Any Tips on Getting Barney to listen-do?
In the good old days, we'd just walk to the back door and say Barney, wanna go out (or any variation) and he would. Or, on occasion, he'd go outside for us, but just sit because he didn't have to go. Now, he is really hard to get to go out at all. He'll easily go 18-24 hours without peeing. We haven't been letting him in the house as much as we used to because of this. We a) don't want him peeing in the house since he hasn't gone for 24 hours, and b) don't want him to think that he can ignore us and then 'get' to come in and be with us. The troubling part for me, though, is that it is happening more and more frequently and he doesn't understand why he can't come in to the rest of the house or come sleep with us, which makes me feel bad. It makes me think he thinks he's been bad and has to stay in the kitchen. I've tried the NILF approach and he doesn't care. He'll sit before eating, all that. I've tried treats and that doesn't really work, either. We've tried physically moving him, which only produces growls and piddles. He's been to the vet, so he's fine, physically. ADVICE, PLEASE!>!>!> |
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| Very mysterious. Have you tried walking him on a leash to see if he will pee? Do you go outside with him? |
| I stay in, I go out, I run across the lawn, I stop on the deck, I run down the stairs, then back up, I've thrown treats onto the grass, I've tried putting treats under his nose then walking a step back and having him come, step back, come, etc.... I've put him on the leash and he walks to the deck then stops and I pull and he pulls harder... |
| Will he go in the front? I know you probably don't want him to go there but just to see if he'll willingly go there? |
| I've never tried having him go in front. He's only allowed to pee in a certain non grassy area and the front is all grass except the driveway, so I don't even know where to take him to go in front.
The peeing/not peeing I don't think is the biggest part of this, though. It is mostly his stubbornness and refusal to go out when we tell him to... |
| maybe he wants to pee on the grass??!! |
| Have you tried taking him for a walk and letting him pee along the walk. I can almost always guarantee that a walk will produce both pee and poo and then I don't have to worry about him needing to go. |
| I agree, taking him for a walk would produce pee/poo...
But I don't have time to take him for a walk in the morning, or I don't want to late at night (sorry, lazy)...He will pee, and on Sunday actually came up to me and did 'the stare' to have me take him out and he went and I was all excited because it was like old times and I thought he'd be fine from that point on, but then he wouldn't go out later... |
| You can't get up 15 minutes earlier to take your dog out? And can't find time at night either? Come on, no wonder the dog is stubborn, he's only following what he's learning from his uprights.
Sheepdogs are not lawn ornaments. They need to be inside. Keeping him outside or confined to the kitchen only makes the problem worse. Get yourself up earlier and walk your dog! Come home from work and walk and play with your dog! Before bed, walk your dog! If you don't have time to do this.......then why do you have a dog? If you like sheepdogs but don't want the care, there are some very fine stuffed animals. You say you are too lazy......guess what?, so is your dog....and where did he learn it? It's time for obedience class for both of you learn how to command he learns how to respond. There's a serious lack of leadership in your house and your dog is trying to let you know. sheepieboss.......and they know it! |
| Oh ohhhh tough love on oes.org ..... |
| You are right Ron, I was a bit harsh! My apologies. Barney's upright is really trying......the running back and forth across the yard for example. Maybe Barney was frightened by something outside and is afraid to go outside......lightning.
If Barney is just being a little s--head, then we have to be stronger. If Barney has had an emotional episode, then we have to put out the effort to get them thru this. They don't heal well on their own. |
| Thanks Susan for the mini apology. I agree that I could theoretically get up earlier, but man, I am NOT a morning person. We try and tire him out in the house rather than take him for walks since it has been pretty hot out lately in general.
The thing about all this is that it is relatively new for Barney to be this way. I've tried many different things with him, but it just seems like stubbornness. I don't think it is something that happened (like lightening)...I think this is more Barney himself. Whenever it storms, he could care less. I'm more a mess than he is. And it has been relatively nice weather lately (upper 80s, ok humidity, not a ton of rain) so I don't think it is weather-related. Although he DID seem almost scared on our walk yesterday, walking all timid and hiding behind us when we got near a car bumper, so I tied his hair up and he seemed much more confident. The interesting thing that I am thinking, is that this started relatively soon after we gave Barney a new 'privilege' in the house. We've had him for a year and a half (March 05) and up until April 06 he slept in the kitchen. This was mostly because he's had water issues, which led to less than reliable bladder issues. But he's mostly gotten over his water issues and (knock on wood) is great in the house (pee-wise). So we decided he could come upstairs and sleep with us. A few weeks after we allowed that, he started acting up with this not wanting to go outside thing. Could be completely irrelevant or it could be connected, I don't know. All I know is that I am trying with him and that he is frustrating and we don't really know what to do about him and we don't want to make things worse by keeping him in the kitchen for the night since he doesn't connect the fact that he hasn't 'gone' and has to stay in the kitchen, but only gets more aloof BECAUSE he has to stay in the kitchen... |
barney1 wrote: I agree that I could theoretically get up earlier, but man, I am NOT a morning person. We try and tire him out in the house rather than take him for walks since it has been pretty hot out lately in general.
I think all of the answers are here for you. You should definitely try to do the walk thing in the am to see if that changes anything whether you're a morning person or not, or have your husband do it if he has an easier time getting up (or maybe you can become a morning person?!). Even Caesar Milan suggests the 1st thing walk if there is a behavior out of wack. It sets the tone for the day too, my dogs really seem to benefit from morning walks. Plus the fact that Barney knows that he gets play & attention inside, etc., and there is nothing enjoyable for him to be outside, then why should he have to be out there? And regarding water, you can pick up the water bowl close to the time that you take him outside for the last time before bed and he should be able to get through the night. I definitely think you're confusing him by locking him in the kitchen again. And regarding the hair tie up remark, IMO his hair should always be up or clipped so that he can see. Trying to see through his fall is probably freaking him out too. |
Anonymous wrote: barney1 wrote: I agree that I could theoretically get up earlier, but man, I am NOT a morning person. We try and tire him out in the house rather than take him for walks since it has been pretty hot out lately in general. (or maybe you can become a morning person?!) Plus the fact that Barney knows that he gets play & attention inside, etc., and there is nothing enjoyable for him to be outside, then why should he have to be out there? And regarding water, you can pick up the water bowl close to the time that you take him outside for the last time before bed and he should be able to get through the night. I definitely think you're confusing him by locking him in the kitchen again. And regarding the hair tie up remark, IMO his hair should always be up or clipped so that he can see. Trying to see through his fall is probably freaking him out too. I don't know how possible it is to 'become' a morning person. I'm better than I used to be--as a teenager I could sleep until 3pm, now I get up by 9 (usually!)(on weekends, people!). My husband's in med school so he's gone usually by 5-6am, so he can't get up earlier than he already does. He gets to go and enjoy the outdoors, but when it's 99 degrees and 100% humidity, no one wants to spend any extended periods outside. As I said, we don't have a problem with water anymore. I'm not really worried that he will have an accident in the house overnight even if he doesn't go out for last call--I just think that he SHOULD go out for last call. He's always had long hair, so trying to see through his fall is nothing new. I agree, I like having his hair up, but I don't think having it down was creating new problems for him. (although he DID walk into a potted plant last night  ) |
I can't really comment, because we HAVE to walk Izzie...no yard. 
BUT... First thing in the morning and last thing before bed...no matter the exercise she had during the day...we do what we call the "poop loop." Basically it is a loop from our garage around the end of the block and back. It takes about 4-10 minutes, depending on how much Izzie sniffs. This guarentee's that any business is taken care of before bed and first thing in the morning. It also is part of the routine that Izzie has settled into. She knows that after the evening loop we go right up to bed. Maybe if you set a couple of these routine times for really short walks Barney will start doing his business on a set schedule...so then you don't have to worry. These set times could be any time...when you get home from work...or something. |
| If Barnie is not peeing in the house, then I wouldn't worry about it. You say it's not that he needs to go but you think that he "should" go. The whole peeing thing is becoming a big stressful situation for both you and him.
I have never trained a dog to let me know when they want to go outside. I don't listen to their demands because I control all the resources, and they go out to relieve thenselves when I put them out. We are quite scheduled around potty time, and it works great. Bosley pees first thing in the morning, as he needs to. That is in our schedule. Dixie is fed first, while Bosley pees, because she doen't HAVE to go right away. Bosley is also trained to go pee on cue. At nite sometimes he is spooked by the dark or doesn't like the wet grass, so I go out with him and tell him to pee, because I don't want him all antsey and bugging me first thing in the morning. I like my sleep. If Barney pees 3 times a day, so be it. If he pees 2 times a day, so be in. There are many dogs in shelters who get out only twice a day and are clean in thier kennel. If he physically can do it, good for him and you. He has a big strong bladder. |
Bosley's mom wrote: If he physically can do it, good for him and you. He has a big strong bladder.
It may just be another case where he's just like his long lost brother, Clyde. Clyde'll go out in the morning and after eating to pee and that's about all he needs. A lot of times he goes out to watch Bear pee but he seldom goes himself unless he drank a bunch of water or he's in a new place that he likes to mark. He never has accidents and he got a clean bill of health from the vet so we don't worry. |
Seriously, I should just skip the middle man and go straight to you, Jill, and see what Clyde has been up to. It seems like Barney and Clyde have MANY of the same traits. Are you sure Clyde wasn't a puppy mill dog? 
I feel better now about him and his habits...thanks for all the replies...and feel free to keep suggestions coming, though  |
| I agree - As long as he's not peeing in the house, don't stress about it. Bailey can hold it forever. I've just come to trust the fact that he'll pee when he needs to.
Bailey never pees on a walk. Never, never, never. I take this dog for a 3 mile walk in the morning and he will hold it until he gets back to his own yard. He'll poop anywhere, but only wants to pee in familiar places - his yard, Darcy's yard and his dog sitter's yard. It's tough when we go away for the weekend - he'll hold it for the entire day in the hopes that we're going home before bed time, then on the last walk of the night he'll take an Austin Powers pee. I've never seen a male dog be so particular! |
| Violet has the oddest habit, as soon as her food is put down for her for breakfast/dinner, she goes right outside and does her business. She then comes in and eats her meal. We have a doggie door and a fenced in backyard, so she comes and goes as she pleases.
I was thinking maybe the reason Barney is being stubborn about going out is he wants to stay in the house with everyone and is not sure when he will be let back in again. Dogs are pretty smart. Something may have happened outside to Barney that you are not aware of. My Aussie, China went through that for a while. All of a sudden she did not want to go outside without me going out with her. (I can only assume something happened to upset her) So I accommidated her a few times and made my stays shorter and shorter and soon, she was back to normal. Best of luck, I hope the problem gets figured out soon. |
| Just a quick update...
We've loosened up a bit and stopped MAKING him go outside at specified times and things have gotten better. He's down to just a few times a day, but we're all more relaxed about it, so it seems to be better all around. Thanks! |
| Yes! He's nearly got you potty trained now! |
Good news!  |
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