Little presents left around the house

Can anyone help me with a cavalier who is twitchy in the garden at night, and doesn't like toileting in the garden when its wet. As a result we have had a few wee's indoors and a couple of poo's, as the weather is very wet at the moment. I have even asked my husband not to take the gazebo down yet, so I have somewhere in the dry to stand while I try to encourage Fern! Also hubby gets annoyed, so I have two problems really. :? Fern is 6 1/2 moths old and in season at the moment.

I would put her on a lead and walk her in the garden as she is in season, to help stimulate her going. It may take a 15 minute simulation of a regular walk though before she will go. Also have you been training her to go on a command? Doing so is very useful for times like this when they don;t necessarily want to go outside.

When India was younger I spent a lot of time trying to get her to go potty outside in the rain. Hide some really good treats in your pocket, be patient, and give her a treat and praise right after she does her business.

Sometimes I think she didn't like the rain because she could tell I didn't like to go out in it either!

And they do appreciate an umbrella! 8)

Have you guys seen the dog umbrella??

http://www.furlongspetsupply.com/dog_umbrellas.htm

I am not sure whether to laugh or actually be tempted to get something like that!! lol Kosmo hates the rain SO much I sure am tempted.. .. .. Thanks for the link to that site, there's some neat things on there! :flwr:

The hours I have spent in the garden, in the rain with a pocket full of treats and a ball just playing so they are used to the rain, the dark etc are un-countable...or even a walk when its howling! it pays well to do it from a young puppy. Silly thing like a bus ride, waiting outside a noisy school full of children or a shop all help them to be used to these situations which can easily un-nerve a normal dog.

Try Fern in the daytime in the rain, play a game. relax her and when she has a wee really praise her, carry on the game for a short while longer then go back in, towel her dry (another new situation with a dryer perhaps?) gain her confidence, treat and praise her and then try the same again at night time in the dark, she will get the hang of it.
You will also find out from this if it's the rain or the dark she is unsure about. Alot of dogs dislike both.
Once the fear has passed of the situation she dislikes you might find she enjoys the rain/dark like mine do, it doesn't bother them at all.

Fern is still a very young baby, and having a season may be throwing her hormones around etc, keep up the normal potty training enforced with lots of praise and cuddles.

Hope it gets better for you all :flwr:

Alison, Wilts, U.K.

Alison_Leighfield said:

The hours I have spent in the garden, in the rain with a pocket full of treats and a ball just playing so they are used to the rain, the dark etc are un-countable

Click to expand...

Oh me too :roll: . In fact, at 4.30am this morning I was standing in my jim jams in a freezing cold rainy garden, waiting for my darling Maxx to sniff out whatever had been in HIS garden and was making him bark :roll:

I suspect it was the squirrel again :x

Me too- 2.30 this morning - we barked to go outside - only it wasn't for a wee or poo - it was to get a stone to run around with so that mummy would play chase!

Merlin's a rum one!!!

I agree wtih Karlin that using a lead for all potty breaks is a good plan. Luckly, my Chester learned early on to go peepee on command so I don't always have to have him on a lead when I let him out in the backyard. You can't really make them poop on command but he's usually good about not taking too long.

If you can at least get her to wee outside on command you will be much happier. Good luck!

Foxes in the garden

Thanks for all your advice. The problem with our house is that its on different levels. Although the back door is open more or less all day, I don't always see Fern go downstairs to go to the garden. (Our livingroom is upstairs). So she see's that it's raining, and golden opportunity (mum's not about). present is left.
I have decided to confine her a bit more, and go back to basics and take her to the garden about every 45 minutes or so. Perhaps she felt I wasn't taking enough notice of her! :?
I have noticed a very strong foxy smell in our garden and wondered if that was freaking fern out? Also she was rolling in something although I could not see anything, when we had a dry spell. As she is in season could that have drawn the fox to our garden. It is usual to have foxes in our garden but in the lower half, not in the tophalf which Fern uses.
Would the fox scent upset Fern?

I think you're doing the right thing by confining her...if she's having accidents, she should never be out of your sight. Also, we are training Corgan to ring bells when he needs to go out. Maybe you could try also? We used 3 jingle bells on ribbon hanging from a suction cup on the back door. Every time we go out, we tell him "Bells!" and encourage him to use his nose to ring the bells.

Maybe you need a couple of sets of bells - one upstairs in the living room, and one by the door, so that she can tell you when she needs to leave the living room, and also do so at the door.

Maybe leaving the door closed for a while would also be a good idea?

Good luck! Keep us informed!