BF Against Re-Potty Training Dog, Am I In The Wrong?

[Almond_Joy]

Hi everyone,

 

Me and my bf have been together for about 3 years. He has a pure-bred dachshund that's now 6 yrs. old.

 

It's been so hot and the dog has been panting and unusually lethargic until late in the evening, and I noticed that most of his water was still in the bowl when we'd get home and he wouldn't get up to drink in the evenings either. I felt bad for him and was concerned he was too dehydrated (the vet had mentioned that as an issue at his last check-up), but it didn't occur to me that there was anything we could do about it. I ended up mentioning this to a colleague who's fostered and kept dogs for decades. I had also mentioned in this conversation, at her inquiry, that the dog only goes to the bathroom three times a day - once in the morning before we go to work, once when we get home, and once before we go to bed. She said, OK well no wonder the dog's panting and exhausted - he doesn't drink enough water during the day because he has nowhere to go to the bathroom if he does! This made perfect sense to me, so I asked what can I do to fix it. She says get a litter pan.

 

So I come home all excited to tell my bf about this....well he shoots it down! He says he tried litter pan training before and "it just didn't work." I could have taken this at face value, but since I've been with him I've seen the dog's social skills get progressively worse - he barks and growls, nearly starts fights with other small dogs when we take him for walks, in addition to getting the run of the house. My bf says the dog needs obedience training when other people are around but when I mention obedience training to him one-on-one he alwys has a dozen reasons why he can't do it or start it. From what I've seen he's not really interested in training the dog. Having seen that, my thinking was that litter pan training "didn't work" because he didn't really try to make it work.

 

But I step back a little from my excitement (I was ready to make this litter pan a permanent thing) and I say look, I'll get a cheap $20 one, we'll try and train him for a few weeks. If we can't pull it off no harm no foul, ok? He agrees to try this, which is critical - the dog listens to me but ultimately bf's the "dad" and he listens to dad above anyone else. So if dad doesn't support this it won't happen.

 

So I order the DoggieLawn (real grass in a cardboard box - he goes on real grass outside every day). It gets here today, I put it on the balcony. Now my bf asks me "How are we suppossed to make him use it?" I took this as him trying to play dumb and said "Are you telling me you don't know how to train him on how to go to the bathroom in a different spot?" He doesn't respond. I already see he's not serious about being diligent with this, so a little later I say "Look we both have to be consistent and only take him out on the potty, or it's not going to take."

 

NOW he's like have you researched this and I want to talk to the vet about this first.

 

I'm like wtf? He goes on to say, it took me two years to train him to go the way he does now, I just don't want to mess up that schedule.

 

So here's where I decided to come post here.

 

I have read up on dachshunds, I understand they are exceptionally stubborn dogs. But I did read up on how to potty train a dog, some sources specifically on dachshunds, and am willing to take that challenge on because in the end I believe this will give the dog a better quality of life. I also don't see how giving the dog the option to go to the bathroom during the day when we're not here is a bad thing. Am I wrong to want to take this on? If I am, can someone please explain to me why or at least why this can't work? I really don't understand.

 

And if I'm not wrong, why is my bf so against it? I know he doesn't want to discipline the dog, but I feel like he's letting his aversion to training/disciplining overshadow a chance to make things better for the dog. Why WOULDN'T the dog benefit from being able to use the bathroom more often??? On my off day alone I take the dog out every 2 - 3 hours and he has business to do EVERY TIME. So I know he has to go to the bathroom more than 3 times a day....I just don't get it.

 

Any insight, perspectives appreciated, thanks for reading.

 

P.S I know this post sounds really detached and impersonal by me referring to the dog as "the dog" instead of by his name....I dunno I just felt weird about putting his name on here. Paranoid about anonymity I guess. But I want to make it lcear I love our little guy very much and I just want to do everything possible to give him a happy healthy life.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Almond_Joy

[lollipopspot]

Of course a dog can be trained to use the lawn. The dog is not the one who is exceptionally stubborn, it's your ******* boyfriend.

 

Of course the dog should be given a better quality of life, and he seems to be suffering from your ******* boyfriend's stubbornness and lack of care.

 

The insight I have for you is that your boyfriend is a stubborn, uncaring *******. Beware of having children with him. This is a preview.

 

I don't mean to be so blunt about your stubborn, uncaring, ******* boyfriend. But I do not take kindly to those who take poor care of the animals in their care.

 

It's good that the dog has you to advocate for him. Keep doing it. A lot of things I will let go of in relationships. But I will never let go of advocating for dependents who need better care.

[Almond_Joy]

Of course a dog can be trained to use the lawn. The dog is not the one who is exceptionally stubborn, it's your ******* boyfriend.

 

Of course the dog should be given a better quality of life, and he seems to be suffering from your ******* boyfriend's stubbornness and lack of care.

 

The insight I have for you is that your boyfriend is a stubborn, uncaring *******. Beware of having children with him. This is a preview.

 

I don't mean to be so blunt about your stubborn, uncaring, ******* boyfriend. But I do not take kindly to those who take poor care of the animals in their care.

 

It's good that the dog has you to advocate for him. Keep doing it. A lot of things I will let go of in relationships. But I will never let go of advocating for dependents who need better care.

 

lol I understnad, I was MUCH more upset at his reluctance initially than I'm letting on here. In fact I was livid. I'm an animal lover and when he shot it down all I could hear was him denying the dog a better quality of life.

 

He is not completely uncaring nad I didn't mean to portray him that way. He's very rigid about his feeding schedule and quantities, and takes him to the vet every month. I know he loves the dog very much. But this particular care requires him to discipline the dog and that is one thing I think he does not want to do.

 

I was going to edit the post to also point out that I personally have never owned or cared for a dog of my own. My bf grew up with golden retreivers so he's had more exposure to dogs. He may have very valid reasons why he doesn't want to change the arrangement we have now, but they're not getting through to me. And if I'm pushing for something that shoudln't be done, I'd like to know that so I can back off. It could be that changing his routine will bring other complications that I don't understand. But I can't imagine what would be so bad as to justify not giving the dog the chance to relieve himself more often and thereby drink more water during the day.

 

Fall's coming so it's getting cooler now, but he was so miserable and tired all summer, panting until 10 at night without enough energy to go to the kitchen and get some water. It broke my heart to see him like that and I felt so stupid for not thinking of a solution earlier. But like I said Ive never had a dog so I just....didn't know. But I don't want to see him go through this next summer.

[Arieswoman]

Almond-joy,

To keep a dog shut up all day when you go to work is just downright cruel. It seems to me that your BF hasn't thought through the full responsibilities of dog ownership.

 

If the dog is a naturally clean one (and there are some dogs who are just lazy or messy) he will hold his urine for up to 8 hours plus, rather than make a mess. This could cause him distress and/or lead to urinary tract/bladder problems.

 

Not only that but he will get bored, lonely and become destructive and have other behavioural problems.

 

Dogs are pack animals. They need to socialise with other dogs and humans otherwise they develop socialisation problems.

 

Dachshunds are prone to Canine Cushing's Disease. One of the symptoms of this is excessive thirst and frequent urination. Has your BF considered how he will cope this this if it occurs?

 

Can't your BF fit a secure dog-flap so the dog can have access to the outside?

 

In UK we have these ;- Puppy Training Pads | Pets At Home I am sure there must be a US equivalent?

 

IMO your BF is just lazy and irresponsible. If he can't take care of a dog how would he ever be able to take care of you? I would seriously reconsider your future with him.

[Els]

I admit I don't know the slightest thing about potty training dogs, so I don't know which of you is in the right.

 

BUT. He said he would talk to the vet about your suggestion, right? Given that the vet would know best, if you were correct, surely the vet would just affirm your suggestion and tell him to do what you said.

 

So... just let him talk to the vet? It would probably be good for the dog to get a checkup anyway, just to make sure nothing else is wrong.

 

(Assuming he actually intends to do so, of course. If he's just saying that as a stalling tactic, then there are bigger problems at hand here.)

[xxoo]

Is it hot inside your apt? How hot?

 

How many hours are you both gone for work?

 

Does the dog get walks? When and how long?

[Almond_Joy]

Almond-joy,

To keep a dog shut up all day when you go to work is just downright cruel. It seems to me that your BF hasn't thought through the full responsibilities of dog ownership.

 

If the dog is a naturally clean one (and there are some dogs who are just lazy or messy) he will hold his urine for up to 8 hours plus, rather than make a mess. This could cause him distress and/or lead to urinary tract/bladder problems.

 

Not only that but he will get bored, lonely and become destructive and have other behavioural problems.

 

Dogs are pack animals. They need to socialise with other dogs and humans otherwise they develop socialisation problems.

 

Dachshunds are prone to Canine Cushing's Disease. One of the symptoms of this is excessive thirst and frequent urination. Has your BF considered how he will cope this this if it occurs?

 

Can't your BF fit a secure dog-flap so the dog can have access to the outside?

 

In UK we have these ;- Puppy Training Pads | Pets At Home I am sure there must be a US equivalent?

 

IMO your BF is just lazy and irresponsible. If he can't take care of a dog how would he ever be able to take care of you? I would seriously reconsider your future with him.

 

I don't know if he's aware of that disease and I've never heard of it I will research that, thank you.

 

The Doggie Lawn is essentially a training pad with real grass. We usually take him downstairs and outside onto the grass in front of our apartment complex, but we have two balconies, so I put the DoggieLawn one one of the balconies and bought a magnetized flap screen door so the dog can just walk through it and go to the potty when he likes. The screen is very light and the flaps separate easily so once he gets used to it he will have no trouble accessing the potty. I couldn't acept just having the door open we'd have flies and bugs running rampant in here -_____-.

[Almond_Joy]

I admit I don't know the slightest thing about potty training dogs, so I don't know which of you is in the right.

 

BUT. He said he would talk to the vet about your suggestion, right? Given that the vet would know best, if you were correct, surely the vet would just affirm your suggestion and tell him to do what you said.

 

So... just let him talk to the vet? It would probably be good for the dog to get a checkup anyway, just to make sure nothing else is wrong.

 

(Assuming he actually intends to do so, of course. If he's just saying that as a stalling tactic, then there are bigger problems at hand here.)

 

 

I thought that too, but I dont know when he'll get around to that if I don't push him to ask/call.

 

That's a legitimate course of action and I have no problem with it, it was just the timing of that suggesstion that made me suspect of his motives. Why wait until I buy the lawn and am ready to start the work of training to think to talk to the vet if he thought this was such a serious issue, you know? If it was about the dog's health I imagine that would have been his first suggesston when I brought up the idea.

[Tayken]

Ah.....people and their pets "coming as package". We've talked about this in the other threads about red flags.

 

I guess this thread here just goes to show that, it's not all rosy with people that have pets. By NOT getting involved with someone with a pet, I eliminate right off the bat this issue.

 

So....am right when I say, I have got 99 problems but a pet ain't one.

[Almond_Joy]

Is it hot inside your apt? How hot?

 

How many hours are you both gone for work?

 

Does the dog get walks? When and how long?

 

 

We're in southern CA in a second-story apt. It's been in the mid 90's here.....We kept all the windows open, fans running all day and one of the balcony doors open to try and cool the house down, but the heat still gets trapped in here. I'd guess the house is 80's to 90's still until the sun goes down :-/.

 

We both leave between 7 and 8 and one of us is always back between 5 and 6, so he's alone for about 10- 11 hours.

 

And no the dog doesn't get regular walks. I take him out for a half-hour once in a while, but he said the dog's an indoor dog and doesn't need a daily walk....despite having read the contrary I let it go. He's not destructive but does have separation anxiety. I didn't want to be the only one walking the dog but I guess that's what I'm going to do now.

 

 

By nature the dog is actually very clean, and good tempered, so we don't have any behavioral issues outside of socialization.

 

Thank you everyone, this does help me feel more comfortable with being more assertive about this. When he brought up asking the vet I started to think I was trying to do something that would indirectly be bad for the dog, but I'm not hearing any downsides yet. I will be really surprised if the vet says this is a bad idea, and I will encourage him to call and ask because if the vet says yes there's no recourse but to get on with training. I firmly believe the dog will benefit from this change.

[Almond_Joy]

The lack of walking and the socialization problems have bothered me, and now this.

 

I try to leave most of the care to him because I can see he's finicky about how to care for the dog and doesn't want me doing any training or, more specifically, telling his dog what to do. But you know I see this as a package deal. I live here and see the dog day in and day out and love him too, I can see where improvements can be made. I'm not as hesitant to push for those changes now.

[Tayken]

We're in southern CA in a second-story apt. It's been in the mid 90's here.....We kept all the windows open, fans running all day and one of the balcony doors open to try and cool the house down, but the heat still gets trapped in here. I'd guess the house is 80's to 90's still until the sun goes down :-/.

 

We both leave between 7 and 8 and one of us is always back between 5 and 6, so he's alone for about 10- 11 hours.

And no the dog doesn't get regular walks. I take him out for a half-hour once in a while, but he said the dog's an indoor dog and doesn't need a daily walk....despite having read the contrary I let it go. He's not destructive but does have separation anxiety. I didn't want to be the only one walking the dog but I guess that's what I'm going to do now.

 

 

By nature the dog is actually very clean, and good tempered, so we don't have any behavioral issues outside of socialization.

 

Thank you everyone, this does help me feel more comfortable with being more assertive about this. When he brought up asking the vet I started to think I was trying to do something that would indirectly be bad for the dog, but I'm not hearing any downsides yet. I will be really surprised if the vet says this is a bad idea, and I will encourage him to call and ask because if the vet says yes there's no recourse but to get on with training. I firmly believe the dog will benefit from this change.

 

Wow....so how does this dog fit into your lifestyle if it's left for 11hrs at a time, and only get 30mins walks occasionally? See, this is the sort of stuff am talking about and then people fight over who's turn it is to take the dog for a walk, pick up poo, vet fees or dog in bed etc

 

Clearly you won't leave a kid alone for 11hrs, but lazy folks that have dogs always come out with the "it's an indoor dog" BS. I am sure that doesn't mean the dog has to spend its life as a recluse

[xxoo]

I think there's a better chance that the dog is out if shape and overheated that that the dog has reasoned that he won't be able to hold his urine if he drinks.

 

If you added a long walk in the early morning and kept him in an air conditioned room, he'd probably sleep the whole time you're at work. As a longtime dog owner, I'd be resistant to a litter box.

[KaliLove]

Your bf sounds like an a-hole! If he doesn't want to take responsibility for a pet, he shouldn't have one.

[Almond_Joy]

I think there's a better chance that the dog is out if shape and overheated that that the dog has reasoned that he won't be able to hold his urine if he drinks.

 

If you added a long walk in the early morning and kept him in an air conditioned room, he'd probably sleep the whole time you're at work. As a longtime dog owner, I'd be resistant to a litter box.

 

OK see, this makes sense too.

 

He's always sleeping when we come home from work and althought we don't have AC, the bedroom is usually a bit cooler and he sleeps in a shaded corner of the bedroom.

 

So this is something else I can try, thank you.

[Gloria25]

When I just got out of the military, I didn't want a dog cuz I was seeking and had jobs that I had to travel for and work long hours at....Worst, my commute to/from work also makes me away from home for more than 8 hrs...Then, I run errands, go to gym, entertainment before or after I go to work too...

 

I've tried different things over the years...from building fences and leaving them outside, doggy houses, doggy daycare, and now I turned the laundry room into "their room" when I'm gone and have a doggy door for them to go in/out w/o destroying or soiling the rest of the house...

 

The only problem is that I have/had TWO neighbors who called animal control on me several times cuz they allege there is too much barking and/or my dogs are being abused...I've had problems with those neighbors from day one, so they are just using the dogs as another reason to get back at me. But, after animal control could not find any abuse and I started fighting back, thank God they moved on to perhaps bothering someone else.

 

I also walk and play with them on the regular cuz that's what you gotta do when you have dogs....I used to think you can just leave them and they'll figure out how to exercise and all that...but nope, you gotta train them, show them attention, socialize (taking them to the doggy park), and exercise them.

 

I'm glad you are doing what you can for your bf's dog...but how someone treats their pet would be a deal breaker for me - especially if they were neglecting their pets.

 

Why your bf is doing this? Well, there's people who have kids who abuse/fail to discipline/neglect them and when people try to intervene they are all like "these are MY kids". So, I guess there's also pet owners who are like that...Sad if you ask me.

[dispatch3d]

Oh my god the replies.

 

Anyhow, I grew up owning a dog and I'd say I'm in the medium range of knowledge with dogs. I'm no cezar milan but at the same time I don't do anything with dogs that would ever lead to biting/aggressive behaviour that was caused by me. You brought up a few problems with the dogs here.

 

Panting during the day and you think he's thirsty or needs to use the washroom more. Dogs pant when they are overheated. Its normal. My dog would pant, it never caused us any concern and we certainly didn't jump to any conclusions like he should be drinking more water and he's not going to the bathroom enough. I would assume this is one of the reasons he's opposing this. There isn't really a clear need to let him use the washroom inside during the day. Tons of dog owners leave their dogs alone for 8 hours during the day inside and don't worry about it. We used to put the dog outside in a runway my dad built, but we also occasionally left him inside but made sure he went to the washroom before he left. If he was pissing often while you were gone inside the house I'd start being concerned and at that point I would want to take some of the measures you are deciding on. At this point I see no clear need.

 

He obviously doesn't walk the dog that often because he's lazy. There's no reason to only walk him once a week. Lots of dog owners don't walk their dogs regularly though, this is pretty far from anything hugely negative. If I were you I would just take him for walks (ie. take some responsibility for the dogs health).

 

You said he doesn't discipline the dog that much yet he doesn't have any behaviourial issues. This is kind of a contradiction. If he doesn't have behaviourial issues then he does discipline him some. There are many dog owners that prefer not to train the **** out of their dogs because it tends to make them really submissive or they lose a lot of their personality. That may be why he's doing this. If the dog doesn't have serious behaviourial problems then that's probably why he doesn't carry through with obedience training. Its not a pressing problem so he doesn't want to put the time into it.

 

You mentioned I think one behaviorial problem where he has seperation anxiety? This is hard to train out of dogs, so I'm not surprised he doesn't know how to fix it. If the dog is aggressive that can usually be trained out of them, so if he doesn't know how to get his dog to be submissive enough/respect your space that is an issue with his knowledge of dogs most of the time (some dogs just have a personality in them where they are aggressive/dominate and its very hard/near impossible to train it out of them). A dog not being well socialized isn't that uncommon either. To get that out of him you would have to bring him to the dog park as someone else suggested, or work with him on how he should be acting when he meets other dogs. This is similar to the walking thing and if you actually wanted to do things that would improve the dogs life in a clear-cut manner then this is something they can do.

 

His question about how you are going to get the dog to use the washroom on that specific pad is a legit one. I assume you would feed him/let him drink water then take him out on the balcony where this pad is and hope he uses the washroom on it. If that didn't work I'd be at a loss. I didn't have to train our dog to use the washroom outside, but from what I understood its as simple to do as I just describe. Also giving the dog some negative feedback when he uses the washroom inside may work (although I'd mostly take the approach of taking him outside so that he uses the washroom out there after he eats/drinks, and he'll get the idea eventually).

 

Anyhow it doesn't sound like he does anything alarmingly wrong with the dog. Posters saying he's abusive/you shouldn't date him because of his "mistreatment" since he "pants a lot" in the house are being ridiculous. Dogs pant, its good if they don't use the washroom in the house during the day, and lots of people leave their dogs alone for 8 hours a day because you have to work, not much choice. He wouldn't be emotionally scarred from any of this.

[dispatch3d]

I saw you said he "gets the run of the house". That shouldn't really be happening. What kind of stuff does the dog do that makes you think he gets the run of the house? For me I'd train that out of him pretty quickly, but its very hard to communicate how to do it over text without physically showing you this is how you get him to stop, how to claim a certain area, etc.

[lollipopspot]

I try to leave most of the care to him because I can see he's finicky about how to care for the dog and doesn't want me doing any training or, more specifically, telling his dog what to do. But you know I see this as a package deal. I live here and see the dog day in and day out and love him too, I can see where improvements can be made. I'm not as hesitant to push for those changes now.

 

Well he's not that finicky, really. It's not like he's paying adequate attention to the dog's daily well-being. He just doesn't want you to do it for whatever reason. But I agree, it's a package deal. You can't ignore the animal living with you.

 

As a longtime dog owner, I'd be resistant to a litter box.

 

I'm not understanding why. If the dog is alone for 11 hours, I think it's a good idea. But coming home to walk them would be better.

 

Tons of dog owners leave their dogs alone for 8 hours during the day inside and don't worry about it.

 

Well, this dog is alone for up to 11 hours. That's too long. As a rule single dogs should not be left alone for more than 8 hours - some people think that's too long too - and they often develop behavioral issues and separation anxiety because of it.

 

His question about how you are going to get the dog to use the washroom on that specific pad is a legit one.

 

Nope. It's not that hard to train a dog. Just take them out to the pad when it's time to pee and they'll associate it with pee.

 

Also giving the dog some negative feedback when he uses the washroom inside may work (although I'd mostly take the approach of taking him outside so that he uses the washroom out there after he eats/drinks, and he'll get the idea eventually).

 

Don't use negative feedback for a dog who is already neglected and riddled with separation anxiety. This dog has it hard enough. Redirect from negative, and use positive feedback for good behaviors instead. There's no need to use negative training.

 

I saw you said he "gets the run of the house". That shouldn't really be happening. What kind of stuff does the dog do that makes you think he gets the run of the house? For me I'd train that out of him pretty quickly

 

This dog isn't destructive. There's no reason to cut off parts of his home.

 

OP - I'm not a big fan of Milan, but he does stress exercise, and in particular for separation anxiety:

http://www.cesarsway.com/dogbehavior/fearandanxiety/Leaving-Your-Dog-Home-Alone

 

Dogs are pack animals and it's very difficult for them to be left alone for 11 hours/day. It's very unnatural to their basic nature. I don't know whether it's feasible to get another dog for company, or if not, try to keep this dog exercised and engaged to help with it. I would not have a solo dog, unless I was home a lot, or the dog was very old. But there are some things you can do to help the situation.

 

The treatment of this dog is quite far from ideal, although there are still Americans who treat their dogs this way, so they'll say it's fine. I mean, we're a country that is only now and only in some places deciding that keeping a dog chained up 24/7 might be a problem. And some people leave their dog crated literally 18 hours/day and see no problem with it - a lot of people are really in the dark ages about animals and some day I think it will be criminal to treat them as many do.

Dog Companionship & Holiday Care For Dogs Information - PDSA, UK

http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/az/factsheetsanddownloads/factsheettimeforadog05.pdf

Edited September 27, 2014 by lollipopspot

[dispatch3d]

Ah I agree I wouldn't cut off parts of the home to the dog. I don't understand at all how you got that from what I said. The dog should realize he isn't running the house, the human is running it. I could communicate this with very little negative feedback, if any, and it wouldn't require much work for me. Teaching your dog boundaries/whats okay is 100% necessary and if you don't know how to do that I am honestly of the opinion you should learn how before purchasing/getting a dog.

 

I realize there are a lot of proponents to only positive feedback to dogs. Sure I like the idea in theory. That said letting a dog know a certain behaviour is not ok seems to be the best way to stop the dog from doing that behaviour. So yeah, people dislike cesar because he does this, but I really don't understand/see a better way to go about it, neither do I perceive any problem with letting a dog know his behaviour is not ok so long as you aren't abusive about it.

[Missy0724]

As dogs get older, past 10 years old, Cushings Disease and Diabetes are fairly common. Excessive drinking, panting, and need to pee more frequently, accidents, are the symptoms. Please have him tested!

 

Also, yes, dogs are social, pack animals and leaving a dog alone more than 6-8 hours is cruel.

 

That is why there are pet sitters/dog walkers. You can hire one to come in, mid day when you are at work! Break up the day for him, get him a walk and socialization, empty his bladder. Totally worth the small fee!

[Almond_Joy]

Thanks everyone, special thanks to the posters with dog experience who lent some insight. This is new to me so I'm just trying to learn and do what's best.

 

We're both on the same page now and will have no trouble finding a good solution for the dog at this point.

[preraph]

You just can't leave a dog unattended for that many hours! I live in Texas, and here that would be reason to call Animal Cruelty Division. Dogs are wearing a fur coat and this one is stuck in a hot apartment all day. That's cruel. First, you need to get air conditioning. Then you need to walk your dog outside on the lawn at least once during that 10 hr. time you're both working. If you are working too far away to do that, why not move closer to one of your work so you can come home for lunch and let that poor dog get some fresh air and pee?? Dogs need to be out for extended periods of time on a regular basis. Besides the outdoor pee breaks, you two need to be walking him for at least 20 minutes or so a day so he has a life. Better yet, he needs to be taken to a dog park frequently so he can be off the leash and mix with his own kind, because dogs are pack animals and aren't very happy without other dog interaction. I'm glad you're concerned. I just think you've got a lot of work to do to get this dog's standard of living up where it ought to be.

[xxoo]

 

 

 

I'm not understanding why. If the dog is alone for 11 hours, I think it's a good idea. But coming home to walk them would be better.l]

 

I just think it's gross. I don't want my animals to learn to eliminate In the house. That's the main reason I don't have a cat

 

And if the box is on the balcony, that has the high potential for new problems with the dog out there unsupervised (barking).

 

If a healthy dog is routinely left alone so long that he needs a litter box, he's home alone too long. The box is a bandaid for the real problem.

 

But I think a well-walked dog will probably learn quickly to sleep those hours, esp if more playtime becomes routine after work. Dogs sleep a LOT.