What are we doing wrong?

[Malteluv]

Well, this morning as usual I suited up Yuki and Kaya and took them for a walk so that they could go potty. Yuki went potty ok as he always does but Kaya did not. As you all know that Kaya was house trained by her previous owner to go potty inside the bathroom on either newspaper or the pads. We still have her using the pads/newspaper in the bathroom until we can get her to go outside like Yuki does. So after their walk this morning, I took them back inside and groomed them both and left for work. Apparently Kaya must have been annoyed because hubby said that when i left she was barking furiously and then she went upstairs to the den and decided to poop there. Hubby said he was furious and took her to the scene of the crime, showed her the poop and told her no. Kaya will only go potty in the bathroom at the top of the stairs so that is where we leave the pads/newspaper. She used the pads this morning or sometime last night for pee and she has used the pads earlier in the week for poop. Each and every time either of us take Yuki outside for potty and walk, we take Kaya but she never does anything until she gets back inside. What are we doing wrong? Now we have decided to close off all the rooms upstairs and leave the bathroom open with the pads/newspapers hoping that she will know to only go there. I am thinking that it might also be a good idea to invest in a gate and block off the upstairs and relocate her to the downstairs bathroom with the hopes that we can eventually get her to go outside and eliminate her going potty in the house at all. How can we go about this effectively? I am feeling sad because Yuki likes to go into the room upstairs that has the window facing the front of the house, unfortunately there is no other room like that downstairs and not only do we not allow Kaya upstairs we have to take that away from Yuki as well. Please, anyone, someone, HELP ME!!!!?????:confused:

[Hobbes1]

Sounds like she is conditioned to go on the pads/newspaper. I would try taking some pads outside. See if you can get her to go at that point.

I would definetly try moving the pads around the house to see how she responds. Put them in a room that's convienent for you and your other pup and see how she responds. Good luck.

[Macawpower58]

I'd house her close to the outside door for awhile. A crate would help temporarily. Take her out often! Everytime she does not go, back to the crate, or barricaded area. Keep her on a rigid feeding/watering schedule for now. I'd not scold for accidents, she is not purposefully misbehaving. I'd praise very highly for any outside dribbles or poo. Can you get your other dog to potty outside the door? Close so that she can smell it everytime you take her out, and perhaps be encouraged by the odor? I'd also pick a spot (for now) close to the door, and take her to the same spot each time. Long walks to potty are better for the future. You're trying to break one habit, and create another, and simple repetitive steps are the best way.

I'd also forbid her the upstairs, and running free in the house, until she starts using the outdoors. It can be very hard for a dog to go outside, once trained to potty indoors. Make it a schedule, play....out the door, sleep....out the door, eat.....out the door. If you give her no place, or chance to potty in the house, it's either soil her bed, or go outdoors. You may have a soiled bed once or twice before she catches on.

Keep at it, and be patient, she is not being bad on purpose.

[Malteluv]

Thanks guys for answering. When she goes out with Yuki and he goes potty she is right there to see and smell and though she was timid with walking on grass in the beginning, I have noticed that she was eating some grass yesterday on one of their walks. I don't know if this is a sign that she will eventually go outside but I am hopeful. I have a front garden and that is where Yuki does his business. This garden is not too far from the front door and besides the back yard, that is the only place that Yuki will go at his leisure. Of course if he simply must go then any grass will do.

I will definately try some of the suggestions that i have been given and will report on her progress. Since hubby had to go to work early today, I went home for lunch to look for the poochies. Yes they were both glad to see me but Kaya was overly excited because she was panting almost uncontrollably. I greeted Yuki first with one hand and used the other hand to try and calm her down. After she was calm, I told her to sit which she did, re-greeted Yuki and then re-greeted her and this time it was a-okay. So since that worked I will continue to do that. Also, before I left, she was on the sofa and Yuki was on the ground in front of the sofa which meant that everyone was calm and okay. I picked up my bag, said my 'see-you-later's' first to Yuki then to Kaya and for the first time she did not follow me to the door. I quietly slipped out and did not hear her barking. I can only hope that she is getting used to our schedule and is trying her best to adapt. I will certainly keep you all up to date with the adventures of Yuki and Kaya. Thanks for the tips.

[Malteluv]

So here is the good news:

Yesterday and this morning when I walked Yuki and Kaya, Kaya actually pee in the grass, yeah! Also, after reading one of the post that talked about giving your dog probiotic yogurt to help stabilize the tummy, I did some homework and bought Stonyfield Farms probiotic fat free yogurt and mixed some of it with the Innova kibble and it was a hit. Plus the yogurt was a hit by itself as well.

So here is the not so good news:
Hubby is notoriously known as the calmer of the two of us. So imagine my utter dismay at being woken by him shortly after going to bed because Kaya had pooped downstairs in the laundry room and on the mat infront of the front door. I was awoken to him exclaiming "I've had it with Kaya!" I must have still been asleep because for sure I would have started screaming at him. What??? are you kidding me? Why couldn't he just take care of it himself? Turns out it was a good thing that I got up to help because he must have screamed at Kaya so badly that she was hiding under the dining table and he wanted to lock her in the downstairs bathroom! By this time I knew he lost his natural mind so I remained calm (yeah, I'm still amazed about that), helped clean up the mess, retrieved my pillow from upstairs and took Kaya and her pillow to the den where we I spread some newspaper, put her pillow on the floor by my head and we slept with me waking periodically to make sure she was okay.

After explaining countless times last night that it does take time to re-train an animal to our expectations and liking and it is imperative that he have some d*** patience because I am having a hard time with this particular role reversal! Hubby looked at me as if I had two heads. This morning I made him apologize to me because of how he acted last night. I again reiterated the need for absolute patience because Kaya does not mean to make a mess anywhere she please. He kept on saying that "she knows to go to the upstairs bathroom and do her business there" and I answered with "maybe she couldn't make it upstairs in time!" Previously in the evening I warned him to look out for when she plays with Yuki because it seem as if when they are finished playing that that is the time she wants to pee and poop but of course he did not listen. To top it off he even had the nerve to suggest that that is the reason why she was given up in the first place and that he should just take her back to the humane society. Well at that point, I began to see red and because I refused to start verbal hockey, I just gathered up Kaya and all my necessary night things and retired to bed. This morning he still wanted to keep her (funny he does not even know that he had no choice in the matter but I let him think that he did) and I again made my point about patience and vigilance with her.

Guys I am so sorry that this was such a long post but I knew that you all would understand my utter frustration with the situation. BTW, I took Kaya to the vet today for her 14 day check up and she is very healthy and got her rabies shot. I then went home for Yuki and took them both to be groomed at the doggie spa. I think they both deserve it. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions on how best to re-potty train Kaya, the vet this morning said the exact same thing as you all. YOU ALL ROCK!!!! Thanks a million. (whew!)