3 year old minature pincher suddenly going inside - Help!?

Question

My daughter went off to college and left her 3 yr old min pin with us. My husband never has liked this dog, but as she has gotten older she has gotten better. She has doggie doors and can freely go in and outside at her leisure. Going in the house has never been an issue until recently. Now she does it all the time! We have racked our brains trying to figure out why she is doing this and have no idea. She went to the vet over a month ago and got all her vaccinations and was in good health, nothing major has changed, but she continues to do this even after she is punished. We now lock her in the garage when we go to bed or leave after multiple attempts to correct her behavior. We are at wits end and my husband is nearing the breaking point. Does anyone have any idea as to why this behavior may have started or any suggestions?

One thing to clarify that I left out of the original entry. Our daughter moved out over a year ago and couldn't take her dog because she is living in a dorm so I know it isn't that she suddenly feels abandoned. Something must have happened that suddenly started to cause this behavior. I should have clarified that before...Sorry!

Answer 1

Shame on your daughter for leaving her dog behind in a household that didn't really want it.

You have multiple issues going on here.

1st - her mom is gone. This was the person who was supposed to love her for the rest of her life and is her pack leader and best friend. She is probably upset over that. Instead, she's been left with someone who doesn't want her there and another person who tolerates her. Doesn't exactly make for a happy home environment for her. She's scared and feels alone

2nd - She is being punished for being scared. Toy dogs should NEVER be punished for having potty mistakes. A quick but firm 'NO' if she's caught in the act should be punishment enough. "Punishment" will simply scare her more, and she's already damaged from being left behind. Yelling, hitting, spanking, swatting, screaming, rubbing her nose in it, and other violent or aggressive tactics will only make the problem worse and she may start to hide it for fear of being "punished". And NEVER discipline for past mistakes.

3rd - Toy dogs often forget their potty skills when a major life changing event has taken place and often hate going outside when it's cold or rainy or incliment weather. Even with a doggie door, toy dogs often will ignore that and instead go to the bathroom where they are safe and warm. Her mommy leaving her on top of winter arriving has kind of made her 'regress' her potty skills. Start back over at square one with her. Crate her when she's home alone and keep her next to you at all other times. Bring her out every 30 minutes to 1 hour and praise her and give her lots of treats when she does a good job. Treat her like she's a puppy again and simply start over.

4th - Bring her back to the vet to make sure there isn't an underlying medical issue. This needs to be 100% ruled out.

5th - If she's left home alone for longer than 3 or 4 hours daily, there need to be better arrangements made for her. She can't be expected to hold it that long and toy dogs are people dogs. They need a family. Find a doggie day care for her or consider rehoming her.

6th - The garage is not a solution. She's already been abandoned and now she's being forced to sleep in a cold, hard, lonely place. That's not correcting the behaviour, that's just mean. She's a toy dog - they need their people around them. Locking her away is just scaring her more.

If none of the training techniques work, try contacting her breeder (if you used a responsible one) or a Min Pin club representative. They've seen it all and can probably help you work through this.

If they can't help you work it out, then it's time to call Min Pin rescue. It's such a shame that your family didn't consider the college dorm issue when she was gotten. But, what's done is done and now the only thing you can do is try to make life easier for her during this time. If that means with another family, then that may be the best option.

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

You can use a modified puppy schedule to train an unhousetrained dog or one that's having housetraining problems. Start from the beginning just like a puppy, use a crate and put them on a schedule. An older dog can be expected to control itself for longer periods provided you take it outside at critical times � first thing in the morning, after meals and last thing at night. Until they're reliable, get them outside every three-to-four hours in between those times.

Adopted older dogs that have always had freedom may be unwilling to have a bowel movement when on a leash. You can either walk them longer or keep them confined until they really gotta go. Just like a puppy, don't give them the run of the house and keep them in a crate or small area if you can't supervise them. You can give them more freedom as they become more reliable.

I have a min-pin almost the same age as yours and once we told it where to go and it did. all dogs can be different though.

Answer 3

Hello there i have a min pin as well and he started to go into the house just the same as your describing as your min pin is doing,,, this is what we did to stop this behavior,,, at the time he started going in the house after being trained for a long time,,, we use to leave food down freely when ever he wanted it he could eat it, then when he started to go into the house we stopped that we put him on a 2 times a day feeding routine,, I would try putting her in a crate instead of the garage cause the garage is big enough for to go potty in and then go some place else to get away from the mess,,, but you want the crate just big enough for her to stand up and turn around,,, that way she wont go in the crate,,, when you get ready to go to bed take her out side and then put her in the crate same as when you go some place i would take her out before you leave and then when you get back take her out to potty and if you cant watch her at all times keep her in there,,, before long she will be right back the she was before hand,,, I hope this helps and good luck on your min pin they are a hand ful LOL they have alot of energy but you have to love them and they are like a potatoe chip you cant just have one

Answer 4

I have a male min pin. and he will "go" indoors if we do not watch him closely. Try to keep your dog confined to only certain rooms in the house. We actually use baby gates to keep our dogs out of certain areas of the house. Let the dog outside frequently and use a phrase like "be quick" when she does pee then reward her with a treat of praise. Perhaps your little minpin misses your daughter.How do you punish the dog? I hope you don't hit the animal, because it will develop a fear of you and make matters worse. We take ours outside every hour. During the night he is tied close to his bed. Good luck. I hope if you have to get rid of the dog you find a minpin rescue group to give it too. These are delightful spirited little animals and they love their families. It probably misses your daughter. Watch for bladder stones. Our dog had a very large one that responded to a special dog food that actually shrunk the stone, instead of surgery.

Answer 5

well first of all the garage is not a good place. soo many toxins have spilled their and it can really make the dog ill. i would recommend a crate near you so she/he would feel closer to attention over night. she is probably depressed not having anyone to play with much and 1 person less to get attention from.
in the long run i would recommend another dog as a play mate but if that is too much than just pay more attention to the dog and make it feel loved.

Answer 6

smaller dogs seem to have not as much control over their blatters. my mini schnauzer has been ''going'' inside, and she's only 4!!!