4 y/o mutt struggling with being housebroken

[annabry]

hi! im fairly new to dog training and such so i dont know all the terms. my family has had this dog for almost 2 years. when we first got him, we had set up a bell system where he would ring the bell to be let out. he picked up on it really quickly and it was working perfectly until a few months ago. what he does now is just stands in the back hallway and if we dont let him out as soon as we see him, he pees inside. there havent been many other behavioral changes that i've observed but he doesnt seem to be taking my more recent attempts at retraining the bell system. any advice?

during the time that this started happening, my dad also started working from home because of office construction but is no longer working from home. i wonder if this had anything to do with it.

any help is appreciated!!

 

[valula]

@annabry First off…. Why are you calling him a “mutt” vs Dog?

Your fathers change by going back to the office could very well be a portion of the reason.

Are you providing a reward for the bell?

 

[annabry]

@valula i was saying mutt because i figured some people may want to know breed. ive been holding a treat to the bell and saying "touch" but he just keeps looking at me like i have 3 heads. i may keep trying with that unless i hear something better haha

 

[valula]

@annabry Set an alarm, like every 2 hours or whatever, bring the pup to the door, ring the bell yourself, let the dog out, when they come back, if they did go to the bathroom give rubs and scratches and praise then give them a treat.

As soon as you see the pup in the hall, annoying I know, but get up immediately and follow above instructions. (Call to the door, ring bell, praise, treat).

As they get better and get back into this routine you can use a “lottery system” with treats. Since you are giving treats and praise that alone is validating for their behavior so you can reduce the amount of treats.

 

[annabry]

@valula awesome!! thank you so much, i'll be trying that when i can

 

[valula]

@annabry It needs to be as consistent as possible. The house dynamic already changed when your dad went back to the office which is when you said this started. So get the who family on board