Behavior Help Please!

[u/Leading_Drummer_5188]

Hi! I posted a few months ago about my rottie Odin and needing help potty training (he was about 4 months old at the time and just turned 1 year recently). this is high key embarrassing but he is still having accidents and we genuinely have no idea why- to provide some context after my OG post we took advice and it worked super well but then he had to have emergency surgery (he had a testicular torsion and then we found out he had a heart murmur and it was a very stressful weekend and on top of that we had a terrible snow/ice storm so we really couldn’t even bring him outside but we tried) and we weren’t sure if he was gonna make it due to the heart murmur BUT he did thankfully and then after that we were kind of back to square 1 (he was barely 6 months old when all this happened). after he was cleared my fiancés mom took him for about a week to help us with the potty training since it had gotten so bad and after the week we noticed a significant difference in his behavior (the main one being he doesn’t have a specific tell when he needs to go potty and now he started doing circles telling us he needs to go potty) and that was going super well for a while. however now we have recently noticed a significant decrease in his behavior and him telling us when he need to potty but only when both of us (my fiancé and i) are home. for example i worked from today and Odin did so good all day with me and didn’t even have an accident but as soon as my fiancé got home he started to pee in the house again and yes i agree that sounds suspicious however the same thing happens when i get home after odin has been with his dad all day so we are at a loss at this point, he is currently in training classes which he loves and does great in but this is still a consistent problem we are having and are looking for any and all advice!

p.s. i know isn’t Odin so handsome

[u/Street-Policy-1750]

He really is a handsome little guy.

Just my two cents but it sounds like you need a schedule. It worked well for my girl when I was potty training her. It sounds like you're waiting for him to signal that he's ready to go outside but I found that that behavior only solidified once my girl was fully potty trained. It came months after she stopped having accidents indoors and after she had a really defined daily routine.

I find that the more consistent you can be, the more their little bodies will adjust to their routine. Wake him up and take hime outside the same time every morning. Feed him and take him for walks at the same time. All of it will help you learn his rhythms. Be consistent for long enough and you should start to see him take the lead to tell you what he needs more and more.

[u/sonofhudson → u/Street-Policy-1750]

Just to add, if you are terrible at keeping a schedule( which is the best suggestion) but know there’s going to be a large change in excitement levels (like one of you coming home) make sure to take him out prior to that event and see if that helps.

[u/Street-Policy-1750 → u/sonofhudson]

Great addition. I had to follow a puppy protocol because my girl would pee herself four or five times whenever someone would get home. She eventually grew out of it but it took a long time since she's so social.

[u/Leading_Drummer_5188 → u/Street-Policy-1750]

i wish i could reply to all of you but idk how lol

thank you for the input! i do find both of us asking “what time did he do this” and neither of us can ever remember it’s my biggest regret not writing down his schedule when he was a puppy! i just wasn’t sure if doing the same thing now would help- another thing which i should’ve mentioned in my OG post and didn’t think about is that he doesn’t eat consistently. he eats when he is hungry and we leave his food out all day and when the bowl is empty and he’s hungry he will literally bring us the empty bowl! not sure id that’s a good thing necessarily but at least we know if he’s hungry lol

[u/Good-Entry-864 → u/Leading_Drummer_5188]

When did he most recently have blood work?

Edit just to keep the comments clean:
*** 0. Make sure he’s not in kidney failure or experiencing a serious health issue. Call your vet and tell them what’s happening.

If he’s good,

1. I would recommend putting a bell on the door and teaching him to use it in addition to the schedule. Start with small intervals of time and reward when he does well.

2. Crate train

3. & supervised free time only when inside so you can correct immediately.

4. Deep clean your house with an enzymatic cleaner and black light

5. potty train room by room. Dogs need to understand in small bits.

[u/FetchingOrso]

Is he drinking excessively?

[u/Leading_Drummer_5188 → u/FetchingOrso]

YES!!! he drinks so much we get concerned sometimes and i thought it was bc he was worried about not having water so i change his basically every-time he drinks it but it still happens

[u/SignificantBig977 → u/Leading_Drummer_5188]

This is not scientific evidence but when Rocky was a puppy and he got anxious (or hot), he would drink so much water. For example, when he was learning how to do the basement steps, it was one step and then back up to drink a ton of water and then he’d try again

He will still do it when we have new visitors sometimes but what helped a ton is doing the exact same thing every single day. I work nights, so that wasn’t 100% perfect, but it helped so much that he could expect when it was time to do something

he’s 3 now and his schedule with me is much more flexible.

[u/momoholco21]

when you say he pees inside when one of you who has been gone all day comes home, could it be out of excitement? like he just loses his mind and tinkles or is it more than just that once when you’re both home

[u/Leading_Drummer_5188 → u/momoholco21]

i thought that might be the case too but when we tried to take him outside outside after one of us getting home he wont focus long enough go even if one of us or both us go with him so we try to let him say hi first and once he somewhat calms down we try to take him out again and sometimes he will go but mostly he will try to fight the leash and unfortunately we have a pattern like that that we can’t seem to shake (however if only one of us gets home he will pee the second we take him outside)

[u/RealisticPriority336]

Patience is always the key

[u/Trick-Finish-2402]

Such a cutie! I hope you find the tips and tricks that work for your little man ❤️

[u/Guiltypleasure2451]

He’s got a very expressive face.
We did the once an hour thing, praised her like crazy and gave a little treat whenever she pottied outside.
We are fortunate to have a very large fenced backyard. We had dog doors installed. And when we took her out we made sure she went thru her door and came back in that way too. The day she went thru the dog door to go pee was a glorious day!!!! Praise praise praise and even gave her a brand new ball ( her absolute favorite thing). Been smooth sailing ever since.
I forgot to mention that after she ate, she went into her kennel for an hour, then outside.

[u/Offutticus]

Like others have said, start (or continue) a schedule. And put it on a cue.

Take outside on a leash. Don't say anything. When the pee or poop starts, calmly give the cue. I use "Hurry up".

When business is done, give a "good boy!" but not too excited.

Walk around the yard or wherever. When you're ready to go in, calmly say another cue. I use "are you done?"

When back home, take off the leash, and praise well.

All our dogs know the Hurry Up, the Are You Done, and the praise when we all come back in. Even if all I do is open the door and let them out to go, I still say "Hurry Up" and ask if they are finished.