House training problems

kig

We have a small dog, think it's a cross between maltese and some type of terrier. we got her from a shelter in July, she is about 1 year+ old, but are having endless problems house training her. It took us about 4-5 weeks to train her when we first got her, but she keeps on regressing. we'll go for 2 or 3 weeks without any issues and then to flood gates open again. We tell her that she is bold and send her outside, this works from time to time, but this last time things have not improved again. She has a dog flap to get out whenever she wants, and is quite happy in the garden so we;re at a loss as to why she does it. Any advice will be great.

andreac

Have you brought her outside and stayed with her until she goes and reward her then when she does?

You need to make sure to teach her that outside is the place to go and lots of praise and rewards when she does. Use tasty treats if you have to.
Some smaller breeds can be much harder to train so you need to put extra effort and time in to training.

kig

Yes we've done the waiting outside bit and used praise, it does work for a while, but then she regresses again. We close her in the conservatory, which has the dog flap while we try to train her and take her out regularly, then things improve for a bit.

ihatewinter

Have you or did you have newspapers or puppy pads down, if so could be the problem. When she goes, do you shout or do anything that may frighten the dog?

You should go back to basics, dog should be with you day and night in the house, not in the conservatory as you won't spot the signs of them wanting to go. Start bringing her out at regular intervals throughout the day and stay with her to do her business and praise her really well. Choose a word to associate with toileting business and keep saying it every time you're out such as go or whatever.

aonb

Good advice from previous replies
You got the dog 5 months ago from a shelter. You dont know what kind of start in life she may have had - she is still very young - the whole toilet training process may have been a disaster for her, or may not have even been done or done properly, so definately you need to start from scratch with her, and get the whole thing down to properly done.

The other thing is, could there be a recurring infection that is causing her to have accidents and regress? Has she been checked by the vet when she regresses like this?

Telling her she is bold especially if you use an angry voice will not help, especially if she had a bad training experience. Persevere, have her checked by the vet, and you will get there - good luck!