Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, to all reading and thanks. I have a poodle (female) that is almost 2 years old and was started as an outside trained dog for its nature calls. Well now it seems that no amount or form of discipline will change her to getting use to newspaper or pads in the bathroom. Sometimes she will use it perfectly others not. I would say only 10 percent of the time is perfect and the rest not. So my question is. Is it possible to change her from what she was taught as a puppy from her breeder? Any tips and info is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Bradley.

What is the reason that you would want to reverse what should come naturally to a dog? If you could please provide a little more information.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Well the only thing that I know of that surely comes natural to a dog and its nature calls, is that it needs to empty when full. Does'nt matter where, it just has to let it out. Now it does not really care if it is your rug or your grass. Dogs dont show favoritism for this behavior, it just needs to be done. All they need is taught where is right and where is wrong place. The reasons are obvious to me, 1. I cant always be home when it has the need since my wife and I work together, 2. why not keep an inside dog as clean as possible and free from conact with parasites. (mosquitos, ticks, and fleas to name a few) 3. I nor my dog like trotting out in the rain and/or cold at any hour odd or not. 4. and my wife and I dont like cleaning the dog after such exposure.

Some dogs need a better visual aid to learn in than just a pad on the floor. There are actual dog litter boxes designed for dog use and that may be easier for your dog to identify with as an appropriate place to relieve itself.

Also, is is instinctual for a dog to keep what it percieves as it's home or living area free of messes so it can be difficult to retrain a dog that only has gone outside to actually go anywhere indoors. It's sometimes difficult as well for the humans to be consistent enough to teach the dog that "area A" in the house is fine to relieve itself on but "area B" is off limits.

Retraining can be done, but a well housebroken dog may find the concept difficult to understand and will probably make some well intentioned mistakes during the relearning process.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles www.freewebs.com/performanceshibas

Thank you very much chelle. I thought those things but you really nicely helped affirm them. Thanks again, Bradley