lot of very experienced people on this site or hopefully he will learn what to do.
Where ever he likes to poop in the house, put his bed or dinner bowl right there temporarily. He's not likely going to poop where he sleeps or eats. Put something like a dinning chair on his couch so he can't get on it to poop. Maybe he's a private pooper, I had a Husky that would only poop behind bushes outside. She would check all around and if anyone was walking by she would hold it, then when they were out of site she would go in behind the bush and poop. If your dog poops mainly in the yard then consider making it a little more private for him. Dogs are at their most vulnerable in the wild when they are pooping, maybe he needs a little reassurance that no one can see him while he goes? I know its hard to tell between "I need to poop" and "I'd like a treat" or "I'm bored" with huskies. They do let you know quite well when they want or need something, but figuring it out is the hard part. A strict schedule is what they need, but sooner or later things happen and times vary and its back to square one. I don't know how many times my dogs woke me out of a sleep at night, and after I get all my clothes and coat/gloves on and go outside, they start drinking a puddle, so all they wanted was a drink of water. My last Husky was awesome at this though, I would be sitting in my chair, she would come and stare at me. I would hold 3 fingers up, and ask "Do you need to go outside?" no reaction, I'd drop a finger. Then I'd say "Do you want your dinner?, no reaction and drop another finger. Then I'd say "Do you you want a drink of water? and she would jump up and touch my shoulder with both paws. My male husky never got this down, he just stares at you with the same look for everything. Most times where he runs too when I get up is a good indication of what he wants, "mostly" lol.
Teaching a big dog like a Husky to jump up to people's shoulders using both feet doesn't seem like a great idea. My dog used to jump up and he would knock people clean over. I had to train him to never do this.
lol I wouldn't really call a Siberian Husky a "big dog", now an Alaskan Malamute is a big dog. She would not do this with anyone else, just me.
