As my fellow dog foster parents can relate, when you sign up to foster, one of the first things to do is pull up any area rugs. We also initially block off fosters from going in any carpeted rooms. None of our foster dogs have arrived 100% potty trained, but I am always amazed at how quickly they learn.
Cosmo overall from the beginning was doing great with potty training. He definitely knew that outside on the grass was the place to "go". On the first few days we had a few pee pee accidents in the house. Luckily Cosmo lunges, he doesn't lift his leg to urinate, so we only had a piddle on the ground to clean up. No furniture, walls, or curtains have been ever damaged.
We had some odd peeing in the corner of the crate a few times when we were gone. He goes in the cage easily and we always give him a hard bone slathered in peanut butter before we leave. We don't sense any anxiety when he goes in the crate, but as an extra layer of comfort, we play soft yoga music too. The only thing we have watched is that before we know he would be locked up for an extended period of time, we would just watch how much water he was drinking. He was never denied water, but we just watched that he didn't guzzle down a whole bowl full before being locked up. We weren't sure if this was the issue, or what caused these random accidents, but whatever it is seems to have resolved itself and it has been about a week now with no issues.
We have put down some area rugs and have been trying to give him access to some carpeted areas of the house. We still keep a watchful eye, but he is doing great so far.
I would anticipate when he goes to his forever home, some accidents might happen as he learns his new routine and as you learn what body language means "I need to go outside". He has been with us for about three weeks now and we are learning each others' routines.
I am always amazed how adaptable dogs are. Except with the puppies, potty training has always been such a temporary matter with our fosters. Cosmo is no exception. He is a quick learner and such a good boy.
Cosmo overall from the beginning was doing great with potty training. He definitely knew that outside on the grass was the place to "go". On the first few days we had a few pee pee accidents in the house. Luckily Cosmo lunges, he doesn't lift his leg to urinate, so we only had a piddle on the ground to clean up. No furniture, walls, or curtains have been ever damaged.
We had some odd peeing in the corner of the crate a few times when we were gone. He goes in the cage easily and we always give him a hard bone slathered in peanut butter before we leave. We don't sense any anxiety when he goes in the crate, but as an extra layer of comfort, we play soft yoga music too. The only thing we have watched is that before we know he would be locked up for an extended period of time, we would just watch how much water he was drinking. He was never denied water, but we just watched that he didn't guzzle down a whole bowl full before being locked up. We weren't sure if this was the issue, or what caused these random accidents, but whatever it is seems to have resolved itself and it has been about a week now with no issues.
We have put down some area rugs and have been trying to give him access to some carpeted areas of the house. We still keep a watchful eye, but he is doing great so far.
I would anticipate when he goes to his forever home, some accidents might happen as he learns his new routine and as you learn what body language means "I need to go outside". He has been with us for about three weeks now and we are learning each others' routines.
I am always amazed how adaptable dogs are. Except with the puppies, potty training has always been such a temporary matter with our fosters. Cosmo is no exception. He is a quick learner and such a good boy.