# Toilet accidents?



## Cece (May 16, 2016)

Hi everyone! I'm new to this site, but could do with some advice. We have a 7 month old cockatoo called Millie. She is crated at night, and does really well, with no accidents. If I am with her, and she cannot access the kitchen, she is fine, however, if the door is open, she will sneak in and do a week or poo. She goes out for a good walk- off lead - morning and night, with our 4 year old Springer, and usually does weeks and poos. This morning, after taking them out, (sees and poos) I left her in the house (uncreated) and went to do some gardening for 45 minutes, but she had weed and pood in the kitchen when I came back in.
It's so annoying, especially as I feel like she knows what she is doing, and is telling me off for leaving her. 
I'm not sure how to react, I caged her whilst I cleaned up, made a fuss of our older Spaniel with treat and praise, then put her outside on a long lead. 
Any ideas would be great! Thanks


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

Perfectly normal adolescence. Just like human kids, as they grow up your pup will try to push boundaries. Go back to basics and be as consistent as you can. 

Positively reinforcing behavior you do want is more likely going to get the behavior you want her to do. Train your pup to want to pee and poop while you watch, then there is less incentive to go when you aren't around. And ignore the accidents but clean up well. If the reinforcement is delayed, it's more confusing than effective, like giving your Spaniel extra loving and praise. 

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## Gill57 (Mar 20, 2016)

Lexi&Beemer said:


> Perfectly normal adolescence. Just like human kids, as they grow up your pup will try to push boundaries. Go back to basics and be as consistent as you can.
> 
> Positively reinforcing behavior you do want is more likely going to get the behavior you want her to do. Train your pup to want to pee and poop while you watch, then there is less incentive to go when you aren't around. And ignore the accidents but clean up well. If the reinforcement is delayed, it's more confusing than effective, like giving your Spaniel extra loving and praise.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Useful advice. Thanks. 
Freddie pee'd on the carpet earlier. The first time in weeks. I think it may have been because he had got over excited after having fun and frolics with next door's female dog whilst we were there for a coffee. At just under 6 months he now knows where to put it and what to do (I was mortified). He's now barking like mad in the garden and generally mis-behaving.........!! Roll on the snip in 6 weeks time!


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## OssiMcPawsy (May 16, 2016)

Yes, I think that is normal our almost 1-year-old cockapoo pushes boundaries quite a lot even if he knows not too. (Often leaving a nice little puddle on the floor)


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Please don't despair, but I'm not sure I would go so far as calling it "normal". Somewhere something has gone amiss. Perhaps you used pee pads and confused the issue? Perhaps your pup was taken from his litter and mother before eight weeks? Or maybe the breeder caged them forcing him to be comfortable living near his pee? Mother dogs clean their puppies themselves and then teach them to keep their home area clean. Cockapoos *are* on the hard to train list but by seven months most of them have cracked it.

With Rufus (most likely from a puppy mill) I had to go beyond the basics and tell him off for peeing inside once or twice. Nothing physical, just stomping and huffing and showing him I was very displeased. He's never had an accident again. Having said that he is a very ballsy confident dog, you could really set back a timid dog doing that. 

As a side note my vet friend went to a workshop recently on cats with litter box issues. It seems there are vet experts who study this and it is more complicated than one might imagine. I'm wondering if that might be the same with dogs? Maybe a vet or a dog trainer will be able to help you understand what is going on?


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## Annabellam (Nov 3, 2015)

Yeah consistency in maintaining the right behavior is important. There are a lot of waste disposal systems that you could train him on. Be sure to be patient and not expose your frustrations as directly.


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## Cece (May 16, 2016)

Thanks everyone! I try to be consistent, and Millie is great in every other way, and always does weeks and poos when I take her out, and it's only in the kitchen -which I have scrubbed and bleached endlessly- that she deposits. She is an extremely confident pup, so I may try and follow your advice fairlie, and show my displeasure. Fingers crossed! 👍


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

You mentioned scrubbing and bleach. Are you using some enzymatic cleaners that break down the urine before bleaching? Rather than scrubbing, I use the soak approach. I would spray enzymatic cleaner equal to the amount of pee they would do since their urine can leak into cracks, crevices, and to padding underneath. Also waiting the full time (mine says 10 minutes) for it to break down the urine. Perhaps try different cleaning products and more soaking over scrubbing. 


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## Barbieg (Jan 4, 2016)

*Potty accidents*

My 3 mo old Cockapoo, from my own litter, does well at doing her business outside with the big girls. I have 3 others... But continues to have a lot of accidents in the house. I have a handicapped daughter, so I can't watch the puppy every minute. Any suggestions?


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