Alaskan Husky Behavior Forum

sisko has been going into the dogs kennel to toilet, i removed the straw that was in there & she stopped peeing but still poo's in there , any tips on maybe stopping her doing this, i clean it every time she does it so not to leave a a scent . It is autumn here now & i want to start putting bedding in their kennel again for wintertime.

Hmmm. How large is the space?

I had puppies that would leave one dog house and go into another dog house to pee and poop...it was really quite ugly and messy. I don't know where/how/why they got the idea that messing inside the space was acceptable. Fortunately, I had three houses in the pen and so they kept one very clean...but winter froze the messes to the point of being not cleanable until the spring thaw!

Best way to stop the behavior is to force her to "live" in the space and then be there to praise and reward her when she relieves herself elsewhere. When I discovered their "outhouse" I blocked off the door and forced them to go elsewhere.

I venture if the other dogs are in that space she might also reconsider messing in their space!?

Thanx Lynn, the kennel is in 2 parts, the space is 1.2 metre sq section there are 2 sections to it. They have it in the garen to get into if they want if it rains etc when they are outside.

Maybe doing what you would do with puppy training will work? You know taking her to the spot where you want her to pee and poop and then rewarding her for that? And or also maybe first removing the kennels if possible for a couple of day's?

Ice

You need to change something drastically in order to "shock" her habit. (Dogs, like humans, are creatures of habit and she's got it in her mind that the kennel is the potty area.)

Are the kennels moveable? Could you pick up the whole thing and move it to another space in the garden?

If you do that, I'd block the doorway so they can't go into the space when you are not there, and then I'd put more than just Sisko in that space (and block them IN there) for a bit, so that you then need to go let them out and request that they potty somewhere.

I've seen where some folks have actually taken poop from one area where they don't want their dogs to mess and moved it over to another area that is "approved." Me? If I'm pickin' up poop it's only going AWAY! (I found Scooby eating his the other day...just tryin to help I suppose?!)

Is there room in the kennel area to put a smaller crate? Could you crate Sisko in the kennel and then go out and walk her all the way out of the kennel area and praise her for doing her business outside of the space?

I think she just doesn't understand the rule...the other dogs haven't bothered to teach her because they didn't want the space! I think you need to make them want the space and the problem will get fixed pretty quick.

Good luck, keep us posted! I'll be curious to hear what works...
-lynnO

Not really possible to move the kennel as it is too heavy. I may try the blocking them in the kennel, the other 2 are fine & do their toliets out in the garden. I have a crate that may fit in there too so will try your methods mentioned folks & get back to you. Thanx for your help on this.

Hi Rose - I think if you just start feeding the dogs in the kennel they will get the idea. They often don't like to eat and poop in the same space. Of course some dogs do this, but it's usually because they had to at some point.

Just my 2 cents...

Kirsten

cheers kirsten, i will try anything if it stops her pooing in the kennel, the other 2 won't use the kennel as a bed when out if she keeps using it as a personal loo.

update of this is that sisko very rarely now does her poo's in the kennel, think since last post she has only done it twice , much better than DAILY. I fed her a few times in the kennel which she was a bit confused about but ate there ok.