6 month old Toy Aussie whining

[BONNIEJ JAECKLE]

I’m new to this program and excited to learn!  We’ve had Rhianna for a month.  What a precious addition to our family!  We are a bit confused and frustrated with her whining.  We take her out to potty on a regular schedule and rarely have “accidents” in the house, however this not because she regularly alerts us but because we stay at on a schedule.   Rhianna whines when she wants attention and when she needs to go out.  If we ignore the whining she could be saying, “I gotta pee”.  If we respond to the whining by taking her out, we could be reinforcing  the attention getting behavior.  She does not have “full run of the house” yet because I don’t trust that she is ready.  She has access to the laundry room and kitchen.  We’re retired and home with her all day.  We spend time grooming and  playing daily.  She walks a couple miles with us daily.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi Bonnie,

Welcome to the forums! I am happy to hear that you are so eager to get your puppy started in the training and brain games. Rhianna sounds like a great pup, with lots of potential! She is also very lucky that you are home with her all day. 

Please see my personal observations/tips in bold: 

"We are a bit confused and frustrated with her whining.  We take her out to potty on a regular schedule and rarely have “accidents” in the house, however this not because she regularly alerts us but because we stay at on a schedule.  "

It is great that that you have her on a schedule and that she is having rarely accidents in the house. With a schedule, you are preventing the likeliness of accidents in the house which can become troublesome considering that it can quickly become habit-forming.  Also, by taking her out on schedule you are emphasizing that outdoors is the right place to go. When she goes outside, make sure to be nearby her so to praise and reward her with a tasty treat. This will help her learn that outdoors is the right place to go potty and will help consolidate that in her mind . 

"Rhianna whines when she wants attention and when she needs to go out.  If we ignore the whining she could be saying, “I gotta pee”.  If we respond to the whining by taking her out, we could be reinforcing  the attention getting behavior.  "

This is a common problem encountered by many puppy owners. Fortunately, the solution to this is fairly easy. Let's first though take a little look at how things may feel from our pups' perspective. 

So let's imagine for a moment, being a child in front of Walt Disney World's entrance. The gate to the amusement park is closed, but every time you go near it, a friendly character opens it  up for you. You wander around this magic world, and have fun, but after some time, you are taken out of there and back behind the closed gate you go. However, as soon as you approach the gate again, you are once again granted access by the friendly character. 

This is somewhat similar to what a puppy must feel when taken out in the yard. There are so many fun sights and smells to explore she can't wait to get out there more and more. She may be a little upset though when she's brought back inside, but imagine, how relieved she may feel once she realizes how just by approaching the door, it magically opens and she's let out in the magical yard again. 

This is the power of positive reinforcement. After several trials, the puppy learns quickly how approaching the door makes good things happen, (even if we may be annoyed by it). Because of this great consequence, a puppy will  therefore move towards the door more and more. 

This is the same concept behind getting a puppy to sit (or perform any other desired behavior.) If every time the puppy sits, right  the moment her rump touches the floor, we say "yes!" and hand her a tasty treat, after a few reps, the puppy will soon be eager to sit more and more because of the great consequence (the tasty treat). 

Now, sometimes we may be getting tired of getting up to let the puppy outside, especially when the trips are unproductive (in other words, the puppy doesn't pee or poop once outside, but just sniffs around and plays). However, your concerns are valid, if we start ignoring a puppy's  request to be taken out, we may expect a brief extinction burst, but then we risk her giving up signaling a need to potty altogether, even when she really needs to go potty. Of course, we don't want this to happen! 

So what to do if your puppy keeps asking to go out too frequently? As mentioned, there is a rather simple solution. 

Next time your puppy heads towards the door, get the leash, clip it on, take her to her usual potty spot and give her the opportunity to do her business there. Walk her back and forth  and act rather boring.

If she goes, immediately praise her, give her a treat and take the leash off so she can go have fun in the yard (if it's safely fenced of course!). If she doesn't go, nonchalantly, make an about turn and go back inside. Watch her very, very carefully once inside (you can keep her crated if she's crate trained), and then try taking her out again in another 10-15 minutes or earlier if you notice any signs your puppy needs to go potty. 

With time, your puppy should learn that when she's sent outside, the first thing she needs to do is to go potty, and then, only afterward she can have some fun in the yard. She should also come to learn that asking repeatedly to go out without a true need to potty, will only lead to a boring outing, without much going on. 

While you're at it, why not teach your puppy to go potty on command? Once your pup masters this, a simple "go potty" cue can considerably shorten the time you spend outdoors to get your pup to do her business. More on this is covered here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/

To be comprehensive though, it is important mentioning a couple of things:

-At 6 months, your pup is officially a teenager, at this age, they tend to become more and more interested in sniffing and the great outdoors. They also tend to become more independent and explorative. More about  this is covered here:

 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/flight-instinct-period-4-8-months/

-If Rhianna is not spayed yet, she may be asking to go outdoors more and more if she's around her heat cycle. During this time, female dogs are interested in urine marking to advertise themselves to any possible mates. 

-Also, worthy of mentioning is that sometimes, when puppies or dogs ask to go outside more often, they may be suffering from a UTI (urinary tract infection). This may not be the case with your pup, but always good to know how to recognize the signs. Suspect a UTI if your pup pees frequently in small amounts, licks her private area a lot, has blood in her urine, and squats often. Not all signs need to be present. Your vet can help your rule out bladder issues with a simple urine test. Consult with your vet if you think her asking out if getting out of hand and/or she is showing any suspicious signs. 

I hope this helps!

Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. 

Happy training!

Adrienne 

[BONNIEJ JAECKLE]

Thank you so much fir taking so much time and thought to respond!  
We started teaching Rhianna the “go peepee and poopy” commands just a week or so ago.  
We don’t have a fenced yard so she’s always on a leash and I’m nearby with treats.  
So boring trips out it is!  We’ll see how it goes!  

However… the question remains… if she pees and poops, but still whines when we come back in do we ignore or take her out again?  

Thanks again.  

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Thank you so much fir taking so much time and thought to respond!  
We started teaching Rhianna the “go peepee and poopy” commands just a week or so ago.  
We don’t have a fenced yard so she’s always on a leash and I’m nearby with treats.  
So boring trips out it is!  We’ll see how it goes!  

Sounds like a great plan! It's great you have started training the potty on cue commands!

However… the question remains… if she pees and poops, but still whines when we come back in do we ignore or take her out again?  Thanks again.  

Now, this is something that will need us at times to make some judgment calls. When she has whined in the past shortly after going potty, and you have taken her out, does she ever pee or poop or just spends time in the yard exploring or playing? If the latter is the trend, and  you are certain that she has already peed and pooped, you can skip taking her out again since she's officially empty, - so unless there's a medical issue at play  it *should* be OK to ignore.

Ignoring in this case would mean, zero attention, no looking, no talking, not even attention of the negative type (like reprimanding or telling her to be quiet). When ignoring a behavior that was previously reinforced, an extinction burst usually takes place (louder whining, maybe pawing at the door), so that should be ignored as well. BUT....

Sometimes we need to give the benefit of doubt, because in some cases, puppies may get diarrhea. So if your puppy is prone to this or you have introduced a new food or new treats, better to go on a boring trip than clean a mess on the floor (which can also risk causing setbacks in potty training). 

Also, you need to be watchful for the phenomenon of incomplete bladder emptying. So keep an eye on those pee trips. Sometimes puppies get distracted, so they start peeing, but then interrupt the flow to sniff or play and therefore they come back inside and finish peeing right after you close the door. Some other pups  are "multiple urinators," they'll pee small trickles  2-3 times in a row rather than one big puddle-so know your pup's normal habits. 

I must admit though that I am not too big of a big fan of ignoring for various reasons. So more than ignoring, I would suggest this:  When Rhianna is "empty," meaning you are certain she has pooped and peed, take advantage of this time for keeping her entertained. Therefore, I think it would be best if you can pre-empt this whining by offering her some extra enrichment so that she doesn't get to rehearse any attention-seeking behaviors. 

So for instance, after she eliminates outside, praise her like she won the Nobel prize and give her a treat. Then, you can let her explore the yard on leash or take her on a brief exploration walk. Then once home, do everything possible to prevent the whining in the first place at least until her next potty trip. If her whining takes place close to her usual potty time, take her out because we want to reinforce whining for a genuine need to potty. Even if it wasn't genuine though, you are doing the boring trip so that gets you covered. 

This may require some advanced planning such as the moment you take off the leash, have her engage in some fun activities like  play with a ball or do so some fun clicker training, then do maybe a little treasure hunt, or a muffin game, and then offer her something long-lasting to engage with (like a stuffed frozen Kong) so to keep her mind off the going out and chill a bit. If she's crate trained, you can give the stuffed Kong there, she may take a nap afterward. When she wakes up, time to potty, especially if she whines, since most pups need to potty after taking a nap.  I hope this helps clarify things, it's one of those things requiring judgment calls  sort of like with babies crying, should I always attend to a baby crying or ignore? But what if we pre-empt all needs so to prevent crying in the first place? I think this approach covers most basis. 

[BONNIEJ JAECKLE]

Still potty issues.  Frustrated.  After she’s in her crate all night, she will bark to get our attention.  She DOES NOT however alert us when she’s not in her crate!  We take her out frequently thus don’t have many accidents, but… if she alerts us at all we may get a faint little whimper that we’d never hear from another room.  We still (@ 7 months) have her in the laundry room, gated off from the rest of the house.  Should I make that space smaller so that she’s less inclined to potty in the far end and see if she barks?  I’d love for her to have free reign of the house, but… the rest is carpeted.  I’ve only been close enough one time to catch her in the act and say, “no” and take her out immed.  Should I tether her to me while busy around the house in order to catch her in the act?  Any help is appreciated! 

[JMFS]

I didn't see it mentioned.  Are you cleaning the accidents with enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle?  Breaking down the things they can smell, but we can't, can help with repeated accidents.

I believe at 7 months she's nearing bladder maturity.  Have you tried training her with bells to alert?  If she's in another room when she's needing to potty she may need a way to get your attention.  Some dogs are too polite to ask (my Gertrude) and will hold it as long as possible.  Other dogs (Esther, incontinent, and Abbi, elderly) are going to do their thing.  But if we give them a way to ask they may be more likely to use that.  As you said, she's too quiet for you to hear from elsewhere in the house, so giving her a tool to help her alert you may alleviate most of the problem.

I tend to tether my dogs to me until they're potty trained, and otherwise trusted in the house.  To me, tethering offers more opportunities to train as well.  I have a leash that I can put into many configurations so I can tether to furniture as well if I need more mobility.

Has she ever soiled her bed?  You could train her to go to her bed when she's on the carpeted areas.  Most dogs won't toilet on their bed (unless they're Momo - he had an odd hatred of beds, and what most of us would consider comfortable, in general).  That way she could at least be with y'all when you're in the carpeted rooms, and she has a better chance of getting your attention if she's one of those polite pups.

What else can I throw in here?  I generally take the girls out about 20 - 30 minutes after they've had water.  Esther especially, given her incontinence.  I also go by the logic of, if I need to go, they may need to go, and I'll let them out before or after.

The final idea I have on my brain for you is whether she's been to the veterinarian to rule out a medical reason like a UTI.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Still potty issues.  Frustrated.  After she’s in her crate all night, she will bark to get our attention.  She DOES NOT however alert us when she’s not in her crate!  We take her out frequently thus don’t have many accidents, but… if she alerts us at all we may get a faint little whimper that we’d never hear from another room.  We still (@ 7 months) have her in the laundry room, gated off from the rest of the house.  Should I make that space smaller so that she’s less inclined to potty in the far end and see if she barks?  I’d love for her to have free reign of the house, but… the rest is carpeted.  I’ve only been close enough one time to catch her in the act and say, “no” and take her out immed.  Should I tether her to me while busy around the house in order to catch her in the act?  Any help is appreciated! 

Hi there! Welcome back, in your first post it seemed as if she rarely had an accident so it seemed like things were proceeding rather well with taking her out on a schedule, other than the whining to go outside. However, she is now 7 months and should be able to hold it better, although some pups may take longer.  With toy dogs, potty issues are common considering that their accidents are easier to miss. We need lots of patience and active supervision with these pups so to prevent cases of incomplete housetraining. 

So let's take a closer look into what dynamics may be going on and do some troubleshooting....

She is not having much accidents in the crate because crates work great in helping inculcate the instinct of pups not wanting to soil where they sleep. On top of that, crates keeps pups inactive which makes them less likely to need to pee, versus being active and romping around and drinking. When out of the crate, she's therefore more active, and larger spaces do not trigger that "not pottying where I sleep" instinct.

A crate of the right size is a therefore great ally for potty training. It needs to be large enough that the puppy can stand, turn around and sleep on her side with the legs stretched comfortably out (for that restorative REM sleep), but snug enough that the puppy doesn't feel OK peeing and pooping in one corner and sleeping comfortably the opposite side.

A crate that meets this criteria works great for potty training because properly raised pups perceive it as their "bedroom" and won't therefore feel compelled to soil it, unless they are kept there for too long or are suffering from a urinary problem or have tummy issues (like diarrhea). There is another reason why some pups may soil in their crates and that is sadly pups coming from pet stores/puppy mills since these impoverished environments force pups to pee in the enclosures they are are contained. A crate therefore works great as a puppy's "bedroom" and discourages pups from turning it into a 'bathroom.'

A laundry room is often too spacious and therefore is perceived as a "bedroom," "living room" and "bathroom" by most not fully potty trained puppies. Your puppy may therefore play, sleep, eat and drink in one side and then use the other side for going potty. 

This form of peeing therefore needs tackled considering that peeing in the wrong places is strongly habit-forming because when puppies potty, they feel relief, and that's highly self-reinforcing, and on top of that, they learn to use the same areas over and over. It's therefore important to break the cycle. 

You asked: "Should I make that space smaller so that she’s less inclined to potty in the far end and see if she barks?" 

Great question! In an ideal world, that *could* technically work, but we need to consider that there are risks. Firstly, we are looking into a possible established habit, and therefore, there may be risks she'll still consider that space a bathroom, only smaller. Secondly, if the puppy doesn't happen to bark loud enough or for some reason we're not able to hear her, and she happens to have an accident, (which is likely, since she already have peed in this area before), she has now learned to pee in an even smaller space, which can generalize then to peeing in a crate, causing a regression. 

So it may or may not work. At this point, if we are making it smaller, it may be worthy of using the crate where she likely has less "history" of soiling. Ideally, we would place the crate in an area where we can easily watch/ hear our pups bark/whine or even move around for those dogs who are very subtle communicators. 

You also asked:  "Should I tether her to me while busy around the house in order to catch her in the act?"

Umbilical cord training (tethering to you) is a good ancillary tool for potty training. Its biggest advantages are that you puppy is always underfoot and easy to supervise,  it's easy-peasy to quickly take your puppy out (she's already wearing her collar and leash!), and you can then praise her/give a treat and free her off the leash to play once she has successfully eliminated in the yard (if fenced) or take her back inside if she doesn't potty in a reasonable amount of time (and try again in another few minutes). With her past history of asking often to go outside, you'll therefore find this method helpful. 

However, some pups may grow bored and frustrated if they are kept umbilical corded for too long and sometimes may start misbehaving (like chewing on our shoes/nipping the leash or our legs as we move), so we may need to mix and match our management strategies. So we may do this every now and then mixed with crating her at other times, mixed with letting her spend supervised free time in the house and play, mixed with having her lie on her bed (you can let her chew some long-lasting goodie while there) as Jennifer pointed out. Here's how to teach it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

Back to the umbilical cord, we should be monitoring them closely when on the umbilical cord, especially if we are getting closer to their scheduled outing. If we're cleaning or on the phone, we may miss their signs and it may be too late.  Pups therefore need close supervision until fully potty trained (the formal definition of fully potty trained is a pup who hasn't had any accidents for at least 6 to 8 consecutive weeks).

Here are some further tips:

-As Jennifer pointed out use an enzyme-based cleaner to clean up messes. You may also find it helpful to use a black light to check if you missed previously soiled spots that haven't been cleaned properly and that she perceives as "her bathroom." The black light will cause any pee residue to glow in the dark making it easy to detect. If you find any residual urine spots, make sure to clean them up properly and then test again with your black light to see whether you were able to successfully remove them. 

-It it best to prevent accidents from happening rather than catching them in the act.

-Keep her on a schedule. Sounds like you have been already doing that. This entails taking her often outside so that she'll be put into the position of rarely having the opportunity to have accidents indoors. 

Keep track at how often you need to take your puppy out (set an alarm if needed) and when she has an accident write it down and make adjustments by taking her out sooner next time. Keep reinforcing going outside to potty so that she learns that's the best place to go and make it the new habit. The more she goes potty outside, the less she'll go potty indoors, and the more you'll help establish a new habit. 

-Make sure she has fully emptied her bladder before taking her back inside. Some pups are multiple urinators, meaning that they'll pee little trickles multiple times rather than emptying their bladder all at once. 

-Keep using your go-potty cues and reinforcing going outside to potty so that she learns that's the best place to go. 

-Recognize early signs. Most puppies as they develop better bladder and bowel control, will give out more and more evident signs of needing to go potty. It's therefore important watching for these signs. The most subtle signs are walking away from playing, sniffing and appearing a little distracted. The most evident signs include going to the door, barking at the door, pacing back and forth and circling. If you recognize any of these signs, therefore make sure to take your puppy out promptly. 

-.Avoid as much as possible showing signs of being upset when you catch your puppy in the act of going potty in the wrong areas. This risks teaching pups, not "don't potty in the house" as we intend, but "don't potty in my presence." This therefore often leads to pups who sneak away and  hide to pee or poop out of our view.

-Cheerfully redirect. Rather than getting upset and startling our pups, we can train them to respond to a cheerful "let go outside!" cue where we rush towards the door happily. It is best if you can train this beforehand so that you have a fluent and rapid response.

-If it's too late and a mess is already made, don't act frustrated or angry with your pup, just clean it up and maybe sing or whistle a happy song. This helps prevent them from associating their messes with our presence and sneaking away.

-Management, management, management. Management techniques prevent dogs from rehearsing problematic behaviors and repeatedly make mistakes. When dogs engage in problematic behaviors over and over they can become habit-forming. So after your pup is taken outside and goes potty, it's important keeping an eye on them, especially when their next due potty trip is getting closer. 

So you should keep your puppy nearby so that you can easily monitor her by either tethering her to you (umbilical cord potty training, which is great since your puppy is already leashed and ready to be taken out) or keeping her in a small area nearby you (make sure no furniture is blocking your view of her) so that she is always within your sight and you can promptly take her out as needed. If you cannot actively supervise her or it's her nap time, you can crate your puppy, but always within reach so you can hear her vocalize/move around to communicate a need to be taken out. Alternatively, you can use a nanny cam so you can closely monitor her/hear her if you're in another room. 

I hope this helps!

Best,

Adrienne