Adult Rescue Potty Training - Marking Outside, Still Going Inside

[zavia]

I just adopted a 4yo M Australian Shepherd. He’s a puppy mill rescue so being a pet is completely foreign for him - he’s new to almost everything. He is well behaved, mostly because he’s so nervous and apprehensive. He doesn’t respond to treats (occasionally freeze dried liver - but inconsistently in the mood) or toys, so training is minimal until I can get him into a formal class setting. In the two weeks that I’ve had him, he has had accidents in the house maybe five times, so not terrible but crazy because he goes out for walks/potty breaks a lot and consistently.

These are the main points of his potty training issue:

• He’s mostly marking on walks, not fully relieving himself
• He will go on 3.5 - 4 hours worth of walks all day and not pee once on those walks
• We’ve tried taking him out when he paws at the door, whines, paces, etc. thinking that he’s indicating needing to go, only for him to LITERALLY sit down in the grass when he gets outside
• He isn’t food motivated - doesn’t take treats as a reward for going while on a walk
• We tried taking him out every hour on the hour to the same exact spot for 2 days (as was suggested by trainers online). He didn’t pee until day 2, at the end of an hour long walk.
• He is not dehydrated - quite the opposite actually. He takes in a lot of water and when he does go, he goes a lot (gross, I know)
• He is on an adequate length leash - I figured he wouldn’t want to go with him at arms length.
• He has no problem going sometimes, but then other times it almost feels like he’s opting to just go inside. But I know that can’t be it, because he’s hiding himself when he does it. He gets visibly sad when we discover it.
• He’s only going number 1 when he has accidents inside (thank god)
• Example 1: Took him out at 10PM to make sure he went before going to bed. 3 hours later, he’s peeing in the room with us. He had been on 3-4 walks already that day and hadn’t gone once.

-Example 2: Took him on a walk, he marked 3-4 times on the walk. 2 hours later he goes (a lot) inside.

Any suggestions are welcome! I’m all ears and quite ready for solutions Thank you!

 

[lukeyg7]

@zavia I would recommend crate training the dog if you aren’t already. It gives you a place to put him if you can’t keep constant supervision on him to make sure he doesn’t potty inside. He will also learn to hold it and go when he has a chance faster if the only time he can go is either outside becuase you’re taking him or inside the crate where he has to sit in it.

He’s still a puppy so keep taking him out at regular intervals. He will need a lot of supervision to catch him before the act happens. If you can’t give him your full attention, crate him. It’s going to take patience and consistency, but this may help.

As for the treat thing. My girl who came from a similar situation and is extremely fearful took a long time to calm down on walks and take treat. It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they’re too nervous and scared of what’s around them to even want a treat. Just slowly work on socialization and eventually he will come around!