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About this Q&A blog: In this blog section, the PetMaltipoo Team answers Maltipoo questions. You can leave comments and offer your thoughts and advice. Questions can range from quite serious to lighthearted ones in which you just want to receive some feedback. Have a question of your own? Great, we'd love to hear from you!
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Post #3 Maltipoo Using Doggie Door Stills Has Accidents
- By The Team
- •
- 11 Aug, 2016
- •
Owner wonders why Maltipoo using a doggie door still goes to the bathroom inside
Question:
Our Maltipoo, Zoe, will be a year old on October 16th. She has a doggie door which she uses multiple times each day because she loves being outside. However, she continues to Poo in certain areas of the house on the carpet. I don’t know what to do to prevent this? She has the door and goes outside when ever she wants, so why would she decide to go in the house? Suggestions?
Thank You,
Phyllis
Answer:
Hello Phyllis,
Well, if you think about it, this Maltipoo has no motivation for going to the bathroom in any one particular area. Allowed to be both inside and outside at will, what would her reason be for poo'ing outside? While it may make perfect sense to you that she should go to the bathroom outside, she has no idea that that is expected. It is not taught and is not reinforced. Right now, there is no incentive for her to poo in a spot that you wish for her to do it.
You may have taught your Maltipoo the 'bathroom rules' when younger, but it appears that without supervision and the very important reinforcement (reminding a dog via reward that they are doing well), lessons have been lost.
So, some things will need to change & essentially you will need to begin house training again, to teach her where to go. So for now, no allowing her to use the doggie door by herself.
1) You'll need to teach her that there is one designated bathroom area. This needs to be one area in the yard and not just 'anywhere' in the yard. While you are used to her going outside as she wishes, for training you need to be with her. She needs to be taken to the designated area, on leash, with you standing in the center of it and her only allowed to sniff and roam within the circle that she can cover while on leash. Any time that she goes to the bathroom there, teach her that her actions were 'correct' by giving tons of praise and offering a tasty treat (have it in your pocket so that she can be rewarded immediately).
2) Limit access to the areas of the house where she poos inside. Until your Maltipoo is trained, she needs to be in a gated off area or in a properly sized canine playpen.
3) Do not simply let her go out the doggie door. If you are not there to supervise her bathroom needs, you won't be able to reward her and teach her.
Once her re-learns that there is one designated bathroom area and she has motivation for using it (both praise & reward), she will know what to do. However, dogs do forget and it will be important to remind her that she is doing good... at least twice per week, reinforce the lessons by offering praise and reward when she uses that spot.
As a side note, you will want to use an enzyme-killing cleaner for the indoor spots that she used so that there are no lingering odors that she can pick up, which essentially 'screams' to a dog "This is a bathroom spot!".
And as a final note, while your Maltipoo may be very happy to use the doggie door to go outside at will, this is exceedingly risky for all but the most protected of yards. Toy sized breeds are at risk of coming into contact with a wide variety of wild, woodland animals and dogs of any size or breed are at risk of ingesting poisonous plants, swallowing rocks/pebbles, eating grass, eating feces and many other risks if allowed outside unsupervised.
We would recommend supervising her and not allowing her to be outside alone; too many things can go wrong.
Love, Hugs & Maltipoo Kisses,
The PetMaltipoo Team
Do you have any tips or advice to add? Comment below!
Our Maltipoo, Zoe, will be a year old on October 16th. She has a doggie door which she uses multiple times each day because she loves being outside. However, she continues to Poo in certain areas of the house on the carpet. I don’t know what to do to prevent this? She has the door and goes outside when ever she wants, so why would she decide to go in the house? Suggestions?
Thank You,
Phyllis
Answer:
Hello Phyllis,
Well, if you think about it, this Maltipoo has no motivation for going to the bathroom in any one particular area. Allowed to be both inside and outside at will, what would her reason be for poo'ing outside? While it may make perfect sense to you that she should go to the bathroom outside, she has no idea that that is expected. It is not taught and is not reinforced. Right now, there is no incentive for her to poo in a spot that you wish for her to do it.
You may have taught your Maltipoo the 'bathroom rules' when younger, but it appears that without supervision and the very important reinforcement (reminding a dog via reward that they are doing well), lessons have been lost.
So, some things will need to change & essentially you will need to begin house training again, to teach her where to go. So for now, no allowing her to use the doggie door by herself.
1) You'll need to teach her that there is one designated bathroom area. This needs to be one area in the yard and not just 'anywhere' in the yard. While you are used to her going outside as she wishes, for training you need to be with her. She needs to be taken to the designated area, on leash, with you standing in the center of it and her only allowed to sniff and roam within the circle that she can cover while on leash. Any time that she goes to the bathroom there, teach her that her actions were 'correct' by giving tons of praise and offering a tasty treat (have it in your pocket so that she can be rewarded immediately).
2) Limit access to the areas of the house where she poos inside. Until your Maltipoo is trained, she needs to be in a gated off area or in a properly sized canine playpen.
3) Do not simply let her go out the doggie door. If you are not there to supervise her bathroom needs, you won't be able to reward her and teach her.
Once her re-learns that there is one designated bathroom area and she has motivation for using it (both praise & reward), she will know what to do. However, dogs do forget and it will be important to remind her that she is doing good... at least twice per week, reinforce the lessons by offering praise and reward when she uses that spot.
As a side note, you will want to use an enzyme-killing cleaner for the indoor spots that she used so that there are no lingering odors that she can pick up, which essentially 'screams' to a dog "This is a bathroom spot!".
And as a final note, while your Maltipoo may be very happy to use the doggie door to go outside at will, this is exceedingly risky for all but the most protected of yards. Toy sized breeds are at risk of coming into contact with a wide variety of wild, woodland animals and dogs of any size or breed are at risk of ingesting poisonous plants, swallowing rocks/pebbles, eating grass, eating feces and many other risks if allowed outside unsupervised.
We would recommend supervising her and not allowing her to be outside alone; too many things can go wrong.
Love, Hugs & Maltipoo Kisses,
The PetMaltipoo Team
Do you have any tips or advice to add? Comment below!
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Do you have a Maltipoo question?
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and we'll answer it here in this Q&A blog. Please keep in mind that certain issues require that you immediately contact your dog's veterinarian. While we update this blog regularly, please do not wait for us to post your question if it regards a concerning health issue.