Argh! House training help please :(

Now that its raining and cold Biscuit is refusing to pee outside and has decided that the nice warm kitchen floor is much more appropriate! It's only when it's raining and for my landlords it's really starting to become a problem! It's not plausible to walk her at every toilet break, one because we live on a busy road and it stresses her out too much (in the process if moving somewhere quieter!) and also because I don't want to create a habit of it, we haven't had a single problem from march- the beginning of September and it seems to be only now that the rubbish weather is setting in she's being a little madam ( she did the same last year and it took months to get her out of it, my kitchen smells of wee! Nothing's changed in her routine, she knows the toilet command and gets praised hugely for going and I don't do anything other than clean it up if she's been indoors. Any extra advice would be marvellous! We're supposed to be moving soon and I need my deposit back!!

What do you clean it up with Rach? I have read here that (I think) a non biological washing cleaner, as it eliminates smell so she doesn't keep going in the same place. I don't know really what else to suggest but good luck xx

Aww rach poor you & bis it can't be much fun when she's been so good for months, inez it right re cleaning it up with bio washing powder as it breaks down the enzymes and eliminates the odour so she can't smell where she went last, hopefully someone else will be along soon with some more help

I had this problrm with Daisy when I first got her but luckily she just seemed to grow out of it, I didn't do anything different than what it sounds like your doing, sorry hun.

Do you have a garden where she can go outside, would you be able to make some kind of cover from the back door to outside with a ground sheet or something similar. We got a sheet to do this with for Rocky then didn't need it as he just goes outside OK anyway. I'm sure if you can make a covered area it would make a difference.

Why don't you want to create a habit of walking for toilet breaks? I can understand the noise stressing her, but not about creating a habit. How often is she walked?

Either me or hubby take Rocky out for his walks whatever the weather but sometimes during the day he will take a leak outside (Rocky that is not hubby  )

As Caryll says Bis will still need her walks during the day for exercise anyway and should not really get out of this habit of going outside.

Ah thanks guys, I've been cleaning with the pets at home stuff that's supposed to completely clear the smell, but I have run out so just been using dettol the last two accidents!! May have to get some more.

Yeah have a garden Kathy this is where she usually does her toilets, it's not great as it's only a court yard and she's fussy about peeing on concrete but usually just uses to flower beds and little grass bits bordering it!!

Because I can't be taking her out for a walk six + times a day for toilets when it takes 15 mins just to get her calm enough to focus when we're outside.. This might be more of an options when we're living in a more rural area. On a working day (3 days a week between us) she's walked twice a day, a short toilet walk in the morning as it's hectic and full of kids/cyclists/dog walkers and then usually about 2 hours in the evening. On my days off we're usually out for about 3/4 hours hiking and that will be her only walk. I know some people like their dogs to be in a routine of 3 walks a day but this isn't suited to us, and she's very happy in this routine, never had any problems before I'm pretty sure it's just the rain/cold and the garden as she will go outside, realise it's wet and come straight back in to pee on the floor!

Sorry, Rachel, I don't want to criticize or cause any upset, but once a day (even if it's for 3 or 4 hours) just isn't enough. Neither is a short toilet walk in the mornings.

I know she finds it hard to cope with stress but she also needs regular walks to help her empty her bladder & bowels properly.

I appreciate that problem is only since the weather started to turn, but if that's the case then you could be looking at another 7 months of the same! She needs a routine, especially as she's an anxious dog.

Thanks for the feedback Caryll I do think that your opinion is personal though, not necessarily solid fact. I have discussed this with many of the girls that I work with, many of which have the routine that I have and they all have extremely happy and content dogs, one of which has almost identical background and behavioural issues as Biscuit does.

Biscuit does have a routine and knows what to expect in her day, but many of us don't want our dogs to expect feeding/walking/training at a certain time every single day as that can often cause problems in itself. Instead of going to the same places 3 times a day for the same walk, if I leave the house at 12pm with Biscuit, go to a friends, take her for a hike and get home at 7pm, she gets fed and takes herself to bed because she's worn out, why drag her out again to go for a walk? Doesn't make sense to me! Also, not all of us have other members of the household to take our dogs out, or help lighten the load and we literally do the best that we can and that is what I'm doing. As previously stated, we had a similar problem at the beginning of winter before, but moved house not long after and the problem seemed to figure itself out.